Abstract
Concerns about political biases among social scientists have become more acute in recent years. These criticisms reach to the top of the echelon in psychology, specifically the American Psychological Association. This essay recounts examples of political bias at the APA and the author’s decision that these made endorsement of the organization unsustainable. Failure to address political biases is likely to decrease the public’s perception of psychology as a rigorous, objective science and decrease the influence of social scientists in setting science-based policy. Further, political biases appear to be influencing recommendations for clinical work in ways that are likely to redound negatively upon the well-being of many patients. Recommendations for addressing political balance in psychology are offered.
This chapter is revised from an essay appearing in the magazine Quillette in December 2021. Significant portions remain the same.
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Ferguson, C.J. (2023). One Psychologist’s Reasons for Resigning from the American Psychological Association. In: Frisby, C.L., Redding, R.E., O'Donohue, W.T., Lilienfeld, S.O. (eds) Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29148-7_12
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