Challenges

Among the challenges facing psychology is communicating our discipline, our commitment to the public interest, and our very special contributions to science, service, and society to the public and policymakers. Our remarkable scientific advances ought to be showcased much better. Advances that, at first blush, might seem restricted to our sister sciences have made psychology increasingly relevant to other professions and to the public. Consider some examples. Cognitive and neurological underpinnings of decision making, learning, at-risk behavior of adolescents, and substance use are pregnant with implications well beyond basic understanding. Advances in genomics and proteomics involve psychology at the core. Environments (e.g., rearing offspring) can alter genetic expression in ways that are transmitted across generations (epigenetics). Also, genetic polymorphisms are key moderators that influence the impact of diet, health practices, and breast feeding on mental and physical health. Advances in molecular biology and neuroimaging elaborate perception, decision making, and personality—“our” topics, as it were. Advances in robotics and computers bring psychological processes (learning, memory, decision making) to novel spheres and some of these “spheres” will be planets and their “unmanned” exploration. In short, our science is doing well on its own, and it happens to be broadly relevant to many other areas as well. It is in our interests and the interests of society to make these connections salient.

We ought to convey the special contributions of psychology to the public and policymakers. The stakes are high: Funding for training, research, and services depend more than ever before on conveying who we are, what we do, and why it is important. Even more significantly, we can make a difference on critical societal issues at the national and international levels. Globalization is not merely about economics and trade: it is about a world view of issues and influences that affect the human condition and how to have impact in culturally and geopolitically diverse contexts.

The wealth and diversity of topics, career paths, and job settings for psychologists makes it challenging to convey a single, common theme or topic. Anyone who has taken or taught an introductory psychology course is confronted with a version of this challenge—ours is a rich and diverse discipline. Picture this for a moment: I am standing in front of the buffet of topics within our field, and pondering what to put on my plate. As I walk around the table, just to see what is offered, I admire the lavish display and read the cards aloud as I stroll: the study nerve transmissions of C. elegans, peer-raised rhesus monkey behavior, acculturation and stress, prejudice reduction, reading instruction, dopamine stimulation and maternal behavior, false memory induction, behavior of juries, illusory object perception, motivation and group performance, cognitive aging, employee performance and mood, and gene–environment interactions of depression. I ask the waiter, “Where am I? What factor or principle unites all of these and makes them psychology?” We answer this routinely in our teaching, so I am not saying there is no answer, but rather reminding you of the challenge in conveying to the public who we are.

The public often has views of many areas about the nature of affect, behavior, cognition, memory, personality, development, relationships, the impact or lack of impact of the media, and more. Psychology has gained the interest of the public, but we also have to swim against the current of misconceptions and stereotypic views that are not supported by research. Contrast this with some other disciplines. Few people in everyday life have strong views of what is really true in infrared astronomy (“Black holes have been identified that are 9–11 billion light years away? Hey, tell us something we don't already know.”) or from nanomedicine (“Delivering treatments that can traverse the blood-brain barrier? Of course, we knew all along that it wasn't really a barrier.”). In contrast, say something about psychological research findings related to marital happiness or discord, spirituality, sibling relations, or day care, and often we have to overcome a firmly held view. Our findings, perhaps more than those of other sciences, have to compete with such views, or at least integrate them in conveying messages. Add to the mix of public discourse on psychology, occasional talk show hosts, web-page-opedia, new fad therapies, and “secrets to sanity” of an actor or actress who overcame some psychological condition, and the incline on our treadmill of communication becomes a lot steeper. (I am already short-winded just writing this.)

APA has the ability and resources to make clear who we are, and we strive to do this every day. During my term, I am eager to do all I can to support, join, and (as needed) lead these efforts. I seek your help and input as well. When I refer to our many talents and our diverse resources I mean our members and colleagues—I mean you.