Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
By Melba J. T. Vasquez, PhD, ABPP (2011 Past-President of the American Psychological Association) Stop me if you’ve heard these statements before. “Immigrants take away jobs from American citizens.” “Immigrants come over to live off our social services.” “They refuse to learn English.” Not only are these statements oftentimes false, they create unnecessary confusion about and […]
By Silvia L. Mazzula, PhD (Asst. Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY). Dr. Mazzula is also the President-Elect of the Latino Psychological Association of New Jersey. Last month marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and across the U.S., many Americans proclaimed that Dr. […]
By Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD (Psychologist and Associate Professor, Pepperdine University) The shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager, by George Zimmerman, a bicultural (White and Latino) male has sparked large discussions and protests. Mr. Zimmerman’s acquittal has spurred even more controversy and debates about the realities of racism and racial profiling, including […]
By Efua Andoh (Public Interest Communications Staff) On August 28, tens of thousands of Americans from every walk of life gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. Various speakers, including Presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama, gave stirring speeches reflecting on the legacy left by Dr. King and those intrepid marchers via […]
By Stefanie Reeves, MA, CAE (Sr. Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer, Public Interest Government Relations Office) Dr. King’s vision of a world where we are judged not the color of our skin but the content of our character rings true in government relations. Fifty years ago, there were 5 African American members of Congress. As […]
By Efua Andoh (Public Interest Communications Staff) With the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington approaching, we interviewed Henry Tomes, PhD, an esteemed psychologist who was the first African American to receive a PhD from Penn State University and the former Executive Director for APA’s Public Interest Directorate. Dr. Tomes reflected on the […]
By Efua Andoh (PI Communications Staff) The 2013 APA Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii wrapped up over the weekend. Our colleagues at the APA Convention blog were furiously documenting a wide swath of sessions and events on topics ranging from assisting the wrongfully incarcerated to why Americans are reluctant to discuss race. Here is a rundown of […]
By Gwendolyn Puryear Keita, PhD (Executive Director, APA Public Interest Directorate) Psychological research shows that people often notice differences between themselves and others, but judgments about the differences can be based on biased thinking. A national uproar. George Zimmerman’s acquittal of second degree murder charges in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin has […]
By Alfiee Breland-Noble, PhD, MHSc. (Georgetown University Medical Center) In the past few years, we have seen tremendous growth in the “mainstreaming of faith” in our daily lives. Oprah Winfrey hosts a show called “Super Soul Sundays” on her OWN network, Tyler Perry movies regularly contain spiritual messages and even blockbuster family movies rely on spiritual themes […]
By Laurie “Lali” McCubbin, PhD (Member, APA Committee on Children, Youth, and Families) A recent Cheerios commercial of a multiracial family with a biracial child caused quite a stir in the media. When presented with images of racially ambiguous faces and multiracial families, many people responded with a range of feelings from celebration, unease to […]
Psychology Benefits Society 