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61993Volume 6, Issue4July/August 1993

About the Observer

The Observer is the online magazine of the Association for Psychological Science and covers matters affecting the research, academic, and applied disciplines of psychology. The magazine reports on issues of interest to psychologist scientists worldwide and disseminates information about the activities, policies, and scientific values of APS.

APS members receive a monthly Observer newsletter that covers the latest content in the magazine. Members also may access the online archive of Observer articles going back to 1988.

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  • Thumbnail Image for Disaster Response and Recovery

    Disaster Response and Recovery

    Disasters like Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut draw massive media coverage, trauma interventions, and financial donations to victims. But psychological research shows the efforts don’t always yield the intended benefits.

Up Front


  • Trends in Clinical Psychology Research

    In the Beginning A number of national issues will significantly impact future trends in clinical research. Just as clinical psychology and research got their first big push from the Veterans Administration just after World War II, so too will the future be guided primarily by major economic and social issues. We tend to go where the money is (traineeships, fellowships, research grants) and to work on the socially relevant/important problems of our time. The VA impetus was but the first example of how clinical research trends start. Of course, clinical psychology is an enormously large area, making prediction of specific trends difficult. I present only my own views but believe that the current crisis in higher education and the projections of changes to occur under the Clinton Administration will impact what we do in the next decade.

First Person


More From This Issue


  • Three Pioneers Go ‘Inside the Psychologist’s Studio’

    At the 2014 APS Annual Convention in San Francisco, three of the world’s most celebrated psychological scientists sat down for interviews about their education, their accomplishments, and their legacies. It was all part of the “Inside the Psychologist’s Studio” video series, modeled after the popular Inside the Actor’s Studio television program. Past APS Board Member Claude Steele talked about his years of research on stereotype threat — the theory he developed to describe situations in which a person fears their own potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their own social group — and its application to minority students’ academic performance.