Professor Sylvia Xiaohua Chen
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Dear Members of AASP
It is my great honor to serve the Asian Association of Social Psychology (AASP) as President of the Association. The AASP was founded in 1995 in an attempt to create a “third force” in social psychology, with the first and second forces being represented by the United States and Europe, respectively. Over the past two decades, the AASP has grown rapidly into one of the major psychology organizations in the Asia-Pacific region, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Insular Pacific, and other parts of the world, such as North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Established in 1998, the AASP’s flagship journal, the Asian Journal of Social Psychology (AJSP), has substantially contributed to the advancement of research on personality and social psychological processes with ever-increasing impact.
The AASP continues to consolidate its position as a high-impact academic organization. We endeavor to promote the development of social psychological research and its application in Asia-Pacific, to provide opportunities for students and young researchers to pursue education and careers in social psychology, and to provide a forum for social psychologists in Asia-Pacific, in order to promote research and education in social psychology. AASP members undertake strategic actions to fulfil its mission through biennial conferences, small group meetings, summer school, inter-associational activities, professional development, publications, newsletters, and social media platforms.
I look forward to the collective endeavors ahead, working together with more AASP members to create synergies and inspire collaborations across boundaries.
The Executive Committee
As ever, there have been some changes among our Officers and the Executive Committee. Emiko Kashima has completed her term as Past President; Hoon-Seok Choi has completed his term as President and is now the Immediate Past-President. Minoru Karasawa has joined the group as President-Elect of the Association. Fang Wang has completed her term as Secretary-General, and the position will be filled by Xiaomin Sun for the coming two years. Wendy Li continues to serve as Treasurer. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Emi Kashima, Hoon-Seok Choi, and Fang Wang for their dedication, hard work, and unfailing support – they will be long remembered. Also, I welcome Minoru Karasawa and Xiaomin Sun to the Officers’ group with a great deal of joy and excitement.
We also have changes to report in the Committee Chairs and Representatives of the Association. Allan Bernardo has completed his term as Editor-in-Chief and Chair of the Publications and Research Committee. Itesh Sachdev has completed his term as Chair of the Education and Training Committee. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Allan Bernardo and Itesh Sachdev for their strong commitment and invaluable contributions over the years. The new AJSP Editor-in-Chief, Kim-Pong Tam, has become the Chair of the Publications and Research Committee. Takeshi Hamamura has completed his term as Regional Representative, Insular Pacific and taken on the new role of Chair of the Education and Training Committee. Jian Guan has completed her term as Representative-at-large, China. Ilan Dar-Nimrod and Cai Huajian have joined the team as Regional Representative, Insular Pacific and Representative-at-large, China, respectively. I am grateful to the outgoing Representatives for their tremendous efforts. Appreciation also goes to Regional Representatives Keiko Ishii (East Asia), Jose Antonio R Clemente (Southeast Asia), and Roomana N. Siddiqui (South Asia), as well as Representatives-at-large Emma Buchtel (Hong Kong), Youngmi Kwon (Korea), Chien-Ru Sun (Taiwan), Elaine Fernandez (Malaysia), Kenichi Ito (Singapore), Thipnapa Huansuriya (Thailand), Sammyh Kahn (Europe), Shige Oishi (North America), and Mostafa Zarean (Middle East) for their continuing service for the Association.