On the afternoon of November 15, 2025, the 137th session of the Gao Juefu Psychology Lecture was held in Lecture Hall 108 of the School of Psychology at Nanjing Normal University. The lecture, titled “Pursuing Success and Confronting Failure: Psychological Research on Primary and Secondary Control,” was delivered by Professor Gai Xiaosong, Dean of the School of Psychology at Northeast Normal University. Professor Liu Guoxiong from Nanjing Normal University, School of Psychology chaired the session.

 

Professor Gai Xiaosong serves as Dean of the School of Psychology at Northeast Normal University. He is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, and currently sits on the Teaching Steering Committee for Psychology Programs under the Ministry of Education and serves as Vice Chair of the Developmental Psychology Committee of the Chinese Psychological Society. His primary research focuses on children's executive function training, adolescent positive development, and social-emotional learning. He has led over 30 research projects, including national education science planning initiatives, and published more than 100 papers in journals. His book, the Positive Psychology, received the Third Prize in the Sixth National Educational Science Research Outstanding Achievement Awards. The textbook was selected as a provincial-level planned textbook for undergraduate education in Jilin Province during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and the corresponding course was recognized as a national-level first-class undergraduate course.

 

Professor Gai Xiaosong, while introducing psychological research on primary and secondary control, delved into topics such as learning growth trajectories, reading methodologies, theoretical model learning, and knowledge transformation capabilities. Drawing upon his own research and teaching experience, he provided students with systematic and practical advice for learning and development.

 

At the outset of the lecture, Professor Gai analyzed the shift in college students' learning attitudes from the perspective of changing times. He noted that contemporary students face a shift from idealism to realism, with mounting pressures from employment and survival reducing space for non-utilitarian learning. He encouraged students to maintain a pure pursuit of knowledge amid these pressures and to build a systematic knowledge framework in psychology. Regarding knowledge construction, Professor Gai systematically outlined learning priorities for undergraduate and graduate stages: Undergraduates should master fundamental concepts and principles; while graduate studies involve delving into secondary disciplines, though cautioning against overly narrow specialization.

 

In his reading recommendations, Professor Gai advised students to track psychology book sales rankings via e-commerce platforms and analyzed the themes and value of bestsellers like The Crowd and Inferiority and Superiority. He emphasized selecting classic works while avoiding misleading books on topics like “mind-reading” or “micro-expression control.” He also recommended several psychology classics on-site, including The Theory of Personality Formation and Neurotic Personality in Our Time, covering areas such as individual development, social psychology, and counseling therapy.

 

Regarding theoretical model learning, Professor Gai pointed out that theoretical models are crucial modules for integrating psychological knowledge. He advised students to systematically study theories of happiness, value models, personality theories, and motivation theories, while sharing methods for learning theoretical models through literature retrieval systems.

 

Finally, using teacher education as an example, Professor Gai emphasized the critical importance of knowledge translation skills. Through vivid case studies like the “clock model” and “future-oriented writing,” he demonstrated how abstract psychological theories can be transformed into teaching activities suitable for students of different age groups, showcasing the deep integration of academic research and educational practice.

Beyond introducing psychological research on primary and secondary control, Professor Gai Xiao Song delved into topics including learning growth trajectories, reading methodologies, theoretical model acquisition, and knowledge translation capabilities. Drawing from his research and teaching experience, he provided students with systematic and practical advice for learning and development.

 

During the Q&A session, participating students actively posed questions on topics such as motivation cultivation, self-transcendence, and social interests. Professor Gai Xiaosong responded to each inquiry by drawing on theories from scholars like Adler and Fromm, creating a lively atmosphere.

 

This lecture delivered substantive content and profound insights, combining theoretical depth with practical guidance. It provided valuable references for learning and growth paths to the faculty and students in attendance, while also offering useful reflections on the future direction of psychology education.