The 20th National Academic Conference on Psychology was successfully held in Southwest University of China
Secretariat of Chinese Psychological Society
On November 4, 2017, the 20th National Academic Conference on Psychology was held in Southwest University, Chongqing. The conference was organized by the Chinese Psychological Society (CPS), hosted by Southwest University, and co-organized by Chongqing Psychological Society, Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of the Ministry of Education, and Chongqing College of Arts and Sciences. More than 2,000 delegates from universities, research institutes and social application organizations attended the conference. The theme of the conference is "Psychology and National Mental Health", which aims to promote academic exchanges and collaboration in psychology and advance the development of basic and applied research in psychology. It further aims to fulfill the central spirit of speeches delivered by President Xi, the "Outline of Healthy China 2030" and the “Guidelines on Strengthening Mental Health Services”, practicing the central spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress Report.
On the morning of November 4, the opening ceremony of the 20th National Academic Conference on Psychology was held in the central gymnasium of Southwest University. Leaders and guests attending the opening ceremony included: Yuan Jie, inspector of Chongqing Science and Technology Commission; Pan Yong, vice chairman of Chongqing Federation of Social Sciences; Zhang Weiguo, president of Southwest University; Bai Xuejun, chairman of the conference, president of the CPS, president of Tianjin Normal University; Fu Xiaolan, president-elect and secretary-general of the CPS, director of the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zhou Xiaolin, president-elect of the CPS, president of Peking University; Zhou Xiaolin, professor of Peking University, former president of CPS, Prof. Zhang Kan of the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Yang Yufang of the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Le Guoan of Nankai University, Prof. Mo Lei of South China Normal University, Prof. Shen Mowei of Zhejiang University, Prof. Zhang Houchuan of Beijing Normal University, and Prof. Huang Xiting of Southwest University.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Chen Hong, executive chairman of the conference and head of the Department of Psychology of Southwest University. Prof. Bai Xuejun, President of the CPS, Prof. Zhang Weiguo, President of Southwest University, Yuan Jie, Inspector of Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and Pan Yong, Vice Chairman of Chongqing Federation of Social Sciences, delivered speeches to warmly congratulate the premier of the conference. Chairman Bai Xuejun pointed out that 2016-2017 is an important year for the development of psychology in China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the government have put forward new tasks and requirements for the discipline of psychology, especially in the report of the 19th National Congress: to strengthen the construction of social psychological service system, and to cultivate self-esteem and self-confidence, rationality and calmness, and positive social mentality. This pave the way to unprecedented new opportunities for the development of psychology. He emphasized the importance of CPS to match the theme of the conference with the needs of the country as a glorious mission for psychologists to practice. On behalf of the conference organizer, President Zhang Weiguo welcomed colleagues from the national psychology community and thanked them for their long-term support to Southwest University. Inspector Yuan Jie emphasized the importance of psychology to the mental health of the nation and expressed his great expectations for the development of psychology in China. Pan Yong, vice chairman of the conference, believed that the conference was of great significance in promoting humanities and social sciences in Chongqing. At the same time, the conference reflected the research strength and academic influence of Southwest University in construction of psychosocial service system and social science and technology.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. Zhang Kan, Editor-in-Chief of Acta Psychologica Sinica, Prof. Qi-Wei Li, Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Science, and Prof. Xun Liu, representative of PsyCh Journal, announced the 2016 Outstanding Paper Awards of their respective journals, and presented certificates and prizes to the winners.
During the conference, Prof. Yao Shuqiao from Central South University, Principal Investigator Luo Huan from Peking University, Prof. Wang Yiwen from Fuzhou University, Prof. Du Yi from Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Gong Gaolang from Beijing Normal University, and Prof. Suri from University of Cambridge, UK, gave a lecture titled "Brain Imaging Markers of Psychological Stress States and Traits in Depressive Disorders", "Dynamic Temporal Structures and Neural Mechanisms in Visual Attention", "Cognitive Neural Mechanisms of Interpersonal Cooperation and Trust Games", "How Does Music Training Make Us Better Listeners?" The invited reports on "Neuroimaging Genetics: Connecting Genetics, Human Brain and Cognitive Behavior" and "New Advances in Cognitive and Brain Research on Dementia" were well received by the delegates.
