1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. Demographics of the Sample
Students (N = 339)
Faculty (N = 87)
Age: 18 – 61
M = 26.4, SD = 10.4
Status:
Freshman: %
Sophomore: 19%
Junior: 22%
Senior: 31%
Grad Student: 19%
Sex:
Male: %
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: %
Female: 61%

6. Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of Sample

7. Religious Affiliation of the Sample

8. Political Affiliation of the Sample

9. 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

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Do Faculty Disclose Their Political Views in Class?

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

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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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!

20. 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

21. Thank You! Questions?