The Collaborative Research Center of the Institute of Psychology and the University of Michigan coordinates the cooperative work between the Institute of Psychology and University of Michigan in psychological studies, exchanges and training. Some joint cross-cultural projects have been carried out. The University of Michigan sends professors and students to the Institute of Psychology for a short-term working visit every year. This training program began in 1994.

Beginning in 1979 it became possible to conduct collaborative projects with Chinese psychologists.  The first Chinese psychologist to leave China following the end of the Cultural Revolution was Qicheng Jing, Deputy Director of the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Jing was Michigan's first Visiting Scholar from China after the Cultural Revolution. Since that time we have developed the Collaborative Research Center at the Institute, established a faculty exchange program with the Department of Psychology of Peking University, and worked collaboratively with Institute researchers in training minority students from Michigan in various areas of behavioral and biological development.  Several dozen of China's leading psychologists have participated as Visiting Scholars at Michigan's Department of Psychology and its Center for Human Growth and Development.  In turn, several dozen of Michigan's leading psychologists have served as visiting scholars at the the Collaborative Research Center and the Peking University Department of Psychology.  Throughout these years support has come from the University of Michigan and many hundreds of thousands of dollars of research funds obtained from various agencies of the U. S. government.

Currently, a number of major projects are underway, ranging from kindergarten children's understanding of mathematics to the changes in cognitive abilities of the aged.  In addition to such projects dealing with the psychological analysis of cognitive abilities are studies of techniques for preparing unemployed workers for new jobs, language development, Professor Jing will visit Michigan again in May and over a dozen of Michigan's faculty members and at least six graduate students will visit China in July to attend the biennial meetings of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development.