The American Psychopathological Association (APPA) is an
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
"devoted to the scientific investigation of
disordered human behavior, and its biological and
psychosocial
The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is ...
substrates." The association’s primary purpose is running an annual conference on specific topics relevant to psychopathology research. Leading investigators from both the U.S. and abroad are invited to present original papers on topics chosen by the president.
History
Around 1900,
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States.
James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
called for an "American Psychopathological Society". His call was in response to the gap he felt had occurred between normal psychology and more morbid sciences dealing with full-blown insanity. He wrote a proposal for an American Psychopathological Association, and in 1910, the American Psychopathological Association was founded. On May 2, 1910, the American Psychopathological Association was organized at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. Due to the fact that both the American Neurological Association and the American Medico-Psychological Association (now the
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...
) were holding annual meetings at the Willard, it was easy for people interested to attend.
According to the historical membership lists, there were 42 founding members of APPA. The earliest list is from 1911, which reflects the original members as well as five newly elected members. The proceedings of the meeting were published in the June–July 1910 issue of ''The Journal of Abnormal Psychology'', which was designated the official journal of the APPA.
Every year the APPA elects a president-elect, who organizes a future annual meeting and presides over the meeting as president. APPA presidents include well known psychopathology researchers, including Clarence P. Oberndorf,
Lee N. Robins, and
Joseph Zubin
Joseph Zubin (9 October 1900 – 18 December 1990) was a Lithuanian-born American educational psychologist and an authority on schizophrenia who is commemorated by the Joseph Zubin Awards.[Eli Robins
Eli Robins (1921 Texas – 1994 Washington) was an American psychiatrist who played a pivotal role in establishing the way mental disorders are researched and diagnosed today.
Early career
Robins finished his medical training and residencies at Ha ...]
and
Samuel B. Guze, both psychiatrists who have had major impacts on the field of psychiatry. Each year, it is given to someone conducting research early in his/her career and has not yet been a
principal investigator
In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...
and not yet been an associate professor.
References
External links
American Psychopathological Association homepage
{{Authority control
Psychology organizations based in the United States
Mental health organizations in New York (state)