Sean Stevens
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Sean, a native of New Jersey, obtained his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – New Brunswick in 2013. From 2013 to 2016, he continued to work at Rutgers University, first as the Research Director of the Social Perception Lab and then as a Postdoctoral Fellow, also in affiliation with the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. In 2016, Sean became Heterodox Academy’s first Director of Research where he developed the Campus Expression Survey. In 2020, Sean joined FIRE as a Senior Research Fellow in Polling and Analytics. For almost two decades, Sean's research has focused on understanding how moral convictions produce motivated reasoning within the political domain, how this motivated reasoning can distort research in the social sciences, and how motivated reasoning can lead to political intolerance and create obstacles to political compromise. More recently, he has begun investigating the psychological factors that motivate support for censorship and self-censorship. Sean is also a member of the Best Practices in Science Movement, and he works to promote scientific integrity practices in the social sciences.
Recent Writings
- NEW POLL: Americans continue to hold conflicting views about faculty speech rights,
- Shake-up at the top: UChicago, Claremont, Purdue all drop in 2024 College Free Speech Rankings,
- Harvard gets worst score ever in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings,
- Majority of Americans want government and social media companies to police misinformation and disinformation,
- Is the sun setting on free expression and academic freedom in Florida?,
- SURVEY: College faculty split on DEI statements in hiring and promotion,
- University of Wisconsin: Negative consequences for free expression create a systemwide chilling effect,
- Do Americans know their rights? Survey says: No.,
- Emotional intelligence, cognitive ability may predict support for free speech,
- Survey shows majority of college students feel ‘intimidated’ to share opinion, unlikely to disagree with professor,
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