Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D. is the Chief Science Officer of the American Psychological Association. He is a husband, a father, board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology, and serves as the John Van Seters Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, and the former Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mitch’s Peer Relations Lab has been conducting research on popularity and peer relations for almost 20 years, and has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child and Human Development, and several private foundations, resulting in over 100 scientific works, including a slew of scientific journal articles, book chapters, a set of encyclopedias on adolescent development, and even a textbook on the field of clinical psychology. Mitch is deeply committed to science and training in clinical psychology. He is the author of a guide called "Mitch's Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology," which has helped thousands of students navigate the grad school process - please check it out if you are considering this path! His popular book, Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World, explores why popularity plays such a key role in our development and how it still influences our happiness and success into adulthood. It has been reviewed by esteemed peers such as Adam Grant, Martin Seligman, Angela Duckworth, and Phil Zimbardo. He and his research have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Time magazine, New York magazine, Newsweek, Reuters, Family Circle, Real Simple, and elsewhere. Sample questions/topics from this episode: Why did you apply to both law school and psych grad school?Why clinical psychology?Why do sub-disciplines of psychology have a hard time talking to one another?How did you become interested in researching peer relations?How do you advise students to find their own great mentors?Why do you love teaching and research?How do you choose when you are excited by so many opportunities?How did you develop the writing skills to be able to communicate your research with a mass audience?Why did you write the book, Popular?How can we be better as a field in disseminating psychological science, and what are the barriers to that?What is your role as the CSO of the APA? If you could tell your 22-year-old-self anything in the world, what would it be?GRAD SCHOOL: What are some common concerns that you see that psychology students have as it relates to professional development?How do you demonstrate potential in your graduate school application?What red flags do you see in graduate school applications?How much does school reputation matter for future career success?What advice do you have for people who want to go to clinical PhD programs but are not interested in research?What type of person would you advise not to go down a tenure track?To submit questions for future speakers and to get even more career tips, follow @psych_mic on Instagram and visit psychmic.com to sign up for the newsletter. Music by: Adam Fine