Professional Groups
This is a selection of professional organizations related to the field of CyberPsychology. Joining a professional organization adds to your professional knowledge (most offer continuing education and development opportunities), allows you to network in the field, and shows future employers you are engaged in the professional community.
Most offer discounted student rates.
Why Get Involved?
- Expand your network: Make new connections with professionals who can hire or refer work to you. Participating in an organization should provide you with many opportunities to connect with professionals on a local, regional, national, and sometimes global level. Participating in special interest groups, sections, or discussion boards sponsored by an organization is another way to connect with people who are likeminded and/or working in the same niche you are.
- Boost your credibility and visibility: Being actively involved in your professional community can boost your credibility among your peers, your clients, and your prospects. Associations generally look to their members to share their unique expertise and their connections through their participation in the organization. Raise your hand for a leadership role to not only develop your skills as a leader but also to boost increase your visibility. Relating to other professionals who share common interests is a great way to strengthen your reputation.
- Professional development: Join a professional organization that directly aligns with your interests. Organizations often offer articles, webinars, reports, white papers, courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, and certifications to keep their members current on the latest industry research, innovations, and trends.
- Mentorship opportunities: Finding professionals—junior and senior—who can support your growth is a huge benefit in joining a professional association. There are also meaningful rewards in mentoring others, including honing your leadership abilities, learning new perspectives and insights, and feeling a sense of contribution.
- Build a support system: Making connections outside of your school who understand your circumstances and can offer guidance and insight is one of the most important reasons to join a professional organization. Strong bonds within professional organizations will improve your career opportunities, will help you garner more influence, and most importantly, will make work and life more fun.
Best practice: Don’t wait until you are in need to build your support system. Make the investment into developing authentic relationships early to build a network of advocates who want to see you succeed and are happy to help as needs arise.
- American Psychological Association (APA)The mission of the APA is to promote the advancement, communication, and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.
- Association for Information Systems (AIS)"The Association for Information Systems (AIS) serves society through the advancement of knowledge and the promotion of excellence in the practice and study of information systems. AIS is the premier professional association for individuals and organizations who lead the research, teaching, practice, and study of information systems worldwide. "
- Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)AWP is an interdisciplinary organization that attends to issues and concerns at the intersections of feminism and psychology.
- Association of Black Psychologists, Inc. (ABP)The Association of Black Psychologists sees its mission and destiny as the liberation of the African Mind, empowerment of the African Character, and enlivenment and illumination of the African Spirit.
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)The Association for Computing Machinery is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membership group.
- British Psychological Society | Cyberpsychology SectionTheir mission is to: initiate, organise and promote a range of activities and produce artefacts that translate the purpose and vision of the group, into high quality and highly valued contributions to the field of Cyberpsychology; become the expert source of learning and development for all core members and affiliates, as well as other stakeholders, with an interest in or impacted by Cyberpsychology; become the credible professional community of choice for Cyberpsychologists and affiliate members, who are all united by the same objective of furthering and promoting the research in the field; be known as the expert advisory body that serves a wide range of stakeholders including government and policy makers, who have a shared interest in understanding, monitoring, regulating, managing and mitigating the impacts of digital technology on the wider society; maintain key ethical values of ethical practice, professionalism, and transparency, in all that we do.
- IEEE | Computer SocietyWorld's leading membership organization dedicated to computer science and technology.
- International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, and Rehabilitation (iACToR)iACToR is an international non-profit association designed to promote Virtual Reality, DTx and other advanced technologies as adjuncts to more traditional forms of therapy, training, education, and rehabilitation. We also investigate the impact, positive and negative, of Social Networking on individual behaviour and society.
- Society for Media Psychology & TechnologyMission Statement: Our mission is to advance psychology in the practice and science of media communications and technology. The society is a community of researchers, psychologists and other mental health providers, consultants, educators and communications professionals actively involved with all forms of traditional and evolving media and emerging technologies. The society supports the study and dissemination of information related to the impact of the media on human behavior, as well as the development of media literacy essential to the public and professionals. Division 46 of the American Psychological Association.