Dear Colleagues, Our division shares in the feeling of heartbreak and horror following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other Black Americans. These tragic events have raised concerns internationally as evidenced by organized demonstrations in Amsterdam, Auckland, London, Paris, and other cities. Whether at the hands of police or armed…
V. Krishna Kumar, PhD Kkumar@wcupa.edu Succeeding a line of highly competent presidents and then anticipating other equally competent individuals to succeed you can be an intimidating and anxiety-producing experience. Division presidents often have their own agendas, missions, visions, and themes. When I served as President of the Society for Humanistic Psychology a few years ago,…
Christopher J. Ferguson cjfergus@stetson.edu We are all facing crazy uncertain times. Our specific circumstances may be different … perhaps working from home, trying to manage restless and cranky kids stuck with virtual schools while maintaining some sense of sanity. Or perhaps more critically, worrying where the rent or money for food will come from or…
Kathryn Stamoulis, PhD kestamoulis@hotmail.com In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, when most Americans have been ordered to stay at home, people are using the Internet to fill multiple roles. To create a semblance of normalcy, many rely on their phones and computers to work, learn, maintain social support, and distract themselves from the horrors…
Danny Wedding danny.wedding@gmail.com WASHINGTON – The Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association adopted updated resolutions regarding LBGTQ issues and reiterated its positions on violent video games and climate change at its meeting Feb. 29-March 1, 2020. Council archived three outdated policies related to LGBTQ issues and replaced them with new versions that also…
Stephanie Joseph, MA, MEd stephanie.joseph08@gmail.com & Stephanie Miodus, MA, MEd stephaniemiodus@gmail.com Phew!!! A lot is going on in the world right now. And we know as students, we already have a ton on our plates in terms of academic and/or professional work. Coupled with trying to balance that with our personal lives—it is overwhelming. Fellow…
Kathryn Stamoulis, PhD kestamoulis@hotmail.com As I near the end of my presidential year I want to thank everyone who put in the hard work to make this a great year for The Society for Media Psychology and Technology. It has been a pleasure to serve and work closely with our membership and our amazing Executive…
V. Krishna Kumar, PhD kkumar@wcupa.edu If you belong to any social media, you are familiar with the endless stream of recycled inspirational and informational (nutritional/medical/exercise/travel/political) messages in the forms of sayings, videos, short—actually rather long—stories on social media that ping in your inbox 24/7. Of course, some of this is not restricted to social media.…
June Wilson, PhD junewilsonphd@gmail.com As my tenure as past president comes to an end, I can’t help but think about how technology has changed on a global and personal level over the past three years. I began writing this article in the dark, after receiving a text message, which stated power will be lost for…
Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD cjfergus@stetson.edu This August I was unable to attend the Council meeting for our division as it was my wife’s 40th birthday and I knew where my bread is buttered. Mary Gregerson graciously stepped in for me and did an excellent job representing our division. Here are some of the important things…
Kim-Phuong L. Vu, PhD California State University Long Beach Kim.Vu@csulb.edu Robert W. Proctor, PhD Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana rproctor@purdue.edu Division 21: Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology promotes research on human performance and applies psychological principles to the design of technology, consumer products, and complex systems for effective human-machine interactions. Members of Division 21 seek…
Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD cjfergus@stetson.edu In February, the APA Council of Representatives met to discuss some of the issues facing the APA at the moment. Here are some of the things discussed. First, the lawsuits regarding the Hoffman Report lumber on for the moment. There is not much to report that is new. A major…
V. Krishna Kumar, PhD kkumar@wcupa.edu We often think of media as newspapers, magazines, films, music, and the Internet with its many platforms that include news broadcasts, videos, podcasts, and social media. There is, however, one other powerful everyday medium, the “informal word of mouth medium,” which I define as a spontaneous information exchange that occurs…
Kathryn Stamoulis, PhD kestamoulis@hotmail.com The first half of the year has flown by and Division 46’s leadership has been busy behind the scenes. We had a productive Winter Board meeting at APA headquarters that left us inspired and looking forward. As we move to the second half of the year there are many exciting opportunities…
June Wilson, PhD, RN junewilsonphd@gmail.com We have experienced quite a year as it relates to media and technology. When I first started as President, a leader from APA said, this is the year of Division 46 because of the information and rhetoric about “fake news.” How right she was. Our media is in a constant…
The Amplifier Magazine 