The American Psychological Association (APA) is a professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 190,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has 54 divisions, which function as interest groups for different subspecialties of psychology or topical areas.
Profile The APA has task forces that issue policy statements on various social matters, including abortion, human rights, the welfare of detainees, human trafficking, the rights of the mentally ill, IQ testing, sexual orientation change efforts, and gender equality.
Membership
Full membership with the APA in United States and Canada requires doctoral training whereas associate membership requires at least two years of postgraduate studies in psychology or approved related discipline. The minimal requirement of a doctoral dissertation related to psychology for full membership can be waived in certain circumstances where there is evidence that significant contribution or performance in the field of psychology has been made.
Affiliate organizations American Psychological Association Services, Inc. (APASI) was formed in 2018 and is a 501(c)(6) entity, which engages in advocacy on behalf of psychologists from all areas of psychology. Its predecessor was the American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO). APASI contains the Psychology Political Action Committee (PAC), which engages in lobbying on behalf of psychologists at the federal level.
Awards Each year, the APA recognizes top psychologists with the "Distinguished Contributions" awards; these awards are the highest honors given by the APA. APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology APA Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice. Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology APA Award for Lifetime Contributions to Psychology (APA's highest award) APA International Humanitarian Award
Publications
The American Psychologist is the association's flagship, peer-reviewed journal. APA also publishes over 70 other journals encompassing most specialty areas in the field; APA's Educational Publishing Foundation (EPF) is an imprint for publishing on behalf of other organizations. Its journals include:
Archives of Scientific Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Developmental Psychology Dreaming (published on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Dreams) Emotion Health Psychology Journal of Applied Psychology Journal of Comparative Psychology Journal of Experimental Psychology Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied Journal of Family Psychology: Quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association on behalf of their Division 43. The journal covers all aspects of family psychology. It was established in 2011 and the editor-in-chief is Thomas L. Sexton (Indiana University). The journal is abstracted and indexed in PsycINFO. Stigma and Health, peer-reviewed journal published since 2016 Journal of Occupational Health Psychology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Psychological Bulletin Psychological Review Psychology and Aging Psychology of Addictive Behaviors Psychology of Violence Psychology, Public Policy, and Law School Psychology
The APA has published hundreds of books.A search of the Library of Congress catalog on September 24, 2014, for books published by the American Psychological Association returned 1583 results, but some of these results are other media that are misclassified as books. Among these books are: the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (and a concise version titled Concise Rules of APA Style), which is the official guide to APA style; the APA Dictionary of Psychology; an eight-volume Encyclopedia of Psychology; and many scholarly books on specific subjects such as Varieties of Anomalous Experience. The APA has also published children's books under the Magination Press imprint, software for data analysis, videos demonstrating therapeutic techniques, reports, and brochures.
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace program The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a collaborative effort between the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization designed to help employers optimize employee well-being and organizational performance. The PHWP includes APA's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards, a variety of APA Practice Organization resources, including PHWP Web content, e-newsletter, podcast and blog, and support of local programs currently implemented by 52 state, provincial and territorial psychological associations as a mechanism for driving grassroots change in local business communities. The awards are designed to recognize organizations for their efforts to foster employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. The award program highlights a variety of workplaces, large and small, profit and non-profit, in diverse geographical settings. Applicants are evaluated on their efforts in the following five areas: employee involvement, work-life balance, employee growth and development, health and safety, and employee recognition. Awards are given at the local and national level.
APA style
American Psychological Association (APA) style is a set of rules developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences. Used to ensure clarity of communication, the layout is designed to "move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision." The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association contains the rules for every aspect of writing, especially in the social sciences from determining authorship to constructing a table to avoiding plagiarism and constructing accurate reference citations. "The General Format of APA is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. General guidelines for a paper in APA style includes: typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. The font should be clear and highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font." The seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published in October 2019.
Databases APA maintains a number of databases, including PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PsycBOOKS, PsycEXTRA, PsycCRITIQUES, PsycTESTS, and PsycTHERAPY. APA also operates a comprehensive search platform, PsycNET, covering multiple databases.
PsycINFO is a bibliographic database that contains citations and summaries dating from the 19th century, including journal articles, book chapters, books, technical reports, and dissertations within the field of psychology. , PsycINFO has collected information from 2,457 journals.
History
Founding The APA was founded in July 1892 at Clark University by a small group of around 30 men; by 1916 there were over 300 members. The first president was G. Stanley Hall. During World War II, the APA merged with other psychological organizations, resulting in a new divisional structure. Nineteen divisions were approved in 1944; the divisions with the most members were the clinical and personnel (now counseling) divisions. From 1960 to 2007, the number of divisions expanded to 54. Today the APA is affiliated with 60 state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations. After World War II, the APA experienced rapid membership growth, increasing from 4,183 members in 1945 to 30,839 in 1970.
Dominance of clinical psychology Due to the dominance of clinical psychology in APA, several research-focused groups have broken away from the organization. These include the Psychonomic Society in 1959 (with a primarily cognitive orientation), and the Association for Psychological Science (which changed its name from the American Psychological Society in early 2006) in 1988 (with a broad focus on the science and research of psychology). Theodore H. Blau was the first clinician in independent practice to be elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1977.
Presidents
Notable people
Bart Rossi, psychologist and author Diane Willis, American psychologist, eponym of the Diane J. Willis early career award G. Stanley Hall, President of APA
Divisions The APA has 56 numbered divisions, 54 of which are currently active:
Society for General Psychology – the first division formed by the APA, in 1945, concerned with issues across the subdisciplines of psychology Society for the Teaching of Psychology – provides free teaching material for students and teachers of psychology and bestows many awards Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science Currently vacant – initially reserved for the Psychometric Society, which decided against becoming an APA division after the establishment of the similarly defined Division 5 Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods – previously named Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology Division of Developmental Psychology Society for Personality and Social Psychology Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts Currently vacant – initially Abnormal Psychology and Psychotherapy, which joined Division 12 in 1946 Society of Clinical Psychology – established in 1945 with 482 members. Became the Division of Clinical and Abnormal Psychology in 1946, and took its current name in 1998. In 1962 it created clinical child psychology as its first section. Society of Consulting Psychology – originally Division of Counseling and Guidance Psychologists Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Division of Educational Psychology Division of School Psychology – originally formed as the Division of School Psychologists in 1945, renamed in 1969 Society of Counseling Psychology Psychologists in Public Service Society for Military Psychology Adult Development and Aging Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology Rehabilitation Psychology Society for Consumer Psychology Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Behavior Analysis Society for the History of Psychology Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Psychotherapy Society of Psychological Hypnosis State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs Society for Humanistic Psychology Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities / Autism Spectrum Disorder Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology Society for the Psychology of Women Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice Society for Health Psychology Psychoanalysis Society for Clinical Neuropsychology American Psychology-Law Society Psychologists in Independent Practice Society for Family Psychology Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues Media Psychology Exercise and Sport Psychology Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology Division Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy Society of Addiction Psychology Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities International Psychology