Tea with TOPSS: Virtual conversations with TOPSS members and psychologists

The APA TOPSS Committee was excited to host four virtual conversations with TOPSS members and prominent psychologists in July through December of 2020. These hour-long conversations allowed TOPSS members to hear from psychologists and each Tea included time for questions and answers. Edited videos of the calls and guest speaker biographies are posted below.

These talks in July through September were held with support from the American Psychological Foundation David and Carol Myers Fund to Support Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools. Please contact TOPSS if you have any questions.

The APA TOPSS Committee held this hour-long discussion on December 8, 2020, with Sandy Shullman, PhD, 2020 APA president. Shullman is a managing partner, Columbus Office, Executive Development Group, LLC, and is internationally known in leadership and executive assessment and development. The conversation began with a short discussion on applied psychology and APA's interest in broadening the public's understanding of psychology, followed by time for questions and answers.

Biography

Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD, president emerita of Spelman College, is a clinical psychologist widely known for both her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education. Her thirteen years as the president of Spelman College (2002–15) were marked by innovation and growth and her visionary leadership was recognized in 2013 with the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award. The author of several books including the best-selling “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, "Other Conversations About Race" (now in a new 2017 20th anniversary edition), "Can We Talk About Race?", and "Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation" (2007). Tatum is a sought-after speaker on the topics of racial identity development, race and education, strategies for creating inclusive campus environments, and higher education leadership. In 2005 Tatum was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for her innovative leadership in the field. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, she was the 2014 recipient of the APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.

A civic leader in the Atlanta community, Tatum is engaged in educational initiatives designed to expand educational opportunity for underserved students and their families. In Atlanta she serves on the governing boards of the Westside Future Fund, Achieve Atlanta, Morehouse College, and the Tull Charitable Foundation. She is also on the boards of Smith College and the Educational Testing Service.

She holds a BA degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and MA and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan as well as an MA in religious studies from Hartford Seminary. Over the course of her career, she has served as a faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Westfield State University, and Mount Holyoke College. Prior to her 2002 appointment as president of Spelman, she served as dean and acting president at Mount Holyoke College. In spring 2017 she was the Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor at Stanford University. She is married to Travis Tatum, PhD; they are the parents of two adult sons.

Biography

Elizabeth Loftus is distinguished professor at the University of California—Irvine. She holds faculty positions in the department of psychological science; the department of criminology, law and society, and the school of law She received her PhD in psychology from Stanford University. Since then, she has published over 20 books and over 600 scientific articles. Loftus's research has focused on the malleability of human memory. She has been recognized for her research with seven honorary doctorates and election to numerous prestigious societies, including the National Academy of Sciences. She is past president of the Association for Psychological Science, the Western Psychological Association, and the American Psychology-Law Society.

Loftus’s memory research has led to her being called as an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of cases. Some of the more well known cases include the McMartin PreSchool Molestation case, the Hillside Strangler, the Abscam cases, the trial of the officers accused in the Rodney King beating, the Menendez brothers, the Bosnian War trials in the Hague, the Oklahoma Bombing case, and litigation involving Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, Oliver North, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and the Duke University Lacrosse players.

Biography

Brad J. Bushman is a professor of communication at The Ohio State University. For over 30 years he has studied aggression and violence. He was a member of President Obama’s committee on gun violence, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on youth violence. In 2014 he received the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to media psychology and technology from the American Psychological Association. 

In 2017 he received the Kurt Lewin Awardopens in new window from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for “outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action” (with Craig Anderson). He has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been cited over 40,000 times. His research has challenged several myths (e.g., guns make people safer, venting anger reduces aggression, aggressive people suffer from low self-esteem) exposure to violent media has a trivial effect on aggression). A colleague calls him the “myth buster.”