Laurance Frederic Shaffer (August 12, 1903 – July 20, 1976) was an American psychologist and a past president of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

(APA).

Biography

Shaffer was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces and he opened the first pilot selection examining unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was a department chair at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and he served as editor of the '' Journal of Consulting Psychology''. Shaffer promoted the concept of ''mental hygiene'', which combined the notions of health promotion and

psychological adjustment In psychology, adjustment is that condition of a person who is able to adapt to changes in their physical, occupational, and social environment. In other words, adjustment refers to the behavioural process of balancing conflicting needs, or needs ch ...

. He was the APA president in 1953.

References

1903 births 1976 deaths Presidents of the American Psychological Association Columbia University faculty 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub