Looking Back in Our 125th Year: Exploring American Psychology's Past, 2017 August 3, 2017 August 6

Looking Back in Our 125th Year: 
Exploring American Psychology's Past
Ad Hoc Looking Back Committee
Board for the Advancement of the Public Interest,  APA
 Susan Opotow, City University of New York
Chair and Presentation Curator
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse, The Sage Colleges 
Co-chair and Audio Narrator
Evangelina Alonso, Carlos Albizu University
Gary Harper, University of Michigan 
April Harris-Britt, Fielding Graduate University
Michele Harway¸ Fielding Graduate University
American Psychological Association
Clinton Anderson, Interim Executive Director, Public Interest Directorate
Jim Diaz-Granados, Executive Director, Education Directorate
Howard Kurtzman, Acting Executive Director, Science Directorate
Katherine Nordal, Executive Director, Practice Directorate
This historical timeline looks 
back to learn from American 
psychology’s past.
It is attentive to events that have 
had negative effects and 
to initiatives that have advanced 
American psychology, benefited 
society, and improved 
people's lives.
Overview
Christine Ladd Franklin 
psychologist, logician, mathematician, physicist, and 
astronomer
First woman to earn a PhD in 
Psychology (Johns Hopkins) in 1883 
1883  
Christine Ladd Franklin 
(1847 –1930) 
Expert in Theory of 
Color Vision 
•
Because women were not 
allowed to graduate from 
Johns Hopkins she was 
refused the PhD degree 
•
Franklin’s PhD was 
awarded in 1927, 44 
years after she earned it, 
when she was 78 years of 
age
1892 
American 
Psychological 
Association founded 
by 26 (white) men 
Granville Stanley Hall 
(1844 - 1924)
A founder of American Psychological 
Association, served as its first 
president in 1882 
• 1887: Founded first psychological 
journal in America, American Journal 
of Psychology 
• 1904: Coined the phrase, ethnic 
psychology
• Advocated for schools that were 
controlled by the people at local levels 
and built on the cultural ways of the 
local people; endorsed Native 
American controlled school systems
1887-1904 
• Denied PhD from Harvard due to 
gender
• Opened an early psychology lab 
in USA
• Developed Paired Associations 
Technique  to study memory 
1905
Mary Whiton Calkins 
(1863-1930)
Psychologist and Philosopher 
Elected President of APA in 1905
The Kallikak Family: A Study in the 
Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness 
Henry Herbert Goddard 
(1866-1957) 
• Published in 1912, it was a best seller 
• Goddard was a prominent American psychologist 
and eugenicist
• Goddard introduced the term, moron, for clinical use 
• Goddard advocated for intelligence testing in 
hospitals, schools, the legal system, and the military
1912 
The Army Testing Project and the 
Committee on Methods of 
Psychological Examination for 
Recruits
1917 
• Led by Robert Yerkes (APA 
President) with Henry Herbert 
Goddard and Lewis Terman 
• The Project’s aim was 
“segregating and eliminating 
the mentally incompetent”
• It gave rise to Eugenics and 
Restrictive Immigration laws 
based on race
• The last sterilization laws 
remained on the books until 
1981
1920 
Francis Cecil Sumner 
(1895-1954) 
First African American to 
earn the PhD in psychology 
•
Dissertation: “Psychoanalysis of Freud 
and Adler” (1920)
•
Mentored by G. Stanley Hall at Clark 
University 
• Researched equality and justice, 
vision, & religion
• Established Psychology Department at 
Howard University in 1928  
George I. Sánchez
(1906-1972)
“Founder of Chicano Psychology“
 
• Challenged biases in the research 
literature on the intelligence of 
Mexican American children
• 1932: “Group  differences in 
Spanish-speaking children: A 
critical review” in Journal of 
Applied Psychology, 16(5) 
1932
 Blanton,C.K.
