Psychonomic Society Bylaws

(As last amended November 2004)

ARTICLE I: NAME AND OBJECT
1. The name of the Society is The Psychonomic Society, Inc.
2. The object of the Society is to promote the communication of scientific research in psychology and allied sciences.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP
1. The Society shall have one class of membership, with the exception of Associate, which is described in Article II, Section 4.
2. Members shall be persons qualified to conduct and supervise scientific research in psychology or allied sciences. To be eligible for membership, a person must hold the PhD degree or equivalent, and must have published significant research other than the doctoral dissertation.
3. Eligible persons shall be considered for membership by the Governing Board. Any member may recommend individuals to the Board for its consideration. The Board shall elect those individuals it considers eligible for membership and report their names at the Annual Business Meeting.
4. An Associate shall be in the field of psychology or an allied science. To become an Associate, the individual must have a PhD or equivalent.
5. Members in good standing who have retired, and who have paid annual dues for the previous five years, may request Life Member status. Life Members pay no dues, receive no journal credit, and must pay the registration fee, if any, to attend the annual meeting.

ARTICLE III: GOVERNING BOARD
1. The Governing Board shall exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Society subject to the provisions of Articles IX and X.
2. The Governing Board shall consist of twelve members elected for staggered terms of six years each, and, ex-officio, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society, if the Secretary-Treasurer is not already a member. Elected members of the Governing Board may not succeed themselves.
3. The Governing Board shall elect its own Chairperson by written, secret ballot. The term of the Chair shall be one year, and the Chair may serve only one term.
4. The Governing Board shall from time to time appoint such committees as it deems necessary to conduct the affairs of the association.
5. The Chairperson of the Governing Board shall preside at meetings of the Board and the Annual Business Meeting.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
1. The officers of the Society shall be the Chairperson of the Governing Board, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Convention Manager.
2. The Secretary-Treasurer and Convention Manager shall be elected by the Governing Board. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term, and may be re-elected once, but may not serve more than six consecutive years. The Convention Manager shall be elected for a five-year term, and may be re-elected once, but may not serve more than ten consecutive years.
3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a list of the membership of the Society, collect dues, disperse funds with approval of the Governing Board, assemble the annual program, and fulfill other administrative functions for the Society.
4. The Convention Manager shall provide arrangements to conduct the annual meeting of the Society, and assist the Secretary-Treasurer to assure current and future meetings function as effectively as possible.

ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS
1. Once each year, the Secretary-Treasurer shall canvass the membership by mail for nominations of persons to serve on the Governing Board. Each member may nominate up to four persons.
2. The names of the six persons who receive the greatest number of nominations, and who signify their willingness to serve, shall be placed on an election ballot. Voting will be via the internet and the membership will be notified by email of the opportunity to vote. Each member may vote for two persons named on the ballot.
3. Thirty days after the mailing of the election ballot, the election shall be closed, and the ballots counted. The two persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected members of the Governing Board.
4. In the case of resignation, recall, or death of a member of the Governing Board, the vacancy shall be filled in conformity with Sections 1, 2, and 3 above; that is, six nominations shall be requested, nine names shall be placed on the election ballot, and each member shall vote for three persons. The third ranking candidate shall complete the unfilled term of office, but may serve a successive term.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
1. The Society shall hold an Annual Scientific Meeting at a time and place selected by the Governing Board.
2. Any member may present a scientific paper at the Annual Meeting. A nonmember may present a paper when sponsored by a member. However, when the number of papers submitted exceeds those that can be accommodated on the program, preference will be given first to papers submitted and read by members who did not present or sponsor the presentation of a paper in the preceding year, and second to papers to be presented, rather than sponsored, by members of the Society.
3. An Annual Business Meeting shall be held in conjunction with the Scientific Meeting. Only members of the Society may attend the Annual Business Meeting.
4. All motions at the Annual Business Meeting require only a simple majority for passage.

ARTICLE VII: PUBLICATIONS
1. The Society shall publish such programs, abstracts of scientific papers, and membership lists, as the Governing Board shall authorize. With approval of the membership, the Governing Board may undertake the editing or publishing, or both, or scientific journals.

ARTICLE VIII: DUES
1. The annual dues of membership shall be determined by the membership at the Annual Business Meeting upon recommendation of the Governing Board.
2. A member failing to pay dues for two consecutive years shall be considered to have resigned, but may be reinstated any time in the three years following upon payment of the current year’s dues plus the preceding year’s dues.*
3. A member failing to pay dues for five years may be reinstated only by satisfying the requirements for election of new members prescribed in Article II.

ARTICLE IX: RECALL
1. Upon petition of 10% of the membership, an election by mail ballot will be held on proposals with respect to the recall of members of the Governing Board or the Secretary-Treasurer. Such recall will be effective upon a majority mail vote of all members of the Society, but the recalled member shall continue to serve until replaced in accordance with the election procedure prescribed in Article V.

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS
1. Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by majority action of the Governing Board at a regular, special, or informal meeting called by the Chairperson, or by the affirmative vote of the majority voting at an Annual Business Meeting on a resolution for amendment of the Bylaws introduced from the floor. In the latter case, the proposed amendment of the Bylaws must then be considered by the Governing Board at its next regular, special, or informal meeting.
2. Every proposed amendment shall be submitted to the membership with recommendations of the majority of the Governing Board, together with a statement of the basis of the recommendations, and in the case of a tie with the arguments pro and con. These Bylaws may then be amended only by vote of the members in either of the following ways, to be determined by the Governing Board: (a) at the Annual Business Meeting of members, by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members voting on the proposed amendment or (b) by mail vote of members, conducted in such fashion as the Governing Board may determine. Two-thirds affirmative vote of those voting by mail shall be required for adoption of the proposed amendment.

ARTICLE XI: CORPORATE SEAL
The corporate seal of the corporation shall consist of the words “The Psychonomic Society, Inc. Corporate Seal” and may be affixed to any document by writing, typewriting, impression, or other means.

*Dues herein means all sums payable by a member to the Society, including the journal credit, Federation fee, etc. However, only the journal credit for the current year may be used, and that may be used for current year subscriptions only. Foreign members who do not work in the U.S. or in U.S.-supported laboratories are exempt from the Federation fee.