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 APA Invites Applications for 2007-2008 Science Policy Fellowship
Children's Mental Health Following Hurricane Katrina Highlighted on the Hill
Psychologists Provide Over-The-Counter Advice to FDA
Psychologists Brief Intelligence Community On "GROUPTHINK"
The Decade of Behavior Honors Scholars at Capitol Hill Briefing
APA Member Convenes Research Workshop on the Psychology of Terrorism
Drug Abuse Liability Testing in Non-Human Animals
Psychologists Urged to Submit Ideas for NIH Roadmap by November 17, 2006
NIH Conference on Health Disparities: "Standing Room Only"
APA Invites Applications for 2007-2008 Science Policy Fellowship
APA's Science Directorate invites psychologists to apply in January for its annual Science Policy Fellowship program. One Fellow will spend the 2007-2008 academic year working as a special assistant in an executive branch science agency, with specific, individualized placement based on the Fellow's expertise and interests. Past APA Science Policy Fellows have worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Science Foundation.
The overall goals of the program are to provide psychological scientists an invaluable learning experience in research administration and policy, while contributing to more effective use of psychological knowledge within federal science mission agencies. The prospective Fellow must demonstrate competence in scientific psychology and show strong interest in applying psychological knowledge to national science policy issues. Complete application instructions and materials are available on the Science Public Policy Office website and Dr. Heather Kelly may be contacted at (202) 336-5932 or via email for more information about the Fellowship.
Children's Mental Health Following Hurricane Katrina Highlighted on the Hill
On September 22, APA partnered with seven scientific and advocacy organizations, including the Society for Research in Child Development, in sponsoring a congressional briefing entitled, "In the Eye of the Storm: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina." Psychologist Joy Osofsky of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and current President of Zero to Three presented data on the mental health status and needs of children following Katrina. According to her research on a cohort of 2200 older children who had been displaced, almost half met the cut-off for mental health referral, 37 percent reported experiencing previous loss or trauma, and nearly 40 percent reported feeling depressed, angry, or sad. For younger children ages 3-8, the data indicate that they have more difficulty with separation and exhibit clingy behavior. Overall, the data show that most children are resilient even when faced with traumatic events that include displacement, relocation, and loss of homes and communities. Dr. Osofky's data also demonstrate a need for intervention and supportive therapeutic services in settings that are accessible to children and their families, such as schools and community centers.
Additional speakers at the briefing included Cathy Grace, EdD, from the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Development Institute and Gary Asmus, PhD, MIS, Director of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Center for Child Development.
View the presentations and pictures from the briefing on the SRCD website
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Psychologists Provide Over-The-Counter Advice to FDA
On September 25, two psychologists, Saul Shiffman, Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburg and Ruth Day, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, were invited to present to the FDA Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee. The Committee was considering issues related to the analysis and interpretation of studies of consumer behavior that would support marketing a drug as an over-the-counter (OTC) product rather than as a prescription product. Dr. Shiffman's presentation focused on behavioral studies supporting switches from prescription to OTC. Dr. Day's presentation focused on the cognitive accessibility of OTC drug information.
Asked to reflect on the meeting, Dr. Shiffman said, "The discussion highlighted the importance of behavior and of psychological science in evaluations of medications for OTC status. Since candidates for OTC switch are usually drugs that are well-understood pharmacologically, and are safe when used properly, the core issue is a behavioral one, namely, how will people use the medication in an OTC setting."
Dr. Day took a long-term view in her evaluation, and made the following comments: "How successful was this FDA Advisory Committee meeting? The measure of a meeting is not always immediate. That is especially the case with this one, since no formal votes were taken. Most of the discussion and recommendations for testing comprehension of drug information were from the clinical trials tradition. Recommendations from the cognitive science and experimental psychology traditions were also given (such as methods used in my lab). These methods have already sparked attention in subsequent meetings and discussion by both the FDA and drug companies. Time will tell -- they may be used in future research designed to determine whether a prescription drug can be safely switched to over-the-counter. The public must understand the package information well enough to determine whether the drug is right for them and also understand both the benefits and risks."
View additional meeting materials and background information
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Psychologists Brief Intelligence Community On "GROUPTHINK"
On September 25, three psychologists were invited by the Office of Analytic Standards and Integrity in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide a briefing on Capitol Hill. "Group Judgment and Intelligence Analysis: Thinking in Groups without Groupthink" featured James Surowieki, a columnist for The New Yorker and author of "The Wisdom of Crowds", who set the stage and played off his book's theme in his talk entitled "The Wisdom and Folly of Crowds: Overcoming Groupthink in Intelligence Analysis." Psychologist Dr. Reid Hastie, the Robert S. Hamada Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, gave a presentation entitled "How to Make Groups Wiser". Dr. Anthony Pratkanis, professor of Psychology at the University of California - Santa Cruz presented "Mitigating the Negative Decision-making Consequences of Groupthink and Other Social Pressures". Lastly, Dr. Baruch Fischhoff, Howard Heinz University Professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences and Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, presented "Managing Knowledge to Reduce Groupthink".
