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Psychology in the public interest: What have we done? What can we do?
Abstract
The contributions of the American Psychological Association (APA) to the public interest are assessed. APA has taken an effective leadership role on issues involving justice to the disadvantaged categories of its own membership. On other issues, which have been more controversial, APA has been less effective, partly because APA participates in our culture of self-interest and individualism, and partly because identifying the public interest is inherently political. Psychologists are urged to look beyond self and group interests toward the urgent issues of our time concerning survival and justice. All the same, how APA pursues the guild interests of psychology as a science and as a profession impinges strongly on the public interest in any plausible sense and requires close scrutiny. Because the public interest can only be determined by a political process, open advocacy on public interest issues within APA governance structure is appropriate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... More internal lobbying ensued, and in February, 2010, the PAP board formally instituted its Public Interest Committee, patterned after the American Psychological Association's Public Interest Directorate, as a mechanism to address the public on matters of social justice (J.E.G. Saplala, personal communication, 24 March, 2010 Smith, 1990), which would be instrumental in laying the foundation for LGBT psychology in the Philippines soon thereafter. ...
... Outside of research and teaching, psychologists can play a role in broader efforts to promote social change and wellbeing, an approach sometimes called psychology in the public interest (Brewster Smith, 1990). These can include psychology experts sharing knowledge to inform policymakers, engaging media on issues of human behaviour, and taking principled and formal stands on pressing social issues where psychological expertise, broadly defined, can contribute in debate and decision-making (Cohen, Lee & McIlwraith, 2012). ...
This paper presents an account of the initial developments towards an LGBT psychology in the Philippines. We situate this on critical events leading to: (1) an official policy by the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) against anti-LGBT discrimination in 2011, the first in south-east Asia; and (2) the institutionalisation in 2014 of the PAP’s LGBT Psychology Special Interest Group. Organising efforts have focused in four areas: research, education, advocacy, and practice. National conferences have served as naturally occurring moments for mainstreaming and visibility within the profession. Research progress is evidenced by the publication in 2013 of a special LGBT issue of the Philippine Journal of Psychology. Education efforts have involved teaching an undergraduate elective on LGBT psychology, training of psychology teachers to integrate sexual and gender diversity, and conduct of ‘LGBT Psych 101’ seminars. Advocacy has focused on ‘giving away’ LGBT psychology through engagement with the activist community, media, and support for anti-discrimination legislation. Finally, initial work in professional practice has been around raising awareness of LGBT issues in counselling. We reflect on these initial successes and present lessons learned as well as next steps for the development of an LGBT-inclusive psychology in south-east Asia.
... Around the same time as the formation of BAPPI and the Public Interest Directorate, past APA president M. Brewster Smith (1990) echoed the sentiment of these efforts by urging psychologists as individuals and organizations "to keep in touch with public issues that affect the lives of people and become politically active on the side of justice and human welfare" (p. 536). ...
Written against the backdrop of the 2020 twin pandemics of a global health crisis and greater national awareness of structural racism, this article issues a call for psychology to invest in training all psychologists to respond to the social ills of racial and other forms of oppression. We introduce a public psychology for liberation (PPL) training model. Essentially, the model reflects a science, a pedagogical commitment, and practice of, by, and with the people who have been most marginalized in society. The PPL consists of five foundational domains or cross-cutting areas of expertise (e.g., facilitate human relationships; generate reciprocal knowledge and translation) and 10 interrelated lifelong practices (e.g., cultural humility; care and compassion) that foster healing and equity. The model centers the perspectives of the Global Majority, focuses on radical healing and equity, and emphasizes a developmental, culturally grounded, strengths-based approach to training. Various training initiatives consistent with a public psychology for liberation approach are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... Along with universities, scholarly associations such as the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) and professional regulatory bodies such as the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) have also become increasingly corporate in how they manage themselves, and along with this have come an increasingly corporate conceptualisation of how such associations relate to the broader society. Where the 'core business' of business corporations is profit and of universities is teaching and research, that of scholarly societies is to look after the 'guild interests' (Smith, 1990) of their members (and secondarily, to protect members of the public from misconduct by members). ...