Yale UP, 2014 
1934
The Journal of Negro 
Education  (Howard 
University) published a 
special issue with 14 
papers that challenged 
the functions and 
findings of racial 
differences research 
SPSSI POLICY STATEMENT:  
Race as a Determinant of Psychological 
Characteristics
The Society for the Psychological Study of 
Social Issues (APA Division 9) places itself 
on record as opposed to the conclusion 
that race was a determiner of innate 
psychological characteristics
1938
Publication of 
first major doll 
study by Mamie 
Phipps Clark & 
Kenneth Clark 
examining black 
& white 
children’s 
race-related 
judgments 
1939 
1943
Robert Chin (Chen Yuli) (1918-1990)
1956 Bostonia: v. 29, no. 2-4
First Chinese American 
awarded a PhD in psychology 
from a U.S. institution 
(Columbia University, 1943)  
•
Research focused on ethnic 
and minority group 
relationships 
•
Founded the Human Relations 
Center at Boston University
•
An organizer of the 
Association of Asian American 
Psychology 
The Races of 
Mankind 
Ruth Benedict &
Gene Weltfish
• There is no evidence for 
the belief in the innate 
superiority of any one 
race over any other
• This represents the 
consensus of American 
social scientists 
1944 
Gene Weltfish
Ruth Benedict 
Henry E. Garrett 
President of APA, 1946
•Chair of Psychology, Columbia 
University, 1941-1955
•Organized international scholars 
dedicated to preventing race mixing, 
preserving segregation, and promoting 
the principles of early 20th Century 
eugenics and 'race hygiene’ 
•Supervisor of Mamie Phipps Clark’s 
1943 doctoral dissertation
1946 
• APA acknowledged the 
specialization of 
geropsychology
• APA established the Division 
of Maturity and Aging 
(Division 20)
• Div 20 renamed in 1970:  
Division of Adult Development 
and Aging
1947 
Publication of Solomon 
Asch’s research 
demonstrating effects 
of social conformity on 
publicly stated 
judgments 
1951 
Solomon Asch
1907-1996
Efraín Sánchez Hidalgo
(1918 – 1974)
• First Puerto Rican awarded a PhD in 
psychology (Columbia University)
• Founded the scholarly magazine Pedagogía
• Wrote several acclaimed books including 
Psicologia Educativa (Educational 
Psychology), published in 1954, republished 7 
times, & used as the standard textbook in 
nearly all Latin American countries, the 
Philippines, and Spain 
• In 1954, he was founding president of the 
Puerto Rican Psychological Association
1951 
Carolyn Lewis Attneave
(1920-1992)
One of the first Native Americans 
to earn a doctorate in psychology 
(Stanford University)
• In 1970, she founded the 
Network of Indian Psychologists 
and published its newsletter to 
exchange information about 
services available to Indian 
communities 
1952 
•
Attneave’s work at the Department 
of Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard 
School of Public Health produced a 
nine-volume document on the 
mental health needs, service 
networks, and utilization patterns of 
the Indian Health Service
Publication of 
Prejudice and Your Child 
Kenneth B. Clark 
(1914-2005)
1955 
• American social psychologist Kenneth B. 
Clark was the best known and most 
highly regarded black social scientist in 
the United States 
• Clark achieved international recognition 
for his research on the social and 
psychological effects of racism and 
segregation
Evelyn Hooker (1906-1997) presented her paper, 
The Adjustment of the Overt Male Homosexual  
at the APA Convention in Chicago 
1956 
• Her pioneering research debunked 
the widespread myth that 
homosexuals are less mentally 
healthy than heterosexuals
• Changed how psychology viewed and 
treated people who are gay  
• Was honored with the Distinguished 
Contribution to Psychology in the 
Public Interest Award in 1992
Martha Bernal (1941-2001) 
First Mexican American woman awarded 
the PhD in psychology (Indiana 
University) 
• In 1979, she was a founder of the National Hispanic 
Psychological Association and later became its 
president
• In 1979, she received a National Research Service 
Award for research that revealed that APA-
accredited clinical psychology programs were 
inadequate for preparing students to treat 
multicultural populations
• In 2000, she was recognized for her contributions at 
the Latino Psychology Conference
• Shortly before her death in 2001, she was honored 
with the Contributions to Psychology Award by the 
Public Interest Directorate 
1962 
• APA Ad Hoc Committee on Equality of 
Opportunity Psychology (CEOP) was 
established by the APA Board of Directors in 
response to a proposal from Division 9 
(SPSSI)
• CEOP was charged with exploring “the 
possible problems encountered in training 
and employment in psychology as a 
consequence of race….”
1963 
• Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)  
testified before U.S. Congress
 
• He advised that President 
Johnson’s War on Poverty should 
be expanded to children to reduce 
the effects of poverty on children
• Lady Bird Johnson invited 
Bronfenbrenner to the White 
House to discuss child-care 
programs in other countries 
1964
The U.S. Head Start 
Program was  
developed by 3 
developmental 
psychologists -- 
• Urie Bronfenbrenner 
• Mamie Phipps Clark
• Edward Zigler
1965 
• Launch of the Federal Head 
Start Program 
• In 1970, psychologist Ed Zigler 
was appointed by President 
Richard Nixon to serve as the 
first director of the U.S. Office 
of Child Development
1965 
Arthur McDonald 
First American Indian man (Oglala Lakota) to 
earn a doctorate in psychology 
University of South Dakota, 1966
• Awarded the Presidential Citation from 
the APA in 2000 for his lifetime work in 
psychology and for his passion for the 
inclusion of underserved people throughout 
the nation, including American Indians and 
Alaskan Natives 
• President of the Morning Star Memorial 
Foundation, which provides support to 
Indian people for youth education, elder 
care, mental health, and preservation of the 
language
1966 
1967 
At the invitation of 
SPSSI (APA Div 9), 
Martin Luther King Jr, 
delivered a 
Distinguished 
Address at the APA 
convention: 
The Role of the 
Behavioral Science in 
the Civil Rights 
Movement 
Martin Luther King Jr. presented the SPSSI 
Distinguished Address at the 1967 APA Convention.
