Psychological Science Agenda

PSA is the monthly e-newsletter of the APA Science Directorate. It is read by psychologists, students, academic administrators, journalists, and policymakers in Congress and federal science agencies. Subscribe here.

Awakening to sleep
Tempted to read just one more email before you sleep? Don't. New research finds that not getting enough sleep — whether because of our insatiable desire for digital media or more traditional sleep disturbances — has far-reaching effects on physical and psychological health.

The waking wounded
Addressing injured soldiers’ sleep issues helps improve their rehabilitation, psychologists find.

African-American women at risk
With the obesity epidemic disproportionally affecting black women, APA and the Association of Black Psychologists co-hosted a summit to explore the intersection of race, stress and social context — as well as the culturally sensitive interventions that can make a difference.

APA offers expertise to the court
APA provided key psychological evidence in three important court cases in the last year.

Tuning in to psychology
Thanks to iTunes U, free psychology lectures are pumping through the earbuds of thousands of students, professionals and curious laypeople around the world.

Time Capsule
Psychological hijinks
Hailed as a “scientific Playboy,” for 20 years the Worm Runner’s Digest poked fun at the pomposity of science, with spoofs by B.F. Skinner, James V. McConnell and other psychology luminaries.

Quick Reads

• Phone therapy works for mild to moderate disorders, study suggests 

• More older adults with depression referred to medication - not psychotherapy - for treatment 

• Rape takes global toll on women's lives, study finds 

• Psychologist Peter Salovey is Yale’s next president

In Brief
Snapshots of recently published findings.