In its August issue, the American Psychological Association's Monitor published a surprisingly candid front-page article describing the problem of politically-motivated research, and of the burying of research findings which are unnattractive to certain special-interest groups.
In response, the following letter was written by NARTH Scientific Advisory Board member A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D.:
To the Monitor Editor:
I was very pleased to read the lead article in the August, 1997 edition of the Monitor, entitled "When Research is Swept Under the Rug."
The following quotes from the article are particularly relevant:
"Some of the best psychological research suffers for the sake of political correctness..."
"Most researchers agree that no line of research should be banned, if it's well done and peer reviewed ..."
"Scientists who conduct research on politically hot topics risk being labeled based on what their data say..."
"With controversial topics we need to make sure that every person who has something to say about the topic has a chance to express their views ..."
"[I]f researchers begin to shy away from controversial topics or unsavory findings because of professional risks, their credibility is at stake ..."
"Censorship perpetuates the image that behavioral and social science has a political agenda, rather than an unbiased scientific base ..."
"[W]e don't want to engage in censorship ..."
I would hope that APA would seriously consider the above statements and offer a resolution that incorporates them--making it unethical for a psychologist to suppress research findings, or cause them to be suppressed.
Yet much of what I have read in the Monitor in recent months seems to constitute APA's attempts at "scientific justification" of its advocacy positions. When social science is misused for political purposes, APA has done little. Research should be encouraged and recognized in such controversial areas as affirmative action, day care, home schooling, abortion, single parenting, divorce and homosexuality.
Most of my colleagues would agree that APA has been threatened by political correctness in the area of homosexuality. In fact, I was appalled at APA's recent Resolution on Sexual Orientation regarding therapy for those individuals who are unhappy with their homosexual attractions. This resolution was clearly as politically motivated as was the decision to delete homosexuality from the DSM.
Suppressing data and refusing to address politically incorrect research only provides ammunition for legislators like Rep. Walker, who claim that social scientists only support politically correct research. A.P.A. needs to take a good look at the Monitor article and compare it with Walker's claims. His argument has merit.
As Gladue says, "If research is buried, it will only come back to bite us later." Belsky concurs, "It may take a while for the bubble to float up from the bottom ... but if data have merit, it will eventually leak out to scientists. And the attempt to control the data will fail, and embarrass the people who tried to keep it down." Such embarrassment has begun to occur for those who embraced the very sick Alfred Kinsey. (See the New Yorker, August 25, 1997--preview of the new book on Kinsey by James H. Jones.)
Sincerely,
A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D.