Prosocial motives underlie scientific censorship by scientists: A perspective and research agenda

Author:

Clark Cory J.12ORCID,Jussim Lee3,Frey Komi4,Stevens Sean T.4,al-Gharbi Musa5ORCID,Aquino Karl6ORCID,Bailey J. Michael7ORCID,Barbaro Nicole8,Baumeister Roy F.9ORCID,Bleske-Rechek April10ORCID,Buss David11ORCID,Ceci Stephen12ORCID,Del Giudice Marco13,Ditto Peter H.14,Forgas Joseph P.15,Geary David C.16ORCID,Geher Glenn17,Haider Sarah18,Honeycutt Nathan4ORCID,Joshi Hrishikesh19,Krylov Anna I.20,Loftus Elizabeth14ORCID,Loury Glenn21,Lu Louise22,Macy Michael2324ORCID,Martin Chris C.25,McWhorter John26,Miller Geoffrey27ORCID,Paresky Pamela28ORCID,Pinker Steven29ORCID,Reilly Wilfred30,Salmon Catherine31ORCID,Stewart-Williams Steve32ORCID,Tetlock Philip E.12,Williams Wendy M.12ORCID,Wilson Anne E.33ORCID,Winegard Bo M.34,Yancey George35ORCID,von Hippel William36ORCID

Affiliation:

1. School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 9104

2. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 9104

3. Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854

4. Research Department, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Philadelphia, PA 19106

5. School of Communication and Journalism, Stony Brook University, Long Island, NY 11794

6. Marketing and Behavioral Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada

7. Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208

8. Communications Department, Heterodox Academy, New York City, NY 10038

9. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

10. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54702

11. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78731

12. Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

13. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste 34128, Italy

14. Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, California, CA 92697

15. School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia

16. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 56211

17. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561

18. Ex-Muslims of North America, Washington D.C.

19. University of Arizona, Department of Philosophy, Tucson, AZ 85721

20. Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089

21. Department of Economics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912

22. Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305

23. Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca 14850, New York

24. Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca 14850, New York

25. Psychology Department, Oglethorpe University, Brookhaven, GA 30319

26. Center for American Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

27. Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131

28. Network Contagion Research Institute, Princeton, NJ 08540

29. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

30. School of Criminal Justice and Political Science, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601

31. Department of Psychology, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373

32. School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Semenyih 43500, Malaysia

33. Psychology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L3C5, Canada

34. Independent

35. Department of Sociology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798

36. Research with Impact, Brisbane, Queensland 4069, Australia

Abstract

Science is among humanity’s greatest achievements, yet scientific censorship is rarely studied empirically. We explore the social, psychological, and institutional causes and consequences of scientific censorship (defined as actions aimed at obstructing particular scientific ideas from reaching an audience for reasons other than low scientific quality). Popular narratives suggest that scientific censorship is driven by authoritarian officials with dark motives, such as dogmatism and intolerance. Our analysis suggests that scientific censorship is often driven by scientists, who are primarily motivated by self-protection, benevolence toward peer scholars, and prosocial concerns for the well-being of human social groups. This perspective helps explain both recent findings on scientific censorship and recent changes to scientific institutions, such as the use of harm-based criteria to evaluate research. We discuss unknowns surrounding the consequences of censorship and provide recommendations for improving transparency and accountability in scientific decision-making to enable the exploration of these unknowns. The benefits of censorship may sometimes outweigh costs. However, until costs and benefits are examined empirically, scholars on opposing sides of ongoing debates are left to quarrel based on competing values, assumptions, and intuitions.

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Subject

Multidisciplinary

Reference130 articles.

1. Freedom of Expression Challenged: Scientists’ Perspectives on Hidden Forms of Suppression and Self-censorship

2. G. Lukianoff A. Goldstein B. Snyder R. Weiss 13 important points in the campus & K-12 ‘critical race theory’ debate (Fire 2021).

3. E. Kubin C. von Sikorski K. Gray When censorship feels acceptable: People suppress political ideas they perceive as harmful lies.

4. Science must respect the dignity and rights of all humans

5. Royal Society of Chemistry Provides Guidelines for Censorship to its Editors

Cited by 2 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3