Psychology & Behaviour

Understanding how people think, feel, and behave

#20 of 29 research categories by total funding · About £29 per person in the UK

Funded awards
5,578
Published funding
£1.9B
Average published award
£496K
Active funded awards
894
NIHR-supported projects
1,439

Amounts are published for 3,892 of 5,578 funded awards. Data as of 16 July 2026.

ESRC funds the most Psychology & Behaviour research — 1,365 grants (24% of the topic). The busiest year was 2022, with 431 grants.

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

View data table
FunderFunded awards
ESRC1,365
NIHR814
EPSRC576
MRC533
BBSRC492
Wellcome407
EC307
UKRI303
InnovateUK273
AHRC114

Funded Awards by Year

View data table
YearFunded awards
2006145
2007162
2008182
2009170
2010174
2011194
2012224
2013222
2014187
2015276
2016345
2017420
2018381
2019369
2020363
2021374
2022431
2023416
2024347
2025161

Grants

Network for Integrated Behavioural ScienceUniversity of NottinghamESRC£3.1M2012Completed
Development of objective methods to quantify reward learning impairments, a 'cognitive biomarker' of affective state in different speciesUniversity of BristolBBSRC£749K2024Active
Could Ultrasonic Vocalisations Provide The Elusive, Graded Measure Of Affective State Needed To Inform Refinements For The Laboratory Rat?University of BristolNC3Rs£594K2023Active
Cognitive Biases and Behavioural Segmentation in Food DemandUniversity of ReadingESRC£519K2013Completed
Neurocomputational basis of social learning in typical development and adolescents with conduct disorderUniversity of BirminghamMRCNot disclosed2021Completed
The Cognitive Penetrability of Perception: Reevaluating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as treatment for PhobiasUniversity of NottinghamAHRCNot disclosed2023Active
Eye movement and TMS studies of social cognition and languageUniversity of BirminghamBBSRC£196K2008Completed
Watch and Learn: Mapping the Behavioural and Neural Profile of Observational Learning Throughout the LifespanBangor UniversityESRC£173K2012Completed
Therapeutic targets for the effective psychological treatment of trauma sequelae symptoms and psychosis in patients with comorbid Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Psychological and neural mechanisms.South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustNIHR£520K2020Completed
The Network for Integrated Behavioural Science - The Science of Consumer BehaviourUniversity of NottinghamESRC£2.0M2017Completed
COBRA (Cost and Outcome of BehaviouRal Activation): a Randomised Controlled Trial of Behavioural Activation versus Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for DepressionUniversity of ExeterNIHR£1.8M2012Completed
Clarifying the neurocognitive mechanisms of emotion reasoning and development in school-aged childrenUniversity of EdinburghBBSRC£1.1M2025Active
A cognitive-computational model of avoidance learningUniversity College LondonESRC£816K2022Active
The Role of Cognitive Experience in Decision and ActionUniversity of LiverpoolAHRC£673K2025Active
Individual differences in affective processing and implications for animal welfare: a reaction norm approachUniversity of BristolBBSRC£606K2024Active
Adventures in mirror world: Uncovering the cognitive and sensory basis for natural behaviour in virtual realityUniversity of AberdeenESRC£598K2021Completed
Freedom of choice in decision-making: Introspecting the cause of our actionsUniversity College LondonESRC£461K2021Completed
Understanding Phenotypic Trait Differences and their Impact on Habitual Behaviour: A Fully Translational ApproachUniversity of CambridgeBBSRC£452K2022Completed
Developing a translational and computational approach to studying animal affect and welfareUniversity of BristolBBSRC£406K2023Active
Freedom of choice in decision-making: Introspecting the cause of our actionsQueen Mary University of LondonESRC£395K2022Completed

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Related topics

Education & Skills 9,003 grants Economics & Business 6,820 grants Society, Politics & Law 6,728 grants