European Association of Social Psychology

European Association of Social Psychology

The European Association of Social Psychology is a learned society that promotes research and collaboration among scholars in Social psychology across Europe, engaging with institutions such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University and University College London. Founded in the early 1980s during a period of expanding cross-border academic networks connecting Max Planck Society, CNRS, German Research Foundation, European Commission and Council of Europe, the association fosters links with professional organizations including American Psychological Association, British Psychological Society, European Federation of Psychologists' Associations and International Social Cognition Network. The association organizes meetings that attract researchers affiliated with universities such as University of Barcelona, University of Padua, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Vienna and Leiden University.

History

The association was established in 1981 following discussions at conferences involving scholars from London School of Economics, University of Geneva, University of Zurich, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and University of Groningen, reflecting intellectual currents influenced by work at Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Columbia University and Princeton University. Early leadership included academics who had trained or collaborated with centers such as University of Michigan, University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, Max Planck Institute for Human Development and European University Institute. Over subsequent decades the association engaged with policy bodies like European Parliament, funding agencies such as European Research Council, networks including Academia Europaea and research infrastructures linked to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Organization and Governance

Governance follows a council model with elected officers serving terms analogous to procedures at Royal Society, Academy of Social Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The executive committee collaborates with committees patterned after governance structures at American Psychological Association, British Academy, European Consortium for Political Research and International Council for Science, and liaises with editorial boards from journals hosted by publishers such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley-Blackwell. Institutional partners include departments from University of Oslo, Trinity College Dublin, Sciences Po, Università di Roma "La Sapienza" and Stockholm University.

Membership and Sections

Membership comprises individual scholars, doctoral candidates and affiliated institutions drawn from departments like Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Institute of Psychology, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam and research centers such as Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas and Finnish Institute for Educational Research. The association supports thematic sections and working groups reflecting topics studied at Centre for Social Issues Research, Institute for Advanced Study, European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging and Alan Turing Institute, and maintains ties with societies including Social Psychology Network, European Network on Social and Emotional Competencies, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology and Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Conferences and Events

Annual meetings and summer schools are convened in cities such as Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Vienna and Stockholm and are often cohosted with institutions like École Normale Supérieure, Freie Universität Berlin, Università di Bologna, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Universita degli Studi di Milano. Programmes feature keynote lectures referencing work from scholars affiliated with Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and University of Michigan, panel sessions involving representatives from European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Science Foundation and Wellcome Trust, and methodological workshops led by teams from Max Planck Institute for Human Development, University College London, University of Edinburgh and Karolinska Institutet.

Publications and Awards

The association supports peer-reviewed outlets and collaborates with journals published by Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, SAGE Publications and Taylor & Francis Group, and recognizes contributions through prizes echoing traditions of awards such as the Karl Jaspers Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, ERC Advanced Grant and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowships. Awards include best paper prizes, early-career researcher recognitions and lifetime achievement honors given in ceremonies alongside lectures named after distinguished scholars connected to Henri Tajfel, Gordon Allport, Kurt Lewin, Fritz Heider and Muzafer Sherif. The association disseminates newsletters and proceedings drawing on editorial models from Annual Review of Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, European Journal of Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and Social Cognition.

Category:Psychology organizations Category:Scientific societies