In this article, we review four key historical processes that shape community engagement and that open up spaces for its further development: The long history of tensions and cooperation between those within and outside the ‘ivory tower’, the continuing corporatisation of academic and professional life, the drive for free access to academic publications, and the drive towards decoloniality. We position community engagement as potentially disruptive to the epistemological and political status quo and present ‘four aphorisms’ for critical community engagement: Charity begins at home; it is (not) all about the money; it is all about knowledge; and you need a translator more than an accountant.
... The authors of this article have all devoted their professional careers to the study of language use and function in various linguistic contexts and among speakers of several different languages in the United States and in Canada. In reviewing the literature and in drawing conclusions based on this review, we have sought to be balanced in our judgement and tokeep in mind both the public interest as discussed by Smith (1990) and the responsibilities of psychologists set forth in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (APA, 198 I). ...
The scientiJc literature relevant to the ar- guments for and against the English-only movement is' reviewed, to determine whether the Resolution Against English Only before the Board of Directors and the Coun- cil of Representatives of the American Psychological As- sociation (APA) was supportable. Some of the misconcep- tions advanced by English-only advocates that ajfect the sociopsychological, educational, testing, and health-service delivery arenas are examined. It is argued that there is no support for English-only initiatives, and that the En- glish-only movement can have negative consequences on psychosocial development, intergroup relations, academic achievement, and ps.whometric and health-service delivery systems for many American citizens and residents who are not projicient in English. The public interest is hest served by aflrming a position in opposition to Enn.li.slr- only. English-only is sociully divisive and poses u 1krcw to the human wevare that psychologists espouse in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists.
... One result of this approach, as the first two articles in this special issue argue (Becker & Marecek, 2008;Christopher & Hickinbottom, 2008), is that positive psychology may inadvertently collude with some of the less desirable or even psychologically problematic aspects of our current way of life. The sort of individualism and instrumentalism it sometimes uncritically assumes and perpetuates has been linked by many psychologists and others to emotional isolation, elevated stress, higher rates of depression, various personality disorders, and other emotional ills in Western society (e.g., Becker, 2005;Frank & Frank, 1991;Gergen, 1991;Hillman & Ventura, 1992;Schumacher, 2001;Smith, 1990). Moreover, unlike mainstream positive psychology, many cultural and moral traditions, both non-Western and Western (e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism, communitarian social thought, transpersonal psychology), define their sense of identity in terms of belonging to wider communal and/or spiritual realities and place a greater emphasis on learning from and finding meaning in suffering rather than seeking at all costs to eliminate it. ...
Positive psychology offers a needed corrective to deficiencies in mainstream psychology. However, there have been relatively few attempts to systematically analyze and assess this movement. This special issue examines the conceptual underpinnings and guiding ideals of positive psychology. Generally, these articles conclude that positive psychologists have not dealt adequately with the challenge of rendering credible and illuminating accounts of human flourishing in a post-positivist era and in a pluralistic society. The authors suggest ways we might better meet this challenge, allowing us to discuss questions of human agency, character, and the good life despite quite different views of them across historical eras and cultures. We hope this will help fulfill some of the aims of positive psychology.
... The dissemination of pseudoscientific trauma practices may be attributable to the commercialization of the mental health profession (e.g., Dineen, 1998a,b;Wilson, 2003). The lack of emphasis on scientific evidence in clinical psychology has been described as a transformation of the profession toward guild status (Dawes, 1994;Smith, 1990). The term 'guild' refers to the formation of organizations of individuals of a similar profession for the purposes of protecting its members by maintaining standards of practice based on the advancement of a common purpose. ...
