APA serves as the “big tent” for the field, aiming to represent the interests of all of psychology. Making this a reality requires significant effort, discipline, and intentionality. It means recognizing and promoting the breadth of our field and the range of members’ world views, with the understanding that our differences do not fracture us but can make us stronger. It requires routinely questioning ourselves to ensure we are being inclusive while still adhering to our values as an association. We have learned several lessons while employing this approach. Here are some of the most significant:
- APA must represent and support all the subspecialities of psychology. Unlike other psychological organizations created to meet the needs of a subset of the discipline, we include all areas of psychology. We elevate the commonalities across the discipline while simultaneously celebrating the contributions of unique subgroups. We continuously combat the notion that attention paid to one area means a loss to another. The truth is success in any one part of psychology advances the interests of the entire field. We see this in our advocacy work with Congress and the Biden administration, where a win for psychological research helps our advocacy for practice and vice versa.
- We must be inclusive of views across the political spectrum. While sometimes uncomfortable, having an organizational culture that values robust debate without shying away from difficult conversations leads APA to better outcomes. Being inclusive of a wide range of viewpoints makes our field stronger by illuminating knowledge gaps, blind spots, and biases, allowing for the generation of new ideas and ensuring the hardy application of our science. Every APA member’s personal beliefs will not always align with APA’s ultimate stance on an issue. What is important is that our process for reaching consensus provides space for all viewpoints to surface. As the science of human behavior, psychology should serve as a model for how people—even those with drastically different perspectives—can come together in a respectful and meaningful way.
- Our work must embrace the breadth of human diversity. APA totals more than 157,000 members—a record high for the association—and with this size comes a diverse membership with a range of backgrounds. We must ensure APA is inclusive of members’ intersectional identities and experiences. We must allow space and dialogue for different perspectives on all issues, avoiding the proclivity to value only the majority opinion.
Even if you do not agree with everything APA does, we hope that you will continue to use your expertise to shape our positions and that you feel that your voice is valued. It is critical for the important mission-driven work we do.
