News

~ 526 words | ~ 3 675 characters | Reading time: 2.5 minutes

PSPS Then and Now

February is a special month for the Polish Social Psychological Society.
On 17 February 2005, the Society was officially established. On the occasion of PSPS’s 21st anniversary, it is worth looking at how it has changed over the years.

Although the formal entry in the National Court Register (KRS) took place in February 2005, the history of the Society began earlier, in September 2004. The first President of PSPS was Prof. Janusz Grzelak, and the Executive Board included Prof. Janusz Czapiński (treasurer), Prof. Kinga Lachowicz-Tabaczek (secretary), Prof. Mirosław Kofta, Prof. Krystyna Skarżyńska, Prof. Dariusz Doliński, and Prof. Bogdan Wojciszke. The editor-in-chief of the journal „Psychologia Społeczna” was Prof. Maria Lewicka.

The basic structure of the Board has remained similar, although its membership has changed over time and currently is as follows. The President of the Society is Prof. Katarzyna Cantarero, and the Vice-President is Prof. Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska. The Executive Board also includes Dr Wiktor Soral (treasurer), Dr Paweł Muniak (secretary), Dr Anna Potoczek, Dr Adrian Wójcik, and Dr Sabina Toruńczyk-Ruiz.

DEVELOPMENT | PSPS began with only 44 members. Today, the Society brings together 193 members, including 6 honorary members, 148 regular members, and 39 junior members.

AIM | The mission of PSPS is to create conditions for the development of scientific social psychology and to integrate the social psychology community. From the very beginning, the Society’s activities have included both supporting and promoting research and creating space for collaboration among scholars.

ANNUAL MEETINGS | Annual scientific meetings have always been at the heart of PSPS. The first conference took place on 1–2 October 2004 in Sękocin near Warsaw. About 40 people attended, and the organizers were Prof. Mirosław Kofta and Prof. Władysław Narkiewicz-Jodko.

The most recent, 20th PSPS conference brought together nearly 300 participants from Poland and abroad. The event was held in Warsaw and organized by Vizja University, the Maria Grzegorzewska University, and the Institute of Psychology PAN. The 21st Annual Meeting of PSPS will take place on 17–19 September, again in Warsaw. It is being organized jointly by the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, SWPS University, and the University of Warsaw. Details of the 21st PSPS Conference are available at https://zjazdpsps.badania.net/en/

OUTREACH and COLLABORATION | PSPS supports initiatives that promote psychological knowledge, including student and doctoral conferences. The Society also aims to promote its members’ achievements and create opportunities for collaboration within the community of Polish researchers. We therefore warmly encourage you to send information about publications, projects, and other scientific initiatives to: popularyzacja.psps@gmail.com

COMMUNICATION and INFORMATION | PSPS has long been present online – information about our activities can be found on the Society’s website https://psps.badania.net/en/ and on our profile on Bluesky.
We are also developing new communication channels. We invite you to follow our new profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn, where we will regularly share information about events, publications, initiatives, and opportunities for collaboration.

SUMMARY | Over more than two decades, PSPS has become an important centre integrating the social psychology community in Poland. The future looks equally promising – we wish the entire community many more years of inspiring research, active collaboration, and new discoveries that will contribute to the development of our discipline.