Carrying the light forward: Honouring Professor Li Liu's vision for Asian Social Psychology

It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Professor Li Liu (刘力), President of the Asian Association of Social Psychology (AASP), distinguished social psychologist and cherished teacher, colleague and friend. Professor Liu passed away on 29 October 2025 at the age of 62. His departure is a profound loss to AASP and the global community of social psychologists, and especially to the many students and scholars whose lives he touched. Born in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, in November 1962, Professor Liu's academic journey began at Beijing Normal University (BNU), where he completed his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1983 and his master's degree in education in 1987. He later received his PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2003. His training in both China and the United Kingdom shaped a scholarly identity deeply grounded in cultural sensitivity, theoretical rigour and a commitment to international dialogue. Professor Liu explored central questions of social life: trust and cooperation, group identities and intergroup relations, corruption and public ethics, collective narratives and the psychological foundations of social change. His work demonstrated that social psychology has meaning only when it remains connected to the lived experience of society. He showed how psychological processes are embedded in history, institutions and culture, and how these contexts shape collective meaning-making. In recent years, Professor Liu became one of the pioneering voices exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and social psychology. His insight ensured that Asian social psychology would not merely observe this societal transformation, but actively help to guide it. He published several influential papers in leading social psychology journals that examined how humans perceive and respond to AI, how algorithmic systems shape social norms and moral reasoning, and how the rise of AI reshapes the conditions of human relatedness. Indeed, on the very day of his passing, his article ‘Agentic and Communal Motivations Underlying Human-AI Interactions’, written with his former student Associate Professor Jianning Dang, was published in the Asian Journal of Social Psychology, highlighting his active work in the field. Through his research, teaching and mentorship, he helped define Asian social psychology not as an extension of Western frameworks, but as a grounded, confident and evolving scholarly tradition. His influence is visible across many domains of psychological research and in the generations of scholars he trained and inspired. Professor Liu had been an unflagging and influential supporter of the Asian Association of Social Psychology. His journey with AASP began when he served as Conference Chair for the 9th Biennial AASP Conference in Kunming in 2011, a landmark event that strengthened the role of China within the regional scholarly community. His professional leadership roles within the organization included serving as President from July to October 2025, President Elect from 2023 to 2025, Secretary General from 2015 to 2019, Regional Representative for East Asia from 2013 to 2015, and Representative-at-Large for China from 2011 to 2013. In addition to his organizational contributions, Professor Liu has made significant scholarly impacts on AASP as a journal editor. He was instrumental in forging collaborative relationships between AASP and the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, for which he has served as Co-Editor-in-Chief since 2015. He also served as a Special Issue Editor for the Asian Journal of Social Psychology in 2010, and served on the editorial board from 2014 to 2024. In his Presidential Address in July 2025, Professor Liu articulated a powerful vision for our shared future: Advancing Asian social psychology from a ‘third force’ to a leading force in global psychological science. He believed Asian scholarship must not only respond to global developments but also lead them with humility, cultural groundedness and an unwavering sense of social responsibility. Professor Liu also played an essential role in strengthening the connection between AASP and the Chinese Association of Social Psychology (CASP), ensuring that scholarly exchange would be reciprocal, meaningful and sustainable. His leadership style was warm, relational and quietly steady; he drew people together not through authority, but through sincerity and trust. I came to know Professor Liu in 2019 at the AASP Conference in Taipei, where he was serving as Secretary General and I was serving as Treasurer. From that time onwards, we worked closely together. In the course of this collaboration, he became not only a respected colleague, but a truly 良师益友, a teacher who guided with patience and generosity and a friend who supported with warmth and sincerity. It was Professor Liu who encouraged me to step forward into AASP leadership and nominated me as a candidate for President-Elect in 2025, believing that we each share a responsibility for carrying our field forward. He also encouraged me to consider organizing the AASP 2027 Conference in Australia, and recommended James Cook University as the host institution. It was his quiet confidence and steady reassurance that gave me the courage to say yes to both responsibilities. He told me that he would walk alongside me, offering his experience and guidance. His sudden passing leaves a gap that I am still learning to carry. Yet the vision he shared continues to guide us. We, as his colleagues, students and friends, will work together to make the 2027 AASP Conference a gift to his memory: A gathering grounded in scholarship, community, humility and hope that are the very values he lived. In carrying this work forward, we also carry his steadfast, enduring light into the future of our field. We will remember his clarity of thought, his gentle humour, his deep patience and the unhurried care with which he encouraged others to grow. His presence shaped our professional paths and touched our lives. His absence is profound. And yet, the light he shared continues in all of us. We mourn him with grief, respect and enduring gratitude. May he rest in peace. Kuang-Hui Yeh Academia Sinica, Taiwan I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Professor Liu Li. I first met him at the Asian Association of Social Psychology (AASP) Conference in New Zealand, where he left a lasting impression on me with his gentle and refined scholarly demeanour, his sincerity and courtesy, his breadth of knowledge and his meticulous sense of responsibility. Later, when Professor Liu—then serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology (JPRP)—invited