Question 1
According to its Vision Statement, APA aspires to be a "principal leader and global partner promoting psychological knowledge and methods to facilitate the resolution of personal, societal and global challenges in diverse, multicultural and international contexts." How would your presidency and presidential initiatives further this vision?
If APA is to keep its mission as "principal leader and global partner promoting psychological knowledge," we need a global psychology. As such, scientific psychology should include culturally diverse participants and all aspects of applied psychology should be designed to serve people across the globe. As president of APA, I will promote initiatives that teach psychologists cross-cultural research skills, investigate how psychological principles apply to people in different cultures and apply this knowledge to promote human welfare throughout the world. I will work to make global and cross-cultural issues prominent in our training, journals, conventions and our other publications.
Question 2
APA has been grappling with a number of recent challenges. What is the single greatest challenge facing the association and how would you address it during your presidency?
Decreasing membership is the greatest issue facing APA. One factor driving this trend is the proliferation of specialized subfields and allegiance to their respective organizations. Psychologists are joining organizations that focus on their areas of practice or research instead of APA. We might be seen as too generic an organization for some psychologists. We need to rejuvenate interest in general psychology that explores the basic principles that underlie human behavior and identify the common issues of concern to the various psychological subspecialties. We need to stress the advantages of belonging to an organization that promotes the interests of all psychologists.