Two Years In Retrospect

Fortunately, APS has not reached the point where running for president of the Society is a highly politicized process with electioneering, grassroots organizations, or inflated campaign promises. (Perhaps this will always be the case.) As a consequence, I have no explicit “Contract with APS” to be held accountable to at the end of my two­year term as President. Nonetheless, it does seem appropriate at this time to take stock of the last two years, to review the activities and accomplishments of APS, and to assess whether the organization has lived up to its promise and potential during this period of stewardship.

Shortly after the 1993 election results were announced, the May issue of the Observer carried an interview with me as the newly elected incoming president (it seems like just yesterday). In that interview I suggested two areas in particular where I had hoped the role of APS could be expanded in the years ahead. The first was the teaching of psychology as a scientific discipline, at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels. The second was the interface between basic and applied areas of psychology, living up to our motto of “giving psychology away in the public interest.” How have we fared in these two arenas in the two years since?

Teaching Enhanced

I am particularly pleased with the enhanced visibility of APS as an organization dedicated to issues of teaching psychology at all levels of education. The launching of the APS Institute on the Teaching of Psychology at the 1994 convention (and our co­sponsorship of the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology annual January conference) marks our commitment to providing contact between and among scientists and teachers. This commitment will be expanded further with the development of the next APS journal, Teaching of Psychological Science (TPS). TPS will provide a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, and research results among teachers of psychology both in the printed journal and through supplemental features available through the Internet. It is our hope that this new journal will expand and complement the organizational efforts of the Division of Teaching and other associations devoted to promoting the quality of teaching of the science of psychology in higher education.

Applied Psychology

With respect to the promotion of psychology as an applied science, the Human Capital Initiative represents a magnificent effort to link basic research on psychological processes to issues of public policy. HCI has been successful beyond our original hopes and expectations. The initial document has been cited in budget language of the U.S. Congress, the focus of a meeting among heads of major private research foundations, and embraced by the National Science Foundation in a foundation-wide initiative. The HCI framework has spawned specific initiatives in the areas of productivity and the changing workplace, aging, and psychopathology, and new initiatives are under development in the domains of substance abuse and violence. All of these represent extensive cross- disciplinary efforts to promote basic science that will be relevant to critical national concerns. In the same spirit, APS is currently working with SPSSI on possible arrangements for placing a government relations fellow in the APS Washington office.

Clinical Science

APS also has given special attention to initiatives that promote clinical science and the scientific base of psychological practice. Our 1992 Summit on Accreditation contributed to the establishment of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science devoted to preserving and enhancing research-based training in clinical psychology at the doctoral level. And we continue to work with affiliated organizations such as AAAPP and the Division 12 Section on Clinical Science to promote funding for research and training in clinical sciences and to provide forums for information exchange and communication among clinical researchers in diverse settings.

Organizational Integration

On other fronts, our organizational linkages have been expanded to strengthen ties with allied organizations such as the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology, the International Union of Psychological Science, and the Coalition for Health Funding. Internally, we have expanded our services to affiliate organizations including arranging for pre-convention conferences in connection with the annual meeting and providing contractual services for the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Society for Research in Child Development. A unique partnership between APS and the Institute for Scientific Information provides our members with access to bibliographic search services designed to help manage the expanding information base in our discipline.

Washington Presence

And, most importantly, the Society continues to devote substantial resources to ensuring that psychological science has a strong voice in Washington in matters that directly impact the future of the discipline, efforts capped recently by the long-awaited appointment of a director to head the newly created Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research at the National Institutes of Health.

Not a bad list for a two-year retrospective. I wish I could take credit for everything that has been achieved or initiated by APS during this term. But I must confess I had more than a little help from friends. As anyone who has participated in APS activities well knows, the human energy that makes it all happen comes from our incredibly dedicated staff in the Washington office and our indefatigable Executive Officer, Alan Kraut. Much credit also goes to the members of our working boards and committees, particularly the officers and members of the Board of Directors, and the members of our Publications, Elections, Fellows, Convention, and Awards committees. APS is still a bureaucratically lean organization, but the efforts of our members who agree to give their time and energy to volunteer service are critical to our survival and growth. There are some 900 APS Liaisons who volunteer their efforts to promoting APS among non-member colleagues! Thanks to all of you who have made these two years a rewarding and exciting experience.