• His talk, The Role of the Behavioral Science in the 
Civil Rights Movement, criticized psychology for 
medicalizing African Americans’ rational 
discontent with poverty and racism as 
“maladjustment” 
• King said he is “proud to be maladjusted” to 
racism and poverty.  The “salvation of society is in 
the hands of the creatively maladjusted” in 
societies grappling with racial segregation, 
religious bigotry, economic conditions that take 
necessities from the many to give luxuries to the 
few, the madness of militarism, and the self-
defeating effects of physical violence
• King argued that Whiteness, as well as racism, 
must be analyzed:
1967 
“If the Negro needs social sciences for direction and for self-understanding, the 
white society is in even more urgent need. White America needs to understand 
that it is poisoned to its soul by racism and the understanding needs to be 
carefully documented and consequently more difficult to reject.”
THE ROLE OF THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Joseph E. Trimble founded the 
American Indian Interest Group
•  He and Carolyn Attaneave, 
(who had founded the Network 
of Indian Psychologists) merged 
efforts to form the Society of 
Indian Psychologists 
• In 2017, Prof Trimble was 
awarded the American 
Psychological Foundation’s 2017 
Gold Medal for Life 
Achievement in Psychology in 
the Public Interest
1968 
• Graduate Study in Psychology, first 
published in 1968, offered 
undergraduate students a detailed 
listing of graduate programs to assist 
students in their selection process
• The 2016 edition provides information 
on 600 psychology graduate programs 
in the U.S. and Canada 
1968 
The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) was established at the 
APA Convention in San Francisco, with Charles L. Thomas and 
Robert L. Green elected as co-chairs
Dr. Thomas presented a Petition of Concerns to the APA Council of 
Representatives addressing 3 major concerns:
• The extremely limited number of Black psychologists and 
Black graduate and undergraduate students in psychology 
• APA's failure to address such social problems as poverty 
and racism 
• The inadequate representation of Black psychologists in 
APA’s governance structure
1969 
Association of Black 
Psychologists (ASPsi)
1969 
Journal of Black 
Psychology, 34(3), 249-
260, 2008
Howard University, 
member of Historically 
Black Colleges and 
Universities (HBCU), 
established a PhD 
Program in psychology 
1969 
The 1969 APA Convention marked a turning point in 
the role of women in psychology:
•  Women members of APA convened to share 
their impatience with the role of women within 
APA 
• There were few women speakers on the 
convention program and little programming 
related to women’s issues
• There were few accommodations for women 
attendees (e.g. childcare) 
1969 
• In 1969, APA organized a Task Force on Aging 
to inform the Second White House 
Conference on Aging, to be held in 1971
• The Task Force was charged with developing 
a comprehensive review of the scientific, 
professional, and practical issues associated 
with aging and people who are aged
1969 
• Alfredo Casavantes 
founded the 
Association of 
Psychologists Por La 
Raza (APLR) 
• First meeting held at 
the APA Convention in 
Miami in 1970
1969 
1970s
Psychologist Barbara Gittings 
marching at a homosexual rights 
demonstration
Stonewall Inn Bar, Manhattan
Gay Activism & 
Psychology  
Black Student Psychology 
Association (BSPA) founded
BSPA President Gary Simkins 
presented demands to APA related 
to the recruitment, retention, and 
training of black students and faculty 
1970 
Dr. Gary A. Simpkins 
(1943-2009)
Task Force on the Status of 
Women in Psychology was 
founded  
• Helen S. Astin served as 
Chair
• The Task Force was later 
renamed: Committee of 
Women in Psychology 
(CWP) 
1970 
Responding to demands of the Black Psychiatrists of America, 
the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Center for 
Minority Group Mental Health Programs was established to: 
• fund investigator-initiated studies on the mental health 
concerns of ethnic minorities
• establish and administer 6 research and development 
centers; each focuses on mental health needs of a 
particular racial/cultural group 
• initiate the Minority Fellowship Program, which provides 
funding to 5 professional associations (including APA) to 
administer minority fellowships for research and clinical 
training in psychiatry, psychology, psychiatric nursing, 
psychiatric social work, &sociology
1971 
Kenneth Bancroft Clark 
(1914-2005)
First person of color to be 
elected President of the 
American Psychological 
Association 
1971 
• At the 1971 American Psychiatric  
Assn National Conference, gay 
Liberationists broke through a 
conference room door and 
stormed through the audience 
denouncing the APA’s position on 
homosexuality and demanding 
removal of the stigma of mental 
illness
• The following year, lesbian activist 
Barbara Gittings asked gay psychiatrist 
John Fryer (whose career was ruined 
for merely being suspected of being 
gay) to speak at the 1972 National 
Conference 
1971 & 1972
•
At the 1972 conference, Fryer donned 
a Richard Nixon mask and addressed 
his peers as ‘Dr. Henry Anonymous,’ 
detailing the plight of a gay psychiatrist
•
His talk received a standing ovation
•
Shortly after, homosexuality was 
delisted as a mental illness in the DSM
Barbara Gittings, Frank Kameny and Dr. H Anonymous 
(aka Dr. John E. Fryer) at the 1972 annual APA conference. 
