| Code | BPS/GB/102 |
| Name | The British Psychological Society; Developmental Psychology Section; 1972-; DPS |
| Corporate Name | The British Psychological Society |
| Subordinate | Developmental Psychology Section |
| Dates | 1972- |
| Epithet | DPS |
| Parallel Name | BPS Developmental Psychology Section |
| Address | United Kingdom |
| Relationships | Section |
| Activity | The Developmental Section is one of the largest of the British Psychological Society’s sections. It has a mission to promote high quality research into Developmental Psychology and generally to raise the profile of British developmental research in an international arena. These aims are pursued in various ways, one being through the continuing success of the British Journal of Developmental Psychology. The Journal has had an impressive history, acting as an outlet for seminal work on children’s drawing, imagination, communication, attachment, reasoning, theory of mind, developmental disorders (including autism) and many other topics. Currently, with the advent of target articles published alongside peer commentary, the Journal is going from strength to strength.
Another of the main activities of the Developmental Section surrounds the Annual Conference. Usually held in early September, this conference is consistently notable for excellent keynote addresses delivered by internationally outstanding scholars, some based in the UK and some from other parts of the world. Recently, the profile of the conference has been increased even further with the inclusion of high-quality invited symposia that have brought together internationally leading figures. The conference typically has 200 to 250 delegates, making it large enough to ensure quality and variety but small enough to allow free debate and friendliness.
Another aspect of the Section’s mission is to promote the career of young researchers. To this end, the Section offers a variety of prizes and honours. The Neil O’Connor Prize is awarded for an outstanding published article on the topic of developmental disorders by a researcher who is within 10 years of completion of their PhD. The Margaret Donaldson Early Career Prize is for a researcher within 8 years of their PhD, who has made an outstanding impact on the field of Developmental Psychology. The winners of these prizes are invited to give keynote addresses at the Section’s Annual Conference. The Section is also very keen to support PhD students, and we award an annual prize for the best poster presented by a PhD student at the Conference. Furthermore, a number of bursaries are available competitively to offer financial support to PhD students who are giving presentations at the Conference.
Christine Howe
Developmental Section Chair 2008
Here is a list of the Chairs of the Developmental Psychology Section (with their institution at the time) from its' foundation in 1972 until 1983:
1972-73 Dr Vernon Hamilton (U. of Reading)
1973-75 Prof John Newson (U. of Nottingham)
1975-77 Prof Ron Davie (U. of Wales, Cardiff)
1978-79 Prof Jack Tizard (Thomas Coram Unit)
1979-81 Prof Sebastian Halliday (U. of Manchester)
1981-83 Prof Peter Bryant (U. of Oxford)
1983-86 Paul Harris
1986-88 George Butterworth
1988-91 Robert Grieve
1991-92 Kathy Sylva
1992-94 Paul Light
[Dates unknown] Julie Dockrell
1994-95 Dale Hay
1995-98 Dr Mark Bennett (University of Dundee)
1998- 01 Charles Crook
2002-03 David Messer
2004-05 Peter Mitchell
2006-08 Christine Howe
2008-10 Gavin Bremner
2010-12 Charlie Lewis
2012-15 Patrick Leman
2015-17 Vasnu Reddy
2017-20 Peter Mitchell
2021- 2022 Debbie Riby
2023- Christopher Jarrold
The secretaries of the Section over this same time period were:
1972-74 Dr Harry McGurk (U. of Surrey)
1974-76 Mr Anthony Whitehouse (NELP)
1976-79 Dr John Coleman (London Hospital)
1979-81 Dr George Butterworth (U. of Southampton)
1981-83 Dr Peter Lloyd (U. of Manchester)
1984-86 Jackie Stedman
1986-89 Gavin Bremner
1989-91 Charlie Lewis
1991-92 Morag Donaldson
1994-95 Mark Bennett
1995-96 Christine Howe
1996-98 Chris Lange-Kuttner
1999-01 Chris Anderson
...
2010-12 S H Norgate
2012-15 A I James
2015-21 S E T Rose
2021-2022 Emma Vardy
2023- Josephine Ross
The Treasurers of the Section were:
1972-75 Prof Ron Davie (U. of Wales, Cardiff)
1975-76 Dr David Wood (U. of Nottingham)
1976-83 Mr Peter Barnes (U. of Nottingham/Open University)
...
2021-2022 Hayley Cooper
2023- Sarah Rose
For a more comprehensive history of the Developmental Section, see Peter Barnes published paper in the Section's newsletter (2009) entitled "The Developmental Psychology Section: Conception, Birth, Infancy and Early Years (1972-82)
Sources: History taken from BPS website http://www.bps.org.uk/dps/dps_home.cfm [accessed 2008]. List of Chairs, Secretaries & Treasurers provided by Peter Barnes.
Compiled by Mike Maskill, BPS Archivist for the History of Psychology Centre. |
| PublishedWorks | Developmental Psychology Forum is in Senate House |
| Notes | For a more comprehensive history of the Developmental Section, Peter Barnes [[email protected]] published a paper in the Section's newsletter (2009) entitled "The Developmental Psychology Section: Conception, Birth, Infancy and Early Years (1972-82) |
| Source | History taken from BPS website http://www.bps.org.uk/dps/dps_home.cfm [accessed 2008]. List of Chairs, Secretaries & Treasurers provided by Peter Barnes <[email protected]> |
| Conventions | International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN ISBN 0-9696035-3-3
National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 |