American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the North American trade association for psychology. The APA is both scientific society and advocacy with features of a professional association. The APA describes its mission is "to promote psychology as a science and profession and as a means of improving the health, education and human welfare. " With around 150,000 members and an annual budget of approximately $ 70 million, it represents an influential organization that has taken a significant influence on the history of psychology.
Formation
The APA was founded in July 1892 by a group of 26 men at Clark University. Headquarters of the Organization is Washington, D.C. The president of the APA is elected for 12 months. Its first president was Granville Stanley Hall, its present president is Suzanne Bennett Johnson, who works in parallel as a professor at Florida State University College of Medicine. Currently, there are 53 professional sections as sub-organization. It is organized by U.S. states or Canadian provinces.
Over the years, it came resulting from disputes over again establishing other organizations. Sometimes the American Psychological Association with the American Psychiatric Association is confused ( the Association of the U.S. psychiatrist ), which also shortens with APA.
APA Standard
As APA Standard (English APA style) are referred to by the American Psychological Association ( APA) published guidelines for the design of scientific texts. The APA standard is now available in the sixth edition and is described in the book published by the APA Publication Manual book of the American Psychological Association (2010, ISBN 978-1-4338-0562-2 ).
Organization
The APA has 56 divisions, according to the subjects (1: General Psychology ) ( 42: Psychologists in independent practices) or areas are divided.
The APA is led by an elected president. Since 2011, this is Suzanne Bennett Johnson. A twelve -member Board of Directors supports them.
Criticism
Rogers H. Wright and Nicolas Cummings, two years of APA members, 2005 " Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well - intentioned Path to Harm " was published, the APA, among other socio-politically ultra - liberal agenda, " misguided " political correctness and the support of potentially harmful therapies accused.
2007 announced the APA that psychologists who participated in the development and training of "innovative interrogation techniques " as they were used as in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, made an important contribution to preventing harm to the United States. This was equivalent to a legitimization of white torture, at the site to participate in the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association to its members in 2006 had prohibited. The methods used in Guantanamo interrogation techniques were designed by the firm Mitchell, Jessen & Associates in collaboration with the former president of the American Psychological Association, Joseph Matarazzo, and other psychologists. On growing public pressure, the APA changed its stance in October 2008 and banned psychologists to participate in human rights violations in prisons.