After 1927, National Southeast University was renamed as National Central University. Mr Pan Wei returned to the United States and was hired as an associate professor of psychology. Six months later, he was promoted to professor and head of psychology department. 1949, Central University was renamed Nanjing University, with Pan Wei as the president. 1956, the Department of Psychology of Nanjing University moved to Beijing and merged with the Psychology Research Office of China Academy of Sciences to form the Institute of Psychology of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Pan Wei later became the director of the Institute of Psychology. At this point, the psychology department of Nanjing University was closed.

During 1993, the Department of Sociology of Nanjing University established the first institute of social psychology in colleges and universities in China, with Professor Zhai as the first director and Professor Zhai as the second director. Since then, the Institute has been placed under the Social and Cultural Research Center of Nanjing University.

In 2007, the Department of Sociology of Nanjing University opened a psychology major and began to recruit undergraduate and graduate students. In 2008, the Department of Sociology was changed to the School of Sociology, and the Department of Psychology, which had been closed for 50 years, was re-established. The postgraduate stage is divided into two directions: theoretical psychology and applied psychology, which belong to the School of Sociology. The first director was Professor Zhai.