BAPS organizes several activities among which:

• an annual meeting gathering 200 to 300 researchers, professors and students working in the Belgian universities (as well as international speakers and participants)
• the publication of the "Psychologia Belgica" journal
• an email list
• the Best Master Thesis award

Any person interested in scientific research in psychological sciences is invited to affiliate to BAPS. The affiliation is advantageous for master and PhD students and involves among other stuffs:

• free access to the annual meeting
  • Our next annual meeting will be a joint BAPS-SEPEX (Spanish society of experimental psychology) meeting. It will be held on 10 & 11 May 2012 (exceptionnally a 2-day meeting). The keynote speakers will be Daniel Schacter (Harvard University) and Pio Tudela (Universidad de Granada). Further information can be found on the conference website (https://w3.fapse.ulg.ac.be/conferences/BAPSSEPEX/2012/). We particularly encourage Belgian-Spanish joint symposia. If you have a proposal for a joint symposium, we already invite you to inform us (by sending the symposium title and names and affiliations of foreseen speakers to smajerus@ulg.ac.be). As usual, topics from any field of psychological sciences are welcome.
• free reception and web access to Psychologica Belgica
• automatic affiliation to the Belgian Federation of Psychologists

Psychological science is an ever faster growing scientific domain, and so is also psychological science in Belgium. While traditional fields such as experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, psychopathology, neuropsychology, biological psychology, mathematical psychology and social psychology are firmly established in Belgium, with a solid international presence by Belgian scientists, it is also very exciting to see a strong involvement of Belgian scientists in new emerging fields, such as cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychopathology, social neuroscience, and affective neuroscience. These developments not only show that Belgian psychologists are ready to boldly go where no man has gone before, as some would say, but also that they manage to bridge scientific fields and to successfully work together in unprecedented, interdisciplinary configurations. The collaboration of cognitive psychologists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in the field of cognitive psychopathology is one example, while the marriage of cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and social psychologists in the field of social neuroscience is another remarkable example.

As you can easily understand, this is a privileged time to preside the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences (BAPS). Together with the other members of the executive committee, we will continue to provide platforms, activities and initiatives that facilitate and further stimulate the highly dynamic interactions between researchers in psychological sciences, at both national and international levels. Our aims are:

• ·  The organization of an annual conference for Belgian researchers to share their latest findings, for young researchers to give their first public scientific presentation; the aim of this conference is further to foster international contacts by inviting leading international researchers and psychological societies from other countries.
  ·  To publish Psychologica Belgica, the only Belgian journal dedicated to scientific psychology, and to increase its international recognition.
  ·  To support talented young researchers by organizing a Best Thesis Award for the best master’s thesis and by providing Best poster awards at the annual conference.
  ·  To keep Belgian psychologists informed about talks, seminars, conferences, job openings, etc. This is done via our mailing list.
  ·  To be the national and international representative of Belgian psychological research.

I look forward to working with you during the three coming years, and to accompany you on your quest to discover the new worlds of psychology.

The Belgian Psychological Society was founded in 1946 on the initiative of A. Michotte (read about the short review of the history of the society). Its purpose was and is still to bring together all persons living in Belgium who are interested in the scientific development of Psychology and its applications.

The previous constitution dated back to the mid seventies. So much had changed in the society at large that an update was badly needed. Therefore, the society considered the transition from a constitution to a non-profit organisation.

To conform the Belgian Law, a non-profit organisation needs to have its statutes published in the official government publications. The new statutes or constitution were voted for at the general assembly meeting, on May 5th, 2005. You can download the english version of the text. The rules of procedures are also available (click here).

Full membership in BAPS also makes you a member of the Belgian Federation of Psychology. This organization was founded in 1979 and coordinates the existing associations of psychologists. Its purpose is to safeguard the rights and professional interests of its members. Under the impulse of the Federation, the statute of the psychologist is now regulated by law, and rules of ethical conduct have been issued. The Belgian Federation of Psychology acts as a representative for its members when dealing with official bodies and other associations. Our organization has actively participated in the creation of the Belgian Federation of Psychology. As the task of the latter concerns the professional interest psychologists, the Society was able to concentrate better on its scientific task. The representatives of BAPS in the BFP are Celine Bayens (French side) and Frank Van Overwalle (Dutch side).

BAPS is officially represented in the National Committee for Psychological Sciences at the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Belgium. This comittee aims to promote Belgian cooperation with international and interdisciplinary projects initiated by the International Council of Scientific Unions and the International Union of Psychological Science. The Belgian Psychological Society is also a founding member of the International Union of Psychological science (I.U.Psy.S.). The I.U.Psy.S. was founded in 1951 and at present unites 51 national associations of psychology.

Up to two members of BAPS have been chosen as chairman of the I.U.Psy.S. The current president of the I.U.Psy.S. is Géry d'Ydewalle, the past-president of our society. The I.U.Psy.S. organizes the International Congress of Psychology every four years (1992 in Brussels, 1996 in Montreal, 2000 in Stockholm). All members of the Society are invited to take part in this conference. The I.U.Psy.S. also takes other initiatives to promote the international collaboration for the development of psychology as a science. As a member of the Society, you can purchase publications of the I.U.Psy.S. at a reduced price (International Directory of Psychologists, International Journal of Psychology, etc.). In July 1992, the Belgian Psychological Society organized the 25th International Congress of Psychology in Brussels. At that time, it had been well over a century ago that psychological science had begun to settle itself independently in Europe - notably in Belgium too (Brussels, Gent, Louvain, Liège). This meeting of considerable scientific importance was highly stimulating for the further growth of psychology in Belgium, from a societal as well as from a scientific point of view.

General BAPS mailing list

Members of the Society can exchange information through an electronic mailing list called "baps". At this point, the mailing list is essentially used to let interested parties know about seminars and conferences organized by members.

To subscribe to the BAPS mailing list, send an email to majordomo@vub.ac.be with the text Subscribe baps@listserv.vub.ac.be in the subject and the message part.

To unsubscribe from the BAPS mailing list, send an email to majordomo@vub.ac.be with the text Unsubscribe baps@listserv.vub.ac.be in the subject and the message part.

Send your messages of general interest to members of the Association by mailing them to: baps @ listserv vub ac be