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Perspectives on Psychological Science 2019, Vol. 14(1) 3 –6 © The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1745691618821624 www.psychologicalscience.org/PPS

ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

—William James

Psychological science is a multifaceted “hub science” (Cacioppo, 2007), relevant and connected to many other disciplines. Rapid technological advances have enabled scientists to measure psychological phenom- ena from bodily responses invisible to the human eye through broad group behavior in large societies and then apply these findings to real-world issues to enhance human well-being and enact real-world behav- ioral and policy changes. Yet despite this remarkable progress, critical global issues face our society that call for immediate attention and action from psychological scientists. For example, within the past decade, we have seen escalating rates of serious and costly mental-health challenges in young adults and concurrent failure to provide mental-health treatment to those who need it the most (e.g., Auerbach et al., 2018; Kazdin & Blase, 2011); increases in self-reported loneliness and isola- tion that may compromise physical and mental health (e.g., Holt-Lundstad, Sbarra, & Robles, 2017); high rates of sexual harassment and incivility toward women in the workplace and in science itself (e.g., Cantalupo & Kidder, 2018; Feldblum & Lipnic, 2017); political policy decisions that actively harm vulnerable children and their parents seeking refuge and a better life (e.g., Wood, 2018); seeming lack of concern for the welfare of many sentient nonhuman species (e.g., Goodall, 2012); and rapid environmental degradation and cli- mate change (e.g., Doherty & Clayton, 2011).

In the face of these and other ominous challenges, we argue that the time is ripe for our field to engage more deeply with societal issues. As a discipline that intersects with many other disciplines and with the

public directly, psychological science is well positioned to contribute to cultivating a healthier, happier, and more sustainable world.

Aims of this Special Issue

This special issue is devoted to highlighting the ways that psychological scientists are currently applying their knowledge and skills to make the world a better place. By highlighting what has been done already, we seek to pave the way for broad discussions and generative insights as to what (else) can be done looking ahead. The idea for this special issue was originally generated by Robert J. Sternberg, previous Editor-in-Chief, who selected an initial list of contributors; the final list and aims were expanded upon when the new editorial team took over. Prospective contributing authors had all devoted a significant part of their careers to trying to make a positive difference in the world beyond scien- tific publication. They were each invited to write a brief essay describing how they have applied their knowl- edge and skills as a psychological scientist to make the world a better place. Authors were asked to address specific questions, including the following:

•• What is something you have done in your career in which you have tried to make a positive and meaningful difference to the world beyond sci- entific publication?

821624PPSXXX10.1177/1745691618821624Gruber et al.Special Issue Introduction research-article2019

Corresponding Author: June Gruber, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 345 UCB Muenzinger D321C, Boulder, CO 80309-0345 E-mail: [email protected]

How Can Psychological Science Contribute to a Healthier, Happier, and More Sustainable World?

June Gruber1, Darby Saxbe2, Brad J. Bushman3, Timothy McNamara4, and Marjorie Rhodes5 1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder; 2Department of Psychology, University of Southern California; 3School of Communication and Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University; 4Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University; and 5Department of Neural Sciences, New York University

4 Gruber et al.

•• What kinds of challenges did you face in seeking to do, and in actually doing, this work?

•• What impacts did the work have? •• Did you find the work meaningful in your career

and in your life, and if so, how? •• What might you have done differently if you were

to do it all again?

Authors were asked to provide appropriate empirical background for how or why their work is meaningful and makes a positive difference to the world.

Scope of this Special Issue

The special issue includes more than 20 renowned psy- chological scientists whose expertise covers a diverse array of theoretical, methodological, and analytical approaches (see Table 1). Their work spans ways to make the world a better place by considering individuals,

relationships and interactions among people, and broad- scale social and national policies. Of course, many psy- chological scientists share this goal; this issue offers a small and necessarily incomplete selection of inspiring examples reflecting the entirety of the field (for examples regarding public policy, see Teachman, Norton, & Spellman, 2015). We hope that these brief articles inspire other psychological scientists to consider going beyond scientific publication to make the world a better place.

In this Introduction, we organize these articles by level of analysis into three sections: the individual level, the social and group level, and the cultural or institu- tional level. The first section includes articles detailing real-world examples of how psychological science can foster positive change at the intraindividual level. Here, authors share how their work has benefitted individual well-being, health, and the human potential. Albert Bandura (2019, p. 12) discusses how social cognitive theory can be applied to address global threats of

Table 1. Contributors to Special Issue on “How Psychological Science Can Cultivate a Healthier, Happier, and More Sustainable World”

Author Article title

Section I: Intraindividual Level Teresa M. Amabile Educating Leaders Who Make a Difference in the World Albert Bandura Applying Theory for Human Betterment Aaron T. Beck A 60-Year Evolution of Cognitive Theory and Therapy Carol Dweck The Choice to Make a Difference Sonja Lyubomirsky The Road to Happiness Is Paved With a Little Gold, a Lot of Reporters, Many

Emails, Thousands of Frequent Flyer Miles, and 604 Hours of Writing David Myers Getting People With Hearing Loss in the Loop