[Photo: Kay Tobin Lahusen]
• The monograph argues that race-based IQ differences reflect 
innate difference and assumes the hereditability of IQ
1972 
Publication of 
Arthur Jensen's 
Harvard 
Educational Review 
monograph, "How 
much can we boost 
IQ and scholastic 
achievement?" 
The Asian American Psychological 
Association (AAPA) was founded 
by Derald Wing Sue and Stanley 
Sue in response to psychology’s 
neglect of practice and research 
concerns within Asian 
American communities 
• Derald Sue served as the AAPA’s 
first president
• With a $300 grant from SPSSI (APA 
Div 9), Stanley Sue organized an 
association newsletter, publishing it 
the articles with Derald for several 
years
1972 
Derald Sue
Stanley Sue
• The APA Minority 
Fellowship Program 
was established with 
funding provided by 
NIMH
• Dalmas Taylor served 
as its first director   
1972 
Dalmas Taylor
1933-1998
The California Psychological Association was alerted that a film, 
Behavior Therapy for Homosexuality, was to be shown at the 1973 
APA convention
• The film portrayed aversive conditioning as a technique to "cure" 
homosexuality
• 25 lesbian and gay male psychologists staged  guerrilla theater 
drama 
• Doctoral student Jesse Miller – in drag as “Miss Demeanor, Playboy's 
APA Bunny” – had Mark Freedman in tow as her ‘cured’ companion 
• The protest:
• raised consciousness about stereotypes concerning gay and 
lesbian people 
• warned that biased, unbalanced presentations on homosexuality 
at an APA convention would be the target of protest  
1973 
The California Psychological 
Association protests led to the 
formation of Division 44 in a process 
that:
• Was multifaceted
• Combined political activism with 
structural change within the APA
• Included education about the existing 
biases and emerging empirical research 
regarding sexual orientation  
1973 
.  
In Larry P. v. Riles, the California 
Supreme Court ruled that 
intelligence tests resulted in racial 
bias in the placement of students 
into programs for the educable 
mentally retarded 
• African American psychologist Asa G. 
Hilliard III served as principal architect 
and lead expert witness for this challenge
• In 1979, the US District Court ruled that 
California’s use of standardized 
intelligence testing in schools for purpose 
of placing children in special education 
was discriminatory and illegal  
1975
Asa G. Hilliard III
1933- 2007
• Advocating for the well being of Native American 
indigenous people 
• Increasing knowledge and awareness of issues 
impacting Native American mental health
• SIP emerged from NIP, founded by Carolyn 
Atteneve
1975 
Society of Indian Psychologists 
(SIP) is established with the goal 
of: 
January 24-26, 1975 APA Council of 
Representatives adopted resolutions that: 
• Urged all mental health professionals to take the 
lead in removing the stigma of mental illness that 
has long been associated with homosexual 
orientations
•  Deplored all public and private discrimination 
against those who engage in or have engaged in 
homosexual activities 
• Urged the repeal of all discriminatory legislation
1975 
• The American Psychological Association 
issued the Resolution on Corporal 
Punishment
• It opposed the use of corporal 
punishment in any institution, public or 
private, where children are cared for or 
educated  
1975 
Even the Rat Was White: A 
Historical View of Psychology 
by Robert V. Guthrie 
published
•
Described deeply 
entrenched racial bias 
within psychology
1976
Robert V. Guthrie
1930-2005
• The National Asian American Psychology 
Training Conference was convened at 
California State University at Long Beach
• It focused on “Models of Psychology for 
Asian Americans” and “Training Psychologists 
for Asian Americans” 
1976 
Establishment of 
the Women’s 
Program Office
1977
Founding of Society for the Psychology of Women 
(APA Division 35) and, later, development of Sections:
•  Section on the Psychology of Black Women
•  Section on the Concerns of Hispanic Women
•  Section for Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Issues
•  Section on the Concerns of Asian Pacific American Women
•  Native American Women Committee
1977 
• American Psychological Association 
Council of Representatives adopted 
the Resolution on Child Custody and 
Placement
• It stated that there is no psychological 
evidence supporting discriminating 
against men in custody cases, 
adoption, and paternal leave
1977 
• Led by Dalmas Taylor, the APA Board of Social and 
Ethical Responsibility and NIMA convened the 
Dulles Conference on "Expanding the roles of 
culturally diverse peoples in the profession of 
psychology" 
• It recommended the establishment of an APA Office 
and Board on Ethnic Minority Affairs 
1978 
The American Psychological Association Ad Hoc 
Committee on Minority Affairs was established to 
address major areas of ethnic minority concern that 
include:
• psychological and educational testing
• APA Accreditation criteria and procedures
• ethnic minority curriculum issues
• licensure/certification issues
• publication/editorial activities
• underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in APA's governance 
