Affiliations and Activities
Strange as it may seem for a social psychologist, Paul tends to be a non-joiner. His participation in professional societies and formal organizations was, with few exceptions, somewhat grudging and mostly nominal. His "mostly nominal" memberships included the American Psychological Association, the Midwestern Psychological Association, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the North Dakota Psychological Association. He was more sanguine about his involvement in Sigma Xi - the Scientific Research Society and genuinely enthusiastic about the International Association for Relationship Research and its forerunners, ISPR and ISSPR.
Paul's lack of affinity for formal groups and administration was so transparent that his colleagues sometimes referred to him as "our resident antisocial psychologist." Even so, he dutifully took his turn serving on departmental and university committees. Occasionally his strong sense of responsibility overpowered his near-abhorrence of administrative roles and he served terms as president of NDPA, president of the local chapter of Sigma Xi-SRS, chair of the UND Faculty Research Committee, and acting chair of the Department of Psychology.