Tolerance for Political Diversity on a University Campus Matthew S. Davis, Ph.D. & Christopher Leeds, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Department of Business Dominican University of California IRB - 10039

A Lack of Political Diversity? At a 2011 meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Jonathan Haidt polled the 1,000 people in the audience about their political leanings: > 80% were liberal, only 3 identified as conservative Haidt warns that this “statistically impossible lack of diversity” may have serious, negative consequences: - an unwillingness to consider politically “taboo” research hypotheses - discrimination against politically conservative colleagues and students.

A Lack of Political Diversity? In a study of 800 professional psychologists Inbar & Lammers (2012) found that: only 6% identified as conservative conservatives feared consequences of revealing their political beliefs to others between 19 and 37% of respondents admitted that they would discriminate in reviewing papers and grant applications, as well as in hiring decisions, against openly conservative colleagues

Purpose of the Present Study Given increasing political polarization in the U.S., the observations by Haidt, and the results of the study by Inbar and Lammers (2012), the purpose of the present research was to: * explore the political climate on our campus * measure perceptions of both students and faculty regarding tolerance for political diversity and attitudes on political issues

Demographics of the Sample Students (N = 339) Faculty (N = 87) Age: 18 – 61 M = 26.4, SD = 10.4 Status: Freshman: 9% Sophomore: 19% Junior: 22% Senior: 31% Grad Student: 19% Sex: Male: 22% Female: 78% Age: 27 – 79 M = 53.4, SD = 11.5 Status: Part Time/Adjunct: 48% FT Term Faculty: 18% FT Tenure Track: 32% Missing: 2% Sex: Male: 37% Female: 61%

Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of Sample

Religious Affiliation of the Sample

Political Affiliation of the Sample

Perceptions of Tolerance for Diversity Methodology – Online Survey of Students and Faculty 40 Item Survey Instrument Demographics Campus Experiences Perceptions of Tolerance for Diversity 12 Item “Where Do You Fit? – The Political Party Quiz” (Pew Research Center) 2 Versions: Student & Faculty

Methodology – Procedure Students recruited from over 70 classes from various majors E-mail follow-up with link to Survey Monkey Faculty solicited via e-mail Surveys were anonymous Data collection occurred: October 10 – November 10, 2013

To What Extent Does the University Encourage Acceptance of… Extremely Poorly Rather About Average Fairly Well 1 2 3 4 5 Mean SD Racial/Ethnic Diversity Student Faculty 3.22 3.30 .873 .851 Religious Diversity* 2.94 3.14 1.016 .780 Gender Equality 3.11 3.18 .950 .829 Sexual Diversity 3.04 1.007 .969 Political Diversity** 2.73 2.76 1.029 .920 The University sponsors events spanning a broad spectrum of political views ** 2.16 2.36 .959 * significant Student/Faculty difference, p <.05; ** significant difference from other items, p < .001

University Status N Mean: Political Events Freshman 28 3.14* 2.64* Class Differences: Perceptions of Political Diversity 1=extremely poorly, 2=rather poorly, 3=about average, 4=fairly well, 5=extremely well University Status N Mean: Political Events Freshman 28 3.14* 2.64* Sophomore 63 2.48* 1.97* Junior 72 2.68 2.24 Senior 101 2.83 2.25 Grad Student 62 2.76 2.00 *Significant differences between freshman and sophomore year, p <.05

Political Affiliation N Mean 46 2.04 22 2.82 177 2.90 1.80 1.86 2.28 Political Affiliation and Perceptions of Political Diversity 1=extremely poorly, 2=rather poorly, 3=about average, 4=fairly well, 5=extremely well Political Affiliation N Mean Encourages Political Diversity?* Republican 46 2.04 Independent 22 2.82 Democrat 177 2.90 Diversity of Campus Political Events?* 1.80 1.86 2.28 *Significant differences between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents <.05

Do Faculty Disclose Their Political Views in Class?

I feel comfortable sharing my political views…. 30% of students and 17% of faculty never or rarely feel comfortable sharing their views

I feel alienated because of my political views… 14% of both students and faculty sometimes, often, always feel alienated

Question Students are Significantly More Conservative Than Faculty on Seven of Twelve Political issues 1 = Completely Agree 2 = Mostly Agree 3 = Mostly Disagree 4 = Completely Disagree Question Student/ Faculty Mean Standard Deviation There need to be stricter laws to protect the environment* Student 1.70 1.51 .663 .626 Govt. should do more for the needy even if it means going deeper in debt** 2.40 1.93 .825 .732 Growing numbers of newcomers threaten traditional American customs and values** 3.17 3.55 .832 .746 * <.05 **<.01

Question Students are Significantly More Conservative Than Faculty on Seven of Twelve Political issues 1 = Completely Agree 2 = Mostly Agree 3 = Mostly Disagree 4 = Completely Disagree Question Student/ Faculty Mean Standard Deviation I never doubt the existence of God** Student 2.43 2.81 1.147 1.242 Gov’t regulation of business does more harm than good** 2.57 3.04 .765 .778 Abortion should be illegal in all or most cases* 3.31 3.59 1.038 .925 The poor have become too dependent on gov’t assistance ** 2.38 3.01 .759 * p <.05 ** p <.01

Conclusions Compared to other forms of diversity, students/faculty are least satisfied with handling of political diversity 25% of faculty admit sharing their political opinions in class “sometimes, often, or always” 30% of students, 17% of faculty “never or rarely” feel comfortable sharing their political views 14% of both students and faculty feel alienated because of their political views On a number of social and economic issues, students are significantly more conservative than faculty Large percentages: 23% of students, 14% of faculty failed to report their political affiliation!

Discussion/Recommendations Future studies should include: Open ended survey items to allow for more qualitative data, greater elaboration by respondents Follow-up questions to measure the importance of various issues to the participants and to gauge specific reasons for feeling uncomfortable or alienated It is important to recognize that: Students come from diverse political backgrounds Faculty members who voice their own political opinions in class may be making some students uncomfortable Tolerance for diverse political opinions and providing a broad spectrum of speakers and events is vital to ensuring the free flow of ideas that is central to the mission of most universities

Thank You! Questions?