The timing of the event was fortuitous, as it brought psychological science to the fore in the midst of a media frenzy over declassified elements of the National Intelligence Estimate, a consensus document representing the combined input of 16 intelligence agencies under the umbrella of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Asked to comment on their experiences in Washington, Dr. Pratkanis said "I'm impressed with the diligence and commitment of analysts involved with intelligence work." He also noted that he's "honored that psychological science has been asked to play a role in helping the intelligence community make better decisions about some very difficult, but important issues." Dr. Fischhoff added some historical perspective: "Intelligence is a 'mind game' in the choice of method as well as the analysis of data. In the 1970s, there was a burst of interest in the intelligence community regarding research into judgment, which has become part of its training. It is gratifying to see the renewed attention to the psychological science of analyzing complex, uncertain problems."
Two additional handouts were available at the briefing:
View the Pratkanis handout
View the Hastie handout
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The Decade of Behavior Honors Scholars at Capitol Hill Briefing
On October 5, APA coordinated a congressional briefing highlighting award-winning research on making workplaces and public places safer. The Capitol Hill briefing for congressional and federal agency staff, titled "Workplace and Public Safety: The Role of Behavioral Research," was sponsored by the Decade of Behavior, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the National Communication Association. On behalf of the Decade of Behavior, Steven Breckler, Executive Director for Science at APA, honored David Hofmann (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill), Michael Burke (Tulane University), and Charles Atkin (Michigan State University) for their significant contributions to this timely issue. Deborah Boehm-Davis, Chair of the Department of Psychology at George Mason University, moderated the panel of speakers.
Hofmann focused his remarks on the role that leadership and safety climate play in improving workplace safety, thereby reducing organizational costs. Burke discussed how successful training interventions can improve safety performance. In the final presentation, Atkin described effective communication campaign strategies for improving health and safety.
If you would like to read more about how behavioral research can inform workplace and public safety, please click on the PowerPoint presentations below.
View Dr. Hofmann's presentation
View Dr. Burke's presentation
View Dr. Atkin's presentation
Deborah Boehm-Davis, Charles Atkin, David Hofmann, and Michael Burke
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APA Member Convenes Research Workshop on the Psychology of Terrorism
In early October, Kevin Murphy, APA Fellow and Director of the International Center for the Study of Terrorism at Pennsylvania State University, and Boaz Ganor, founder and Executive Director of Israel's International Policy Center for Counter-Terrorism, convened an Advanced Research Workshop titled "What Do We Know About the Psychology of Terrorism?" A number of APA members participated in the workshop, with the goals of defining, in clear and non-technical language, what is known about the psychology of terrorism, particularly as it relates to the process of joining a terrorist group; identifying pressing research needs and opportunities; and communicating this knowledge to a broad audience. Murphy explained that although there have been a number of conferences over the past few years focusing on the psychology of terrorism, some of which have produced books or reports, results rarely have reached non-scientific audiences such as policymakers and federal agency staff.
For this workshop, Murphy and Ganor assembled an international, multi-disciplinary panel of leading experts from the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore to develop a statement about the psychology of terrorism. Participants drew on research, theory and accumulated expertise in the social and behavioral sciences to both "debunk" myths and misconceptions surrounding terrorism and present conclusions vital to understanding and combating terrorism. The final day of the conference included a public dissemination session attended by international representatives of research and security-related agencies, including the FBI, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Office of Naval Research, Economic and Social Research Council and London Metropolitan Police. Workshop outcomes may be accessed through the website of the International Center for the Study of Terrorism.
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Drug Abuse Liability Testing in Non-Human Animals
On October 19-20, the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) hosted a conference in Annapolis, MD entitled "Preclinical Abuse Liability Testing: Current Methods and Future Challenges." The conference brought together more than 70 participants from government, industry, and academia, and presentations were divided into three sessions.
The first session, chaired by APA Fellow Bob Balster, focused on the role of preclinical abuse liability testing in the missions of government agencies in the U.S. and Europe (FDA, EMEA, WHO, NIDA, and DEA). APA Fellow William Woolverton provided the overview for the second session, which reviewed the three principal experimental procedures used in preclinical abuse liability testing: drug self-administration, drug discrimination, and studies of physical dependence. In particular, this session described the influence of key independent variables on experimental outcomes. The final session focused on future challenges in abuse liability testing, including strategies for testing new chemical entities (presented by APA Fellow James Woods) and new formulations of existing drugs, selection of species for experimental subjects, compliance with GLP standards (presented by APA Fellow Nancy Ator), and integration of analytic concepts from behavioral economics. Case studies were also presented to illustrate some of the nuances involved in the conduct and interpretation of abuse liability studies.
