Well....yes....but.....is it really your claim that APA's primary concern is
to make money and acquire power?  I doubt it's declared as such in their
charter and bylaws.  So without this type of explicit evidence, we must
observe behavioral evidence of some form, which I personally haven't.  I'd
be interested in hearing the evidence from others, though.

I should add that I am not a member of APA, and haven't been in 12 years.

Nevertheless, it is not impossible that scientific integrity could be the
industry interest.

Wally Dixon



On 12/4/04 5:17 PM, "Paul Okami" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> The problem with being focused on advancing industry interests, making
> money, and acquiring power, is that these concerns often conflict with
> scientific integrity and the value of an enterprise.
> 
> I certainly want to make money--I have a wife and two small children to
> support.  But if my *primary* concern were this, I might be lined upon Oprah
> to hawk a book about my experience of recovered memory of childhood sexual
> abuse or some such.
> 
> It should be no news that in a market-based economy the drive to make money
> and acquire power frequently conflicts with excellence in science and the
> arts.  Ask any jazz musician anywhere in the industrialized world.
> 
> Paul Okami
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Wallace E. Dixon, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 5:06 PM
> Subject: Re: APA President-elect
> 
> 
>> I am surprised that Paul speaks of making money and acquiring power as if
> it
>> were a bad thing for a scientific society.  I can't think of anything
> better
>> to advocate for the science of psychology than an organization that makes
>> money and acquires power, AND uses both in the service of advocating
>> nationally and internationally for psychological science.
>> 
>> Now, we may argue whether APA IS that organization, or whether we would be
>> better served by a different organization.  But regardless, for any such
>> organization to wield any influence at all, it is going to have to have
>> money and power.
>> 
>> I recognize that not all psychologists believe psychology should have a
>> formal, science-agenda-pushing national presence, but for those of us who
>> do, we will need to have money and power.
>> 
>> Wally Dixon
>> 
>> 
>> On 12/4/04 2:27 PM, "Paul Okami" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> 
>>> Patricia
>>> 
>>> It is not that the APA does not offer useful services.  It is that the
> APA
>>> represents the degradation of the science of psychology, its
> transformation
>>> from a profession to an industry, and its furtherance of highly
> destructive
>>> social trends (e.g., the "psychologizing" of society).
>>> 
>>> The useful services offered by the APA could occur in the context of a
>>> professional society devoted to advancing the scientific aspects of
>>> psychology (including science-based clinical psychology), rather than a
>>> lobby group for an industry devoted to making money and acquiring power.
>>> 
>>> regards,
>>> Paul
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Patricia Spiegel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>> Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 11:34 AM
>>> Subject: Re: APA President-elect
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Yes Paul, I re-read your comment, and you are correct about not
>>> criticizing
>>>> Dr. Koocher.  It was the same thread, and your statement of mass
>>>> resignations from APA was in that context.  That is what got to me.  To
>>>> quote:  "If everyone lets their membership to the APA lapse in protest,
>>>> maybe something will happen, but given that the APA is actually an
>>> industry
>>>> guild rather than a professional society, it is doubtful."
>>>> 
>>>> Let me ask you something about that.  What would we teaching
> psychologists
>>>> do without the journals and the expansive data bases maintained by APA?
>>> APA
>>>> keeps our discipline's history fully intact, keeps us up with what is
>>> going
>>>> on now, and assures that future work in the field will be readily
>>> available
>>>> to us all.  I think about that every time I pay my dues,
> and--recognizing
>>>> that no other organization or publisher fills or would be able or
> willing
>>> to
>>>> fill that void should APA become weak--make out that check quite
>>> willingly.
>>>> 
>>>> RE: your criticisms of my comments, I believe I answered them.
>>>> 
>>>> Patricia Keith-Spiegel
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Paul Okami" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 3:48 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: APA President-elect
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> As I said, I know absolutely nothing about the man as was not
>>> criticizing
>>>>> him.  For all I know, he is a saint.  I was concerned about the
> premises
>>>>> used to defend him against certain types of criticisms.  My points
> were
>>>>> directed toward Patricia's comments, not toward Dr. Koocher.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Paul
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Patricia Spiegel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>>> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences"
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>>> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 5:35 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: APA President-elect
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thanks, Stephen.  I am glad you said it the way you did, because you
>>>>>> don't
>>>>>> really know Gerry, and yet he does stop to help anyone who he thinks
> is
>>>>>> being treated unfairly.
>>>>>> Paul O, are you on board to hear from the "target" himself?
>>>>>> Tricia
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "Stephen Black" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>>>> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences"
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>>>>> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 1:15 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Re: APA President-elect
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 3 Dec 2004, Patricia Spiegel wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>  Tell you what.  If the two Paul's and Stephen will
>>>>>>>> give their permission, I will forward this thread to Koocher
> himself
>>>>> and
>>>>>>>> let
>>>>>>>> him respond to your concerns.  I look forward to hearing from the 3
>>> of
>>>>>>>> you.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I have to admit that after writing my note concerning my dismay at
>>>>>>> Dr. Koocher's apparent support for false memory therapy, pushing the
>>>>>>> send key was one of the hardest things I've had to do on TIPS. I did
>>>>>>> appreciate the help he gave me, and that note seemed like a poor way
>>>>>>> to thank him. So I also have to admit that I was hoping that he
>>>>>>> wouldn't find out about it.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> But (as I've been warning people), our posts are readily available
> to
>>>>>>> anyone who knows how to google. And, in any case, he deserves the
>>>>>>> opportunity to respond, although I imagine a president-elect likely
>>>>>>> has other more pressing matters to concern himself with at the
>>>>>>> moment.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> So my answer is yes, I give permission, and I look forward to his
>>>>>>> response.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Stephen
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> ___________________________________________________
>>>>>>> Stephen L. Black, Ph.D.            tel:  (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
>>>>>>> Department of Psychology         fax:  (819) 822-9661
>>>>>>> Bishop's  University          e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>>>> Lennoxville, QC  J1M 1Z7
>>>>>>> Canada
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
>>>>>>> TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at
>>>>>>> http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
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