PSYCHOLOGISTS ROLE IN INFLUENCING CONGRESS - THE PROCESS AND THE PLAYERS

A rudimentary conceptual model of the forces involved in establishing our nation's national health policy is offered to facilitate the reader's understanding of the policy-making process. The authors use the model to make recommendations for how psychologists as external players can be maximally effective in interacting with Congress to influence public policy. The APA Congressional Science Fellowship program is a critical link in organized psychology's increasingly active public-policy/political presence.