Philosophy

The three pillars of our philosophy—Psychology, Integrity, and Diversity—together serve the goal of helping researchers engage the public in an ongoing conversation. That conversation is aimed at making a psychological perspective clear and accessible and providing people with a lens to understand their lives and the world around them. Understanding psychology, and its relevance to issues large and small, is an ongoing challenge, constantly under revision, and communicating the possibilities, insights, and limitations of psychological science provides an invaluable service to the public.

Psychology

Psychology is just one of many perspectives that can be used to understand the world, but because there is a human, and often behavioral, element to an immensely broad range of issues, psychology can be a particularly valuable perspective to be able to use effectively. Conversely, a superficial, or incorrect, understanding of human psychology can undermine our ability to grasp how the world works. Because almost everyone is a lay psychologist, findings in the field are sometimes dismissed as obvious (even though that is often only true in retrospect), and the role of psychological science can be underappreciated. Helping the public understand psychology will hopefully enrich their lives and make clear the need for the psychological perspective in policymaking at all levels.

Our challenge is to present psychological findings to the public in clear and engaging ways—to connect findings to people’s lives and to use concrete examples that stimulate people’s interests and challenge their preconceptions. Ideally, doing so involves sharing not only the latest findings, but explaining how long-standing theories can illuminate new insights into a variety of issues and challenges. 

At Psychgeist, our expertise is in the psychological and behavioral sciences, but we are eager to build bridges into other fields, particularly those in which psychology can play a complementary role.

Integrity

As scientists writing for the public, our authors are inescapably playing the role of ambassadors for their field. With that role comes the critical responsibility of preserving and enhancing public trust in our science.

Therefore, at Psychgeist, we seek to ensure that the work we share is conducted with integrity, transparency, and a commitment to sharing the best science available. 

All science is provisional, so it is impossible to wait for certainty to communicate evidence, but at Psychgeist, we strive to share science that is conducted with integrity, appropriate humility, and transparency about what we know. In sharing with the public, and particularly in informing policy, we must be judicious in conveying our findings so that our initial forays are not mistaken for firm conclusions. At the same time, as scientists, we have a responsibility to thoughtfully share what we have learned from the evidence, in order to avoid ceding the public stage or our seat at the policy-making table to those who would engage in evidence-free speculation.

Diversity

At Psychgeist, we are committed to helping bring forward a diverse set of topics and voices, and to ensuring that our public conversation is inclusive, particularly in terms of topics and voices that are historically and currently underrepresented. We are committed to this approach not only because we believe it is right, but also because it is an essential part of effectively communicating the depth and breadth of our discipline.

Internally, our approach is geared toward creating an inclusive organization, giving input and agency to all stakeholders in the science communication process, and striving for equity. We recognize that people vary tremendously in the opportunities and resources at their disposal, and we take seriously the role we can play in addressing these disparities. 

We consider these initial statements as representing our core values, but being open to revision. We invite and encourage the community’s input into each of these areas.