Section II: Social and Group Level Angela Duckworth Using Psychological Science to Help Children Thrive Kathy Hirsh-Pasek & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff Put Your Data to Use: Entering the Real World of Children and Families James M. Jones Doing Diversity: Creating Spaces, Opportunities, and Change Arie W. Kruglanski My Road to Violent Extremism (As Its Researcher, That Is…) Neil A. Lewis, Jr., & J. Frank Yates Preparing Disadvantaged Students for Success in College: Lessons Learned

From the Preparation Initiative Ervin Staub Promoting Healing and Reconciliation in Rwanda, and Generating Active

Bystandership by Police to Stop Unnecessary Harm by Fellow Officers. Roger P. Weissberg Promoting the Social and Emotional Learning of Millions of School Children

Section III: Cultural and Institutional Level Ana Mari Cauce Using Psychology for the Public Good: Making Higher Education Accessible

to Low-Income Students Andreas Demetriou Making a Difference in and Beyond the Ivory Tower: Advance a Theory, Start

a University, and Transform a Country’s Education Mesmin Destin Exploring Opportunities for a Broader Impact During the Early-Mid Career Phase Michelle Fine Science and Justice: A Fragile, Fraught, and Essential Relationship Adam M. Grant Writing a Book for Real People: On Giving the Psychology of Giving Away Jennifer S. Lerner Decision Science Meets National Security: A Personal Perspective Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton I Also Teach

Note: Within each section, authors are listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.

Special Issue Introduction 5

sustainable environmental futures. Carol Dweck (2019, p. 21) provides an individual account of the rewards and challenges she faced as a researcher studying ways to optimize human potential and well-being. Teresa Amabile (2019, p. 7) shares the ways she has strived to translate her work on the social psychology of creativity to positively affect the thinking of business leaders and employees around the world. Positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky (2019, p. 26) shares an autobio- graphical account of her career path focused on enhanc- ing individual happiness through engaging in public outreach efforts. The founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Aaron Beck (2019, p. 16), describes the devel- opment and dissemination of one of the most empiri- cally supported psychotherapies to date and how it has enhanced the well-being of countless people. Address- ing issues of physical challenges, David Myers (2019, p. 29) details his work aimed at promoting user-friendly hearing-assistance technology to improve the lives of those with auditory difficulties.

The second section covers compelling examples of how psychological science can foster positive change in the world through better social interactions and rela- tionships between individuals and within and between social groups. James Jones (2019, p. 43) describes how his work on race, racism, and diversity has been lever- aged to expand graduate training for students of color and how understanding history is essential to under- standing race-related conflict and obstacles to inclusion. Neil Lewis, Jr., and J. Frank Yates (2019, p. 54) discuss how their work helps prepare disadvantaged students for success in college. Arie Kruglanski (2019, p. 49) describes his work on violent extremists in various conflict regions of the world and how he attempted to apply psychological theory and methods to better understand the cognitive and social circumstances that prompt individuals to radicalize. Angela Duckworth (2019, p. 34) shares her journey from school teacher to scientist and prominent public figure tackling novel mechanisms of persistence in the face of challenge, and she describes how she has implemented large-scale multidisciplinary interventions to study how children thrive. In a similar vein, Roger Weissberg (2019, p. 65) describes how he has devoted his career to promoting the social and emotional learning of school children, and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (2019, p. 37) share insights on how they have adapted their work on language development in children to create healthier family environments. Extending these themes to social conflict, Ervin Staub (2019, p. 60) dis- cusses how he has worked to promote healing and social reconciliation between individuals in Rwanda through workshops and educational programs.

The third section includes examples of how psy- chologists can positively affect social justice, education, and the broader public. Michelle Fine (2019, p. 85) discusses the fragile yet essential relationship between science and issues of justice. Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton (2019, p. 101) defends the vital role of educating stu- dents as a core part of one’s identity as an academic psychologist. Andreas Demetriou (2019, p. 74) shares his personal journey in working to transform an entire country’s education system. Mesmin Destin (2019, p. 81) discusses how his work at the intersection of psychology and education has led to tangible outcomes at the institutional level reaching local student popula- tions. Ana Mari Cauce (2019, p. 70) reflects on how her own work in administration can be leveraged to make important policy changes in education. Jennifer Lerner (2019, p. 96) discusses how her work on emotion and decision making led to an assignment at the Pentagon. Finally, Adam Grant (2019, p. 91) advocates for psy- chologists to share scientific findings and insights with the public, arguing that communicating our work may lead our field to confront new questions and challenge previous assumptions

Concluding Comments

The contributors to this special issue represent a diverse group whose efforts target a variety of settings and processes, yet they are unified by a common desire to apply their psychological science to making the world a better place. We hope that each of the pieces in this issue offers inspiration and a potential template for a diverse array of future and current scientists hoping to engage with the broader world through their knowl- edge and skills.

Action Editor

Given that the authors are members of the editorial board of Perspectives on Psychological Science, this article was reviewed by an external set of peer reviewers and handled by the APS editorial staff.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared that there were no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship or the publication of this article.

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