The William Thierry Preyer Award for Excellence in Research on Human Development is awarded to a European psychologist or a group of European psychologists who is/are recognized internationally for an original and substantial contribution to a better understanding of human development and its contexts, as demonstrated by first-rate publications in scholarly journals, based on empirical research into the antecedents, processes and outcomes of human development-in-context.

The award was donated to the European Association of Developmental Psychology by Prof. Dr. Rainer K. Silbereisen, the President of the 2007 European Congress on Developmental Psychology and Professor of Developmental Psychology as well as Director of the Center for Applied Developmental Science at the Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany. According to an agreement with the EADP, the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena will continue to support this award through a long-term donation. EADP will take care that the award will excel its history and current reputation of developmental science.

The Preyer Award is given during the conference by the president of EADP, followed by the lecture of the award winner. The award implies an honorary membership with the EADP, and free attendance to three biennial EADP conferences. 

Please find the 2025 call for nominations here: