Introducing Proceedings of the Arkansas Psychological Association

Eric C. Prichard, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Monticello

Welcome to Proceedings of the Arkansas Psychological Association. We are the new peer reviewed journal of the Arkansas Psychological Association (ArPA). Our mission is to promote psychological scholarship across the state of Arkansas. In particular, we want to focus on three broad groups of scholars:

(1)    Student Scholars: We want to provide Arkansas students with an opportunity to receive peer reviewed feedback on their research and to provide a venue through which they may get an opportunity to publish and share their work. Publication can provide students with a big competitive advantage when it comes to applying for graduate programs or jobs. In addition, being part of the scientific research process is exhilarating. Journals that are open to student research allow young people to catch the research bug.

(2)    Psychology Professionals in Arkansas: Practicing licensed psychologists in Arkansas have important perspectives to share about the issues facing psychology professionals in the state and region. We welcome commentary, case studies, and field research from practicing professionals in Arkansas. The experience of professionals in clinical settings and field settings may differ from the experience of purely academic psychologists, but that experience still has the potential to contribute to the knowledge of both clinical and academic professionals.

(3)    Academic Psychologists in Arkansas: Arkansas has a wealth of small colleges and universities. Many of us who work as professors teach between 4 and 5 courses a semester, work primarily with undergraduate students, and serve on various college and university committees. On the same token, most of us felt called to get our Ph.D.’s and teach because we loved the science of psychology. Most of us are also active as scholars and researchers. However, time and resource constraints can make it difficult to consistently produce studies with the theoretical scope, large sample sizes, and technology required for studies to be competitive in the journals of the highest tier. That does not, however, mean these studies are not of high quality and potentially useful as contributions to the literature or as steps towards more ambitious projects.  We want to create a venue where Arkansas psychology faculty can get peer reviewed feedback, disseminate their work, and help their research programs lay the groundwork of published studies upon which a research program can be built. Think of us as providing an important step onto the academic ladder for Arkansas faculty.

Above all, this new journal is about one thing. It is about promoting psychology and psychologists in the state of Arkansas. We do important work in the state. Our profession is filled with talented people and promising students. We want to amplify the voice of our state’s psychologists and create a community of knowledge dissemination and constructive critical feedback.

I hope you will consider joining us on this journey.

Eric Prichard, Ph.D.

Chief Editor

President Elect of the Arkansas Psychological Association

Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Arkansas at Monticello