Professor John Towse

Professor

Research Interests

My work spans a number of research topics. Here is an overview of a selection

Working memory and executive functions

We know that working memory -active maintenance of transient information- is very important, for children's development and for adult cognitive skills. For example, tasks that measure working memory are often very good at predicting mathematics, reading, comprehension processes and so on. My research investigates the links between working memory and cognition, as well as develop more complete theoretical accounts of how working memory processes unfold.

Executive functions contribute to effective regulation of behaviours towards goals, targets, cognitions and responses. Executive functions form a complex interrelated set of behaviours. So it is important to understand how regulation takes place, the limits and the opportunities that they provide.

Cybercognition

Online environments are increasingly ubiquitous; we communicate through email, we browse websites, we live our lives through social media, etc. This presents cognitive systems with great challenges. We interact with complex systems involving many -sometimes unknown - permuations and consequences, and we are required to trust individuals and systems despite sometimes scant evidence to justify this. We seek to understand how cognitive decisions interact with computer systems & devices and study the software developers and engineers who create the products that we rely on.

Metascience

How do we make the research process more effective? How might we increase the credibility of research and optimise the research processes in order to make the research pipeline stronger and better?

Selected Publications

Working memory gets a workout: reviewing the legacy of Baddeley and Hitch (1974) fifty years on
Towse, J., Hurlstone, M., Atkinson, A., Saito, S., Logie, R. 28/02/2025 In: The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology . 78, 2, 5 p.
Editorial

Recognizing the Known Unknowns: the Interaction Between Reflective Thinking and Optimism for Uncertainty Among Software Developer’s Security Perceptions
Ivory, M., Towse, J., Sturdee, M., Levine, M., Nuseibeh, B. 24/11/2023 In: Technology, Mind, and Behavior. 4, 3
Journal article

Opening Pandora’s Box: Peeking inside psychology’s data sharing practices, and seven recommendations for change
Towse, J., David Alexander Ellis, D., Towse, A. 31/08/2021 In: Behavior Research Methods. 53, 4, p. 1455-1468. 14 p.
Journal article

Email fraud: The search for psychological predictors of susceptibility
Jones, H., Towse, J.N., Race, N.J.P., Harrison, T. 16/01/2019 In: PLoS ONE. 14, 1, 15 p.
Journal article

Joint cognition and the role of human agency in random number choices
Maehara, Y., Saito, S., Towse, J.N. 1/04/2019 In: Psychological Research. 83, 3, p. 574–589. 16 p.
Journal article

Peer Review Improvement for Minimizing Bias in Evaluation
01/09/2025 → 31/08/2027
Research

SL: DCQ: NetworkPlus for Analytical Behavioural Science (NABS+) in Security and Defence
01/04/2024 → 31/03/2027
Research

Working memory and its relation to key outcomes in the real world
18/12/2023 → 15/09/2026
Research

Regulating the mental world: A socio-cognitive approach to human executive function
08/09/2023 → 31/03/2027
Research

'Implementation of Modified Lie/Bet Gambling Screen in Blackpool and Lancaster Mental Health Referral Settings'
08/12/2022 → 31/03/2023
Research

Centre for Research and Evidence on SEcurity Threats (CREST)
01/10/2020 → 30/06/2026
Research

International workshop on the cognition of socially shared tasks and the social influence of cognitive performance
01/03/2019 → 31/12/2019
Research

Why Johnny doesn't write secure software? Secure Software development by the masses
01/04/2017 → 31/12/2021
Research

LUSTRE: Student training in data management and open science
01/02/2016 → …
Other

ESRC studentship James Stone
03/10/2011 → 30/09/2014
Research

Understanding complex working memory and its development
01/02/2005 → 31/07/2008
Research

PRIME: Peer Review Improvement for Minimizing Bias in Evaluation
01/01/1900 → …
Research