This year's National Psychology Conference exchanged a total of 1,517 academic papers, in addition to 6 key reports of the conference, 16 special reports, 9 postgraduate forums, 123 group oral presentations, and 4 poster presentations. A total of 1,517 abstracts were accepted, distributed as follows: 119 from Educational Psychology Committee, 188 from Developmental Psychology Committee, 116 from General and Experimental Psychology Committee, 6 from Theoretical Psychology and History of Psychology Committee, 20 from Industrial Psychology Committee, 19 from Medical Psychology Committee, 58 from Physiological Psychology Committee, 28 from Psychometrics Committee, and 28 from Legal Psychology Committee, 28 articles in the Medical Psychology Committee, 58 articles in the Physiological Psychology Committee, 28 articles in the Psychological Measurement Committee, 2 articles in the Legal Psychology Committee, 56 articles in the School Psychology Committee, 128 articles in the Psychology of Sports and Physical Education Committee, 96 articles in Social Psychology Committee, 65 articles in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Committee, 7 articles in Military Psychology Committee, 58 articles in Psychology of Personality Committee, 25 articles in Engineering Psychology Committee, and 47 in Gerontology Committee, 25 in Geriatric Psychology Committee, 14 in Ethnopsychology Committee, 47 in Nursing Psychology Committee, 27 in Linguistic Psychology Committee, 24 Community Psychology Committee, 54 in Cyber Psychology Committee, and 60 in the Emotional and Health Psychology Committee. 98 abstracts (31 for doctoral and 67 for master's) were accepted for the Master's Forum, and 92 full texts were submitted (30 full texts for the Doctoral Forum and 62 full texts for the Master's Forum).
The Congress organized 32 topical short talk session. Among them, the Committees of Educational Psychology, Developmental Psychology, General and Experimental Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Military Psychology, the Committee of Sport Psychology, Social Psychology, Personality Psychology, Engineering Psychology, Decision Making Psychology, Geriatric Psychology, Nursing Psychology, National Psychology, Linguistic Psychology, Community Psychology, Network Psychology, Emotional and Health Psychology, Eye Movement Psychology, and Qualitative Research in Psychology organized topical report presentations. Experts and scholars from 42 units and other universities also organized 16 symposia. The experts shared their latest research progress and achievements with their counterparts and young students from all over the country with high-level and high-quality reports, which were warmly received and vibrant.
On November 5, the conference completed all the set agendas and held a closing ceremony in the central gymnasium of Southwest University. The closing ceremony was hosted by Prof. Luo Jin, Secretary General-elect of the CPS. First of all, Prof. Bai Xuejun, President of the conference and former Chairman of the CPS, summarized the conference. He pointed out that the theme of the conference responded positively to the call of the state, docking psychology with the major national development strategies and reflecting a high degree of social responsibility and sense of mission of domestic psychologists. It is a positive action of psychologists to fulfill the idea of "strengthening the construction of the social psychological service system" put forward in the report of the 19th National Congress. All Chinese psychology colleagues should have the courage to take up the responsibility, not forgetting the mission, cultivate self-esteem, self-confidence, rationality and peace of mind in the society, and make positive contributions to psychology for winning the great victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era!
Afterwards, as the organizer representative of the next national psychology conference, Prof. Luo Jin, the Secretary General of the CPS, extended an invitation to the delegates and welcomed them to attend the 21st National Psychology Conference in 2018.
Finally, on behalf of the CPS, Fu Xiaolan expressed her gratitude to Southwest University for successfully organizing the conference. She pointed out that psychologists should take full advantages of their disciplines, strengthen the construction of social psychological service system, promote national mental health and enhance national cohesion; increase the basic research on mental health problems, cooperate with government departments to standardize the development of psychotherapy, psychological counseling and other mental health services, and improve the population’s happiness index. She emphasized that the CPS will mobilize the efforts of psychologists across the country to actively improve the mental health service network, build service platforms, cultivate service institutions, strengthen mental health professionals, actively promote basic and applied research, form localized psychological theories and clinical service norms, and work hard to fulfill the dream of a healthy China in 2030.
Success of the 20th National Academic Conference on Psychology has fully demonstrated the research level and quality of experts and scholars in various forms, provided good academic exchange and cooperation opportunities for academic exchanges between domestic and foreign counterparts. It highlighted the critical role of psychology in facilitating national strategy, serving the main battlefield of socio-economic development, constructing a social psychological service system, and enhancing the nation’s mental health. It has enhanced the sense of responsibility and mission of psychology researchers and is of great significance in promoting the rapid development of China's psychological discipline in both basic research and social application services. At the same time, this conference provides a valuable learning platform and communication opportunities for researchers in psychology and other related fields in Chongqing, especially in Southwest University, which is of great significance for promoting the development of psychology in Chongqing.
