Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2025
06:42
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
11.6K
Book bans in political context: Evidence from US schools
Marcelo S O Goncalves1, Isabelle Langrock2,3, Jack LaViolette4,5
1Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
PNAS Nexus
|June 12, 2024
Summary
Book bans in US schools surged in 2021-2022, disproportionately targeting children's books by authors of color. This trend appears to be symbolic political action rather than censorship, as national interest in banned books remains unaffected.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Political Science
- Education Policy
Background:
- Book banning incidents reached unprecedented levels in US school districts during the 2021-2022 school year.
- Censorship and book bans have become prominent in partisan political discourse, yet empirical research on their specifics is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically investigate the content, predictors, and repercussions of the recent surge in book bans in US school districts.
- To analyze the characteristics of banned books and the demographic profiles of their authors and characters.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a dataset of 2,532 book bans from PEN America during the 2021-2022 school year.
- Integrated county-level administrative data, book-level digital trace data, book sales data, and author demographic information.
Main Results:
- Banned books were disproportionately by authors of color and featured characters of color, particularly in children's literature.
- Book bans were more prevalent in right-leaning counties experiencing shifts toward less conservatism.
- National and state-level interest in banned books showed no significant impact post-banning.
Conclusions:
- Recent book banning in the US appears to function as symbolic political action aimed at mobilizing specific voter blocs.
- The targeting of low-interest children's books with diverse characters suggests a strategic rather than purely suppressive motive.
Related Concept Videos
01:41Social Traps
22.3K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
22.3K
02:04Bullying
8.4K
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is...
8.4K
03:20The Stanford Prison Experiment
23.1K
The famous and controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by social psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University, demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts.
23.1K
01:01Group Polarization
34.3K
Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
34.3K
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
90.2K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
90.2K
01:27Punishment
173
Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
173