December 2012

On December 3, the Council of Representatives of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences received a shot of tough love from federal policy makers at its annual meeting.

Former U.S. Representative Brian Baird, a psychologist who was among the strongest supporters of behavioral science during his six terms in Congress, challenged AERA and other association representatives to do a much better job of showing the importance of their research in terms that the public could appreciate. While providing many illustrations of defending behavioral science from critics, he admonished researchers to remember that in the eyes of the general public and most members of Congress, research was a zero sum game: Funding one research project means not funding another. He admonished the group to emphasize the policy implications of research as well as methodological rigor, and called for policy review as well as peer review in appropriations requests.

Complementing Baird’s talk was a presentation by Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who urged researchers to take specific steps to “engage the public rather than to communicate with the public.” The theme of engagement was buttressed by a workshop on working with the press and other media held by FABBS.

AERA is a member of FABBS since its founding in 1980.