structure
• APA's involvement in court and legislative advocacy 
1978 
The APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs (OEMA) was 
established based on a recommendation of the 1978 
Dulles Conference on expanding the roles of culturally 
diverse peoples in the profession of psychology
• OEMA’s establishment was a commitment by U.S. psychology to 
provide staff and infrastructure to address ethnic minority issues 
and concerns 
• OEMA’s first Director was Esteban Olmedo, an expert 
on psychometric issues involved in measuring 
acculturation 
1979 
National Hispanic Psychological Association  was 
established in 1979
1979 
197
9
•
 Professor of Psychological Studies in 
Education, Stanford University 
•
Researches the use of quantitative 
research methods in multicultural 
contexts 
Amado M. Padilla
Founding Editor, 
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Now in its 38th year of publication 
John Garcia (1917 – 2012) was the first 
Mexican American/Latino psychologist 
selected as a receipt for a major APA Award
• He was honored with APA’s Distinguished 
Scientific Contributions Award in 1979
• He studied at the University of California-
Berkeley, where he received his A.B., M.A., and 
Ph.D. degrees in 1955 at the age of 38  
• He was known for his research on taste aversion 
1979 
MYTHS: AGING AND DECLINE
Warner Schaie published a 
review on the explosion of 
gerontology research  
challenging the myth of 
inevitable decline with age
1982 
His research is attentive to the importance of: 
• individual differences
• environmental detriments to normal aging
• psychosocial crises associated with age
• cohort differences  
• Since 1984, APA has filed 52 amicus briefs in cases dealing 
with same-sex sexuality
• Issues have pertained to adoption and custody, sodomy 
laws, serving in the military, and banning of marriage for 
same sex couples, and other issues 
• Noteworthy briefs have included: 
1984 
•
Dissent for Bowers v Hardwick (1986), which upheld 
Georgia’s anti-sodomy statute 
•
Marriage Cases (2008), which struck down California’s 
ban on same-sex marriage 
•
Florida Dept. of Children and Families v. In re Matter of 
Adoption of X.X.G. and N.R.G (2010), which invalidated a 
Florida statute prohibiting adoption by gay or lesbian 
persons 
•
Obergefell v Hodges (2015), which overturned the final 
parts of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act   
First Asian American Psychological Association 
National Convention held in Los Angeles
1985 
------------------------------------------------------------------
NIMH is reorganized
• Ethnic minority research is mainstreamed
• Each of NIMH’s three research divisions assume 
responsibility for funding ethnic minority-focused 
research and ethnic minority investigators
1985 
Society for the 
Psychological Study of 
Ethnic Minority Issues 
(APA Division 45) 
established 
1986 
Logan Wright, first 
American Indian President 
of the American 
Psychological Association
1986 
The American Psychological Association is 
restructured into three directorates: 
Science
Practice
Public Interest 
1987 
• APA's Board of Directors established a Task Force on 
Psychology and AIDS based on a recommendation 
from the Board of Ethical Responsibility for 
Psychology 
• In its 1989 final report, the Task Force 
recommended that its work continue through a 
new oversight group, the Ad Hoc Committee on 
Psychology and AIDS (COPA)
1987 
American Psychological Association establishes the 
Office on AIDS as part of the Association's Public 
Interest Directorate 
1988 
1988
Report of the Ad 
Hoc Committee on 
Nonsexist Research: 
Guidelines for Avoiding 
Sexism in Psychological 
Research
• Gender bias introduces 
unwanted bias into 
psychological research 
(APA Council Policy, July 1988)
July 1988 American Psychologist
Vol. 43, No. 7, 582-585  
In Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the Supreme Court 
establishes gender stereotyping as an aspect of 
employment discrimination
It cites psychological research described in an APA 
amicus brief in its decision
1989 
APA Resolution On Violence Against Children By Governments
• Whereas violence toward children which is encouraged or tolerated by 
governments of any country represents an affront to civilized society and a 
social concern of all responsible people;
• Whereas psychologists cannot in good conscience remain silent in the face of 
such abuse;
• Whereas the American Psychological Association is also obligated to support 
our colleagues in other countries when they courageously speak out against 
such abuses;
• Whereas the American Psychological Association has in the past spoken out 
against the government sponsored violations of children's rights (e.g., the 
imprisonment of Black children in South Africa);
• Therefore be it resolved that the American Psychological Association will, as a 
matter of policy, consider, upon documentation of such abuses of children's 
rights, resolutions protesting such abuses and expressing solidarity with our 
colleagues who protest such abuses within their own country.
