Preparing the Next Generation of Citizen Psychologists:

Calling all educators, trainers and self-paced learners at every career stage:

The primary focus of this curriculum is the presentation of a detailed series of competencies, learning outcomes and resources that can be used by educators to help prepare both the next generation of psychologists to become Citizen Psychologists and current psychologists interested in becoming leaders through activities within their communities.

Learning materials are divided into six levels of education and training: High school; Undergraduate; Graduate; Internship; Postdoctoral; Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning.

When you download the curriculum below, you will also find results from a large survey to collect baseline data on the extent to which psychologists contribute to society. In the appendices, we offer vignettes from a range of Citizen Psychologists.

What you are about to download has an important historical precedent:

• Robert Seashore (1949) said, “although the applications of psychology to everyday life represents the largest single area of probable usefulness to students of psychology, we have largely neglected training students for effective participation and leadership as members of the community.”

• George Miller (1969) challenged psychologists to “give psychology away” by teaching others to “apply our science to the personal and social problems of the general public, for it is through them that the public will eventually discover the new paradigms that psychologists are developing.”

• Phil Zimbardo (2004) rhetorically asked, “Does psychology matter? Does what we do...really make a significant difference in the lives of individuals or in the functioning of communities and nations?...My final answer is simply YES, YES indeed! May the positive forces of psychology be with you and with our society.”

• APA 2018 President Jessica Henderson Daniel recently asserted, “Psychologists must be in the room, at the table, and at the head of the table when policies are formulated and implemented…Psychology is every day in every way.”

References for these authors are available in the curriculum.

This curriculum is the result of American Psychological Association (APA) President Jessica Henderson Daniel’s 2018 Presidential Initiative—the Citizen Psychologist—and a summit that took place in Washington, DC, in April 2018.

To meet the challenges of educating psychologists to develop, use, and disseminate the competencies needed to bring psychological principles and psychological science to benefit communities across the U.S. and globally, President Daniel focused her APA Presidential Initiative on the Citizen Psychologist. As part of that process, Citizen Psychologist was defined, a series of competencies and learning objectives across levels of learning were elucidated, and criteria were prepared to help identify those colleagues who exemplify the contributions of Citizen Psychologists.

The curriculum describes the following competencies at each level of learning. Some are consistent across levels, and others are unique to a particular level. The competencies are ordered to show developmental progression.

• High school: 1. Application of psychological knowledge; 2. Community awareness; 3. Community engagement; 4. Community Advocacy.

• Undergraduate: 1. Community Awareness; 2. Community Engagement; 3. Community Advocacy; 4. Community Leadership.

• Graduate: 1. Communication; 2. Sociocultural Diversity and Addressing Inequities; 3. Public Service Engagement; 4. Community Advocacy; 5. Community Leadership; 6. Application of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct.

• Internship: 1. Self-Reflection; 2. Sociocultural Diversity and Addressing Inequities; 3. Application of Psychological Science.

• Postdoctoral: 1. Self-Reflection; 2. Sociocultural Diversity and Addressing Inequities; 3. Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct; 4. Application of Psychological Science; 5. Community Leadership.

• Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning: 1. Self-Reflection; 2. Sociocultural Diversity and Addressing Inequities; 3. Community Engagement; 4. Self-Care.

Click the button below to download the entire curriculum—but before you do, would you help us learn about you and how you intend to use the curriculum? Please answer a few survey questionsopens in new window that will take less than minute of your time.  Your responses will help us better prepare future generations.

Download the Curriculum Nowopens in new window 

You can also download only the Citizen Psychologist Engagement Exerciseopens in new window (DOC, 137KB) found in the publication for personal or training use.

We encourage you to reproduce, reprint, translate, and distribute electronically this publication in whole or in part, without fees or permission, provided that you give acknowledgement to the American Psychological Association which maintains the copyright.

To cite any of this work, please reference:

APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential Work Group. (2018). Preparing the next generation of Citizen Psychologists: Competencies and learning outcomes across levels of education and training. Retrieved from www.apa.org/citizen-psychologist/index