The organizing committee is reviewing the possibility of posting the program and selected slides from the conference on the CPDD website.
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Psychologists Urged to Submit Ideas for NIH Roadmap by November 17, 2006
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a Request for Information (RFI) on October 20 that seeks to gather suggestions for initiatives that will be funded by the NIH Roadmap. The Roadmap is a trans-institute pool of funds intended to support trans-NIH research initiatives. APA is asking all psychologists who receive NIH support to look at this RFI and submit their best ‘big' ideas for initiatives. Under the current tight NIH budget, the Roadmap is one of the few places that will see significant new money in the near-term, so it would benefit all of psychology if some of the initiatives had strong behavioral and social science components. The NIH expects to spend between $30-50 million per year from within the currently projected Roadmap budget for approximately 5-8 new 5-year (or in exceptional cases up to 10-year) initiatives.
The NIH is seeking input from the scientific community, NIH Institutes and Centers (IC), health professionals, patient advocates, and the general public about innovative and cross-cutting initiatives that will improve and accelerate biomedical research and its impact on the health of the nation. Collecting these ideas is the initial step in the process of identifying a new cohort of trans-NIH strategic initiatives for Fiscal Year 2008. The RFI provides an opportunity for respondents to submit their own ideas and to view ideas nominated to date.
All ideas for new trans-NIH strategic initiatives should meet the following criteria:
- Is the proposed initiative truly transforming? Could it dramatically affect how biomedical and/or behavioral research is conducted over the next decade?
- Will the outcomes from the proposed initiatives synergistically promote and advance the individual missions of the NIH institutes and centers to benefit health?
- Does the proposed initiative require participation from NIH as a whole and/or does it address an area of science that does not clearly fall within the mission of any one IC or Office of the Director program office?
- Is the proposed initiative something that no other entity is likely or able to do, and is there a public health benefit to having the results of the research in the public domain?
In addition to these general criteria, selection of initiatives will be based on whether the proposed programs can either be achieved within a 5-10 year time frame or can be expected to become integrated with IC funded research within that time frame. The selection will also take into consideration current research funding, with the intent of stimulating research in new or fledgling research areas that also meet the criteria stated above. The ideas should not be disease-specific and should not address problems or opportunities that fall under the purview of only one NIH institute or center.
OBSSR and some NIH institutes have already proposed a few initiatives that encompass behavioral and social sciences research, so before suggesting new ideas, please look at proposals that are already in the hopper. You may submit new ideas or view newly proposed initiatives at http://www.reffectcomments.org/roadmap/.
The Request for Information for NIH Roadmap initiatives can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-011.html.
Additional information about initiatives currently funded by the Roadmap can be found at the website for the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI).
APA will submit ideas for initiatives as well, so please share your proposals via email with Pat Kobor of the Science Policy Office: email
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NIH Conference on Health Disparities: "Standing Room Only"
A two-day conference, "Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities: Contributions from the Behavioral and Social Sciences," opened on October 23 to an overflow crowd. NIH's Natcher auditorium, which seats 1,000, was full, and many would-be attendees were wait-listed.
The conference focused on three areas of action influencing health disparities: policy, prevention and health care. The goals of the conference were to highlight and demonstrate the actual and potential contributions of behavioral and social science research to NIH's mission of reducing disparities in health; to identify areas requiring increased conceptual, empirical and methodological development; and to recruit additional researchers to investigate health disparities.
Attendees were welcomed by the Deputy Director of NIH, Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, and John Ruffin, PhD, the Director of the National Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).
Among the first day speakers was Nancy Adler, PhD, University of California - San Francisco, who gave a broad overview of the past ‘generations' of research contributing to knowledge about health disparities. This includes research on socioeconomic status and health and work on mechanisms by which disparities affect health, including the concept of allostatic load. Dr. Adler believes the fourth generation of research will be defined by more complex and sensitive methodology and measurement of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Psychologist James Jackson, PhD, of the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, was scheduled to give the conference's ‘capstone' presentation on October 24.
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Any questions?
If you have any questions regarding SPIN or specific science policy issues, please feel free to contact any of APA's Science PPO staff.
Geoff Mumford, PhD
Assistant Executive Director for Science Policy
email
Pat Kobor
Senior Science Policy Analyst
email
Heather O'Beirne Kelly, PhD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
email
Karen Studwell, JD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
email
Anne Bettesworth
Science Policy Associate
email
Kirk Waldroff
Science Website Manager
email
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