1989 
APA governance structure is reorganized:
• Sunset: 
oBoard of Ethnic Minority Affairs (BEMA) 
oBoard for Social and Ethical Responsibility (BSERP) 
• Newly established:
oBoard for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public 
Interest (BAPPI) 
oAPA Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA)
1990 
• The Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS (COPA) 
was established by American Psychological Association 
Council of Representatives in 1990
• It has been reauthorized five times: in 1993, 1998, 2004, 
2009, and 2014 
1990 
Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS
APA’s Public Interest Directorate sponsors the 
first American Psychological Association mini-
convention
• Held at APA’s Washington DC Centennial 
Convention
• It focused on ethnic minority issues: Ethnic 
Minorities: Issues and Concerns for Psychology, 
Now and in the Future 
1992 
• At the American Psychological Association’s 
Centennial Convention in Washington DC, the 
Council of National Psychological Associations for 
the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests 
(CNPAAEMI), was established  
• It is comprised of the presidents of the nation’s four 
ethnic minority psychological associations, Division 
45 and APA
1992 
APA Council of Representatives passed a 
resolution declaring ethnic minority recruitment 
and retention as a high priority and affirming that 
APA places a high priority on issues related to the 
education of ethnic minorities, including:  
•  planning appropriately diverse curricula
•  promoting psychology as a course of study and 
career option 
• recruiting, retaining, advising, and mentoring 
minority students at all levels of education
1993 
Publication of Murray and 
Herrnstein's book, The Bell 
Curve
• The authors argue that innate 
racial IQ differences exist
• They propose attendant public 
policy recommendations 
1994 
Richard J Herrnstein
(1930-1994)
Charles Murray
(b. 1943)
Publication of J. P. Rushton's 
Race, Evolution and Behavior, 
which promotes a 
sociobiological evolutionary 
approach to racial IQ 
differences 
1994 
Publication of APA Task Force Report, Intelligence: 
Knowns and Unknowns
• Produced in response to the controversies and 
misconceptions surrounding Herrnstein and 
Murray’s 1994 book, The Bell Curve
• Discusses conceptualizations of intelligence, the 
meaning of intelligence test scores, genetic factors, 
environmental factors, and gender and ethnic 
group differences
1995 
The American Psychological Association Office of 
Ethnic Minority Affairs organized a mini-convention on 
Psychology and Racism for the 1997 APA Convention 
in Chicago 
• Focused on the psychology of racism and racism in 
psychology
• 140 hours of programs and 250 speakers 
• Disseminated information on the dynamics and costs 
of racism and anti-racism, their effects upon science 
and society, and mechanisms for their perpetuation 
1997 
Japanese-American 
psychologist Patrick Okura and 
his wife, Lily, established the 
Okura Mental Health 
Leadership Foundation 
• They funded it with their 1988 
federal reparations payments of 
$20,000 to each Japanese 
American interned in camps during 
World War II
• The foundation assists and 
nurtures emerging Asian American 
leaders in human services fields to 
become national leaders 
1998 
Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation
Patrick and Lily Okura
APA established the Committee 
on Aging 
• to advance psychology as a science and 
profession 
• as a means of promoting health and 
human welfare by ensuring that older 
adults, especially the growing numbers of 
older women and minorities, receive the 
attention of the Association. 
• APA also established the Office on Aging in 
1998 to serve as a focal point for APA 
activities related to aging and to support 
the efforts of the APA Committee on 
Aging (CONA) 
1998 
Introduction of the implicit-association test
• A measure of implicit bias
• A concept developed by Anthony Greenwald, Mazarin 
Benaji, and colleagues
1998 
1999
Richard Suinn
First APA President 
of Asian American descent
•
Publishes research on behavior therapy, stress management, 
sport psychology, and ethnic minority issues
•
 Suinn Minority Achievement Award is named in his honor
The First National Multicultural 
Conference and Summit 
• Organized by APA's Division 45 (Society 
for the Psychological Study of Ethnic 
Minority Issues)in collaboration with 
Divisions 17 (Counseling) and 35 
(Psychology of Women)
1999 
Resolution on Ageism adopted by the APA 
• Rejects ageism in all its forms 
• Commits APA to support efforts to eliminate ageism 
from our society
2001 
age·ism
•
ˈājˌizəm/noun
•
prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a 
person's age
APA’s Council of 
Representatives 
unanimously confirmed 
African American 
psychologist Norman B. 
