Equal Representation is Inequality, and Other Fallacies: A Commentary on Roberts et al. (2020)

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/zusmd ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chris C. Martin

Keyword(s):

Demographic Change ◽

Racial Inequality ◽

Developmental Psychology ◽

Psychological Research ◽

White Participant ◽

Participant Recruitment ◽

Base Rates ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Psychological Bias ◽

The U.S

In an article in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Roberts et al. (2020) claimed there is significant racial inequality in the publication process within psychology. Roberts et al. raise important questions, but some of their conclusions are inadequately supported. Among other things, they claim to have demonstrated that there is racial inequality in psychological research but do not define a threshold to separate inequality from equality. In addition, Roberts et al. fail to account for population base rates in U.S. demographics when drawing inferences. Specifically, they interpret their bibliometric analysis as indicating an over-representation of White authors in social and developmental psychology with no consideration of base rates. I demonstrate that when base rates are considered, the data actually show equal representation in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and White under-representation in the 2010s in both subfields. They also report a correlation between non-White editorship, non-White authorship, and non-White participant recruitment, and then suggest that editorship causes an increase in authorship and participant recruitment. They do not consider that demographic change—an overall increase in the proportion of non-Whites in the U.S.—is a better explanation than psychological bias for this association. They claim that race is an unpopular topic but a comparative PsycInfo analysis shows race may be one of the most popular topics in psychology. Their method for assessing a focus on race is also downward biased.

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Potential Misinterpretation of Data on Racial Representation

10.31234/osf.io/92btm ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chris C. Martin

Keyword(s):

Demographic Change ◽

Alternative Explanation ◽

Developmental Psychology ◽

White Participant ◽

Participant Recruitment ◽

Base Rates ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Racial Representation ◽

Proper Interpretation ◽

The U.S

In an article in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Roberts et al. (2020) analyzed racial representation among publications and authors within three fields of psychology. This commentary points to two aspects of that article that may inhibit proper interpretation of the findings. First, Roberts et al. do not present population base rates in U.S. demographics when drawing inferences. Specifically, they interpret their bibliometric analysis as indicating an over-representation of White authors in social and developmental psychology with no consideration of base rates. I demonstrate that when base rates are considered, the data show equal representation in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and White under-representation in the 2010s in both subfields. They also report a correlation between non-White editorship, non-White authorship, and non-White participant recruitment, and then suggest that editorship causes an increase in authorship and participant recruitment. They do not consider that demographic change—an overall increase in the proportion of non-Whites in the U.S.—is an alternative explanation for this phenomenon. Lastly, they claim that race is an unpopular topic but a comparative PsycInfo analysis shows race may be one of the most popular topics in psychology. Thus, there are alternative ways to interpret their data.

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The Goldwater Rule: Perspectives From, and Implications for, Psychological Science

10.31234/osf.io/j3gmf ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

scott lilienfeld ◽

Josh Miller ◽

Donald Lynam

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Clinical Judgment ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Public Attention ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Psychiatric Status ◽

Public Figures ◽

Duty To Inform

When, if ever, should psychological scientists be permitted to offer professional opinions concerning the mental health of public figures they have never directly examined? This contentious question, which attracted widespread public attention during the 1964 U.S. presidential election involving Barry Goldwater, received renewed scrutiny during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, when many mental health professionals raised pointed questions concerning the psychiatric status of Donald Trump. Although the Goldwater Rule prohibits psychiatrists from offering diagnostic opinions on individuals they have never examined, no comparable rule exists for psychologists. We contend that, owing largely to the Goldwater Rule’s origins in psychiatry, a substantial body of psychological research on assessment and clinical judgment, including work on the questionable validity of unstructured interviews, the psychology of cognitive biases, and the validity of informant reports and of L (lifetime) data, has been overlooked in discussions of its merits. We conclude that although the Goldwater Rule may have been defensible several decades ago, it is outdated and premised on dubious scientific assumptions. We further contend that there are select cases in which psychological scientists with suitable expertise may harbor a “duty to inform,” allowing them to offer informed opinions concerning public figures’ mental health with appropriate caveats.

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Intersectionality as a Framework for Theory and Research in Feminist Psychology

10.1093/oso/9780190658540.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leah R. Warner ◽

Stephanie A. Shields

Keyword(s):

Social Activism ◽

Data Gathering ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Social Identities ◽

Future Directions ◽

Science Practices ◽

Intersectionality Theory ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Psychological Theories ◽

History Of

Intersectionality theory concerns the interdependence of systems of inequality and implications for psychological research. Social identities cannot be studied independently of one another nor separately from the societal processes that maintain inequality. In this chapter we provide a brief overview of the history of intersectionality theory and then address how intersectionality theory challenges the way psychological theories typically conceive of the person, as well as the methods of data gathering and analysis customarily used by many psychologists. We specifically address two concerns often expressed by feminist researchers. First, how to reconcile the use of an intersectionality framework with currently-valued psychological science practices. Second, how intersectionality transforms psychology’s concern with individual experience by shifting the focus to the individual’s position within sociostructural frameworks and their social and political underpinnings. In a concluding section we identify two future directions for intersectionality theory: how psychological research on intersectionality can facilitate social activism, and current developments in intersectionality theory.

