As on previous occasions, we received many innovative and rigorous submissions, and we would like to thank all applicants for their remarkable research.

For the postdoctoral track, we are pleased to announce that the winner is Ana Rita Sá Leite, for the paper “ Sá-Leite, AR, & Lago, S. (2024). The role of word form in gender processing during lexical access: A theoretical review and novel proposal in language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1-20 ”. The jury especially appreciated this paper because it bridges a gap in the processing of grammatical gender. While there are several theoretical models on the production of grammatical gender, Sá-Leite and Lago (2024) present a new model of the representation and use of grammatical gender in long-term memory. To accomplish this, the authors conducted a systematic review and used their findings to build a dual-route lexical access model in language comprehension. The scientists combined complex methodological approaches to build a new theory. Therefore, it is not surprising that this paper is published in a highly prestigious journal.

 For the Ph.D. student track, we are pleased to announce that the winner of the competition is Philipp Musfeld, for the paper “Musfeld, P., Souza, A. S., & Oberauer, K. (2023). Repetition learning is neither a continuous nor an implicit process. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(16), e2218042120.”. This paper has been evaluated as highly meritorious by the jury because it fundamentally challenges long-standing assumptions about the nature of repetition learning. Using Bayesian hierarchical mixt modeling, this work uncovers variability in individual learning curves, demonstrating that learning often occurs abruptly rather than through gradual accumulation, as previously thought. Moreover, by establishing a strong link between awareness and learning onset, the study demands a significant theoretical shift, emphasizing the role of explicit recognition in driving rapid knowledge formation.

We congratulate both winners on their accomplishments and we think that this award should serve as a token of our appreciation for their contributions to the field of cognitive psychology.