Heather Bullock, PhD, was awarded an APA Presidential Citation for her contributions to the field of psychology through research, teaching, and public engagement on the social and psychological dimensions of poverty and economic (in)justice.
Bullock’s work illustrates the ways that groups of different social class understand poverty and wealth and is guided by a central interest in alleviating poverty. She has explored the barriers to economic prosperity, the underlying causes of poverty, and the stigmatization of those affected by poverty. She investigates people’s stereotypical beliefs about economic disparities and the consequential impact on public policy. More so, she examines how structural, political, and social psychological processes influence support for safety net and welfare policies and the political mobilization of the economically marginalized.
Her scholarship not only offers insight into the beliefs that justify support for restrictive policies and diminished safety net programs, but also the beliefs that contribute to support for progressive policies, redistribution and prejudice reduction. As a member of the Presidential Initiative on Deep Poverty Working Group, Bullock has helped create a toolkit of action guides and the 5-Week Deep Poverty Challenge to empower psychologists to address deep poverty in their local communities.
Beyond her scholarly contributions through numerous journal articles and book publications on socioeconomic disparities, Bullock is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the Director of the UCSC Blum Center on Poverty, Social Enterprise and Participatory Governance. The Blum center specializes in community-engaged research and partners with numerous community organizations focusing on poverty alleviation. In that capacity, she has extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations and translating complex research findings into accessible materials for a broad public audience.
Bullock has a long record of service to APA that includes serving as an APA/AAAS Congressional Fellow with Senator Edward M. Kennedy on policies related to poverty, hunger, youth violence and early childhood education. She was the inaugural chair of the APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status and is currently serving on APA’s Policy and Planning Board. Bullock has received awards and honors from a variety of organizations such as: The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Vanguard Foundation, National Institute of Justice, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Science Foundation, National Library Association, Association for Women in Psychology and Committee on SES.
In recognition of her innovative research and advocacy for marginalized individuals, I, Rosie Phillips Davis, APA president, am honored to present this APA Presidential Citation to my colleague, Heather Bullock, PhD.