me to join the editorial team as an associate editor to assist with peer review, I accepted without hesitation. Working with him was consistently rewarding. His leadership was thoughtful and collegial, and I learned a great deal from our collaboration. Most recently, in July of this year, we met again at the AASP Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He graciously invited me to a dinner gathering with several colleagues. Over the course of that evening, we celebrated his step down as president of AASP and exchanged ideas about the future direction of JPRP. His vision for the journal was both ambitious and grounded, reflecting his enduring commitment to advancing the field. Professor Liu's sudden departure is a profound loss to our scholarly community. I will always remember him with deep respect, gratitude and fondness. May his soul rest in peace. Huajian Cai University of Oklahoma I first met Professor Liu in late 2009 in Beijing, during my defence for the ‘Hundred Talents Program’ at the Institute of Psychology. He was one of the reviewers. At that time, I knew little about Beijing's psychology community and had just stepped into social psychology. I did not realize that Professor Liu was among the very few in China with a PhD in social psychology from a world-class university abroad. During the defence, some questioned whether a ‘homegrown’ PhD like me was qualified for the programme. Professor Liu was one of the few who firmly supported me. That brief encounter left me with an impression of grace and humility. Looking back, I remain deeply grateful—without his vote of confidence, my career might have taken a very different path. Months later, he invited me to a summer workshop organized by Beijing Normal University's social psychology group. I was the only outsider present, and I felt honoured. Those 2 days were transformative. I witnessed his humour, wisdom and warmth, and felt the strength of a close-knit academic community. That workshop marked the beginning of friendships that have lasted to this day. Professor Liu not only helped me enter the Institute of Psychology but also welcomed me into Beijing's social psychology family. To this day, I wonder what I did to deserve such kindness. In the summer of 2011, we attended a conference in Hawaii and even shared a room. Those days brought us closer. One night, we sat by the ocean, talking until the early hours—about research, life, mentoring, the future of Chinese psychology, East–West academic differences and so on. His passion for scholarship and his vision for China's psychology left a deep impression on me. Over the next decade, we met often. Every conversation was rich and inspiring. Yet I saw him grow busier—his research broadened, his projects multiplied and his service to the field deepened. As editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, he dreamed of elevating it to Q1 status, so that China could have a world-class psychology journal. Our last contact was on 19 October, 10 days before his sudden passing away. I had given a talk at Ohio University, where one of his former students teaches. I sent him photos and tried to call, but he did not answer (he was in the ER, though I did not know then). Much later, he replied: ‘Hello Professor Cai, if your cultural survey article were published? Please send it for me to read’. Even in his final moments, his mind was on research. What kind of scholar is this—thinking of learning and reading in the emergency room? Jianning Dang Beijing Normal University It was in 2014, while searching for a doctoral programme, that I first came across Professor Li Liu through his homepage. One of his areas of expertise—intergroup relations—captured my interest. I gathered the courage to send him an email, and to my delight, he replied promptly and invited me to meet in person. That autumn, we met in his office. Our conversation was so engaging and warm that by the end, both of us knew instinctively that I was meant to be his student. I consider myself profoundly fortunate to have become his PhD student in September 2015. He generously supported my research on group entitativity. In 2016, he invited me to serve as the Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology. Most of our interactions revolved around academic work and journal development, and I came to understand deeply his passion for research and his commitment to advancing psychology in China. Starting in July 2019, our relationship evolved to colleagues. We held joint weekly seminars and co-taught a graduate course. In his typically humble manner, he even sat in my lectures on research methods and academic writing in 2020 and 2023, listening with the same attentiveness as any eager student. After one such session, he shared words I shall forever hold dear: that I was the very student who had not only absorbed all his academic insights but also elevated them to new heights. From 2019, we delved into the social psychology of AI. Our discussions were always illuminating, and his innovative thinking continued to inspire me at every turn. He offered invaluable suggestions on research conceptualization and dedicated meticulous attention to every draft of our co-authored papers. When Professor Liu fell ill in September 2025, I felt a profound sense of despair. I had never once imagined pursuing my academic journey without him by my side. During his home recovery, he often discussed with me via WeChat, sharing his plans for the future. He hoped to step back from some of his duties as President of both the Asian Association of Social Psychology and the Chinese Association of Social Psychology, eager to dedicate more time to research. I wholeheartedly supported this decision, knowing well how much he had already dedicated to these organizations over the years. On 24 October 2025, I delivered a talk at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, presenting our recent work on AI user aversion. After the talk, he called me and said he was proud of me—and once again told me that our collaboration had brought his academic life to full vitality. I replied that I, too, was proud of him, and that I looked forward to his continued guidance. He promised me he would come back. Tragically, he passed away just 5 days later. On the very day of his passing, our article, ‘Agentic and Communal Motivations Underlying Human–AI Interactions’, was published in the Asian Journal of Social Psychology—marking our last joint contribution to the field. To me, Professor Liu was more than a mentor—he was a dear friend. He passed on to me his intellect, generosity and indomitable spirit, raising me up to more than I can be. He treats me as his best student and collaborator, and I will forever be honoured to have known him and worked alongside him over the past 10 years.