Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology - Nature, Scope, and Solutions

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.
Societies in the 21st century desperately need reliable psychological science, but we don't have it. This important volume explains one of the main reasons why we are making little progress on any issue that gets contaminated by the left-right culture war: because the field of psychology is an enthusiastic member of one of the two teams, so it rejects findings and researchers who question its ideological commitments. The authors of this engaging volume also show us the way out.  They diagnose the social dynamics of bias and point to reforms that would give us the psychology that we need to address 21st century problems.
Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, NYU-Stern School of Business and author of The Righteous Mind

The boundaries of free speech, censorship, moral cultures, social justice, and ideological biases are among the many incendiary topics discussed in this book. If you are looking for a deep-dive into real-world contemporary controversies, Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology fits the bill. The chapters are thoughtful and thought-provoking. Most readers will find something to agree with and something to rage at in almost every chapter. It just may change how you think about some of these topics.
Diane F. Halpern, Professor of Psychology Emerita, Claremont McKenna College and Past President, American Psychological Association
 
Unless the political left is always correct about everything (in which case, we wouldn't need to do research; we could just ask a leftist), the growing political monoculture of social science is a major barrier to our search for the truth. This volume shows how ideological bias should be treated as a source of research error, up there with classic methodological flaws like non-random assignment and non-blind measurement.
Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of Rationality
 
An important read for academics curious about how their politics fashions beliefs that too often are uncritically taken for granted, and for non-academics wondering why we can't shake off the politics that so influences scientific work.
Vernon Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences and George L. Argyros Chair in Finance and Economics, Chapman University


Advances and deepens empirically rigorous scholarship into biased political influences affecting academic and professional psychology.



Offers constructive solutions for minimizing undue political influences within psychology and moving the field forward.



Serves as a resource for psychological academicians, researchers, practitioners, and consultants seeking to restore the principles of accurate science and effective practice to their respective areas of research.

 
 



Craig L. Frisby, Ph.D is an associate professor of school psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is the former associate editor of School Psychology Review, the official journal of the National Association of School Psychologists, and currently serves as the associate editor of Psychological Assessment, the official assessment journal of the American Psychological Association. He is the co-editor of The Comprehensive Handbook of Multicultural School Psychology (2005), and the author of Meeting the Psychoeducational Needs of Minority Children (2013), both published by Wiley & Sons. He currently serves on the screening technical review committee of the National Center on Response to Intervention. He is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists, APA Division 16, and an elected member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology. 

William O'Donohue, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and chairman and professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno, and an adjunct professor in the department of philosophy and a faculty member of the National Judicial College. He has published over 70 books and 150 journal articles and book chapters. He holds advanced degrees both in philosophy and psychology. For the past 14 years, he has been director of a free clinic that treats children who have been sexually abused and adults who have been sexually assaulted.

Scott O. Lilienfeld was born and raised in New York City. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical) from the University of Minnesota in 1990. He completed his clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1986-1987. He was assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany from 1990 to 1994, and has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Emory since 1994. He is also a visiting fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Dr. Lilienfeld is presently Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology at Emory. He is Editor-in-Chief of the APS journal Clinical Psychological Science and Associate Editor of the APA journal Archives of Scientific Psychology; he also sits on the editorial boards of several journals, including American Psychologist. He is recent past president of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (Section 3 of APA Division 12) and the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.