Monitor on Psychology - December 2011 - (Page 64)

Separate your expenses, says APA Treasurer Bonnie Markham, PhD, PsyD. It’s one of many important 5 aspects of running a business that psychologists don’t often learn in graduate school. In 1986, launching her clinical practice in New Jersey, Markham was advised by an experienced colleague to open a separate checking account for her practice, so that her business income and expenses didn’t merge with her personal expenses. “At tax time, I was very glad I did,” she says. “It would have been a nightmare to try to sort all that out after the fact.” It’s a lesson that’s important for researchers in charge of tracking grant money spent as well. Know that the grass is no greener on the other side, says Christine 6 Chambers, PhD, a professor of pediatrics and psychology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “As a graduate student, I dreamed about the days when I would have the luxury of being a Chambers faculty member, with no courses to take and no program requirements to meet,” she says. “Now when I look back, I wonder what I was thinking.” Little did she know how crazy a professor’s schedule actually is. She now appreciates that each step of the career ladder has its pros and cons. “You have to find the right balance of strategies for dealing with the challenges while enjoying the many rewards, such as mentoring students and seeing your research program expand.” Create your own opportunities, says Jana Martin, PhD, CEO of the APA 7 Insurance Trust and formerly an independent practitioner in Long Beach, Calif. “My father was a salesman and he taught me that making real connections with people — no matter what their profession or background Martin — creates tremendous opportunities. If those connections are genuine and not self-serving, others will do what they can to help you, whether it’s in supporting your efforts or helping you make other connections.” Be nice, says Maryam Kia-Keating, PhD, professor of clinical psychology 8 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She learned that lesson from her mentor, Sara Sparrow, PhD, chief psychologist at the Yale Child Study Center. “Dr. Sparrow embodied the lesson that leadership and Kia-Keating success don’t have to come at the expense of kindness and generosity — and in fact can be enhanced by these characteristics.” Set an example by showing how psychology is relevant to daily life, 9 says Philip G. Zimbardo, PhD, the retired Stanford psychologist and APA’s 2002 president. As president, he encouraged APA to focus more on how psychological research Zimbardo 64 has applications for everyday life. “Make psychology ever more vibrant by your example — or else become an accountant.” Aim big, says Harvard psychologist 10 Steven Pinker, PhD, who has researched how people acquire and use language. In other words, “prioritize your most exciting, most interesting project, rather than trying to get a lot of little studies out of the way first or amassing a lot of bitty Pinker publications,” Pinker says. To help with this, he adds, invite your graduate students to take part in your big idea, rather than giving them side projects on other topics. “One big accomplishment is worth far more than lots of little ones,” he says. Don’t take no for an answer, says Yale University’s Kelly D. 11 Brownell, PhD, who directs the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. “A key mentor in my life, Albert Stunkard, MD, at the University of Pennsylvania, told me that you’ll be surprised what you can get just Brownell by asking,” Brownell says. “He taught me that famous people can be approached and usually will help, that persuading people to be involved might begin with ‘no’ but can become ‘yes’ with polite persistence, and that thinking big leads to big things.” Remember you’re always being evaluated, says Pamela Trotman Reid, PhD, president of 12 Saint Joseph College. “When you are invited to [interview] for a potential position, every part of the visit will be discussed when they evaluate you,” Trotman Reid says. “The reception, the informal chats, the breakfast, the lunch — it is all part of the interview. If you remember that, you will act accordingly.” Look beyond your research scope, says Stephen J. Suomi, PhD, chief 13 of the Laboratory of Comparative Ethology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The best professional advice he ever received came from his mentor, Harry Harlow, PhD, at the Suomi beginning of Suomi’s second year of graduate school. Harlow told Suomi to consider how his findings with monkeys might relate to humans. “He suggested that I volunteer to participate in one of Ross Parke’s child development research projects, Suomi says. “I duly followed Harlow’s advice, and the rest is history.” Suomi is now famous for his contributions to the understanding of how socialization affects the psychological development of nonhuman primates. n Amy Novotney is a writer in Chicago. Monitor on psychology • DeceMber 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Willpower Pioneer Wins $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize
Single-Sex Schooling Called Into Question by Prominent Researchers
Maternal Depression Stunts Childhood Growth, Research Suggests
For Boys, Sharing May Seem Like a Waste of Time
Good News for Postdoc Applicants
In Brief
Treatment Guideline Development Now Under Way
Government Relations Update
Psychologist Named Va Mental Health Chief
The Limits of Eyewitness Testimony
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Deconstructing Suicide
Questionnaire
A Focus on Interdisciplinarity
A Time of ‘Enormous Change’
The Science Behind Team Science
Good Science Requires Good Conflict
A New Paradigm of Care
Speaking of Education
Science Directions
New Labels, New Attitudes?
Psychologist Profile
Early Career Psychology
Unintended Consequences
Better Options for Troubled Teens
Saving Lives, One Organ at a Time
New Journal Editors
APA News
Division Spotlight
Guidelines for the Conduct of President-Elect Nominations and Elections
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011