The use of trauma interventions for victims of crime without adequate empirical support has become increasingly problematic over the last decade. It is proposed that pseudoscience in mental health trauma practice reflects a widening rift between research and practice. It may also be a by-product of the commercialization of the mental health profession. This article presents a discussion of the ethical and professional implications of pseudoscience and junk science in trauma practice. We argue that it is the professional and ethical responsibility of mental health practitioners to recognize scientific evidence and to conduct evidence-based trauma practice. With such knowledge, practitioners and service providers may be better equipped in the identification and avoidance of treatments with little or no scientific merit. Yes Yes
An overview of selected issues and challenges in defining and developing the field of rural preventive intervention research is presented. One fundamental challenge is to clarify the distinguishing characteristics of prevention science in rural contexts. Other challenges are evident in the need to address: the lack of consensus on conceptual and methodological approaches to this field, limited empirical study to date, the tremendous diversity of rural populations, and inconsistencies in the usage of the term “rural.” This article suggests the organization of a work group to formulate and implement a clear research agenda. In addition, several general questions are discussed that, if addressed, might serve to better define and further develop the field. These questions concern the implications of multiple approaches to prevention science in rural contexts, the classification of rural populations, the functional relevance of rural residence in the etiology of specific disorders, the application of extant etiological models to interventions designed specifically for rural populations, the conduct of rural area prevention needs assessments, the development of models for collaboration between intervention researchers and rural community stakeholders, and strategies to engage rural residents in preventive interventions.
Presents M. Brewster Smith with the American Psychological Foundation's (APF's) Gold Medal Award for Life Contribution by a Psychologist in the Public Interest. Smith is recognized for exploring controversial and sensitive issues that include student activism, ethical considerations in research involving minors, humanistic psychology and selfhood, racism and anti-Semitism, value dilemmas in mental health services, and population and the environment.
Comments on articles by S. F. Schneider (see record 1990-18681-001) and M. B. Smith (see record 1990-20955-001). Neither article directly mentions Division 32 (Humanistic Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. The importance of this division in the discipline is stressed.
Reflecting author Çigdem Kagitçibasi's influential work over the last two decades, this new edition examines human development, the self, and the family in a cultural context. It challenges the existing assumptions in mainstream western psychology about the nature of individuals.
Presents M. Brewster Smith with the American Psychological Foundation's (APF's) Gold Medal Award for Life Contribution by a Psychologist in the Public Interest. Smith is recognized for exploring controversial and sensitive issues that include student activism, ethical considerations in research involving minors, humanistic psychology and selfhood, racism and anti-Semitism, value dilemmas in mental health services, and population and the environment.
The interests of psychologists in South Africa as reflected in the publications that have appeared during the past five years were assessed by means of a classification in terms of the psychological index terms developed by the American Psychological Association. The authors arrive at the conclusion that while some of the important issues that ought to be addressed in terms of the socio-political problems of the country, and the unique contribution which psychologists are capable of making, receive attention, the level of involvement may be less than is desirable. On the basis of this analysis an advocacy role for South African psychologists is promoted as’ an approach to ensuring that psychology makes the kind of contribution to the country and its people which is in line with its role of a helping profession.
This article distinguishes between utilitarian individualism-collectivism, a dimension of differences in the attention paid to the personal interests of individuals or shared interests of groups, and ontological individualism-collectivism, a dimension of differences in the primacy accorded to individuals or groups as fundamental social entities. It notes that utilitarian variation has been investigated in numerous studies of individualism-collectivism but that ontological variation has received little research attention, then suggests that both dimensions are equally likely to influence beliefs and behaviors in organizations. After indicating that the dimension of ontological individualism-collectivism maps differences in definitions of the concept of self, the paper describes implications these differences hold for research on motivation and identity in organizations.
Sue’s proposed model is based on a critique of the Eurocentric assumptions underlying current clinical practice and reflects his innovative thinking and unique synthesis of past research. The specific areas addressed in this article focus on an examination of the multidimensional model of cultural competence (MDCC) and issues related to the definition of competence and its measurement. Areas of needed elaboration in the model include complexities related to power hierarchies (i.e., authority, authorization, and leadership) and implications for training and practice. Particular emphasis is placed on the complexities of cultural competence and the important contributions of Sue’s MDCC as an important step in making cultural competence a reality in the practice of counseling psychology.
