What do COVID vaccine development and foreign language training have in common? Answer: they both involve psychological science. In this episode, we pivot to research and applied psychology, how they look in the military context and how they are used to solve "real world problems." We talk to the current and past president of Division 19, Drs. Maurice Sipos and Eric Surface, about their perspectives on the topic. Dr. Sipos is an Active Duty Army psychologist with a PhD in Experimental Psychology, with an emphasis on behavioral neuroscience. He is a Professor and the Director of Strategic Leadership Course in the Department of Command, Management, and Leadership at the US Army War College. His research focus is wide ranging, including impact of biological agents on human, behavioral health and well-being, leadership, mindfulness and moral courage. Dr. Surface is a civilian I/O psychologist who founded ALPS InsightsTM, a Raleigh-based company that provides research and consulting services for learning and development evaluation and analytics. Dr. Surface contributed to the success of US Special Operations by serving as a consultant and applied researcher, leading projects such as foreign language training effectiveness and training needs assessment studies. Drs. Sipos and Surface share with us their personal and professional experiences as military psychologists, how they became military psychologists, and their thoughts and recommendations to students interested in being a research/applied military psychologist.
Want to reach Drs. Sipos and Surface? Have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at div19studentrep@gmail.com or reach us on Facebook (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/fb.com/Div19Students__;!!NCZxaNi9jForCP_SxBKJCA!EiSf_pKPNU3e0u6ferREM2-rsPog-POyH5E-ZHmhCG6JKxDGJRmi46afqpVStw5f$ (fb.com/Div19Students) ) or Twitter (@div19students).