Anderson, PhD, as the APA 
Chief Executive Officer, 
effective January 1, 2003
2002 
Consistent with psychological evidence 
summarized in an APA amicus brief written by 
Professor Patricia Y. Gurin and others, the U.S. 
Supreme Court ruled that school admission 
policies may take race into account in order to 
obtain the "educational benefits that flow from 
a diverse student body" 
2003 
Patricia Gurin
GRUTTER V. BOLLINGER
APA Council of Representatives adopted the 
Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Older 
Adults (updated & revised in 2014) 
2003 
American Psychological Association Council of 
Representatives supported the
Resolution on Prevention Strategies Involving Access 
to Sterile Injection Equipment
2004 
In response to the  horrific 
absences and shortcomings 
of first responders to the 
New Orleans victims of 
Hurricane Katrina, The 
Association of Black 
Psychologists (ABPsi) issued
Guidelines for providing 
culturally appropriate 
service for people of African 
ancestry exposed to the 
trauma of Hurricane Katrina 
2005 POST HURRICANE KATRINA 
Resolution on Drug Abuse Treatments to Prevent HIV 
Among Injection Drug Users is approved by APA Council 
2006 
The American Psychological Association Council of 
Representatives authorized a membership bylaws vote to 
establish a seat on APA’s Council of Representatives for each 
of the 4 national ethnic minority psychological associations
• ABPsi was unwilling to commit to such a seat; the other 3 
associations were willing to do so 
• The required 2/3 vote was not achieved 
• The APA Council authorized a second by-laws vote in 2008 
• Again the vote fell short -- by 126 votes out of the more 
than 10,000 votes cast
2007 
BY-LAW VOTES: TO ESTABLISH COUNCIL SEAT FOR ETHNIC MINORITY ASSOCIATIONS ON APA COUNCIL
APA convenes Mentoring Workshop for HIV/AIDS 
Researchers Working in Minority Communities
2007 
Committee on Socioeconomic Status (CSES) Established  
• CSES holds its first meeting in Washington, DC on March 23, 2007 
• Its mission is to ensuring that issues of socioeconomic status 
receive the full attention
• This mission aligns with APA’s major goal:  
“To advance psychology as a science and a profession 
and as a means of promoting health, education and 
human welfare” 
.   
2007 
APA Council of Representatives voted to request that 
diversity training on aging be provided to Council at its 
2009 meeting and to all APA Boards and Committees at 
the Spring Consolidated Meetings  
This marked pivotal acknowledgements within APA: 
•  Age is a component of diversity 
•  APA members and staff need sensitivity training to 
understand this form of discrimination  
2008 
DIVERSITY TRAINING ON AGING 
2011
Melba J.T. Vasquez
• 2011 APA President
• First Latina elected to lead 
the Association
• Expert on ethics in 
psychotherapy 
 
 
APA Committee on Psychology 
and AIDS (COPA) provided input & 
support for 3 Congressional  bills: 
• H.R. 1774 - Increasing Access to 
Voluntary Screening for HIV/AIDS 
and STIs Act of 2011
• H.R. 1880 - Status Report on the 
30th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS Act
• H.R. 3053 Repeal HIV Discrimination 
Act 
2011 
APA Council approves Resolution on Combination 
Biomedical and Behavioral Approaches to Optimize 
HIV Prevention
2012 
APA’s Council of Representatives adopted the Policy 
Related to Psychologists’ Work in National Security 
Settings and Reaffirmation of the APA Position Against 
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment 
• This unified into a single document prior APA policies related to 
detainee welfare and interrogation
• Council rescinded the 2005 Report of the APA Presidential Task 
Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) and 
two other APA policies that had become outdated or rendered 
inaccurate with the passage of subsequent policies
2013 DETAINEE WELFARE AND INTERROGATION 
American Psychological 
Association Resolution, 
Counseling in HIV Testing 
Programs, is approved by 
APA Council 
2013 
APA Board of Directors engaged 
David Hoffman of the law firm, Sidley 
Austin, to conduct  an independent 
review 
The review examined whether there 
was any factual support for the 
assertion that APA engaged in activity 
that could constitute collusion with 
the George W. Bush administration to 
promote, support, or facilitate the 
use of "enhanced interrogation" by 
the USA in the War on Terror 
2014 
David Hoffman
• Psychologists and ‘Enhanced’ 
Interrogation, a 542-page report by 
Independent Investigator David Hoffman 
concluded that prominent psychologists 
worked closely with the C.I.A. to blunt 
dissent inside the agency over an 
interrogation program that is now known 
to have included torture 
• The report found that officials at the 
American Psychological Association 
colluded with the Pentagon to make sure 
that the Association’s ethics policies did 
not hinder the ability of psychologists to 
be involved in the interrogation program 
