The political bias of psychologists

Why is it that the economics profession is the only profession questioned on the grounds of its political diversity?

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1) Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years;

2) This lack of political diversity can undermine the validity of social psychological science via mechanisms such as the embedding of liberal values into research questions and methods, steering researchers away from important but politically unpalatable research topics, and producing conclusions that mischaracterize liberals and conservatives alike;

3) Increased political diversity would improve social psychological science by reducing the impact of  bias mechanisms such as confirmation bias, and by empowering dissenting minorities to improve the quality of the majority’s thinking; and

4) The underrepresentation of non-liberals in social psychology is most likely due to a combination of self-selection, hostile climate, and discrimination.

via Psychology’s Political Diversity Problem | Psychology Today.

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The political proclivities of different occupations

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via popup-v2 » Sociological Images.

Sorry, Conservatives—Basic Economics Has a Liberal Bias By Matthew Yglesias

…here are some ideas that I’ve seen in most of the introductory economics textbooks I’ve looked at:

  • Governments (typically through central banks) need to manage the demand level of national economies to prevent catastrophic recessions and mass unemployment.
  • Absent carbon pricing, a market economy will massively overproduce greenhouse gases.
  • Many industries, such as broadband Internet, are “natural monopolies” where an unregulated market will lead to higher prices and less investment than is socially optimal.
  • Due to asymmetrical information, consumers in a market economy will be unable to bargain effectively with doctors and other providers of health care services.
  • Due to adverse selection, consumers in a market economy will be unable to effectively insure themselves against health risks.
  • Due to the declining marginal utility of money, taking $100 from a rich person and giving it to a poor one will increase human welfare.
  • Increasing the number of immigrants, raising taxes on the rich, and making Social Security benefits more generous will make almost everyone better off.

I could go on like this. But suffice it to say that one of the main reasons that so many economists are Democrats is that on a whole lot of issues the basic econ 101 view supports the liberal position.

via Economics is liberal: Chris House on conservative economics..

The Political Bias of Workers by Profession | Business Insider

Academics crowdpac donor politics

via http://www.businessinsider.com.au/charts-show-the-political-bias-of-each-profession-2014-11

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