A refrain I hear from psychologists is the importance of our field helping the public to better understand and use psychology. This is such a strong sentiment that it emerged as a major priority in APA’s strategic plan. As the association has pursued this goal, we have learned a lot about how we can be more effective at achieving it.
The key is connecting relevant science to the issues the public cares about and sharing this knowledge in digestible ways.
Here are three examples of what has been successful:
Consistently incorporating the human element. Complex problems are frequently framed in ways that omit the human element—human cognition, emotion, and behavior. This not only renders psychology irrelevant in the minds of the public, but it also weakens potential solutions to these challenges. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen the effectiveness of public health strategies wane without consideration of human factors issues, such as what motivates people to engage in healthy behaviors and take risks. Psychology can help leaders and policymakers solve complex problems, but we must ensure that the human element is included from the outset.
Word choice matters. The language we use to describe our work has a direct bearing on its success. For example, how we describe APA’s efforts to address racism impacts whether people see the work as central or extraneous to our mission. Word choice affects how people understand this work—across the country and the political spectrum. When addressing systemic racism is conveyed as not only a social justice issue, but as critical for building more equitable and effective organizations, people are more likely to see the relevance.
Using the lens of others. Effectively explaining complex concepts to solve real-world problems requires viewing them through the lens of others, not just our own. For example, in APA’s conversations with business leaders about fostering psychologically healthy workplaces, we emphasize the positive effects not only on employee well-being, but on the company’s efficiency, productivity, and bottom line.
While some of these strategies may seem obvious, putting them into consistent practice is hard. We must remind ourselves that how we communicate is not only key to advancing APA’s strategic vision, but an effective way to elevate psychology and the impact we want to have.