Wil Cunningham, research associate professor, Department of Psychology, is the recipient of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) IUPsyS Young Investigator Award (Basic Science) 2012. The award is given in recognition of young post-doctoral scientists who have already made a significant contribution to psychological science through excellent research, refereed publications, and success in securing research grants and visibility.

Cunningham is being honored for his “his insightful and integrative research creating a comprehensive, multilevel model of evaluative processing and for his elucidation of the nature and function of the human affective system. His work uniquely and innovatively synthesizes cutting-edge theory and methodology in social, cognitive, and neurological dimensions of psychological science.”

Cunningham’s primary interest is in the question of how the mind represents value: how we learn what is good and bad, and how we make assessments of ourselves, others, events, objects and ideas. He is unique in using highly effective combinations of behavioral measures, of indicators of neural responses and of computational approaches to tackle questions of moral decision making as they play out in intergroup relations and interpersonal relations.

Recently, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology identified Cunningham as one the top ten most cited junior faculty in the field. When Psychological Science lists its most cited articles of all time, two of Cunningham’s articles make the list (2001 and 2004).

The award ceremonies will be held during the 30th International Congress of Psychology (ICP), July 22-27, in Cape Town, South Africa. http://www.icp2012.com/user_data/iupsys-awards.pdf