Overreliance on habits is linked to maladaptive behaviors & clinical conditions. But are some people more habit-prone than others? Here, we tested the temporal stability of individual differences in both habit learning & expression. Our data suggest trait-like tendencies! osf.io/preprints/ps...

NEW PAPER! "Variations in the Accuracy of Old-New Judgements Following Compound Learned-Predictiveness Training" by Sandra Lagator, Clara Muñiz-Diez, @tombeesley.bsky.social and Me Out now as an express publication in @qjep.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

a man in a shirt and tie is screaming with his hands in the air .

ALT: a man in a shirt and tie is screaming with his hands in the air .

media.tenor.com

Looks like a very interesting opportunity for someone looking for a postdoc in attention

Mike Le Pelley@mikelepelley.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We're hiring! Looking for a postdoc to work at UNSW Sydney, studying impacts of reward and information on attention, using eye-tracking, EEG, and modelling - with Kelly Garner, Daniel Pearson and me. Application link below, please spread the word! external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...

Lovely visit to Birkbeck to talk about avoidance, hosted by @silviaseghezzi.bsky.social. Good engagement from staff and students, really enjoyed visiting. Also got to talk with @matildevaghi.bsky.social, lots to think about in my way home.

Our back-translation of value-modulated attentional capture to rats and mice is now published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, and it's open access! Yay. psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

Laura Bradfield (she/her)@bradfield-neuro.bsky.social · last yr.

New preprint from the lab, produced in collaboration with Simon Killcross' lab: Modelling compulsive actions in rats and mice: The back-translation of value-modulated attentional capture from humans to rodents doi.org/10.31234/osf... I will be presenting some of this work at Pavlovian next week!

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Experimental Psychology Society, we invite proposals for a special anniversary symposium reflecting on the current state of experimental psychology and its future trajectory. Please see below for information on how to submit a proposal! eps.ac.uk/eps-80th-ann...

EPS 80th Anniversary Symposium – Call for Proposals

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Experimental Psychology Society, we invite proposals for a special anniversary symposium that reflects on the current state of experimental psychology and its fu…

eps.ac.uk

Looks like an amazing opportunity to do a postdoc

Sam Gershman@gershbrain.bsky.social · 6mo ago

If you work at the intersection of computational neuroscience and machine learning, consider applying for this postdoc position (January 2027 start date): academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15868 An opportunity to work with a great group of people across Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley.

New preprint and simulator of associative learning attentional models. Have fun! 👁️ arxiv.org/abs/2602.07519 cal-r.org/index.php?id... #simulation #associative_learning #attention

PALMS: Pavlovian Associative Learning Models Simulator

Simulations are an indispensable step in the cycle of theory development and refinement, helping researchers formulate precise definitions, generate models, and make accurate predictions. This paper i...

arxiv.org

As someone with an interest in 1) ways of enhancing extinction learning to attenuate recovery and 2) assessing the evidence for memory erasure, I read this preprint from the Namboodiri lab with attention. Here are a few thoughts on the preprint doi.org/10.64898/202...

As someone with an interest in 1) ways of enhancing extinction learning to attenuate recovery and 2) assessing the evidence for memory erasure, I read this preprint from the Namboodiri lab with attention. Here are a few thoughts on the preprint doi.org/10.64898/202...

Heading back home from another @exppsychsoc.bsky.social brilliant meeting in London. Here's the information about the next one!

The Experimental Psychology Society@exppsychsoc.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Thank you to everyone who attended, presented and helped organise #EPSLondon 2026! EPS meetings are coming up fast in 2026, with the next to be held at Newcastle University between Monday 30th March – Wednesday 1st April. Portals open on Monday 12th January, 10am UK time! eps.ac.uk/next-meeting/

Excellent talk by @katepeters3.bsky.social, who visited us at @notts-psych.bsky.social today to speak about "Effects of environmental enrichment in reducing food seeking and the role of corticolimbic circuits"

This looks very appealing for someone looking to do a PhD in sunny Malaga (Spain) with an excellent mentor and team.

David Luque@davluque.bsky.social · 10mo ago

JOB ALERT: I am offering a 4-year funded PhD opportunity. The position is specifically linked to the project “Assessing the balance between goal-directed and habitual processing through the course of learning". The project is about learning habits and include eye tracking and pupillometry...

