Editorial: Psychology in the Public Forum.

With this issue, I am pleased to announce a new section of the American Psychologist entitled "Psychology in the Public Forum," with Patrick H. DeLeon as the associate editor for this section. Psychology in the Public Forum intends to provide psychologists with perspectives concerning the public arenas in which psychology must exist. Such a forum approach should aid our understanding of those public issues that both affect psychology and provide opportunities for psychologists to bring their expertise to bear as scientists, as practitioners, and as educators. I am very pleased to have two quite distinct articles appearing this month to inaugurate this section. Senator McGovern provides a broad-ranging view from a 20- to 30-year perspective of a number of intertwined issues that have in his view influenced the course of our society, and Mary G. Hager covers science and health in the Washington area for Newsweek magazine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the Law Enforcement Officer.

This item discusses the role of the police officer in society and the impact psychology has had upon the development of public attitudes toward the police officer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the Public Forum: Alcoholism--Introduction and Overview.

Introduces this month's "Psychology in the Public Forum" section, which is devoted to alcoholism in the effort to spotlight contributions by psychologists to enhanced understanding of alcoholism and the alcoholic. They have been asked to contribute to this issue of the American Psychologist because their work has been influential in altering unhelpful views on alcoholism, offering a new and clearer picture of the determinants of alcoholism, or developing approaches to more efficacious therapeutic management of the alcoholic. All are activities in which the contributions of psychologists have been important. There are nine articles in this edition of "Psychology in the Public Forum." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contribution by a Psychologist in the Public Interest Gold Medal Award: Kenneth B. Clark.

Kenneth B. Clark is recognized for his long and distinguished career in promoting the public interest. He has been a pioneer in defending the civil rights of his fellow man, as well as a renowned analyst of the human condition. It is also noted that he has the distinct honor of being chosen a second time to receive the Psychological Public Interest Award. In addition to the citation, a biography is presented of Clark's life, as well as his contributions to psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the Public Forum: The Psychologist and Organized Labor.

Provides an overview of the articles in this section, which illustrate the growing interest in the potential contribution of psychologists to labor unions and their members. The authors attempt to provide an international perspective, a summary of ongoing activities within organized psychology, and an illustrative case of a mutually beneficial relationship between psychology and labor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Public Image of Psychology.

Comment on the public image of psychology. It is suggested that an alarming and distasteful image of psychologists is in the process of being formed as a by-product of the Era of the Corruption of Things Psychological. This era has been ushered in by our neglect of public relations, by the Sunday-supplement popularity of the mysteries of the mind, and by the discovery that psychological means of influencing behavior are a highly salable commodity in the nonacademic market place. As psychologists expand and refine their techniques for control of human behavior, the urgency of this problem of public relations will increase accordingly. This demands something more than the tranquilizing effect of an APA symposium on the Ethics of the Application of Psychology or the soporific of a prestige-laden committee to define the nature of the problem. We would be well-served by a simple tithing of the time, energy, and resources we now devote to the internecine conflicts with other helping sciences. Ideally, the perception others have of us ought to be a prime order of business for the leaders of every division of psychology, and participation in a design for public education ought to be as automatic a contribution to our mutual well-being as the paying of annual dues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest: Michael J. Saks.

The Awards for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest recognize persons who, in the opinion of the Committee on Psychology in the Public Interest Awards, have advanced psychology as a science and/or profession by a single extraordinary achievement or a lifetime of outstanding contributions in the public interest. Michael J. Saks, one of the 1987 recipients, is recognized for successfully bringing psychological knowledge to bear on a wide range of legal and public policy concerns. Through his empirical research and creative applications of basic psychological research and theory, he has contributed to our knowledge of psychosocial assumptions in diverse areas of the law. As one of the rare psychologists who thinks like a lawyer, he has helped to increase the social sensitivity of the legal community and the legal and ethical sensitivity of the psychological community, with tremendous benefit to the public interest. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of Saks' work are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental Psychology and Public Policy: Progress and Prospects.

This article outlines a framework for developmentally oriented policy research. Drawing from U. Bronfenbrenner's (1995) dynamic developmental systems theory, the authors suggest ways in which the key tenets of process, persons, context, and time can inform policy research in developmental psychology and can be used to support a causal interpretation of the results of those analyses. Conceptualizing public policies from a dynamic developmental systems perspective has a variety of implications for future research, and this article considers some of these implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wellness Promotion in Persons With Disabilities: Physicians' Personal Behaviors, Attitudes, and Practices.

Objective: To examine physicians' attitudes, personal wellness behaviors, and wellness promotion practices with their patients who were living with a disability. Design and Participants: A 20-item survey was mailed to 1,200 physicians from a national stratified random sample. Responses were received from 417 physicians (34.8% response rate). Results: Physicians who reported engaging in high levels of wellness promotion with their patients with disabilities rated wellness promotion as more important and reported feeling more competent and responsible. Several barriers and incentives to wellness promotion were reported. Conclusions: Physicians' attitudes and perceived competencies may influence their wellness promotion activities with their patients with disabilities. Medical training modules and other methods may increase physicians' wellness promotion activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and manpower policy.

