Psychology and inferences about public policy.

The research literature of psychology may be brought to bear on public policy issues in three ways. First, psychology may be useful in establishing procedures for determining public policy. Second, psychology may be useful in formulating the structure for policy and its implementation. Third, the literature of psychology may be reflected in the actual content of public policy. There are many issues involved in making inferences about public policy from the psychological literature. Among these issues are the generalizability of findings from basic science and problems of overadvocacy on the part of policy consultants. Researchers expect that inferences from the psychological literature would lead to innovations in the policy, but the innovations themselves must be evaluated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology, public affairs, and public policy: A strategy and review.

Discusses psychology and public image problems in relation to public policy and public affairs. The American Psychological Association's (APA) strategy, past and present efforts, effectiveness, and suggestions for future directions are reviewed. Public policy issues for the APA involve the appropriate corporate role in commitment to a process of establishing, maintaining, and expanding a credible public presence regarding the field. Members of the field cannot expect to play a constructive role in policy development if people are misinformed about psychology and psychologists. Suggestions for future APA strategies include surveying members' opinions on a routine basis; focused, topic-specific projects with radio and TV; more frequent task reports on specific issues; increased efforts to educate writers and members of the media; and the establishment of liaison committees or joint task forces with other professional groups. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and public policy affecting children, youth, and families.

Although US children and youth remain an underserved group, some members of the psychological community have become deeply involved since the 1970s in shaping public policy toward this population. Efforts include examination of the relationship between knowledge and policy, the process of policy formulation, the efficacy of programs for children, and training programs in child development and social policy. (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)     

Psychology, public policy, and the evidence for alcohol intoxication.

Discusses the legal requirement that alcoholic beverage purveyors not serve apparently intoxicated persons in terms of the ability of nonmedical observers to detect intoxication. Three experiments tested the ability of 49 members of a university community (aged 18–25 yrs), 12 bartenders (aged 21–39 yrs), and 30 police officers (aged 23–50 yrs) to identify sober, moderately intoxicated, and legally drunk targets after observing them for several minutes. All of the S groups correctly rated the targets' level of intoxication less than 25% of the time, and the accuracy of ratings deteriorated as the targets' level of intoxication increased. Police officers performed somewhat better in an arrest analog than in a laboratory condition, and a subgroup of 5 officers showed a high level of accuracy. Findings indicate that the detection of intoxication requires special skill and that the standard of judgment legally required of bartenders is unreasonable. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and public policy: Tool or toolmaker?

People's behavior shapes and is shaped by how environmental issues are managed. As a result, there may be a role for psychologists in various environmental issues. This role offers opportunities to increase the influence and sophistication of our science. However, it also poses risks for both the science and the public. These potentials and pitfalls are discussed here in the context of examples drawn from setting policy for the levels of risk associated with environmentally hazardous technologies. (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)     

Psychology and public service.

Psychology has a special opportunity to contribute to the public interest, because the training of psychologists makes them well suited for this role. After briefly stating some reasons why public service is difficult for psychologists, the author reviews why psychologists' training prepares them to assume public service responsibilities: crossover skills include applying their body of knowledge in different settings, identifying relevant questions and translating principles into language the public can understand, integrating and combining ideas that seem disconnected at first glance, balancing different approaches and acting despite multiple and complex perspectives, and establishing and maintaining a level of excellence, even when standards are unclear. The author reviews how these principles have been imbedded in his psychology training and experiences and also discusses the important mentors who taught him how to apply these principles. Psychologists can make important contributions in the public domain if they set high standards and are persistent in their pursuit of them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and public affairs.

Considers 2 relationships between psychology (particularly organized psychology) and public policy: those in which public policy is directly related to the development of psychology and the functioning of psychologists and those in which psychological knowledge is relevant to the formulation and implementation of public policy. In the 1st relationship, government influences the nature and conduct of research, scientific and professional information exchange, education and training, and the definition of psychological roles and services. In the 2nd relationship, the role of psychology and psychologists is less clear and requires an assessment of the solidarity and substantiveness of discipline's knowledge base. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and public policy in the "health care revolution."

In this article we give a brief overview of the rapid changes taking place in health care delivery in this country, focusing particularly on cost-containment efforts, organizational restructuring of the medical-industrial complex, and this decade's procompetitive market. Psychologists need to be aware of current policy trends and potential future changes in health and to consider alternative roles in emerging health care systems. Further, mental health policy is heavily influenced by the form and context of health policy. We argue that a top-down analysis of resource allocation is necessary for responsible public policy in health and mental health care. We discuss opportunities and challenges for psychology within this framework in service, research, and education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology research for environmental policy.

As Environment Minister, I have had the unique opportunity to travel across the country, meeting individual Canadians who are working for the environment in their own communities. As a government, it is our responsibility to ensure that the policies and programs are in place to support their work. It is also our responsibility to try to spur others on to similar action, and to build public support for a sustainable environment. We cannot do this if we do not adequately understand the links between attitude, behaviour, and preservation of our environment. I commend the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science for focussing on the behavioural origins of environmental solutions. I hope that the issues raised in the articles contained herein spur many of you to consider how research can help us answer some of the questions I have raised. The participation of the behavioural sciences is essential, not only to the success of environment protection, but to its very feasibility. Well-conceived research is essential in order to engage and retain public support and thus devise responses that are both environmentally sound and economically possible. Here is a challenge worthy of your expertise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent development and public policy.

Emphasis by psychologists on the importance of early experience led policy makers in the 1960's and 1970's to concentrate public resources on compensatory educational programs for young, disadvantaged children. Research on the reversibility of early cognitive deficits and on the remediation of poor school achievement suggests that an expanded national investment in developing the cognitive competence of adolescents and young adults is warranted. Public policy should encourage schools, youth-serving agencies, business and industry, and the military to provide educational programs that stress general problem-solving abilities and basic academic skills alone. Demographic observations underscore the importance of such a policy for the strength of the nation. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological assessment and public policy.

Reviews the nature and purposes of psychological assessment and the training and qualifications necessary to administer such services. Problems requiring careful attention in assessment include: (a) the protection of the individual from unwarranted inferences, (b) unfavorable evaluations based on obsolete information, and (c) unnecessary invasion of privacy. Standards to determine adequacy of assessment should be compatible with research requirements. Special problems of personality testing are discussed, including the more indirect nature of the behavior sampled and special considerations of privacy requirements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personnel testing and public policy.

Summarizes the major features of the Supreme Court ruling in Griggs vs Duke Power Company, the guidelines of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, and the revised Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. The convergence of thinking present in the 4 documents is interpreted as the formulation of public policies that are increasingly explicit about the use of psychological tests in personnel work. Although the form and content of public policy has been shaped by forces and issues outside professional psychology, the implications for the latter are direct and immediate. Numerous professional and technical issues, as well as larger social and cultural issues, are yet to be resolved. The complexities of the latter pose serious difficulties for the psychologist in resolving the former. (37 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the public interest.

Discusses the role of the American Psychological Association's new Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest. It is suggested that the challenge faced by psychology is to marshal science, educational resources, and professional skills to contribute as best it can to making a livable future possible for future generations. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology, research, and social policy.

Contends that although it is important and timely for psychologists to be concerned with the interface between psychological research and social policy, academic and research psychologists may encounter problems in relating or adapting their research to matters of policy. For some researchers, there are few problems because their focus of research has both theoretical and policy relevance (e.g., those exploring the scientific question at hand with relevant populations or in policy-connected settings). However, it is suggested that the larger group of behavioral scientists are engaged in research that is more removed from immediate practicality or policy relatedness. It is argued that the ideal solution is not to promote the wholesale conversion of research scientists to redirect their scientific inquiry so that it deals directly with issues of policy. Rather, suggestions are tendered for the melding of policy concerns into research that maintains its relevance to the discipline and to issues of psychological theory or practice while touching also on issues of relevance to social policy. A classification model of social scientists involved with policy is included. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the ethics of social policy.

Psychology's ability to resolve or moderate social conflicts stemming from competing moral positions depends on whether psychology is conceptualized as a mental or behavioral science. Knowledge claims from the direct observation of consciousness cannot yield consensual agreement about valid ethical principles or correct social policies. As a behavioral science, psychology is unable to validate moral principles because of the logical impossibility of inferring ethical imperatives from empirical data. Behavioral evidence can nevertheless assist society in choosing among competing social policies by revealing their empirical consequences. To do this successfully, psychology must use natural science methodology with the aim of seeking empirical and theoretical truth, not political goals or ethical ideals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the naturalistic ethics of social policy.

H. H. Kendler (see record 1994-09190-001), in his article on psychology and the ethics of social policy, argues in part that ethical imperatives cannot be inferred from empirical data. This argument is challenged with reference to the behaviorist position of ethical naturalism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists, Congress, and public policy.

As professional psychologists become increasingly involved in shaping health care policy in our nation, it is imperative that they understand the various forces that influence congressional members to enact legislation. This article examines two major issues: (a) Congress's cautious and restrained approach to health care policy and (b) preemption and the relationship between Congress and the states. Understanding these issues will enable psychologists to become more effective representatives of both the professional and societal interests of professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ageism, psychology, and public policy.

Chronological age—either young or old—may be the basis for prejudicial attitudes, discriminatory practices, and institutional policies. The importance and role of ageism differs greatly between societies, such as the United States and Japan. Psychological research has documented a variety of examples of negative attitudes toward older people in the United States, but these results may reflect the methods used or may indicate a preference for age similarity rather than prejudice against the aged. Vulnerability to ageism in old age is associated demographically with being a woman, living alone, and having a poor health status. Discriminatory attitudes, mental health services, and employment policies are examples of the interface of ageism and psychology. Ageism may be reduced by emphasizing diversity among older people, paying attention to compensations for reduced abilities, and developing public policy based on need rather than on age. The importance of ageism as a psychological issue must be recognized and included in the public debate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)