Psychology’s Quiet Conservatism : How a Supposedly Woke Science Promotes Capitalism and Protects Privilege / by Brian M. Hughes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hughes, Brian M.

Series:

Behavioral Science and Psychology Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Critical psychology.

Political psychology.

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Education and state.

Science--History.

Knowledge, Sociology of.

Critical Psychology.

Political Psychology.

Philosophy of Science.

Educational Policy and Politics.

History of Science.

Sociology of Knowledge and Discourse.

Local Subjects:

Critical Psychology.

Political Psychology.

Philosophy of Science.

Educational Policy and Politics.

History of Science.

Sociology of Knowledge and Discourse.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 pages)

Edition:

1st ed. 2025.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025.

Summary:

“A penetrating, timely, and very accessible exploration of the deep and continuing right-wing political biases in mainstream psychology.” — Fathali M. Moghaddam, author of How Psychologists Failed “A scathing review and critique of the discipline… a marvellous insider account.” — Ian Parker, University of Manchester, UK “This profound work should be required reading for all psychology students and beyond.” — Thomas Teo, York University, Canada What if psychology isn’t as liberal as we think? Psychology is often seen as a progressive discipline — a champion of social justice, diversity, and liberal values. But this provocative book challenges that assumption. It argues that psychology, from its historical entanglements with eugenics and colonialism to its modern-day focus on individualism, has long served to reinforce the status quo. Even as many psychologists identify as politically liberal, the field’s methods, theories, and institutions often promote a worldview that downplays inequality, pathologizes dissent, and resists structural change. Psychology’s emphasis on personal responsibility, resilience, and self-help frequently aligns more closely with conservative ideals than with progressive ones. This book explores how the myth of a “liberal bias” in psychology has been weaponised in today’s culture wars — and how it distracts from the field’s real political blind spots. It asks: what would it mean for psychology to truly live up to its promise of promoting human welfare? Accessible, deeply researched, and sharply argued, Psychology’s Quiet Conservatism is essential reading for anyone interested in how science shapes society — and how society shapes science. Brian M. Hughes is Professor of Psychology at the University of Galway, Ireland. A leading expert in stress, health, and the public understanding of science, he is a prominent commentator and advocate for evidence-based policy. His books include A Conceptual History of Psychology (2022), The Psychology of Brexit (2019), and Psychology in Crisis (2018).

Contents:

Part I The Myth of Liberal Bias in Psychology

1. Universities Under Fire

2. Psychology at the Centre of Cancel Culture

3. The Claim of Liberal Bias in Psychology

4. The Problem with Claims about Psychology’s ‘Liberal Bias’

5. Culture War Psychology: Why the Liberal Bias Myth Persists, and Why it is Damaging

6. Liberal Bias in Psychology: An Intellectual Mirage

Part II Conservative Psychology, Past and Present

7. Legacy Conservatism

8. What the Standard History of Psychology Usually Ignores

9. Psychology’s Roots in Theology

10. Psychology’s Roots in Class Conflict

11. Psychology’s Roots in Eugenics

12. Psychology’s Conservative Paradigms

13. From Conservative Past to Neoliberal Present

Part III Psychology, Capitalism, and Human Welfare

14. Hierarchies and Hysteria

15. The Contrivance of Capitalist Minds

16. Capitalist Psychology

17. The Capitalist Denial of Illness

18. ‘Personality Is Bad For You’

19. The Psychologising of the Sick

20. Unidentified Psychic Objects

21. Pathology and Protectionism

Part IV Modernity and Declinism

22. Generation Snowflake

23. Depoliticising Youth Anxiety

24. Biological Reductionism Revisited

Part V The Coddling of Conservative Minds

25. How Psychology Reinforces (and thus Perpetuates) Social Conservatism

26. Example #1: By Standing Up Against Safetyism

27. Example #2: By Pathologising Dissent

28. Example #3: By Labelling Deviance

29. Example #4: By Stigmatising Negativity

30. Example #5: By ‘Othering’ Ethnic Minorities

31. Example #6: By Policing Gender Identity

32. Example #7: By Perpetuating Traditional Gender Stereotypes

33. Example #8: By Exceptionalising Humanity

Part VI Psychology’s Whiteness Problem

34. Weird Science

35. Structural Racism in Psychology

36. Mechanisms of Whiteness

37. Silence as Supremacy

Part VII Academic Exceptionalism and Psychology’s Blind Eye

38. Internalising the War on ‘Woke’

39. Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience

40. Exceptionalism in Psychology

Part VIII Beyond ‘Liberal Bias’: Four Paths to a Well-Adjusted Psychology

41. Rights and Responsibilities

42. Path #1: Effortful Diversity

43. Path #2: Constructive Action in Education and Academia

44. Path #3: Constructive Action in the Public Square

45. Path #4: De-privileging Psychology.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

3-032-07724-9

9783032077240

OCLC:

1546969980