Definitions

1. "The Journal(s)" means the academic journal (or journals) to which the Society provides its endorsement.

2. "The Publisher(s)" means the organization(s), commercial or otherwise, which publishes the Journal(s).

Article I. Name and Purpose

1. The name of the organization is the Society for Mathematical Psychology, Inc.

2. The purpose of the Society is to promote the advancement and communication of research in mathematical psychology and allied disciplines. Mathematical psychology is here broadly conceived to include, in particular, work of a theoretical character employing mathematical methods, formal logic, or computer simulation.

3. All papers, documents, books, correspondence, tapes, etc., of the Society are the property of the Society.

Article II. Membership

1. The Society shall have two classes of membership: members and trainee members. All members have voting rights, subject to provisions in these Bylaws. Specifically, members have full voting rights. Trainee members are not permitted to vote for amendments to the bylaws, dissolution of the society, or on certain motions when the executive committee deems it in the best interest of the society.

(a) Trainee members include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or others who are engaged in mentored research and scholarly training in mathematical psychology. They may be admitted to a trainee membership and may continue so long as they are either a student in good standing in any graduate school or employed as a postdoctoral fellow or equivalent.

(b) Members must hold a Ph.D. degree or the equivalent in experience and be engaged in pursuits related to mathematical psychology and willing to participate in the activities of the Society.

(c) Memberships are not transferable.

Article III. Executive Committee and Officers

1. The Executive Committee shall exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Society, subject to provisions of Article VIII.

2. The Executive Committee shall consist of six members (other than trainee members) elected for staggered terms of six years each with normally two to be elected each second year (see Article IV). The officers of the Society shall be the President, the President-Elect, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.

3. The President shall preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and the annual business meeting.

4. The Executive Committee shall, on each alternative year when no induction of its own members takes place, elect a President-Elect from its newly inducted members. The President-Elect shall be promoted to the post of the President of the Society after two years. The President shall serve a full, non-renewable term of two years. Terms of the President and President-Elect begin at the conclusion of the annual meeting.

5. The Secretary shall be elected by the Executive Committee, not necessarily from among its members, to serve a term of four years, and is eligible for a single reelection. In the third year of the term, the incoming Secretary shall be elected during the annual meeting of the Executive Committee. The incoming Secretary shall engage in a year-long mentorship with the current Secretary and shall begin the term Secretary at the conclusion of the annual meeting the following year. The Secretary shall keep a list of the membership of the Society, and conduct mailings as required by the Executive Committee. In the case of a mid-term vacancy, a new Secretary may be elected to complete the term and be eligible for two reelections.

6. The Treasurer shall be elected by the Executive Committee, not necessarily from among its members, to serve a term of four years, and is eligible for a single reelection. In the third year of the term, the incoming Treasurer shall be elected during the annual meeting of the Executive Committee. The incoming Treasurer shall engage in a year-long mentorship with the current Treasurer and shall begin the term as Treasurer at the conclusion of the annual meeting the following year. The Treasurer manages the fiscal responsibilities of the Society, including maintaining and managing the budgets. The Treasurer will work with the Secretary to collect dues, review contracts, and meet contractual obligations of the Society. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget for submission to the Executive Committee. The final responsibility for the budget and its approval rests with the Executive Committee. In the case of a mid-term vacancy, a new Treasurer may be elected to complete the term and be eligible for two reelections.

7. The Executive Committee may choose to elect a single person to act as both Secretary and Treasurer.

8. The President, President-elect, and the Treasurer are authorized to make disbursements of funds as approved in the budget.

9. The Secretary and Treasurer of the Society, the Editor(s) of the Journal(s), and others deemed necessary and appointed by the Executive Committee, shall be ex officio members of the Executive Committee if not already members. Ex-officio members, if not already members, shall be non-voting members of the Executive Committee.

10. The Voting Committee shall be composed of Executive Committee Members and shall hold elections as specified in Article IV and any other votes described herein or deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.

11. The Conference Committee shall be composed of a local organizer, the President, and others as deemed necessary and shall be responsible for the Annual Meeting as specified in Article V.

12. The Executive Committee shall from time to time appoint such committees as it deems necessary to conduct the affairs of the Society.

13. The Treasurer may receive a very small stipend to for administrative costs, as approved by the Executive Committee. No other officer of the Society may be paid for work on behalf of the Society.

14. The Society may cooperate and ally with other professional societies or groups, both domestic and international, for achieving its goals of advocacy, communication and education for mathematical psychology with approval from the Executive Committee.

Article IV. Elections

1. In odd-numbered years members will receive an invitation to submit nominations for the Executive Committee. The nominations will be submitted to the Voting Committee. In addition, the Executive Committee will nominate candidates to ensure a viable pool. The Voting Committee will confirm that the nominees are willing to serve and will prepare a brief biography of each such nominee for presentation to the membership. The election will be conducted with each regular and trainee member being permitted to vote. Votes will be cast using the approval method wherein each voter may approve any number of candidates on the ballot. The two nominees receiving the most votes will be invited to join the Executive Committee and those names will be communicated to the membership. The term shall begin immediately upon announcement of the outcome of the vote.

2. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy on the Executive Committee, the vacancy may be filled until the next regular election by the President if this action is deemed desirable, preferably by the highest-ranking unelected nominee in the previous election. The vacancy will then be filled at the next election by a person elected for the remainder of the unfilled term of office.

3. The Executive Committee shall immediately fill the vacancy of President with the President-Elect and fill the vacancy of the President-Elect with a member of the Executive Committee.

Article V. Meetings

1. The Society shall hold an annual scientific meeting at a time and place selected by the Executive Committee.

2. Local arrangements will be managed by a Conference Committee in consultation with the Executive Committee. Any registration fees will be reduced by for trainee members, preferably at a rate of 50% if feasible.

3. Any regular member, trainee member, or non-member may submit a scientific work for a talk or a poster presentation at the annual meeting for review by the Conference Committee. When the number of submissions exceeds the number that can be accommodated on the program over and above the invited talks, the submissions will be selected on the basis of quality and suitability.

4. An annual business meeting shall be held in conjunction with the scientific meeting. All society members (regular and trainee) who are registered attendees of the annual meeting and present at the business meeting may participate in discussions. All motions at the annual business meeting and all other votes require only a simple majority for passage, except for amendments to the bylaws (see Article VIII) and motions to dissolve the Society (see Article IX). Members have a right to vote. Trainee members will ordinarily be permitted to vote unless the executive committee deems it in the best interest of the society that only members are permitted to cast a vote for a specific motion.

5. A special meeting of the Society may be called by one-tenth of the members. The call for a special meeting must state the purpose of the meeting and be submitted to the President.

6. Additional satellite scientific meetings of the Society may be organized with approval of the Executive Committee.

7. The Editor and Board of The Journal(s) shall have an annual meeting held in conjunction with the scientific meeting. The President shall attend the meeting as a representative of the Society.

Article VI. Publications

1. The Society may publish programs, abstracts of scientific papers, membership lists, and the like as the Executive Committee may authorize. With the approval of the membership, the Executive Committee may further undertake the endorsement of, editing, or publishing of scientific journals.

2. Until and unless the arrangement is terminated by the Executive Committee, with approval of the membership, the Society shall continue to take responsibility for the scientific editing of the Journal(s) subject to the terms of any contractual agreements. The Society reserves the right to withdraw its support of the Journal(s), or to transfer its support to a different journal(s), at any time, subject to a vote of the members (excluding trainee members) and subject to the terms of any contractual agreements with the Publisher(s).

3. The Journal(s) shall have an Editor and a Board, the organization and composition of which shall be determined by mutual agreement of the Journal(s) and the Publisher(s), in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Editor and the President are expected to work together to ensure that the relationship between the Society and the Publisher(s) best serve the interests of the Society as identified by the Executive Committee.

Article VII. Dues

1. The annual dues of membership (regular and trainee) shall be determined by the Executive Committee subject to approval by the membership.

Article VIII. Amendments and Default Actions

1. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by majority action of the Executive Committee or by the affirmative vote of the majority of members (excluding trainee members) on a resolution for amendment of the bylaws. In the latter case, the proposed amendment must then be considered by the Executive Committee. Every proposed amendment shall be submitted to the membership with recommendations of the majority of the Executive Committee together with a statement of the basis for the recommendations. The bylaws may then be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members (excluding trainee members).

2. Actions necessary for the conduct of activities of the Society not covered by these bylaws may be taken by the Executive Committee at any time, or, when obviously appropriate, by other committees subject to the approval of the President. Whenever such actions involve continuing practices, they will be subject to approval of the membership.

Article IX. Dissolution and Distribution of Assets

The Society may dissolve itself in the following manner: The Executive Committee shall adopt a resolution recommending the dissolution and directing that the question be submitted to the members. Notice of this resolution shall be provided to every member (excluding trainee members) entitled to vote. A resolution to dissolve shall be adopted upon receiving at least two-thirds of the votes. In case of dissolution, the assets of the Society shall be distributed as follows:

a) All debts of the Society shall be paid.

b) All assets held on condition requiring return upon dissolution shall be returned.

c) All remaining assets shall be distributed to an organization of similar purpose recognized as tax exempt by the United States Internal Revenue Service.

Note: These bylaws were approved on October 14, 2024, at which time 83% of members voted affirmative, 1% abstained, and 16% had not submitted a vote. These bylaws are the second revision of the original 1979 bylaws of the Society. The first revision was approved on September 14, 2016, at which time 71% of members voted affirmative and 29% had not submitted a vote.