The American Psychological Association
Since its inception in 1892, American Psychological Association (APA) experiences logical evolution towards becoming the largest psychological community in the world. The APA community consists of leading scientists and psychological professionals in the context of the United States. The American Psychological Association transforms and promotes psychology’s role as a science to improve the health of the society and recognition of the discipline by awarding best practitioners, accrediting programs, and facilitating publications of valid knowledge.
The community/organization contains over 115,700 researchers, clinicians, educators, students, and consultants as members. The community mission facilitates advancements in the creation, communication, and integration of psychological knowledge. The objective of this community benefits society through improvements of the living standards of society members. In achieving this goal, the institution/community fosters the development and implementation of psychology comprehensively. Moreover, the community executes multiple functions, which will form part of this discussion later.
Similarly, the community promotes research in psychology and improvement of the research techniques and platforms in generation and interpretation of valuable research findings. Additionally, the community aims at improvement of the qualifications and importance of psychologists through the establishment of the standards of ethics, education, conduct, and achievement. APA improves and conceptualizes the psychological element through organized meetings, professional encounters, reports, discussions, papers, and publications.
Effective understanding of this community relates to the appropriate conceptualization of its historical background. Based on this, American Psychological Association came into existence in July 1892 following the foundational influence of a small group of individuals demonstrating an interest in the ‘new psychology.’ During that time, the group elected 31 founding members to the membership with Stanley G. Hall (1844-1924) as the first president of the community. In December 1892, the community held its first meeting at the University of Pennsylvania. Like in any community, there must be a system of governance.
The American Psychological Association has a council with the executive committee. The community’s governance incorporates a council of representatives, as well as the board of directors all working in pursuit of a specific goal. Continuous improvement of the community is evident in the emergence of various academic disciplines concerning economics, political science, biochemistry, and physiology. The disciplines continue to develop as advanced degrees offering credentials in validating the disciplines’ members as ideal experts. Moreover, the institution promotes efficiency and reduces corruption in its social order, highlighting the growing dedication of the community to oversee efficiency and effectiveness of practices within the society.
Currently, the community (APA) executes numerous functions to assist both professional psychologists and scholars studying psychology. One of the functions of the APA is to foster recognition of the top names in psychology through the provision of annual awards. Based on this, the community enables members to work for the well-being of the society and realization of the goals and targets of the group through the integration of these awards. Similarly, the community provides the platform for numerous publications. For instance, in the current context, the institution oversees over 70 professional publications per year in comparison to only one in the previous years, especially during its inception.
Other than these two critical functions, APA maintains recent programs. The community works or liaises with other institutions and agencies to build or develop innovative programs. One of the perfect illustrations of this role is the development of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, PHWP. The community has electronic newsletters, blogs, and podcasts to enable readers and listeners to keep their workplaces safer and healthier. The program enables employers in the creation of living programs within the desired workplaces while awarding employees who perform well following the organizational goals and targets.
Furthermore, the APA accredits different college programs, especially psychology courses. In achieving this, the community participates in detailed assessment of the requirements of the programs through different mechanisms. For instance, APA asks students and graduates on their feelings about the courses or programs under assessment. Additionally, the community explores experiences of the professors offering such programs. APA plays a critical role in accrediting internships and residency programs for the advanced students seeking to maximize their goals and targets. Executing these roles, the APA ensures transmission of valid information or knowledge following the demands and expectations of the target audiences. The community creates the platform for the growth of the members through consumption of valid knowledge and engagement in competitive practices for the well-being of the society.
Conclusively, APA is the largest community or institution across the world demonstrating the desired dedication to the psychological studies. The institution is a perfect illustration of a community by name because of the tendency of the members to work towards the realization of a common goal while demonstrating similar qualities or characteristics. APA engages in the execution of various functions such as overseeing publications, accrediting programs, and rewarding psychologists and researchers for their contribution to the growth of accurate knowledge.