This comment on the major contribution addresses the conceptual richness and strengths of the model; offers some possible extensions to enhance its application to counseling psychology; and discusses its implications for practice, training, and research. Academic programs can use the multiple dimensions of cultural competence (MDCC) model to assess their curriculum and policies and design new approaches to infusing multiculturalism. The conceptual framework of the MDCC also can be used to customize counseling services to better meet the needs of a diverse client base. Future implications for use of this model as a transformative tool for counseling psychology are also explored.
Most psychology departments offer field placements that allow undergraduates to learn practical skills and test career options. The psychology curriculum should encourage community service placements because they are consistent with psychology's values, good for students, and beneficial to the community. To close the acknowledged gap between good intentions and volunteer action, our department has developed two models of community service: elementary school tutoring within a child psychology course and credit for individual placements in a variety of settings. We describe procedures followed, decisions made, and lessons learned in setting up these courses. Student testimony about the value of these experiences is offered. Encouraging volunteerism is well worth the effort of psychology departments.
Psychologists interested in law and public policy have begun to examine the nature of corporations in American society and the serious consequences of corporate irresponsibility. The dominant trend identifies areas where corporate behavior falls short of ethical standards or leads to unacceptably risky decisions and suggests ways to reform corporations or the laws that regulate them. This well-intentioned approach is consistent with psychology's liberal reformist tendency. Unfortunately, it neither challenges the flawed psychological underpinnings of the legal fiction that corporations are legal persons nor compensates sufficiently for the dynamics of individual behavior in corporate settings. Instead, psychologists should advocate fundamental restructuring of our corporate society.
In the summer of 1989, two important events, one in the public arena, the other in the scientific domain, were to create an unprecedented "political" mobilization of Canadian psychologists: 1) a document on a proposed Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) was published by the Minister of Finance, 2) the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) decided to move Psychology's Grant Selection Committee (GSC) from the Life Sciences to the Cross-Disciplinary section. The NSERC decision gave rise to a major effort on the part of the Canadian psychological scientific community. Psychology's GST effort, on the other hand, was motivated by a clear contradiction between government policy and the proposed tax treatment of psychological services. Ten primary lessons that emerged from successful efforts to gain an exemption for psychological health services are listed. These ten informative lessons form the basis for the GST (Guile, Strategy, Timing) approach to effective advocacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Between 1992 and 1996, Division 17 of the American Psychological Association (APA) was reorganized to respond to Executive Board- and member-perceived need for more active and effective participation in APA and the field of psychology, enhanced member involvement, and greater responsiveness on matters of concern to counseling psychologists. This article describes the process of the reorganization, including both documented historical events and interviews with key participants. It is intended to capture the historical record and provide insight into the process of the restructuring as well as the division’s governance and activities.
Sue’s contribution concerning cultural competence is reviewed and critiqued. General issues provoked by Sue and found in the emergent discourse on the topic are discussed, including concerns about its operationalization, its purpose, its parameters, issues pertaining to training, and considerations for evaluation. Specific issues related to Sue’s model are highlighted with suggestions for improvement and clarification. The specific issues critiqued include the following strengths: continued leadership in the field, inclusion of social justice, multidimensionality of cultural competence, and the tripartite conception of personal identity. Issues of concern include the lack of a solid rationale for the model, definitional difficulties, the lack of prescription, and limitations based on the race-based group perspective. Suggestions for future scholarship are offered.
