| Code | BPS/GB/314 |
| Name | The British Psychological Society; Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section; 1997-; CEP |
| Corporate Name | The British Psychological Society |
| Subordinate | Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section |
| Dates | 1997- |
| Epithet | CEP |
| DatesAndPlaces | Leicester |
| Address | Leicester |
| Relationships | Section |
| Activity | At the turn of the last century, Wundt, James and the other founders of scientific psychology took it for granted that conscious experience was the discipline's central phenomenon. In the behaviourist period (roughly the first 50 years of the 20th Century) the study and even the mention of consciousness was largely suppressed. With the reintroduction of "mind" in cognitive psychology (over the second half of the 20th Century) mention of consciousness was gradually reintroduced, usually in connection with studies of selective attention and short-term memory. It was generally assumed however that consciousness was nothing more than a form of information processing, with little attention paid to how its rich phenomenology is experienced. The effort to develop an understanding of the mind that paid closer attention to the phenomenology of consciousness gathered pace from the early 1990's, along with a growing understanding of how the methods used to understand consciousness affect the ways that we think about it. In 1994 the founders of CEP were motivated by the conviction that the study of consciousness should be fully reincorporated into mainstream psychology. Official approval for CEP was announced on April 4th 1997, during the BPS Annual Conference. The ballot attracted over 3,000 votes (about 10% of BPS membership) - an overwhelming majority in favour. The study of consciousness is now firmly re-established at the heart of the discipline.
There are now many consciousness research groups, for example the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, the Science and Consciousness Review and the Tucson Conferences. Not only psychologists, but individuals from many different disciplines study consciousness, including philosophers, neuroscientists, physicists, engineers working in artificial intelligence, anthropologists, and artists. There are also many ancient traditions for investigating consciousness that have developed in the East. [from CEP WEbsite page 2018]
Founded 4 April 1997 by Jane Henry. Other members of the Steering Group were J Pickering, R Stevens, Elizabeth Valentine and M Velmans
The aim of the Section to advance our understanding of consciousness, to bring scientific research on consciousness closer to other traditions of inquiry into the nature of mind and to explore how this research can be used to improve the quality of life.
In the modern era, CEP was the first and is still the only subsection of a nationally representative body of professional psychologists devoted to the study of Consciousness. The Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section provides a forum to exchange ideas and promote research into all aspects of consciousness research and experiential psychology.
1997 Chair Jane Henry Hon Sec Surbala Morgan
1998 Chair Jane Henry Hon Sec Deborah Biggerstaff
1999 Chair Jane Henry Hon Sec Deborah Biggerstaff
2000 Chair Jane Henry Hon Sec Deborah Biggerstaff
2001 Chair Jane Henry
2002 Chair Jane Henry
2003 Chair Max Velmans
2004 Chair Max Velmans
2005 Chair Max Velmans
2006 Chair Max Velmans Hon Sec L M Graham
2007 Chair Guy Saunders
2008 Chair Guy Saunders
2009 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Michael Beaton
2010 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Michael Beaton
2011 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Bryony Pierce
2012 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Bryony Pierce
2013 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Bryony Pierce
2014 Chair Susan Stuart Hon Sec Bryony Pierce
2015 Chair Guy Saunders Hon Sec Susan Stuart
2016-20 Chair Jane Henry Hon Sec Natalie Gough
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| PublishedWorks | A newsletter Consciousness and Experience was started in 2014 and is available at Senate House Library |
| Source | Bio sources taken from the Society's website www.bps.org.uk accessed 01/12/2017 |
| 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 |
Show related catalogue records.
Catalogue
| RefNo | Title | Dates |
| BPS/002/3/14/04 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Constitution and Administration | 1997-2013 |
| BPS/002/3/14/04/01 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Constitution 1997-2013 | 1997-2013 |
| BPS/002/3/14/05/01 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Correspondence, Reports and Projects | 1997-2013 |
| BPS/002/3/14/05 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Correspondence, Reports and Projects | 1997-2013 |
| BPS/002/3/14 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section | 1997-2013 |
| BPS/002/3/14/06/01 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Conferences and Events | 2002-2003 |
| BPS/001/11/03/01/20 | BPS Press Releases 2002 | 2002 |
| BPS/002/3/14/06 | BPS Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section Conferences and Events | 2003 |