American Psychological Association
Scientific and professional organization
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| 2024 | Richard Dawkins and Alan Sokal co-authored an op-ed in The Boston Globe criticizing the American Psychological Association's (APA) use of the term 'sex assigned at birth', arguing that sex is an 'objective biological reality' determined at conception and observed at birth. |
| October 2019 | The seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published, updating the guidelines for academic writing and citation style in the social sciences. |
| 2018 | American Psychological Association Services, Inc. (APASI) was formed as a 501(c)(6) organization to provide advocacy for psychologists across all areas of psychology, replacing the American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO). |
| 2015 | APA settled the class action lawsuit by establishing a $9.02 million settlement fund for affected members and agreeing to clarify that APAPO membership dues are not required for APA membership. |
| August 7 2015 | At the APA's 123rd annual convention in Toronto, Ontario, the council of representatives passed Resolution 23B with 156 votes in favor and one vote against. The resolution banned psychologists from participating in interrogations that operate outside international law, aligning with professional ethics guidelines of other medical associations. |
| July 14 2015 | The APA announced the retirement of CEO Norman B. Anderson (effective end of 2015), Deputy CEO Michael Honaker (effective August 15, 2015), and the resignation of executive director Rhea K. Farberman following the damaging Hoffman Report findings. |
| July 2 2015 | David H. Hoffman issued a 542-page report revealing the APA's secret collaboration with the Bush administration to justify torture of prisoners, specifically highlighting unethical actions by ethics director Stephen Behnke. |
| November 2014 | The APA ordered an independent review into potential cooperation with government torture practices during the Bush administration, appointing Chicago attorney David H. Hoffman to conduct the investigation. |
| 2013 | A class action lawsuit was filed against APA by approximately 60,000 licensed clinical members challenging the mandatory practice assessment fee and alleging deceptive membership practices. |
| 2013 | The APA issued a policy condemning the use of interrogation practices by military personnel that could constitute torture, explicitly stating there are no justifiable circumstances for such actions, even during war or national emergencies. |
| November 2013 | An independent panel issued a comprehensive report charging U.S. military and intelligence agencies with directing health professionals to violate ethical principles in detention centers. |
| August 2 2013 | APA Council voted on recommended governance changes proposed by the Good Governance Project. |
| July 31 2013 | APA Council discussed proposed governance changes from the Good Governance Project. |
| June 2013 | GGP update document 'Good Governance Project Recommended Changes to Maximize Organizational Effectiveness of APA Governance' was released, proposing a shift from a membership-based representational structure to a corporate structure. |
| October 31 2012 | The Coalition for an Ethical Psychology posted an open letter criticizing the APA leadership's stance on military interrogations and calling for members to refuse participation. |
| August 2011 | The APA clarified their support of same-sex marriage, emphasizing that community benefits of marriage apply equally to same-sex couples. Clinton Anderson, associate executive director, stated that anything less than full marriage is a stigmatization of same-sex couples. |
| January 2011 | American Psychological Association initiated the Good Governance Project (GGP) as part of a strategic plan to optimize governance practices and structures in response to a complex changing environment. |
| February 2010 | The APA's Council of Representatives voted to amend the Ethics Code to explicitly prohibit justifying or defending human rights violations, strengthening the organization's stance against unethical practices. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article American Psychological Association, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.