WASHINGTON - Psychologist Diane F. Halpern, Ph.D., Director of the Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children and professor of psychology at Claremont McKenna College has been elected president of the American Psychological Association (APA) for 2004.
Dr. Halpern's most recent work focuses on the application of learning principles in settings where real people learn and in enhancing critical thinking skills. Keeping with her belief that psychological research should be the cornerstone for public policy, she has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and the White House Office of Science and Technology on motivational, psychosocial and cognitive applications to applied learning settings.
As APA president, Dr. Halpern says she wants to continue emphasizing what some recent past presidents have focused on. Some of those issues include women's health, documenting the ways psychology makes a significant difference in the lives of many people and programs that teach children how to make wise choices that serve a greater good.
"I am also interested in developing and disseminating more multilingual materials designed to reduce prejudice, establishing a retired psychologists' corps so those of us euphemistically called the "young old" can continue to use our professional skills and abilities in meaningful ways, and applying empirically-validated learning principles and procedures to educational settings.
"I will continue the legislative work that is already underway to gain prescription privileges for those psychologists who are well trained in this area and to work for mental health parity," said Dr. Halpern
Halpern's teaching, service to psychology and research have been recognized with many awards, including the 2002 Outstanding Teaching Award from the Western Psychological Association, Wang Family Excellence Award, American Psychological Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching, Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training, G. Stanley Hall Lecture and the Outstanding Professor Award from California State University-Statewide.
She has also written or co-edited many books, including "Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking" (4th Edition), "Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities" (3rd Edition), "States of Mind: American and Post-Soviet Perspectives on Contemporary Issues in Psychology" and "Applying the Science of Learning to University Teaching." She is on the editorial board of a wide range of journals: Brain and Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Journal of Applied Psychology, and was on the board for JEP: General and Journal of Educational Psychology.
Dr. Halpern has made many media appearances, including the "Larry King Show," CNN, "Good Morning America," and national and international radio broadcasts and interviews for newspapers and popular press as a means of advancing and explaining psychology to the general public.
Halpern received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati in 1979. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and one MA from Temple University and another MA from the University of Cincinnati. She is originally from Philadelphia.
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 155,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.