Calls for incorporating cultural competence in psychology have been hindered for a number of reasons: belief in the universality of psychological laws and theories, the invisibility of monocultural policies and practices, differences over defining cultural competence, and the lack of a conceptual framework for organizing its multifaceted dimensions. A proposed multidimensional model of cultural competence (MDCC) incorporates three primary dimensions: (a) racial and culture-specific attributes of competence, (b) components of cultural competence, and (c) foci of cultural competence. Based on a 3 (Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills) × 4 (Individual, Professional, Organizational, and Societal) × 5 (African American, Asian American, Latino/Hispanic American, Native American, and European American) factorial combination, the MDCC allows for the systematic identification of cultural competence in a number of different areas. Its uses in education and training, practice, and research are discussed.
Native American women (N= 218) living on a reservation were surveyed to assess their preferences for counselor sex, ethnicity, cultural awareness, counseling style, and commitment to Native American and Anglo-American cultures. Women generally preferred a counselor with the following attributes: female, ethnically similar, culturally sensitive, and used a non-directive counseling style. All these preferences, except for counseling style, were generally stronger for personal versus vocational problems and were
stronger for women with high commitment to Native American culture. Written analogue portrayals depicted counselors in four combinations (Native American vs. Anglo, culturally sensitive vs. insensitive). The Native American/sensitive counselor was rated highest, with the Anglo/insensitive counselor rated lowest. The Anglo/sensitive counselor was preferred to the Native/insensitive counselor by women who strongly identified with Native American culture.
Comments on articles by S. F. Schneider (see record
1990-18681-001) and M. B. Smith (see record
1990-20955-001). Neither article directly mentions Division 32 (Humanistic Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. The importance of this division in the discipline is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The postmodern era is a period of transition from the 300-year-long modern period. Community psychology as a field is faced with the challenge of what to do in the period of transition. This article sets the historical context of the challenge in the modern period with the traditional laboratory science model as the solution to a concern about social uncertainty and chaos. An alternative, human science, developed in the late 19th century, is the tradition that community psychology should draw on. Human science provides the philosophical basis for a humanistic science with a value base oriented toward a more just and equitable world. An eight-step reflection on the recent name change of the Division of Community Psychology to the Society for Community Research and Action yielded the conclusion that the field should consider two moves: (a) the development of a theory of community and (b) the development of a theory of praxis. This article and that by Dokecki (this issue) offer complementary approaches to both matters. These two additions should help position the field to become an actor in shaping the postmodern world of the 1990s.
The author reflects on his 20 years of experience in applied community psychology, the last 12 years of which were spent in school settings. This experience provides the basis for the development of two integrated models of community based on community psychology, school organizational development, and theological literature. The models were developed as part of current, school-based, case-study material that focuses on preventing alienation for 10- to 14-year-old students. The first model furthers the theories of community as caring persons (Dokecki, 1992) in its third position (Newbrough, 1995). It also posits that “transformational” community is when the tension between the “One” and the “Many” is resolved in such a way that meaning is added to the individual's and community's life because of a common calling to a vision. This vision is transcendental to the individual and community and is reflective of the concept of agency as the pursuit of truth (Williams, 1992). This framework is then used to present a community-development application of the components of transformational community, extending the community concepts of McMillan and Chavis (1986) toward those similar to the empowerment–organizing features posited by Maton and Salem (1995), and the theoretical revisions of McMillan (1996). Future reports will deal with the further applications of these concepts, particularly in developing ways of structuring schools to enhance the experience of transformational community for its student members. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
James (1994) discusses the intersection of psychology and health. He reviews the role of behaviour in morbidity and premature mortality, the rising costs and dubious benefits of curative medicine, the role of behaviour in preventing and alleviating chronic disease, and the importance of behavioural outcomes in health and disease. While James makes a good case for these points, his conclusion, that psychologists' response to these major health-care issues should be to disseminate psychological knowledge to healthcare workers, can be questioned. Like many apparently convincing arguments, this one makes its point by adopting an artificially limited perspective. James' article takes a limited perspective on psychology, on health, and on how psychology may influence society.
