Introduction: Eugene Borgida's 2010 SPSSI Presidential Address

As SPSSI's past president, I am honored to introduce SPSSI's 2009–2010 president, Eugene Borgida, Professor of Psychology and Law at the University of Minnesota and Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Psychology, on the occasion of his 2010 presidential address. Professor Borgida took his bachelor's degree at Wesleyan University and his doctorate at the University of Michigan. An active scholar since 1972, Professor Borgida's research addresses the interrelationships among social cognition, attitudes and persuasion, psychology and law, and political psychology. At the time of his presidential address, Professor Borgida had already produced a large body of published work, including two co-authored edited volumes and 150 journal articles and book chapters.1 He has been recognized for his sustained contributions to the field as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Professor Borgida has served the field of psychology in many roles. He was co-director of the Center for the Study of Political Psychology at the University of Minnesota, co-editor of Political Psychology, Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, as an Executive Committee member of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, as a Board member for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Association for Psychological Science, the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the Social Science Research Council. Professor Borgida joined SPSSI while he was a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and, over the years, he served SPSSI in a variety of roles in addition to the presidency and Council. He chaired the SPSSI's Fellows and Kurt Lewin Award Committee, co-chaired (with Ann Bettencourt) the Publications Committee, co-edited (with Susan Fiske) a 1995 Journal of Social Issues on “Gender stereotyping, sexual harassment, and the law,” and co-chaired (with Geoff Maruyama) SPSSI's 2000 Biennial Conference held at the University of Minnesota. SPSSI has recognized Professor Borgida's contributions to the field and, in 1994, awarded him and co-author Laurie Rudman the 1994 the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize. Professor Borgida's scholarly work focuses on key psychological constructs that include identity, attribution, social judgment, decision making, gender bias, and gender stereotypes. Some of this scholarship, at the intersection of psychology and the law, addresses such prominent and enduring social issues as sexual assault and rape laws, juror perception and comprehension, child witnesses, and child sexual abuse. He has also provided his expert knowledge in the legal system and on the psychology of plea bargaining. Professor Borgida's current research includes the use of social and psychological science in employment discrimination litigation, research on arbitration decision making, the psychology of immigration attitudes, and research on identity and natural resource management, among other research topics. No one who knows SPSSI these days would claim that SPSSI is resting on its laurels or is a stagnant, out-of-date organization. To the contrary, all of these new developments, nurtured by SPSSI Council and SPSSI office-holders, suggest that SPSSI is alive and well, and making a concerted effort to enhance its visibility and bona fides at the intersection of psychological science and social justice policy… My own research has been deeply influenced by the Lewinian view that “there is nothing so practical as a good theory,” and by Doc Cartwright's equally compelling view that, for Lewin, “there was nothing so theoretical as a good practical problem.” In my research, teaching, and work with professional and legal communities, I have been a strong and unswerving advocate for theory-based, scientifically sound applications of psychological research to the problems of society. In the address that follows, “Reflections of Schachter Grandson Working Under the Voodoo Spell of Lewinian Action Research,” Professor Borgida offers an overview of the historical, theoretical, and methodological threads that course through his insightful scholarship on key social issues of our time. The author declares no conflicts of interest.