Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology

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Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology: Nature, Scope, and Solutions - a 2023 book edited by Craig L. Frisby, Richard E. Redding, William T. O'Donohue, Scott O. Lilienfeld

About the book

"This book examines the traditional assumptions made by academics and professionals alike that have embedded sociopolitical biases that impede practice. and undermine efforts to achieve an objective scientific status. If allowed to go unchallenged, the credibility of psychology as a discipline is compromised. This contributed volume thoroughly and comprehensively examines this concern in a conceptually and empirically rigorous manner and offers constructive solutions for minimizing undue political influences within the field of psychology."

Chapters of relevance

• Del Giudice, M. (2023). Ideological Bias in the Psychology of Sex and Gender.

  “Because feminism is the dominant ideological influence in the study of sex and gender, this chapter takes a critical stance toward feminist theory and research.”

This chapter examines the feminist bias that permeates contemporary academic scholarship, overgeneralizing social constructionist views and underestimating biological influences, particularly evolutionary ones, on gender and sexual expression, preferences, and behavior.

• Michael Bailey, J. (2023). Ideological Bias in Sex Research

  Abstract: "Research on human sexuality has often been controversial for ideological reasons. During the previous century, the political Right tended to oppose open inquiry on sex-related topics. Recently, however, the Left has at least matched the Right in ideology-based hostility to certain scientific ideas. Here I review my career researching controversial topics including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pedophilia. The intrusion of ideological biases in these areas has invariably been harmful to scholarship and scientific progress."

• Rind, B. (2023). Sacred Values, Politics, and Moral Panic: A Potent Mix Biasing the Science behind Child Sexual Abuse and Related Phenomena.

  Abstract:"This chapter examines moral-political bias in psychological knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA). Before the 1980s, most professionals saw CSA as immoral but generally not harmful, absent aggravating circumstances. By the early 1980s, professional beliefs radically shifted, seeing CSA as intrinsically traumatic, often causing severe maladjustment. This shift, however, came from advocacy and politics, not systematic empiricism, and soon occasioned moral panic (e.g., daycare satanic-ritual abuse, recovered memories). The moral panic, in turn, amplified the bias in scientific understanding of CSA. Researchers began interrogating various claims, such as, were memories of CSA true or implanted. With several colleagues, I interrogated core claims concerning trauma and harm, finding them to be highly overstated. Our research was politically attacked. Subsequently, I researched the nature of pederasty (a later major target of the moral panic) and was attacked. In this chapter, I detail moral panic bias, my research, the political attacks, and my responses."

The Scope of Political Bias

The following topics were covered in other chapters:

• The Political Process: Critically Important for Behavioral Health
• Social Justice in Psychotherapy and Beyond
• Dissecting Darwin’s Drama: Understanding the Politicization of Evolutionary Psychology Within the Academy
• Parental Punishment: Don’t Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater
• The Conundrum of Measuring Authoritarianism: A Case Study in Political Bias
• The Politics of Sexual Misconduct Allegations: A Memory Science Framework
• Predicting, Controlling, and Engineering Humans: Eugenic Sciences in American Psychology
• Controversies in Differential Psychology and Behavior Genetics: A Sociological Analysis
• Thoughts on the Politics of Intelligence Research
• The Advantages of Having a Minority Viewpoint in Politicized Psychology: A Case Study of Intelligence Research
• Russian and Soviet Psychology in the Changing Political Environments

External links

• The book's overview on link.springer.com
• The book's copy on libgen