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Psychology and Flourishing Humanity (PFH) 2026
I. Introduction and Background
The contemporary global landscape is undergoing a profound and multifaceted transformation — one characterized by the accelerating influence of digital technologies, escalating geopolitical tensions, and an increasingly fragile collective sense of psychological security. Societies worldwide are grappling with the psychological ramifications of prolonged uncertainty: the erosion of trust in institutional systems, the pervasive spread of misinformation across digital platforms, the existential weight of ongoing regional and international conflicts, and the emotional toll exacted by perpetual connectivity and information overload.
Within this complex milieu, the discipline of psychology is uniquely positioned — and indeed obligated — to offer not merely diagnostic frameworks for understanding human distress, but also constructive, evidence-based pathways toward psychological flourishing. Central to this endeavor is the concept of Psychological Capital (PsyCap), a well-established construct within positive psychology that encompasses four foundational capacities: self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism. When these capacities are cultivated and exercised through the lens of compassion — both self-directed and other-directed — they form what this conference designates as Compassionate Psychological Capital: a dynamic, relational form of inner resourcefulness that enables individuals, communities, and organizations to navigate adversity with both strength and care.
The Psychology Flourishing Humanity (PFH) 2026, organized by the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang (UIN Malang), serves as a premier annual international platform for the convergence of psychological scholarship, practice, and policy. This year's forum responds to the urgent intellectual and practical demands of the present historical moment by convening researchers, clinicians, educators, organizational practitioners, and social scientists from across Indonesia and the international community to collectively interrogate, theorize, and advance knowledge in the field of psychology under the theme: Compassionate Psychological Capital in the Age of Digital Uncertainty and Global Conflict.
This proposal outlines the rationale, objectives, thematic architecture, keynote engagements, scholarly submission guidelines, and logistical framework of PFH 2026, with the aim of inviting the broadest possible community of psychological scholars and practitioners to participate in what promises to be a transformative and critically timely academic exchange.
II. Conference Objectives
The Psychology Flourishing Humanity (PFH) 2026 is designed to achieve the following overarching objectives:
- To establish an inclusive, interdisciplinary, and international platform for the exchange of empirical research, theoretical frameworks, and applied insights across all major sub-disciplines of psychology.
- To critically examine the psychological dimensions of digital uncertainty, geopolitical conflict, and their intersecting effects on mental health, organizational dynamics, educational systems, and social cohesion.
- To advance the theoretical and practical development of Compassionate Psychological Capital as a coherent, integrative construct applicable across clinical, organizational, educational, and social psychological contexts.
- To foster collaborative networks among national and international scholars, practitioners, and policymakers committed to promoting psychological well-being in an era of global complexity.
- To produce a peer-reviewed conference proceeding that contributes substantively to the extant literature and informs evidence-based practice and policy in psychology.
III. Conference Theme and Conceptual Framework
The central theme of PFH 2026 invites scholarly inquiry into the intersection of compassion, psychological capital, and the unprecedented dual pressures of digital disruption and global armed conflict. The term 'digital uncertainty' encompasses the anxiety, disorientation, and existential risk generated by rapid technological change, algorithmic governance, AI-mediated realities, and the collapse of epistemic security in the digital age. 'Global conflict,' in turn, refers not only to ongoing armed conflicts but also to the broader spectrum of societal fractures — ideological polarization, economic precarity, forced displacement, and the psychological aftermath of collective trauma.
Against this backdrop, the concept of Compassionate Psychological Capital foregrounds the assertion that psychological strength — when decoupled from compassion — risks becoming individualistic, competitive, or exclusionary. Conversely, compassion that is not undergirded by psychological resilience, hope, and efficacy may collapse under the weight of empathic distress. PFH 2026 thus calls for a synthesis: an integrative framework in which self-efficacy is channeled toward prosocial ends, hope is cultivated in solidarity with others, resilience is forged through relational support, and optimism is tempered by critical awareness of structural inequity.
This theme is explored across four core sub-disciplinary tracks, each articulating distinct sub-themes that are elaborated in the following section.
IV. Sub-Themes by Discipline
The conference is organized across four disciplinary tracks. Each track addresses the central theme through field-specific lenses and welcomes original empirical, theoretical, and review contributions.
The clinical psychology track interrogates the therapeutic, diagnostic, and preventive dimensions of psychological distress as shaped by global conflict and digital transformation. Contributors are invited to examine how clinical frameworks, intervention modalities, and mental health systems must evolve to address the compounding vulnerabilities of contemporary populations. The sub-themes for this track are:
- Strengthening Intervention for Mental Health and Psychological Capital in Times of Global Conflict
- Preventing Psychological Disorders in the Digital Generation
The first sub-theme calls for empirical and applied contributions related to the strengthening of clinical and community-based interventions designed to build psychological capital — specifically resilience, hope, and self-efficacy — among populations affected by war, displacement, moral injury, and collective trauma. The second sub-theme focuses on the psychopathological risks unique to the digital generation, encompassing concerns such as screen addiction, cyberbullying, technology-induced anxiety and depression, identity fragmentation in digital spaces, and the development of evidence-based preventive programs.
