Activism or science? Navigating the tension between objectivity and advocacy in DEI research

• Published in: Industrial and organizational psychology 2024-12, Vol.17 (4), p.520-524
• Main Authors: Steele, Logan M., Spector, Paul E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activism; Activists; Bias; Censorship; Commentaries; Credibility; Diversity equity & inclusion; Legislation; Psychologists; Science; Workplace diversity
• ISSN: 1754-9426; 1754-9434
• DOI: 10.1017/iop.2024.41

[...]to ensure the acquisition of that knowledge actually influences the stakeholders who Follmer et al. describe, particularly those who oppose DEI efforts, industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists must execute this research in a way that allows us, as stated in SIOP’s values statement, to “serve as the trusted authority for the science of psychology applied to the workplace” (SIOP, n.d., para. 3). [...]although we agree with Follmer et al.’s exhortation to empirically examine the effects of (and withdrawal from) DEI efforts, we believe that activism should be considered separate from a research agenda. [...]it is not just backlash effects among majority group members that are worth considering; it is that DEI policies and programs could unintentionally be detrimental to the very people that they are aimed to support. [...]researchers who see their work as a form of activism are likely to be tempted to suppress any evidence they gather that does not align with their preconceptions. [...]adopting an activist perspective can make it easy to rationalize questionable research practices like p-hacking.