Projects per year
Personal profile
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?
Web Links
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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PRIME: Peer Review Improvement for Minimizing Bias in Evaluation
Button, K. (Principal Investigator), Ellis, D. (Co-Investigator), Towse, J. (Co-Investigator), Bakker, M. (Co-Investigator) & van den Akker, O. (Research Associate)
1/09/25 → 31/08/27
Project: Research
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SL: DCQ: NetworkPlus for Analytical Behavioural Science (NABS+) in Security and Defence
Taylor, P. (Co-Investigator), Leslie, D. (Co-Investigator), Nightingale, S. (Co-Investigator), Conchie, S. (Principal Investigator), Soare, S. (Co-Investigator) & Towse, J. (Co-Investigator)
1/04/24 → 31/03/27
Project: Research
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Working memory and its relation to key outcomes in the real world
Atkinson, A. (Principal Investigator), Francis, B. (Co-Investigator) & Towse, J. (Co-Investigator)
18/12/23 → 15/09/26
Project: Research
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Regulating the mental world: A socio-cognitive approach to human executive function
Saito, S. (Principal Investigator), Yanaoka, K. (Co-Investigator), Tsubomi, H. (Co-Investigator), Jarrold, C. (Co-Investigator), Towse, J. (Principal Investigator) & van't Wout, F. (Co-Investigator)
8/09/23 → 31/03/27
Project: Research
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Centre for Research and Evidence on SEcurity Threats (CREST)
Towse, J. (Co-Investigator), Boyd, R. (Co-Investigator), Conchie, S. (Principal Investigator) & Taylor, P. (Co-Investigator)
1/10/20 → 30/06/26
Project: Research
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The DECIDE Framework: Describing Ethical Choices in Digital-Behavioral-Data Explorations
Shaw, H., Brown, O., Hinds, J., Nightingale, S., Towse, J. & Ellis, D., 30/09/2025, In: Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. 8, 3Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile26 Downloads (Pure) -
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, p. 217-221 5 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Editorial
Open AccessFile126 Downloads (Pure) -
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, 3Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open Access -
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.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)173 Downloads (Pure) -
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., e0209684.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Citations (Scopus)818 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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The psychology of computer security from scammers to software programmers: mitigating human frailties
Towse, J. (Speaker)
8/02/2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
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Problem Gambling Seminar
Downs, C. (Organiser), Towse, J. (Organiser) & Kritikaki, G. (Organiser)
31/03/2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
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Expert Group on Open Science (EGOS)
Towse, J. (Consultant)
2022 → 2024Activity: Expert Knowledge and Consultancy types › Expert Opinion
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SPRITE+ (External organisation)
Towse, J. (Chair)
2019 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of network
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Mathematical Cognition Learning Society (External organisation)
Towse, J. (Member)
2017Activity: Membership types › Member of an organisation
Press/Media
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LUSTRE: An online tool for training students in data management and data sharing
Towse, J., Davies, R., James, R. & Ball, E.
7/05/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Teaching
Datasets
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Email fraud: The search for psychological predictors of susceptibility
Jones, H. (Creator), Towse, J. (Creator), Race, N. J. P. (Creator) & Harrison, T. (Creator), Lancaster University, 12/2018
DOI: 10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/252
Dataset
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Joint Cognition (PLoS) research data
Towse, J. (Creator), Towse, A. S. (Owner), Saito, S. (Owner), Maehara, Y. (Owner) & Miyake, A. (Owner), Lancaster University, 2016
DOI: 10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/68
Dataset
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Dataset for "Charting the trajectory of forgetting: Insights from a working memory period paradigm"
Towse, J. (Owner), Hitch, G. (Contributor) & Horton, N. J. (Creator), Lancaster University, 6/02/2019
DOI: 10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/260
Dataset
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Thesis Appendices
Jones, H. (Creator) & Towse, J. N. (Supervisor), Lancaster University, 25/11/2016
DOI: 10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/117
Dataset
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Contextual Support for Children’s Recall within Working Memory
Roome, H. (Owner), Towse, J. (Creator) & Crespo Llado, M. (Data Collector), Lancaster University, 11/07/2018
DOI: 10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/230
Dataset
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