Outlines 5 contributions made by psychology to manpower policy: (1) the public has been encouraged to adopt a more humane attitude toward people who are ineffective; (2) the public has acquired a positive stance toward the amelioration of social and human ills, particularly through reliance on education, but also through other approaches including supportive services; (3) psychology's study of the distribution of human attributes has contributed substantially to the decline in discrimination toward women, Negroes, and others who were formerly beyond the pale; (4) psychology has led to more constructive views and behavior with regard to the rearing of children and development of young people; and (5) psychology has thrown a searchlight on the critical importance of work for individual and social integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Special issue introduction: Psychology, politics, and public policy.

As evidenced by the eclecticism of this collection of essays, the history of psychology is ripe with possibilities for additional research into the interplay of politics and public policy on the development of the discipline and its practice. After all, as this collection makes clear, a more complete rendering of the history of psychology must make sense of the profession’s longstanding immersion in politics and public policy—indeed, of its being as much a political and policymaking project as an intellectual one. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest: Urie Bronfenbrenner.

The Awards for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest recognize persons who, in the opinion of the Committee on Psychology in the Public Interest Awards, have advanced psychology as a science and/or profession by a single extraordinary achievement or a lifetime of outstanding contributions in the public interest. Urie Bronfenbrenner, a 1987 winner, is cited for his notable contributions to human welfare as a leading student of child development, an effective advocate of humane public policy toward children and families, and a sensitive participant in Soviet-American relations and perceptive interpreter of them. His attention to the complexity of the social context of childhood transformed perspectives in developmental psychology and greatly enriched psychological inquiries into child and family policy, including his own pioneering cross-cultural research on day care and child care policies. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of his works are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public Health and Psychology: An Important, Expanding Interaction.

The authors opine that the behavioral sciences and the field of psychology are absolutely vital in meeting the nation's needs regarding health and health policy. Psychologists have become increasingly involved in health psychology, as reflected by the establishment and rapid growth of Division 38 (Health Psychology). This expansion of psychologists' involvement in physical health research and intervention has led to increased contact between psychologists and nurses, public health experts, and nonpsychiatric physicians. With such contact, psychologists are being recruited into the faculties of schools of nursing, schools of public health, and schools of medicine. This article examines aspects of psychology's role in, involvement with, and contribution to one sector of this arena--public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and policy around the world: Widening psychology’s sphere of influence.

This edition of Psychology in the Public Forum focuses on social and professional psychological concerns that transcend national borders. As psychologists become more attuned to issues beyond academia and the clinic, the etiological importance of socioeconomic conditions influencing human behavior is attracting increasing recognition. The articles that follow suggest that, in the years ahead, psychologists will have increasing opportunities to develop or participate in research and service activities with longer term potential for affecting the well-being of society. There will be a growing emphasis on determining not only why something is so but how it can be changed, how quickly, and at what cost. Policymakers will seek recommendations for decisions, not just scientific conclusions—and the two are not necessarily the same. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awards for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest.

This article reports on the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, which is given by the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest annually to two individuals who have advanced psychology as a science and/or profession by a single extraordinary achievement or a lifetime of outstanding contributions in the public interest. This year's recipients are Maria P. P. Root and James G. Kelly. Root received the citation for her outstanding research, writing, and overall contribution to the public policy discourse on the topic of race, with particular emphasis on racially mixed people, relationships, and identities. Kelly was cited for important contributions to the public interest as a rigorous scholar, an examiner of values, and a respecter and protector of the rights and needs of public consumers of psychology. For both winners a citation, biography, and selected bibliography of their work are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association for the Advancement of Psychology: 1983.

This article describes the public policy activities in Congress of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP), which is the recognized independent national advocacy arm of American psychology, representing the interests of psychology in the public policy arena. AAP's public policy activities in Congress continued to focus on the elimination of discrimination with regard to the treatment of mental illness and mental health professionals, increased federal funding of behavioral and social science research and research training, and the protection of constitutional rights without exception. AAP activities included working with other mental health advocacy groups to urge Congress to enact fiscal 1984 appropriations measures favorable to psychology, lobbying for various child-related federal programs in 1983, and legislation drafted by the AAP to eliminate current discrimination between physical and mental health benefits for the 10 million federal employees, annuitants, and families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

National Psychology Awards for Excellence in the Media.

National Psychology Awards for Excellence in the Media are given for outstanding performance in communicating psychology to the public. The winners of the awards in the following categories are presented: sustained contribution, book, magazine, radio, television/film, television/drama/entertainment, and honorable mentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the Contemporary World.

Comments on the article by McCleod (see record 1965-13328-001). The current author agrees that the psychological community needs to devote a lot of energy, talent, and wealth to the real challenges of the day. He suggests that one solution may be to have the American Psychological Association (or a Federal agency) sponsor a series of monographs and/or symposia on the challenges of the contemporary world and the contributions that psychology can make in meeting these challenges. If the profession took the initiative in trying to meet the challenges of the day, the efforts would result in a more useful psychology for the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction and comment on the special section: Health psychology and public policy.

Health psychology is highly relevant to public policy. However, in the past, the journal, Health Psychology, has not devoted a significant number of pages to policy issues. This special section of Health Psychology introduces several issues relevant to policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)