APS was founded in 1988 by a group of researchers and scientifically-oriented practitioners who were interested in advancing scientific psychology and its representation at the national and international level.

[3] Organized psychology has always represented various constituencies, and beginning in the 1970s, there were several attempts to restructure the APA in an effort to mitigate internal tensions and satisfy the needs of a heterogeneous group.

[10] Membership is also allowed in an affiliate form to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree or its equivalent in psychology at an accredited degree-granting institution.

The APS website serves as a news portal for psychological science, distilling research results for a general audience, while maintaining a scientific approach to the field.

In addition, the site houses the archive for the blogs We're Only Human and Full Frontal Psychology by science writer Wray Herbert.

APS also sponsored a Teaching Institute at the inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS), held in Amsterdam in March 2015.

In March 2015, the inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS), organized under the auspices of APS, was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This first-of-its-kind event provided a forum for presentations on research and methodology across all of psychological science, neuroscience, genetics, sociology, anthropology, economics, linguistics, and related fields.