Much of psychological science and knowledge is significantly relevant to social justice, defined here as the goal to decrease human suffering and to promote human values of equality and justice. A commitment to social justice has evolved as a more important value in the last few decades for psychology, including for the American Psychological Association (APA). The mission, vision, goals, Ethics Code, and strategic plan of APA all provide a rationale for psychologists' involvement in systematic and visible ways of applying our knowledge to social issues. Although psychology has not been immune to the application of psychological knowledge in destructive ways, overall, psychology, many psychologists, and APA have demonstrated a commitment to social justice. This article provides a brief review of the key proponents, debates, and controversies involved in applying psychological science and knowledge to complex societal problems. Psychologists often find themselves in conflict and honest disagreement when the association addresses complex and controversial issues. An important goal is that we continue to find ways to agree or disagree in a respectful manner regardless of where each of us stands on the various positions that APA takes.
Past research (e.g. Lynch & Haney, 2000) has shown that race plays a significant role in juror decision making in the penalty phase of capital murder trials. This study investigates the possibility of reducing juror bias towards Blacks by altering the content of jury instructions. White and non-White participants received trial information and jury instructions in which the defendant's race (Black or White) and the instruction type (standard or simplified) were manipulated. Participants rendered a sentence recommendation, identified factors they considered to be aggravating or mitigating, and responded to instruction comprehension questions. Bias against the Black defendant was significantly reduced when simplified instructions were used and when the defendant was judged by racially diverse jurors. Simplification also led to better comprehension of sentencing instructions. Implications for capital trials are discussed.
The authors describe the American Psychological Association's (APA's) efforts to affect social policy and judicial decision making by delineating APA's participation as amicus curiae in five cases concerning the civil rights of lesbians and gay men. They discuss the function and importance of amicus briefs, review the legal principles used to advance the constitutional rights of lesbians and gay men, outline the facts in the cases APA entered, sketch the legal theories and scientific evidence that APA brought to the courts' attention, and relate the courts' decisions in those cases. They conclude with recommendations for the use of such briefs in future litigation and legislative efforts to advance the rights of lesbians and gay men.
An overview of selected issues and challenges in defining and developing the field of rural preventive intervention research is presented. One fundamental challenge is to clarify the distinguishing characteristics of prevention science in rural contexts. Other challenges are evident in the need to address: the lack of consensus on conceptual and methodological approaches to this field, limited empirical study to date, the tremendous diversity of rural populations, and inconsistencies in the usage of the term "rural". This article suggests the organization of a work group to formulate and implement a clear research agenda. In addition, several general questions are discussed that, if addressed, might serve to better define and further develop the field. These questions concern the implications of multiple approaches to prevention science in rural contexts, the classification of rural populations, the functional relevance of rural residence in the etiology of specific disorders, the application of extant etiological models to interventions designed specifically for rural populations, the conduct of rural area prevention needs assessments, the development of models for collaboration between intervention researchers and rural community stakeholders, and strategies to engage rural residents in preventive interventions.
Cultural competency guidelines and policies are being widely established. Yet some critics have challenged the evidence for cultural competency and the lack of efficacy studies that demonstrate its outcomes. Various positions are examined that discuss cultural competency research. They include the need for more resources for research, scientific practices that overlook ethnic research findings, fruitfulness of theory-driven rather than population-based research, problems in defining cultural competency as a technique, and development of policies in the absence of research. Implications of these positions are discussed.
Interest in the empirical demonstration of the clinical efficacy of psychosocial treatments has been rekindled by societal concerns over accountability and cost effectiveness of mental health services. The result has been the identification of specific treatments for specific disorders. The prescription of treatment content should be based on the theory of therapeutic action and/or the disorder to which it is applied. The demonstration of specific treatment efficacy requires experimental evidence showing the influence of specific procedures beyond nonspecific factors of treatment. We provide an analysis of these factors and their effects in evaluating the specific efficacy of prescriptive psychosocial treatments. Experimental procedures and designs that test the validity of specific treatments are described and applied to cognitive-behavioral treatments of generalized anxiety disorder. The empirical and professional implications of specific treatment efficacy in evidence-based practice are discussed.
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