Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA): 2015 Annual Report

Frank C. Worrell, PhD, Chair

The Board of Scientific Affairs held two meetings in 2015, on March 27-29 and Oct. 30-Nov. 1. The fall meeting was preceded by a full-day retreat. The following report summarizes the major work topics, accomplishments, and other issues of concern to the Board over the past year.

BSA and the Committee on Human Research (CHR) commented on the Data Sharing Policy developed by the Publications and Communications (P&C) Board Replication and Data Sharing (RADS) Task Force. While BSA and CHR were supportive of an APA policy on data sharing, they reiterated their concerns regarding several crucial areas that needed to be addressed. A working group was formed with representatives from BSA, CHR, CARE, and the P&C Board. Based on their discussions during a retreat meeting which was held in conjunction with the fall 2014 consolidated meetings, the working group drafted a document entitled, “Data Sharing: Principles and Considerations for Policy Development.” This document was widely distributed to federal agencies and other scientific societies and was well-received.

ATIs provide training in cutting-edge methods and technologies to psychological scientists. Four ATIs took place in 2015.

• Structural Equation Modeling in Longitudinal Research, at Arizona State University, May 26-30, 2015. John McArdle, a University of Southern California faculty member, and Kevin Grimm, a University of California, Davis, faculty member, led this course, which featured a series of lectures and hands-on computer workshops on longitudinal methods, modeling, and measurement in contemporary psychological research using SEM.
• Exploratory Data Mining in Behavioral Research, at Arizona State University, June 1-5, 2015. John McArdle led this course, which provided an overview of recent methodological advances in the topic. The ATI covered the conceptual bases and strategies of exploratory data mining, and reviewed current techniques and software. Participants also gained hands-on experience with the techniques and were invited to bring their own data and research problems to work on in consultation with the course instructors.
• Research Methods with Diverse Racial & Ethnic Groups, at Michigan State University June 8-12, 2015. Frederick Leong led this ATI, which included sessions on methods for investigating treatment outcomes in diverse populations, quantitative and qualitative methods, measurement equivalence and invariance across diverse groups, and methods in areas ranging from genomics to aging research to community research.
• Non-Linear Methods for Psychological Science, at the University of Cincinnati, June 15-19, 2015. Organized by Michael Richardson, this ATI provided a thorough introduction to a variety of non-linear and dynamical methods.  Such methods are becoming increasingly prominent within psychology and related disciplines.  Specific topics included time series analysis, recurrence quantification analysis, fractal analysis, and dispersion analysis. 

The SSF program is the current version of the Summer Science Institute, a program initiated by BSA. Twelve upper-level undergraduates were selected to take part in this 6-week intensive research experience. Faculty members from George Mason University agreed to mentor the SSF students over the summer. Some students proposed research studies, obtained approval from the university IRB, and completed the research over the summer. Others made substantive contributions to ongoing research projects in faculty labs. The SSF students also spent a number of days at the APA headquarters building, learning about careers in psychological science, the importance of science advocacy, and how to gain admission to graduate school.

BSA established these awards to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to psychological science through their commitment to a culture of service as well as departments of psychology that instill a culture of service in their education of students and mentoring of faculty. The individual Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science was presented to Neal Schmitt, Michigan State University and Robert Sellers, University of Michigan. The Departmental Award for Culture of Service in the Psychological Sciences was presented to Michigan State University, Department of Psychology and Muhlenberg College, Department of Psychology .

BSA developed the Meritorious Research Service Commendation to recognize outstanding psychologists in the federal government and nonprofit organizations who help foster psychological science through their work in planning, promoting, and managing funding programs for research and research training. 2015 was the 14th year in which the citation was given. BSA selected Paige A. Green (National Cancer Institute); Helen Lisbeth Nielsen (National Institute on Aging); Eve E. Reider (National Institute on Drug Abuse); Marcia S. Scott (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism); and Joel T. Sherrill (National Institute on Mental Health) to receive commendations for 2015 .

Science programs at the 2015 convention sponsored by BSA included the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award addresses, the Neal Miller Lecture, the Master Lectures, and Science Student Council programs. BSA also sponsored a breakfast meeting at which early career scientists discussed their current and future needs and what programs and products APA could develop to meet those needs.

Master Lecture Program: BSA selected the following speakers to participate in the 2016 Master Lecture Program at the 2016 convention: Andrew Fuligni (University of California, Los Angeles) in thedevelopmental psychology area, C. Randy Gallistel (Rutgers University) in the learning, behavior, and action area, Susan L. Morrow (University of Utah) in the methodology area, John C. Norcross (University of Scranton) in the psychopathology and treatment area, and Karen S. Rook (University of California, Los Angeles) in the social and cultural psychology area.

Distinguished Scientist Lecturer Program: BSA selected the following speakers to deliver Distinguished Lectures at regional psychology conferences: Thomas Joiner (Florida State University), Arthur Kramer (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton (University of California, Berkeley).

Neal Miller Lecture: BSA selected Sheri Mizumori (University of Washington) as the Neal Miller Lecturer at the 2016 APA convention.

The work of the committees constitutes a large part of science governance activities, as summarized below:

The Committee on Scientific Awards continues to recognize important scientific achievement in psychology through its selection of psychological scientists for prestigious APA awards. It selected recipients for the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology, and the Distinguished Scientific Awards for Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The Committee also recommends psychologists that APA can nominate for other scientific awards not conferred by APA.

The Committee on Animal Research and Ethics worked on projects that focused on educating the public about the nature of nonhuman animal research, in general, and in psychology in particular.

The Committee on Human Research developed a plan for disseminating information on current issues in the responsible conduct of research, including human research participant protections.

The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment began work on the revision of the Guidelines for Test User Qualifications. The Committee completed its work on the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.

The Science Student Council advises BSA and the Science Directorate on issues of concern to graduate students. It also selected recipients of graduate student awards and developed programming for the APA Convention.

BSA members elected Dr. Bonnie J. Spring as Chair for 2016.

The 2015 membership of BSA included eight European American members and one African American member. There were five women and four men. BSA did not have board specific diversity training during 2015.

2015 BSA members: Frank C. Worrell, PhD, Chair, Tammy D. Allen, PhD, Aaron S. Benjamin, PhD, Geraldine Downey, PhD, Sara J. Nixon, PhD, Robert W. Proctor, PhD, Saul Shiffman, PhD, Linda P. Spear, PhD, and Bonnie J. Spring, PhD.