from Ethical Issues

President-Elect Alan Kazdin --
A Breath of Fresh Air for APA?

By A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D., MPH, MBA

Dr. Alan Kazdin

The president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA), Alan Kazdin, seemed notably open to the concerns of his constituency during the recent APA Convention in San Francisco. Dr. Kazdin ran for the office as a strong "science" candidate, vowing to abide by the Leona Tyler Principle. This principle, which has been accepted by APA and never rescinded, basically states that the association of doctoral-level mental-health professionals would only take positions or make resolutions for which there is adequate science and demonstrable, professional experience.

During the APA convention, Dr. Kazdin seemed unusually receptive to those with whom he came in contact. In our brief discussion, he reiterated his pledge to be open to a diversity of opinions on political issues, and re-stated his strong commitment to science --focusing on his campaign slogan: "Uniting Practice, Service & Science."

In our prior correspondence, Dr. Kazdin stated, "There are many things our science would allow us to say, but we ought to be much more circumspect or silent when it does not."

Certainly, this sounds very much like a reiteration of the Leona Tyler Principle.

Dr. Kazdin pointedly noted that "some members have complained endlessly that APA has become political, with an agenda that only some members support or that [lacks] a basis in science." He further noted that --

There has been a backlash from the issues...both from within and without. The goal is to bring back measured statements when they are warranted, to be clear we are not advancing a political agenda, and to involve our members more on such matters.

During the Town Hall meeting, Dr. Kazdin offered two initiatives which he planned to pursue during his tenure as president of APA:

• Addressing violence against women and children
• Addressing psychological science's contribution to the problems of humanity and society.

Dr. Kazdin stressed the need for greater communication and a more systematic effort to reach a broad spectrum of APA's membership. He invited those of us in the small group, as he did prior to his election, to "write more, to tell me more of what I need to know -- your thoughts, and your further recommendations for action."

It is certainly a rarity for an elected official of any organization to be as open to his constituency after an election as he was before. However, Dr. Kazdin seems intent on keeping his campaign promises -- to be open to different worldviews on political issues and to commit APA to science, not politics, on issues on which it makes position statements.

In this writer's opinion, Dr. Kazdin's simple re-institution of the Leona Tyler Principle would be sufficient to "rein in" APA and prevent it from being carried away by special-interest groups. If indeed he is able to do this, he would bring more respect to APA and indeed would be a breath of fresh air -- much-needed fresh air in an organization that has stagnated under the influence of a handful of powerful political groups. Their strident voices have dominated the debate, interfering with reasonableness and subverting science.