Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
By Kimberly Hiroto, PhD (Member, APA Committee on Aging) We’re bombarded these days with information about how to prevent aging. Since when did aging become our enemy? Like any part of one’s demographics, age has its upsides and downsides, but somehow it’s permissible to explicitly state our dislike of getting older while similar statements about […]
By Alfiee Breland-Noble, PhD, MHSc (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center) Karyn Washington’s unfortunate and untimely passing offers an opportunity for us to reflect on African American women, depression and suicide. In early April 2014, Ms. Karyn Washington took her life after what appears to be a long standing battle with depression. This […]
By Roberta Downing, PhD (Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer, APA Public Interest Directorate – Government Relations Office) Have you ever wondered if you’re being discriminated against in your pay? Would you even know if you were? This week marks Equal Pay Day, which highlights how far into the next year that a woman would have […]
By Caroline Fitz, MPhil (Graduate Student Intern, APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) In what percentage of states do you think it’s legal to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the workforce: 20%, 40%, 60%? If you guessed 60%, you’re right. In 29 and 33 states, respectively, employers can fire you for […]
Our fellow APA blog for graduate psychology students, GradPsych Blog, has a great post up about the various types of microaggressions faced by students at university. We have cross-posted it below: By Eddy Ameen, PhD (Asst. Director, American Psychological Association of Graduate Students) Microagressions aren’t just a term you read and theorize about. They happen everyday […]
By Kevin L. Nadal, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice – City University of New York) When I was a little kid, I used to hear my brothers, cousins, and friends say things like “That’s so gay!” on a pretty regular basis. I would usually laugh along, hoping with all my might […]
By Roberta Downing, PhD (Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer, APA Public Interest Directorate – Government Relations Office) There are millions of unemployed workers who cannot get hired in the current job market. Of the 10.4 million Americans who are currently unemployed, 3.9 million have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks.[i] These workers face the […]
By J. Judd Harbin, PhD (Arkansas) and Melissa J. Grey, PhD (Michigan), APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues) Public Policy Committee Members Working matters. In his classic 1974 work titled Working, Studs Terkel observed that, despite the stresses of one’s job duties, working provides a person […]
By Lisa Bowleg, PhD (Professor of Applied Social Psychology, George Washington University) “What does unemployment have to do with HIV risk?” I might have naively asked that question when I began my career as an applied social psychologist and HIV prevention researcher 15 years ago. Because the individual is typically the unit of analysis in […]
APA is featuring the voice of an ally on National Coming Out Day, because allies have a powerful role to play in changing attitudes. People who are prejudiced can have their attitudes changed simply by knowing that people they know have friendships with LGBT people. This is the extended contact effect. In the following blog […]
Psychology Benefits Society 