| Association for Psychological Science | |
|---|---|
| Formation | August 12, 1988 [1] |
| Headquarters |
1133 15th Street NW, Suite 1000 |
| Membership | 23,000 |
| President | Douglas L. Medin |
| Website | http://www.psychologicalscience.org |
The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare. APS is dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology and its representation globally. To this end, APS publishes several high-impact journals, holds annual meetings, disseminates psychological science research findings to the general public, and works with policymakers to strengthen support for scientific psychology.
The current president (2011–2012) is Douglas L. Medin, Northwestern University and the President-Elect is Joseph Steinmetz, The Ohio State University. The Immediate Past President is Mahzarin R. Banaji, Harvard University. The executive director is Alan G. Kraut.
Contents |
The APS was founded in 1988 by a group of scientifically-oriented researchers and practitioners who felt that the American Psychological Association (APA), psychology’s parent organization, could no longer adequately meet their needs, and had effectively “become a guild”.[2] This breakaway effort was not a unique event in the history of organized psychology, for the founding of the APS represents only the most recent instantiation of long-standing intra-disciplinary tensions that have characterized the field since APA’s inception in 1892 (see [2] for a more detailed account). Organized psychology has always represented various constituencies, and beginning in the 1970s, there were several attempts to restructure the organization in an effort to mitigate internal tensions and satisfy the needs of a heterogeneous group. In 1987, the Assembly for Scientific and Applied Psychologists (ASAP) formed to support another reorganization effort, but ultimately this reorganization plan was rejected by the APA membership in early 1988. As a consequence, in August 1988, the ASAP became the APS.[3]
APS grew quickly, surpassing 5,000 members in its first six months. Today, more than 23,000 psychological scientists in the United States and abroad, whose specialties span the entire spectrum of scientific, applied, and teaching specialties, are members of the Association.[4]
APS has more than 23,000 members and includes the leading psychological scientists and academics, clinicians, researchers, teachers, and administrators. Approximately 20% of APS members are students of psychology, most pursuing graduate degrees. APS comprises members from every discipline in the field of psychology, in more than 65 countries.
The APS Student Caucus (APSSC) is a representative body of the student affiliates of the Association for Psychological Science. All graduate and undergraduate student affiliates of APS automatically become a member of the APSSC. Opportunities for involvement include serving as a Campus Representative, reviewing for research competitions, or publishing work in the “Student Notebook” and “Undergraduate Update” student publications.
The APSSC presents a wide array of programming for students and early-career professionals each year at the APS Annual Convention.
The first APS meeting was held in 1989, less than one year after the organization was founded. George Armitage Miller’s Keynote Address, “The Place of Language in a Scientific Psychology,” set the foundation for future APS meetings as a place to present new research, but also a forum for discussion and idea exchange.
The APS Annual Convention is vital to the APS mission by promoting research and education across all areas of psychological science, and increasing public understanding, support, and use of the knowledge produced by psychological science.
Prior to the start of the APS Annual Convention is a Teaching Institute co-sponsored by APS and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
APS publicizes psychology research in an effort to increase public understanding of psychological science. The APS website serves as a news portal for psychological science, distilling research results for a general audience, while maintaining a scientific approach to the field. In addition, Wray Herbert, APS Writer-in-residence, writes the blog, "We're Only Human" which is also printed in Scientific American Mind. A version of his blog appears on Huffington Post.
APS began a Wikipedia Initiative[8] in February 2011, calling on APS members and their students to write, edit and update Wikipedia entries, with a focus on improving the scope and quality of the coverage of psychological science.
A founding principle of the organization is a dedication to supporting the teaching of psychological science. The APS Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science, established through the support of an endowment from the David & Carol Myers Foundation, supports activities that enhance education and communication in the scientific and academic sectors in psychology. APS publishes the monthly “Teaching Tips” column in Observer, co sponsors an annual Teaching Institute in conjunction with the APS Annual Convention, and sponsors and underwrites members’ attendance at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology each year. High school teachers of psychology may receive a complimentary online subscription to Current Directions in Psychological Science, which includes articles particularly well suited to classroom use. APS Classroom Use Policy: There is no reprint, copyright fee, or permission required for the use of any APS article for any teaching, classroom, or educational activity, provided that no resale occurs.
APS was established in large part to provide a strong and separate voice for psychological science. From its founding, APS has advocated for funding for basic and applied behavioral research by educating federal science policymakers about the role of behavioral science in health, education, productivity and other areas of national concern. APS led the efforts to establish the following programs:
APS also publishes the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest which provides policy-makers and a non-psychology audience with a scientific perspective on issues of direct relevance to the general public.
APS is an international organization with members from more than 79 countries. APS is a home to psychological science’s subdisciplines as well as research that crosses disciplinary and geographic boundaries. Each year, the APS Annual Convention brings together psychological scientists and educators from around the globe for cross-cutting programs spanning the discipline. In 2009, APS and nine European subdisciplinary societies met to discuss the international promotion of research and education in psychological science. That meeting identified several broad goals: Advancing the internationalization of psychological science across geographical boundaries, furthering public interest in and awareness of psychological science and its policy implications, furthering cross-talk between sub-fields within psychological science, and influencing agenda-setting and funding policy at supranational levels. As part of that effort, APS jointly sponsors programs at the meetings of several European societies. An oversight committee of world-renown psychological researchers has been formed to continue this effort and develop new programs. The mission statement of that group is: