The American Psychological Association (abbreviated APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists Psychology is the study of human or animal mental functions and behaviors. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is a psychologist. Psychologists are classified as social or behavioral scientists. Psychological research can be considered either basic or applied. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in in the U.S. ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language and is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 152,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students and has an annual budget of around $115m. The American Psychological Association is occasionally confused with the American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international. The association publishes various journals and pamphlets, as well as the Diagnostic and Statistical, which also uses the acronym APA.
Profile
Mission
The mission of the APA[1] is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.
The American Psychological Association aspires to excel as a valuable, effective and influential organization advancing psychology as a science, serving as:
- A uniting force for the discipline
- The major catalyst for the stimulation, growth and dissemination of psychological science and practice
- The primary resource for all psychologists
- The premier innovator in the education, development, and training of psychological scientists, practitioners and educators
- The leading advocate for psychological knowledge and practice informing policy makers and the public to improve public policy and daily living
- 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
- An effective champion of the application of psychology to promote human rights, health, well being and dignity
The APA core values statement
The American Psychological Association commits to its vision through a mission based upon the following values:
- Continual Pursuit of Excellence
- Knowledge and its Application Based Upon Methods of Science
- Outstanding Service to its Members and to Society
- Social Justice, Diversity and Inclusion
- Ethical Action in All that We Do
Awards
Each year, the APA recognizes top psychologists with the "Distinguished Contributions" Awards; these awards are the highest honors given by the APA, and among the highest honors that a psychologist or psychology researcher can receive.
- Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology (Early Career / Senior)
- Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Early Career / Senior)
- Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology
- Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology
- Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research
- Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector
- Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology
Membership and title of "psychologist"
Main article: Psychologist#United States and Canada There are many different types of psychologists, as is reflected by the 56 different divisions of the American Psychological Association . Psychologists are generally described as being either "applied" or "research-oriented". The common terms used to describe this central division in psychology are "scientists" or &APA policy on the use of the title psychologist is contained in the Model Act for State Licensure of Psychologists[2]: Psychologists have earned a doctoral degree in psychology and may not use the title “psychologist” and/or deliver psychological services to the public, unless the psychologist is licensed or specifically exempted from licensure under the law. State licensing laws specify state specific requirements for the education and training of psychologists leading to licensure. Psychologists who are exempted from licensure could include researchers, educators, or general applied psychologists who furnish services outside of the health and mental health field.
The most commonly recognized psychology professionals are clinical and counseling psychologists, those who provide psychotherapy Psychotherapy, or personal counseling with a psychotherapist, is an intentional interpersonal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client or patient in problems of living and/or administer and interpret psychological "tests."
Full membership with the APA in United States and Canada requires doctoral training whereas associate membership requires at least two years of postgraduate studies in psychology or approved related discipline. The minimal requirement of a doctoral dissertation related to psychology for full membership can be waived in certain circumstances where there is evidence that significant contribution or performance in the field of psychology has been made.[3]
Present organizational structure
APA comprises an executive office, a publishing operation, offices that address administrative, business, information technology, and operational needs, and five substantive directorates:
- the Education Directorate accredits doctoral psychology programs and addresses issues related to psychology education in secondary through graduate education;
- the Practice Directorate engages on behalf of practicing psychologists and health care consumers;
- the Public Interest Directorate advances psychology as a means of addressing the fundamental problems of human welfare and promoting the equitable and just treatment of all segments of society;
- the Public and Member Communications Directorate is responsible for APA's outreach to its members and affiliates and to the general public;
- the Science Directorate provides support and voice for psychological scientists.
Affiliate organizations
The American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO) and the Education Advocacy Trust, which operates autonomously as a part of APAPO, are 501(c)(6) entities, separate from APA. They engage in advocacy on behalf of psychological practitioners and health care consumers and psychology education, respectively.
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace program
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a collaborative effort between the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization designed to help employers optimize employee well-being and organizational performance. The PHWP includes APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards, a variety of APA Practice Organization resources, including PHWP Web content, e-newsletter, podcast and blog, and support of local programs currently implemented by 52 state, provincial and territorial psychological associations as a mechanism for driving grassroots change in local business communities. The awards are designed to recognize organizations for their efforts to foster employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. The award program highlights a variety of workplaces, large and small, profit and non-profit, in diverse geographical settings. Applicants are evaluated on their efforts in the following five areas: employee involvement, work-life balance Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other. Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle balance" and "life balance", employee growth and development, health and safety, and employee recognition. Awards are given at the local and national level.[4][5]
2010 award winners: American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Advanced Solutions (an HP company), Toronto Police Service and Leaders Bank.
APA Style
Main article: APA style American Psychological Association Style is a set of rules developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences. Designed to ensure clarity of communication, the rules are designed to "move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision." The Publication Manual of the AmericanAmerican Psychological Association (APA) Style is a set of rules developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences. Designed to ensure clarity of communication, the rules are designed to "move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision."[6] The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association contains the rules for every aspect of writing, especially in the social sciences The social sciences are the fields of academic scholarship that explore aspects of human society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences. These include: anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, linguistics, political science, international from determining authorship to constructing a table A table is both a mode of visual communication and also a means of arranging data. The table is not the only means of arranging data. The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural ornamentation, traffic signs and many other to avoiding plagiarism The 18th century new morals have been institutionalized and enforced prominently in the sectors of academia and journalism, where plagiarism is now considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics, subject to sanctions like expulsion and othere severe career damages. Not so in the arts, which have resisted in their long- and constructing accurate reference citations.
Early editions of the Publication Manual
The Publication Manual was established in 1929 as a seven-page document with a set of procedures to increase the ease of reading comprehension (APA, 2009a, p. xiii).[7] Created under the sponsorship of the United States National Research Council The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names, its originators included psychologists There are many different types of psychologists, as is reflected by the 56 different divisions of the American Psychological Association . Psychologists are generally described as being either "applied" or "research-oriented". The common terms used to describe this central division in psychology are "scientists" or &, anthropologists Anthropology is the study of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology", pronounced /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/, is from the Greek anthrōpos , "human", and -logia (-λογία), "discourse" or "study", and was first used by Franç, and publishing professionals.
In 1952, the booklet was expanded and published as a 55-page supplement in Psychological Bulletin Psychological Bulletin is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in literature reviews. It was founded by Johns Hopkins psychologist James Mark Baldwin in 1904. immediately after he had bought out James McKeen Cattell's share of Psychological Review, which the two had founded ten years earlier. Baldwin gave the editorship of both journals with revisions made in 1957 and 1967 (APA, 1952, 1957, 1967).[8][9][10] The first edition covered word choice, grammar, punctuation, formatting, journal publication policies, and "wrapping and shipping" (APA, Council of Editors, 1952, p. 442).
In response to the growing complexities of scientific reporting, subsequent editions were released in 1974, 1983, 1994, and 2001. Primarily known for the simplicity of its reference citation style, the Publication Manual also established standards for language use that had far-reaching effects. Particularly influential were the "Guidelines for Nonsexist Language in APA Journals," first published as a modification to the 1974 edition, which provided practical alternatives to sexist language then in common usage.[11][12] The guidelines for reducing bias in language have been updated over the years and presently provide practical guidance for writing about race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status (APA, 2009, pp. 70–77; see also APA, 2009b).[13]
Sixth Edition of the Publication Manual
The sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was released in July 2009 after 4 years of development. The Publication Manual Revision Task Force of the American Psychological Association established parameters for the revision based on published criticism, user comments, commissioned reviews, and input from psychologists, nurses, librarians, business leaders, publishing professionals, and APA governance groups (APA, 2007a, 2007b)[14][15]. To accomplish these revisions, the Task Force appointed working groups of four to nine members in seven areas: Bias-Free Language, Ethics, Graphics, Journal Article Reporting Standards, References, Statistics, and Writing Style (APA, 2009, pp. xvii-xviii).
Thoroughly reorganized and updated, the sixth edition was significantly revised to incorporate the technological advances that had affected virtually all areas of scientific communication since the previous edition was published (APA, 2001). Specific revisions in the sixth edition include
- expanded ethics guidance on determining authorship, sharing data, plagiarism, and self-plagiarism;
- a new section on Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS), stressing the need for precision and consistency in reporting methodology and providing practical guidelines for achieving this consistency;
- new, simplified heading style for easier comprehension of online articles;
- expanded guidelines on reducing bias in language, including a new section on presenting historical language that is inappropriate by present standards;
- new guidelines for reporting inferential statistics as well as thoroughly revised and expanded tables of statistical abbreviations and measures;
- new procedures and examples for the electronic presentation of data;
- new formats for electronic references, with a focus on the digital object identifier, or DOI, as the most reliable way to locate online information;
- expanded information about the publishing process, including a new discussion of the peer review process; and
- all new examples and illustrative material to demonstrate revised standards of style.
APA Style online
With the release of the sixth edition of the Publication Manual, there are multiple places where you can learn about APA Style online. Among them are the following:
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Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:47:55 GMT+00:00
afp the experts from the American Dietetic Association who compiled the report called for "systematic and sustained action" at the federal and community levels ...
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Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:21:38 PST
There are also many professional organizations on-line such as the American Psychological Association and when you start making calls, you should ... ehow.com.
