Article contents
Sociopolitical insularity is psychology's Achilles heel
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 September 2015
Abstract
Academic psychology has become increasingly non-diverse politically, which skews and impedes social psychological science (as Duarte et al. argue). We should embrace viewpoint diversity, especially since the arguments favoring sociopolitical diversity are identical to those for demographic and cultural diversity. Doing so will produce a more robust, open, and creative psychological science that is informed and tested by a multiplicity of sociopolitical paradigms.
- Type
- Open Peer Commentary
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015
References
Gross, N. & Fosse, E. (2012) Why are professors liberal?
Theory and Society
41:127–68.Google Scholar
Grutter v. Bollinger. (2003) Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). [Full case name: Barbara Grutter, Petitioner v. Lee Bollinger, et al.] Available at: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/306/case.html.Google Scholar
Inbar, Y. & Lammers, J. (2012) Political diversity in social and personality psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science
7(5):496–503.Google Scholar
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W. & Sulloway, F. J. (2003) Political conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychological Bulletin
129(3):339–75. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jussim, L. (2012a) Liberal privilege in academic psychology and the social sciences. Commentary on Inbar & Lammers (2012). Perspectives on Psychological Science
7(5):504–507.Google Scholar
Kahan, D. M. (2013) Ideology, motivated reasoning, and cognitive reflection. Judgment and Decision Making
8(4):407–24.Google Scholar
MacCoun, R. J. (1998) Biases in the interpretation and use of research results. Annual Review of Psychology
49(1):259–87. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.259.Google Scholar
Page, S. E. (2009) The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools and societies. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Redding, R. E. (2001) Sociopolitical diversity in psychology: The case for pluralism. American Psychologist
56(3):205–15.Google Scholar
Redding, R. E. (2012) Likes attract: The sociopolitical groupthink of (social) psychologists. Perspectives on Psychological Science
7(5):512–15.Google Scholar
Tetlock, P. E. (2012) Rational versus irrational prejudices: How problematic is the ideological lopsidedness of social psychology?
Perspectives on Psychological Science
7(5):519–21.Google Scholar
- 2
- Cited by
Target article
Political diversity will improve social psychological science1
Related commentaries (33)
A checklist to facilitate objective hypothesis testing in social psychology research
A conservative's social psychology
A predominance of self-identified Democrats is no evidence of a leftward bias
A “cohesive moral community” is already patrolling behavioral science1
Conservatism is not the missing viewpoint for true diversity
Diverse crowds using diverse methods improves the scientific dialectic
Diversity of depoliticization?
Increasing ideological tolerance in social psychology
Is liberal bias universal? An international perspective on social psychologists
Lack of political diversity and the framing of findings in personality and clinical psychology
Liberal bias and the five-factor model
Liberals and conservatives: Non-convertible currencies
Meta-ethical pluralism: A cautionary tale about cohesive moral communities
Method and matter in the social sciences: Umbilically tied to the Enlightenment
Mischaracterizing social psychology to support the laudable goal of increasing its political diversity
On the history of political diversity in social psychology
Political attitudes in social environments
Political bias is tenacious
Political bias, explanatory depth, and narratives of progress
Political diversity versus stimuli diversity: Alternative ways to improve social psychological science
Political homogeneity can nurture threats to research validity
Political orientations do not cancel out, and politics is not about truth
QTIPs: Questionable theoretical and interpretive practices in social psychology
Recognizing and coping with our own prejudices: Fighting liberal bias without conservative input
Should social psychologists create a disciplinary affirmative action program for political conservatives?
Sociopolitical insularity is psychology's Achilles heel
The psychology of psychology: A thought experiment
Too paranoid to see progress: Social psychology is probably liberal, but it doesn't believe in progress
Towards a de-biased social psychology: The effects of ideological perspective go beyond politics
Welcoming conservatives to the field
What kinds of conservatives does social psychology lack, and why?
When theory trumps ideology: Lessons from evolutionary psychology
“Wait – You're a conservative?” Political diversity and the dilemma of disclosure
Author response
It may be harder than we thought, but political diversity will (still) improve social psychological science1