Knox College
Psi Chi

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology founded in 1929 to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship and advance the study of psychology. and advancing the science of psychology. Graduate and undergraduate men and women making the study of psychology one of their primary academic interests and who meet certain qualifications are invited to join. Psi Chi is affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS), and Psi Chi has a sister honor society, Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community colleges and junior colleges.

Psi Chi now has more than 360,000 members from 940 chapters around the world. The national headquarters is in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Psi Chi is governed by a National Council of its members, distinguished psychologists that guide the society's affairs. Psi Chi publishes a quarterly magazine Eye on Psi Chi and the national quarterly journal, the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research.

The advantages of joining Psi Chi are numerous. Some of the benefits include: national recognition for academic excellence in psychology, a nationwide forum for learning about the field of psychology, student research opportunities, a network of professional colleagues, an undergraduate subscription to Eye on Psi Chi, and a lifetime membership in the national honor society for psychology.

Late one night in 1927, two students were doing psychology research at the University of Kansas. Trying hard to stay awake, Frederick Lewis and Edwin Newman eventually met over a hot drink. They were discussing the state of psychology when Lewis unhappily noted that there was no national student organization in psychology. Newman agreed and challenged Lewis to do something about it.

At the regional APA meeting in Madison, Wisconsin during May of 1928, a committee was formed to determine if there was sufficient interest in a national psychology organization. The committee sent a mail survey to major colleges and universities; despite a fair amount of negative comments, the committee concluded there was a need for the organization. An assembly was called at the December 1928 APA convention at Columbia University. After a lively discussion, the assembly formed a National Council for Psychological Fraternity to either develop a plan of organization or vote the group out of existence.

Council members began working on a constitution, which was tentatively approved at a May 1929 meeting in Urbana, Illinois. Final acceptance took place on September 4, 1929, at the Ninth International Congress of Psychology held at Yale University. Representatives of 11 departments and proxies of three other departments signed the charter establishing the society. Signing institutions were:

University of Chicago, Iowa State College, University of Nebraska, University of Southern California, University of Denver, Wittenberg College, State College of Washington, Ohio University, University of Kansas, Rutgers University, University of Arkansas, Drake University, University of Alabama, and University of California, Los Angeles.

Eight other institutions were granted charter member status in the next year. Seven received this status by joining before Jan. 1, 1930, and Penn State was later granted the status by vote of the 21 members. The other eight charter members were:

Nebraska Wesleyan University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wyoming, University of Georgia, University of Montana, University of Washington, Washington and Lee University, and Pennsylvania State University

If you would like to learn more about the history of Psi Chi, read the detailed accounts of the

History of Psi Chi by John D. Hogan and Virginia Sexton from which this information was obtained.