542 Professional Organizations
each other and were able to gather 13 other psychologists
also interested in psychology and law. In 1969, the American
Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) was incorporated with
101 charter members. From this small group, the AP-LS grew
to a membership of 2000 by the century’s end. In 1984, the
AP-LS merged with the three-year-old APA Division 41,
Psychology and Law (Fulero, 1999; Grisso, 1991).
Tensions between science and application were present
from the beginning of the society. A significant portion of the
membership wanted to focus on developing the forensic ap-
plication of psychology and saw the society as a means of re-
fining the role of psychologists in the legal system. An
equally significant percentage of the membership sought a
sounder basis for psychological contributions to law through
research. An early crisis between the groups was sparked by
the publication of Ziskin’s Coping with Psychiatric and Psy-
chological Testimony(1970). Ziskin challenged the reliabil-
ity and admissibility of most psychological and psychiatric
testimony and declared that serious research was needed to
bring psychological testimony up to acceptable standards.
The debate and conflict that ensued from the book’s publica-
tion led to Ziskin’s resignation from AP-LS in 1973. Para-
doxically, the effect of the book was to steer the society
toward greater support of research in the social and experi-
mental foundations of psychology and law.
By the late 1970s, a younger cohort of psychologists in-
terested in law moved into AP-LS leadership. Many of these
young psychologists were interested in the applicability
of their field to social issues, especially the improvement of
legal institutions (Grisso, 1991). The vigorous leadership of
Bruce Sales (1976–1977) energized the society. Sales had a
vision of the AP-LS as the major public organization at work
at the interface of psychology and law. Under his leadership,
new publishing ventures were begun, including the founding
of the society journal, Law and Human Behavior.
The emphasis on research and social action left many of
the forensic expert witnesses without a clear sense of their
place in AP-LS. In the last half of the 1970s, AP-LS clinical
forensic members went outside the society to start an inde-
pendent board that was charged with establishing credentials
for diplomate status in forensic psychology (Kaslow, 1989).
The AP-LS assisted with the establishment of the American
Board of Forensic Psychology but was not responsible for it.
Thus, by 1980, the AP-LS represented the major areas of psy-
chology and law.
By 1977, some psychologists were active in calling for
an APA division of psychology and law. In 1977–1978, the
AP-LS became actively involved and worked to gather
the necessary signatures to petition the APA Council of Rep-
resentatives for a new division. The council approved the
division in 1980, and Division 41, Psychology and Law, was
established in 1981. The leaders of AP-LS initially resisted a
merger between the society and the division, but by 1983 it
was clear that a merger was the most effective way for the
two groups to work together. In 1984, the two groups merged
and provision was made for AP-LS members who were not
psychologists. Most of the nonpsychologists were lawyers,
and they represented a sizable percentage of the AP-LS
membership.
The combined AP-LS/Division 41 worked on many sig-
nificant issues after their merger. Among the more salient
were ethics guidelines for forensic psychologists, syllabi for
courses in psychology and law, and the pursuit of specialty
status from APA for forensic psychology.
As in all areas of American psychology where both
clinicians and scientists are active, opportunities for conflict
have been present. At the end of the twentieth century, AL-PS/
Division 41 had successfully managed the minefield at the
borderland between science and practice.Scientific OrganizationsAlthough the APA was organized to promote psychology as a
science, from its inception there have been those who be-
lieved that it was not scientific enough. This has given rise
over the ensuing decades to numerous societies, both formal
and informal, that sought to create organizations devoted
solely to science. Lightner Witmer (1867–1956) tried in 1898
to organize a small group of experimental psychologists to
meet independently of the APA (Goodwin, 1985). E. B. Titch-
ener (1867–1927) successfully formed an alternative group in- Although not legally formalized in his lifetime, “The
Experimentalists,” as they came to be called, did meet Titch-
ener’s desire to have a psychological club whose members
could discuss their version of psychological science in a mas-
culine, smoky, atmosphere (Boring, 1967; Goodwin, 1985).
After Titchener’s death in 1927, the club members reorga-
nized into the Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP).
Women were admitted for the first time, and the membership
limit was set at 50. The SEP was incorporated in 1936. Over
the years, membership requirements have been slightly mod-
ified; most notably the limit has been raised, so that there were
197 fellows in 2000 (Hurvich, 2000). The SEP continued to
be primarily concerned with its maintenance as an organiza-
tion devoted to science, although its members contributed to
the application of psychology during both world wars.
For some younger psychologists in the mid-1930s, neither
the APA nor the SEP was experimental enough. This younger
group loosely organized themselves in 1936 under the name
“Society of Experimenting Psychologists” (Benjamin, 1977;