2015 
APA’s Resolution Opposing HIV Criminalization, was 
approved by the APA Council of Representatives in 
February 2016
2016 
2016: APA Shares Concerns Regarding 
Dakota Access Pipeline:  APA President 
Susan McDaniel and Division 45 sent 
letter to US President Obama
2017:  APA Urges Trump Administration 
to Safeguard Standing Rock Sioux in 
Response to Memorandum on Dakota 
Access Pipeline: APA President Antonio 
Puente sends letter to US President 
Trump
2017: APA Supports Standing Rock 
Water Protectors in Pipeline Dispute:  
APA Monitor article quotes Society of 
Indian Psychologists (SIP) President Art 
Blume and President Elect Gayle Morse
2016-2017
APA expressed concern that 
Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) will 
• trespass on traditional Native 
American ceremonial grounds & 
land
• impact Native Americans & all 
others because of potential water 
pollution
• Publication of Mental Health 
and Our Changing Climate 
• Authored by ecoAmerica and 
the American Psychological 
Association
• Focuses on disproportionate 
impacts of climate change on 
disadvantaged and indigenous 
communities 
2017 
Report of the Task Force on the Changing Gender Composition of 
Psychology indicates: 
• psychology has become a field numerically dominated by women 
doctoral recipients
• but real progress for women in the field  has been slow... 
2017 
Key findings: 
Women are 
underrepresented in:
• higher earning positions
• tenured positions in 
academe
• leadership positions in 
APA 
201
7
Jessica Henderson Daniel
• Elected to serve the American 
Psychological Association as its 
2018 president 
• Serving as APA’s president-elect in 
2017
• First African American woman 
elected to lead the APA
• The only prior African-American 
president of APA was Kenneth B. 
Clark in 1971
Associate Professor of Psychology 
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard 
Medical School 
Referen
ces
Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology (CEMRRAT),  
American Psychological Association.  (1997).  Final Report: Visions and Transformations  Timeline of 
Challenge and Progress: The Inclusion of People of Color in Psychology in the United States. 
Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs/racism/visions.aspx
Dewsbury, D.A.  (Ed.) (1999). Unification through Division: Histories of the divisions of the American 
Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Holliday, B. G. (2009). The history and visions of African American psychology: Multiple pathways to 
place, space, and authority. Cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology, 15(4), 317. 
Holliday, B.G.,  & Angela L. Holmes, A.L.  (2003).  A tale of challenge and change: A history and 
chronology of ethnic minorities in psychology in the United States.  In G. Bernai, J.E. Trimble, A.K. 
Burlew, & F. T. L. Leong  (Eds.), Handbook of Racial & Ethnic Minority Psychology (pp. 15-64), 
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. 
Kimmel, D.C., & Browning, C. (1999). A history of Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of 
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues).  In D.A. Dewsbury (Ed.), Unification through division: Histories of 
the divisions of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological 
Association.
Leong, F.T.L. Holliday, B.G., Trimble, J.E., Amado M. Padilla, A.M., & McCubbin, L.D.  (2012). Ethnic 
minority psychology. In D.K. Freedheim, & I.B. Weiner (Eds.). Handbook of psychology, Volume 1, 
History of psychology (pp. 530-561). New York:  Wiley. 
With thanks to the following people for their essential assistance! 
 Advisors 
Joseph E. Trimble, Western Washington University 
Colin Leach, University of Connecticut
Emese Ilyes, City University of New York
Nathan Chang, New York City
Donald Brown, City University of New York
Lisa Brainard, The Sage Colleges
 
Public Interest Directorate, American Psychological Association 
Members of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI)
Donella Graham, Executive Associate/Governance Manager
Sue Houston, Director of Governance 
Tiffany Townsend, Senior Director, Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA)
Keyona King-Tsikata, Director, Committee on Socioeconomic Status (CSES)
Ron Schlittler, Program Coordinator , Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD)
Cherie Mitchell, Program Director, Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS (COPA)
Ivana Willis, Administrative Assistant
Isabelle Orozco, APA Temp
Gwendolyn Keita, Immediate Past Executive Director, Public Interest
 
American Psychological Association
Elizabeth Deegan, Acting Director, Arthur W. Melton Library & Archives
Jay Staton, Media Services Coordinator, Arthur W. Melton Library & APA Archives
Sophie Bethune, Practice Directorate
Contact information:  Susan Opotow, PhD
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the 
Graduate Center, City University of New York
sopotow@jjay.cuny.edu