A history of Division 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues).

Abstract

Because the history of Division 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) is so rich and diverse, I have chosen to provide some information on most of the contributions for which I could find records, rather than leave out some contributions in order to elaborate others. Even so, I would judge that I have only touched on about half of the activities of Division 9, and, therefore, even less of the activities of its parent organization, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). The amount of information provided on each contribution is primarily a function of the documentation available and its relevance to the APA. The interested reader is referred to the documents cited and to the SPSSI collection at the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron, Ohio, for additional information. THE EARLY YEARSDivision 9, one of the original divisions of the APA, as just mentioned, traces its roots to SPSSI, formed in September 1936 at the APA convention. SPSSI was later incorporated as a separate society, a status that it retains to this day. Although all Division 9 members must be SPSSI members, not all SPSSI members are Division 9 members. In addition to student members who are not eligible for APA membership, SPSSI also includes sociologists, 9

Foreground and Background: Environment as Site and Social Issue

“…In 1990, a UN climate change report warned of a 2 degrees Fahrenheit rise in global temperature within 35 years and recommended a worldwide reduction of CO 2 emissions. A 1977 SPSSI member survey indicated that racism, energy conservation, and environmental protection are important issues (Kimmel, 1997). SPSSI's involvement in the Brown v. Board decision (Pettigrew, 2011) and a 1965 SPSSI Council authorization of $1,500 to support official observers at civil rights demonstrations in the South (Kimmel, 1997, p. 21) offer evidence of SPSSI's activism in race relations.…”

“…JSI articles on the physical environment in this period often are situated in congregate settings, particularly schools, summer camps, universities, workplaces, hospitals, and universities (e.g., Gump, Schoggen, & Red, 1957;Meltzer, 1956) (see Table 3). From 1954 through the 1960s SPSSI researchers focused on the struggle against racial segregation (Kimmel, 1997). Six issues concern race relations, prejudice, desegregation, and the changing South.…”

“Society Very Definitely Needs Our Aid”: Reflecting on SPSSI in History

“…From the celebrated use of the Clark, Chein, and Cook Social Science Statement in the 1954 Brown v. Board decision (see Jackson, 1998), to SPSSI's public statements, social action, and research on war and propaganda (see Mednick, 1984), academic freedom and civil liberties (see Sargent & Harris, 1986), and race differences in intelligence (for a brief discussion, see Kimmel, 1997), SPSSI's unique position as a mediator between science and society makes it particularly rich fodder for historical scrutiny. As Herman (1998) has written, "SPSSI set out to explore the crucial frontier between psychology and society," and in turn "recast the terms of the public conversation" thus helping to invent "a political culture that ushered in the history of our own time" (p. 218).…”

“…Other than a short reflection by Krech and Cartwright (1956), an important series of articles by Finison (e.g., Finison, 1976, 1978, 1979, and an invited book chapter on SPSSI for the American Psychological Association book series on the history of the divisions (Kimmel, 1997), these historical special issues of JSI have been one of the primary vehicles through which SPSSI has systematically documented, preserved, and analyzed its own history and its unique position, not only within psychology, but in American social science and American society. Without these efforts, SPSSI's influence (especially its policy work) becomes difficult to discern.…”

SPSSI and Peace‐Building: A Participant's Perspective

“…The antiwar movement "made it politically impossible" for President Nixon to proceed with a planned escalation of the war that included the possible use of nuclear weapons (Wittner, 2006). SPSSI was part of that movement (Kimmel, 1997).…”