The industrial and organizational psychology track addresses the profound transformations occurring in the world of work, with particular attention to the psychological implications of artificial intelligence integration, remote and hybrid work cultures, economic instability, and the imperative for organizational resilience and human sustainability. The sub-themes for this track are:
- Human Resource Strategies for Mental Health and Organizational Sustainability
- The Future of Work: Organizations in the AI-Driven Society
The first sub-theme invites scholarly contributions on the design and implementation of human resource practices — including compassionate leadership, psychologically safe work environments, burnout prevention, and well-being programs — that simultaneously support individual mental health and long-term organizational sustainability. The second sub-theme focuses on the existential and psychological challenges posed by AI-driven organizational transformation, including workforce displacement anxieties, human-machine collaboration, and the re-articulation of meaningful work in an automated society.
The educational psychology track examines the psychological dimensions of learning, development, and well-being within educational systems increasingly shaped by digital mediation, social disruption, and global uncertainty. Contributions are encouraged that advance our understanding of how learners, educators, and families can be supported in cultivating both academic and psychological flourishing. The sub-themes for this track are:
- Parental Support and Student Mental Health in Online Learning Environments
- Approaches to Positive Psychology and Flourishing Education in Uncertain Times
The first sub-theme explores the critical role of parental involvement, family dynamics, and home-school partnerships in supporting students' mental health within online and hybrid learning contexts, with attention to the challenges of digital fatigue, social isolation, and the erosion of academic motivation. The second sub-theme advances the application of positive psychology principles — including growth mindset, psychological safety, character strengths, and flourishing — to the design of educational environments that are responsive to the emotional and developmental needs of learners in conditions of uncertainty.
The social psychology track explores the dynamics of human interaction, identity, and community cohesion in the context of digital mediation, cultural plurality, and geopolitical fragmentation. It invites scholarly contributions that illuminate the social-psychological mechanisms underlying both the erosion and restoration of social trust, solidarity, and harmonious coexistence. The sub-theme for this track is:
- Strengthening Communication in Multicultural, Digital Polarization, Psychological Safety, and Social Harmony in the Digital Age
This sub-theme positions social psychology at the intersection of digital communication, multicultural coexistence, and psychological safety. It invites contributions on the mechanisms of digital polarization, the psychology of hate speech and online dehumanization, the cultivation of cross-cultural empathy and dialogue, and the development of community-based and digital interventions aimed at restoring social harmony and fostering inclusive, psychologically safe public spaces.
V. Keynote Speakers and Academic Program
PFH 2026 will feature a distinguished array of keynote speakers representing leading academic institutions from across the globe. The conference will open with a welcoming address by the Rector of UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang and a formal address by the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology. The academic program will include keynote lectures, parallel panel discussions, and paper presentation sessions organized by disciplinary track.
Confirmed and invited keynote speakers include scholars and researchers from the following institutions:
| Speaker / Representative | Institution / Country |
|---|---|
| Opening Speech by the Rector | UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesia |
| Welcoming Speech by the Dean of Faculty of Psychology | UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesia |
| Prof. Dr. Ali Ridho, M. Si | UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesia |
| Prof. Madya Dr. Jami’ah Manap | Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia (Psitra), Pensyarah Universiti, Malaysia |
| Prof. Judith Howard | Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, School of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia |
| Dr. Chiedu Eseadi | Department of Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa |
The international composition of keynote speakers underscores PFH 2026's commitment to fostering genuine cross-cultural dialogue and ensuring that the discourse on Compassionate Psychological Capital reflects a diversity of geopolitical, epistemological, and cultural perspectives.
VI. Paper Submission Guidelines
PFH 2026 welcomes original academic contributions in the form of empirical studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, theoretical papers, and evidence-based practice reports. All submissions must be in English, conform to the scientific standards of psychological scholarship, and align with one or more of the designated sub-themes of the conference.
Abstract Submission
- Abstracts must not exceed 300 words and should clearly state the research problem, methodology, key findings or arguments, and theoretical or practical implications.
- Authors must indicate the relevant disciplinary track (Clinical Psychology, Psychology of Industry and Organization, Educational Psychology, or Social Psychology) at the time of submission.
- Abstracts should be submitted in English via the official conference submission portal.
- All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review process conducted by a multidisciplinary review panel.
Full Paper Submission
- Upon acceptance notification, authors are invited to submit full papers in accordance with the conference manuscript guidelines (to be provided upon acceptance).
- Full papers will be published in the official conference proceedings, subject to satisfactory completion of the review and revision process.
- Selected papers of exceptional scholarly merit may be recommended for publication in affiliated peer-reviewed journals.
VIII. Closing Statement
The Psychology Flourishing Humanity (PFH) 2026 represents a significant and timely contribution to the global psychological community's efforts to make sense of, and respond constructively to, the profound challenges of our age. In response to Compassionate Psychological Capital — a construct that integrates the positive psychology tradition with an ethic of care and relational responsibility — PFH 2026 affirms that the advancement of psychological science must remain inseparable from a commitment to human dignity, social justice, and the flourishing of all people, regardless of geographic, cultural, or political circumstance.
We cordially and warmly invite psychologists, researchers, clinicians, educators, organizational practitioners, students, and policy advocates from across the world to join us in Malang, Indonesia, in October 2026. Together, we will advance knowledge, forge meaningful scholarly connections, and contribute to a more compassionate and psychologically resilient world.
Organizing Committee
Psychology Flourishing Humanity 2026
Faculty of Psychology, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Malang, East Java, Indonesia