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History of Sexual Orientation and Mental Health

The Oxford Handbook of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190067991.013.2 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 9-24

Author(s):

Kristin A. Hancock ◽

Douglas C. Haldeman

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Research ◽

The Political ◽

Political Movements ◽

International Policy ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Aids Epidemic ◽

History Of ◽

And Bisexual ◽

The Impact

Psychology’s understanding of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people has evolved, become more refined, and impacted the lives of LGB people in profound ways. This chapter traces the history of LGB psychology from the nineteenth century to the present and focuses on major events and the intersections of theory, psychological science, politics, and activism in the history of this field. It explores various facets of cultural and psychological history that include the pathologizing of homosexuality, the rise of psychological science and the political movements in the mid-twentieth century, and the major shifts in policy that ensued. The toll of the AIDS epidemic on the field is discussed as is the impact of psychological research on national and international policy and legislation.

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METHODOLOGY OF COMPLEX AND INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHES IN MODERN PSYCHOLOGY

Main Issues Of Pedagogy And Psychology ◽

10.24234/miopap.v17i1.360 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 29-45

Author(s):

Vladimir A. MAZILOV

Keyword(s):

Psychological Research ◽

Scientific Concept ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Modern Psychology ◽

Adequate Understanding ◽

The Subject ◽

The Moment

The article is devoted to the evaluation of perspectives of interdisciplinary researches using in psychological science in modern conditions. There are formulated approaches that let to improve the efficiency of interdisciplinary researches. Although this issue has received considerable attention of researchers, the problem is not solved at the moment. The theory of complex psychological researches as a scientific concept, reflecting the specificity of psychological research has not been developed yet. The reason for this is that researchers try to develop the principles of organization and procedure of this kind of researches. It is possible to develop the methodology and theory of complex psychological researches, based on the understanding of the subject of psychology. It is alleged that at present time the most adequate understanding of the subject of psychology is his interpretation like the subjective world of human.

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Illusory essences: A bias holding back theorizing in psychological science

10.31234/osf.io/eqma4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cameron Brick ◽

Bruce Hood ◽

Vebjørn Ekroll ◽

Lee de-Wit

Keyword(s):

Biological Psychology ◽

Theory Development ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Sufficient Evidence ◽

Complex Phenomenon ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Wide Range ◽

Category Labels ◽

Vital Forces ◽

Holding Back

The reliance in psychology on verbal definitions means that psychological research is unusually moored to how humans think and communicate about categories. Psychological concepts (e.g., intelligence; attention) are easily assumed to represent objective, definable categories with an underlying essence. Like the 'vital forces' previously thought to animate life, these assumed essences can create an illusion of understanding. We describe a pervasive tendency across psychological science to assume that essences explain phenomena by synthesizing a wide range of research lines from cognitive, clinical, and biological psychology and neuroscience. Labeling a complex phenomenon can appear as theoretical progress before sufficient evidence that the described category has a definable essence or known boundary conditions. Category labels can further undermine progress by masking contingent and contextual relationships and obscuring the need to specify mechanisms. Finally, we highlight examples of promising methods that circumvent the lure of essences and we suggest four concrete strategies to identify and avoid essentialist intuitions in theory development.

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Barriers to Marriage

The Psychology of Family Law ◽

10.18574/nyu/9781479865413.003.0002 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 11-27

Author(s):

Eve M. Brank

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Sexual Orientation ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Young Age ◽

Same Sex ◽

Public Opinions ◽

Personal Attitudes ◽

The U.S

In the U.S., individual states hold the power of marriage regulation and decide who can and cannot get married. As such, a number of barriers to marriage either are, or historically have been, in place throughout the states. Past barriers are those like physical and mental conditions the states once viewed as risky for reproductive purposes. Barriers also included race and sexual orientation with some states throughout different periods of history restricting interracial and same-sex marriages. Today, barriers are still in place for young age, incest, polygamy/bigamy, fraud, and duress. Personal attitudes and public opinions seem to be the main driving forces behind the changing landscape of past marital barriers. Psychological research has also played a role by informing public opinion.

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The Newest South

NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement ◽

10.5744/florida/9780813066202.003.0005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 61-108

Author(s):

Brenda Plummer

Keyword(s):

Popular Culture ◽

Civil Rights ◽

Civil Rights Movement ◽

Racial Inequality ◽

New South ◽

Deep South ◽

Cultural Patterns ◽

Political Economic ◽

The Impact ◽

The U.S

Brenda Plummer examines the effect of the U.S. space program on race relations in key areas of the South, and the impact of that connection on popular culture. She also explores the intersection of the struggle for racial equality and aerospace exploration, as both constituted potent narratives of freedom in the American imaginary. Plummer disputes the assumption that NASA as an instrument of modernization and partner in the creation of the New South was implicitly allied with the civil rights movement. While the transformation of parts of the Deep South undeniably broke up earlier political, economic, and cultural patterns, aerospace research and development helped inaugurate a successor regime that neither challenged the structural foundations of racial inequality nor guarded against the production of new disparities.

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Digital Traces: New Data, Resources, and Tools for Psychological-Science Research

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0963721419861410 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 560-566 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Anat Rafaeli ◽

Shelly Ashtar ◽

Daniel Altman

Keyword(s):

Research Methods ◽

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Science Research ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Data Sources ◽

Human Psychology ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Large Scale Data ◽

Scale Data

New technologies create and archive digital traces—records of people’s behavior—that can supplement and enrich psychological research. Digital traces offer psychological-science researchers novel, large-scale data (which reflect people’s actual behaviors), rapidly collected and analyzed by new tools. We promote the integration of digital-traces data into psychological science, suggesting that it can enrich and overcome limitations of current research. In this article, we review helpful data sources, tools, and resources and discuss challenges associated with using digital traces in psychological research. Our review positions digital-traces research as complementary to traditional psychological-research methods and as offering the potential to enrich insights on human psychology.

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