Thought-provoking analysis by @markhaselgrove.bsky.social on a recent preprint looking at benchmarks for associative learning models 👇

Mark Haselgrove@markhaselgrove.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Am slowly making my way through this paper. And it is an impressive body of work by a collection of great researchers. However, I have a couple of problems with it... 1/n

In which 94 benchmark phenomena are identified. 16 are domain- and species-general and should be explained by any theory claiming generality. 30 are species- and/or domain-specific but highly robust across procedures

PsyArXivBot@psyarxivbot.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Benchmarks for Associative Learning Models: https://osf.io/qsgz8

The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year. Drop me a line if you want to know more Deadline September 14th www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....

MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NMHB) member vacancies

Closing date 14 September 2025 at 11:59pm (UK time) Number of positions Six Length of term Two years, plus additional two years after review Time commitment Two days per month Remuneration £160 per da...

ukri.org

Only two days left to apply for this 3-year postdoc position to look at fear, avoidance, heart rate monitoring and the neural mechanisms orchestrating these. Get in touch with Carl Stevenson or myself if you are interested, the deadline is Friday! Please repost.

Gonzalo Urcelay@gurcelay.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

Only a few days left to apply for this 3-year postdoc position in Nottingham (deadline Sept 5th!). If you're considering applying please get in touch. If you're already a PI, then repost this!

Gonzalo Urcelay@gurcelay.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

Reminder that we're looking for a Post Doc and the deadline is looming (Sept 5th). If you are interested, please get in touch. If you see this, please repost it to that it is seen by potential applicants!

Gonzalo Urcelay@gurcelay.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

In this recent #ResearchHighlight, the authors discuss new findings pointing a potential non-pharmacological approach for mitigating maladaptive craving behaviors

The cost of remembering: engram competition as a flexible mechanism of forgetting. Our new perspective piece in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social, lead by Ryan Lab alumni, Livia Autore. Also with Michael Drew from @utaustin.bsky.social Trends in Neurosciences www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

The cost of remembering: engram competition as a flexible mechanism of forgetting

The retention and use of long-term memories is crucial for adaptive behavior. While stable memories help organisms anticipate outcomes, they may become maladaptive if not updated to reflect new condit...

cell.com

My latest column for @thetransmitter.bsky.social - why neural populations are a convenient fiction doi.org/10.53053/FZK...

The challenge of defining a neural population

Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

doi.org

Nick Mackintosh and the not-so-recent history of associative learning, as seen through the eyes of his friend and definitive rival, Geoff Hall. It reminded me of how much fun it was working with Geoff. www-users.york.ac.uk/~gh1/pdf/201...

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

Looking for a free day out over Summer? We give you free car parking, and a fun half day of science. Rember the park and the ice-cream van are only a stones throw away. We still have a few spaces left for this years Summer Scientist Week, so make sure to get booked on at www.summerscientist.org

As staff, it’s our great honour to witness this moment of celebration. We’ve loved teaching & supporting you throughout your journey, watching you cross the stage, meeting your families & friends is a privilege. Wishing you all the best. Go make your mark, Class of 2025! 💫

New preprint from the lab on habit learning in compulsivity from the fantastic @kellydonegan.bsky.social! ✅ N=1000, ✅ pre-registered, ✅ within-person crossover design...we study individual differences in habit learning using the Neureka App

Kelly Donegan@kellydonegan.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨PREPRINT ALERT🚨 Why do some people get stuck doing things that no longer make sense, or are even harmful? Our new study shows compulsivity isn’t just about weakened goal-directed control; people high in compulsivity also form stronger habits 📄: osf.io/preprints/ps... #PaperFairy #Habits #CogSci

The first day of the joint EPS and CSBBCS meeting in Dundee ends, fittingly, with a joint poster session!

@kellydonegan.bsky.social showing our latest smartphone habit research this morning at @rldmdublin2025.bsky.social 📲

Many variables determine whether instrumental behaviour is goal-directed or habitual. We have documented in rats that delays between response and outcome attenuate sensitivity to outcome devaluation (a canonical test of goal directedness). In this study we replicated that observation in humans.

Delayed rewards weaken human goal directed actions - npj Science of Learning

npj Science of Learning - Delayed rewards weaken human goal directed actions

doi.org