Simon Farrell

Simon Farrell is a Professor in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia (UWA), where he also served as Head of School from 2020 to 2022. He holds a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Psychology from UWA, and completed postdoctoral research at Northwestern University with Roger Ratcliff. His research integrates experimental psychology and computational modeling to study memory, judgment, and decision-making. Key contributions include the Serial-Order-in-a-Box (SOB) model of serial order memory and investigations into decision-making dynamics under uncertainty, particularly involving agent interactions. He teaches Cognitive Neuroscience and contributes to advanced statistics and computational modeling courses.

Research interests focus on serial order memory mechanisms, temporal context in episodic memory, and goal-directed decision-making. Current projects explore how humans encode/retrieve critical information, navigate competitive decision contexts, and integrate memory with reinforcement learning. His work also addresses social utility preferences, inequality aversion, and the role of working memory in goal pursuit.

Notable publications include studies on automation reliability learning (2024), episodic memory sampling (2023), and cultural responsiveness in psychology education (2025). Awards include the 2024 UWA Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2009 Paul Bertelson Award for cognitive psychology contributions.

Active grants involve transport modeling, decision architectures in tactical systems, and automation reliability research. His lab collaborates internationally on projects like climate change belief segmentation and body image perception. Teaching and research emphasize bridging cognitive science with real-world applications through interdisciplinary approaches.