9/26/2011

Policy news from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues 

News from the SPSSI Policy Blog

SPSSI Co-signs UN Statement on Mental Health and the Scope of Noncommunicable Diseases

Science Progress on the Future of Science Communication

Policy Events in Washington

Event report: Stronger Together, Community Integration of Newcomers

Event report: Is the Border Broken? Rethinking the Conventional Wisdom

Event report: A Misguided Assault: Why the United Nations Matters

On the Hill: A look at News from the US Congress

September 13: Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing to examine housing finance reform, focusing on if there should a government guarantee. Webcast here.

September 13: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine poverty. Webcast here.

September 22: Senate Armed Services Committee: Hearing to examine the United States strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq. Webcast here.

Introduced on September 23: H.R. 3053: To eliminate discrimination in the law for those who have tested positive for HIV, and for other purposes. More on H.R. 3053.

Introduced on September 23: H.R. 3051: To abolish the death penalty under Federal law.
More on H.R. 3051.

Introduced on September 23: H.R. 3040: To help fulfill the Federal mandate to provide higher educational opportunities for Native American Indians. More on H.R. 3040.

Psychology and Social Issues in the News

Word choice and perception: Is it “choice” or “discrimination”?
Members Levina and Stephens on how the concept of discrimination is framed in law trials in the blog Jury Room.

The Psychology of Terror
Member Tony Lemieux provides psychological insight into the nature of today's terrorist threat on 11 Alive News. 

Word choice and perception: Is it “choice” or “discrimination”?
The New Republic Looks at the implications of a Journal of Social Issues article on differnces in household arrangements.

Men in Black Spend More Time in Hockey’s Penalty Box
Miller-McCune has an article on some interesting observations that member Gregory Webster made on style of play and jersey color in hockey.

DADT: Researchers Have Been There All Along
Miller-McCune looks again at the research of member Margaret Shih et al on how concealing sexuality can impact performace in the workplace.

Why do we hurt ourselves?
The psychology blog, Psych Your Mind, looks at the work of SPSSI member Steven Scher on social reasons behind tendancies to engage in activities or actions that go against our interests.

Why Being Irrational Is Important
Member Carol Dweck's research is reviewed by the blog Why We Reason on the topic of why willingness to be wrong is an important part of learning.

King's Challenge
A facinating article in the APA Monitor about the landmark APA Convention where Martin Luther King Jr. was invited to speak by SPSSI.

Civil Rights Groups’ Surprising Net-Neutrality Bedfellows
Miller McCune talks to member Sascha Meinrath about how the internet industry is affected by different areas of social stratification.

Further Resources

Find out what other organizations are doing on these issues

Immigration Issues
>> Immigration Policy Institute
>> Immigration Policy Center
>> Center for American Progress

American Indian Issues
>> National Congress of American Indians
>> Association on American Indian Affairs

SPSSI fact sheets and policy statements
>> Immigration and Minorities
>> Statement on the Psychological Consequences of Unemployment
>>Other Issues