Alice F. Chang
Overview
Born in Ithaca, New York
 Daughter of political refugees
 At 4, moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico
 Furthered her education at UCLA and USC
 Professor at the University of Arizona in
Tucson
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Influences
Family
 Cultural aspects
 Breast Cancer
 New Mexico
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The Zeitgeist
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Social Climate of the 20th century
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Humanistic psychology
Her Ideas Compared With
the 20th Century Zeitgeist

Schools of thought
– Humanistic
– Behaviorism

Her practice
– taken other people’s work and elaborated
very well to further prove their points.
– focused on health and medical psychology,
not behavioral
Personal Struggles

Female Psychologist
– Few women
– Most work found in clinics

Minority
– Issues encountered at Marana Community
Health Clinic
– Obstacles she overcame at Kansas City VA
Medical Center
Personal Struggles
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Personal battle with breast cancer
– “A Survivor’s Guide to Breast Cancer”
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Cultural Expectations
– Family comes first
– High academic standards
– Mother and fathers opinions
Academy for Cancer Wellness
Non-profit organization established in
1995 by Alice F. Chang, and John Welker
 Supports cancer wellness: survivors,
families, friends and caregivers

American Psychological Foundation

Non-profit organization that advances in
science and practice in psychology as a
means of understanding human welfare,
education, and health
Marana Community Mental
Health Clinic
Non-profit clinic
 Helps serve Yaqui Indians, migrant
workers, and poor people in rural
communities

Kansas Psychological Foundation
Founded by Alice F. Chang in 1985
 Mission is to raise funds and have reward
programs

Strengths and Weaknesses

Theories and ideas
– wasn’t really a theorist, but she did apply existing theories, like self
esteem in the school environment to the clinical psychology field

Strengths
– Advocate
 opened the VAH,
– Survivor
 Breast cancer
– Being a mentor for others in psychology
– Research
 Being able to apply existing theories to certain clinical psychological studies
and research by using the scientific approach.

Weaknesses
– She did not develop her own ideas
– Not a person who stands in the spotlight
Service Barriers
Collaboration between disciplines
 Pain clinic
 Mental health services to Native Americans
& indigent
 Nonprofit for cancer survivors
 Kansas Psychological Foundation

Professional Associations

Kansas Psychological Association

American Psychological Association

Asian American Psychological Association
“Ultimately, we make our own discipline,
which means that we have to be willing to
take an active part in it and be willing to
give something back to it.”
A.F. Chang (1998)
Summary
Family & personal challenges
 Individuality
 Advocacy
 Involvement
 “A classic scientist practitioner”

“If you can do something about it, let’s do
it; if you cannot, let’s put it aside”
Alice. F. Chang
References
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APA election committee. (1998). Presidential elections. Monitor on
Psychology. 29 (6).
Chang, A.F. (2000). A Survivor’s Guide to Breast Cancer. New
Harbinger Publications: Oakland, CA.
Chang, A.F., Berger, S.E., Chang, B. (1981). The relationship of
student self-esteem and teacher empathy to classroom learning.
Journal of Human Behavior. 18 (4). 21-25.
Chang, A. F., Lloyd, C., & Powell B. J. (1979). Relationship of
Different Measures of Self-Esteem to Locus of Control. Psychological
Reports. 45. 160-162.
Chang, A. F., Rosenthal, T.L., Bryant, E.S. (1993). Comparing High
School Students’ Leisure Interests and Stress Ratings. Behavior
Research and Therapy. 31 (2). 179-184.
Citation. (1997). Alice F. Chang. American Psychologist. 52 (4). 338340.