DOI:10.6129/CJP.201912_61(4).0003
Chinese Journal of Psychology 2019, Vol.61, No.4, 295-320

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology in TaiwanObserving the Case of the Department of Psychology at NTU

Jong-Tsun Huang（Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University）；Shojiro Sakurai（Department of Psychology, Kaohsiung Medical University）；Man-Ying Wang（Department of Psychology, Soochow University）

Abstract

This article celebrates the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Chinese Journal of Psychology (CJP, previously the Acta Psychological Taiwanica) by providing a selective overview of experimental and cognitive psychology issues in Taiwan. The discussion is limited within the context of the Department of Psychology at National Taiwan University (NTU) where CJP was first published and continued for a long time. Under this context, we first looked into the dawning age of experimental psychology in Taiwan. Upon the launch of Taihoku Imperial University, the seventh of the Japanese Imperial Universities in series, in 1928, Taipei, Taiwan, a number of psychological research apparatus were acquired to echo with the then internationally trendy German Gestalt psychology thoughts and experimentation. However, this early start of experimental psychology in Taiwan was soon replaced by the subsequent research emphasis on the specifics of Taiwanese aborigines due to a Southern Expansion Policy of Japan. The research on Taiwanese aborigines was continued by the Department of Psychology at NTU after the replacement of Japanese rule by the current government. The experimental psychology research regained access to topics of international influence and indigenous uniqueness (e.g., the study of the cognitive processing of Chinese characters). An international research trend was gradually formed in Taiwan. This article examined research by the Department of Psychology at NTU on visual perception, cognitive processing of Chinese characters, attention and memory, behavioral decision making and others. The experimental psychology in Taiwan has been evolved to accommodate both international research trends as well as those highlighting indigenously meaningful topics. The Chinese Journal of Psychology will continue to play a critical role on these emerging studies.

Keywords: experimental and cognitive psychology, indigenous research, international academic interaction, National Taiwan University, Taihoku Imperial University