Is the Use of Personality Based Psychometrics by Cambridge Analytical Psychological Science's “Nuclear Bomb” Moment?

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Eric C. Prichard¹ 

[1] School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas at Monticello, United States

关键词: Cambridge analytica;    personality psychology;    psychometrics;    big data;    ethics;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.581448

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

As J. Robert Oppenheimer witnessed the first nuclear explosion in history, he famously quoted theBhagavad Gita: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” (Temperton, 2017). Scientistsresponsible for the creation of the atomic bomb would now have to live with the consequences ofbringing about a weapon that could destroy humanity. Whether the reason for participating in thecreation of these weapons was a desire to stop Hitler, patriotism, or a love of the scientific problemof splitting the atom, the consequence of the creation of the atomic bomb has been a world that isforever change and more dangerous than it had been prior to the Second World War.In this article, I argue that psychological science is having its own nuclear moment. In the firstpart, I discuss the role Psychological Science played in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. I arguethat the unleashing of psychometrics which can be used by the Military Industrial Complex andbig data companies has contributed to a world that is more dangerous and forever changed. In thesecond part, I make recommendations for what psychological scientists can do about it.

【 授权许可】

CC BY