Self-censorship in the classroom

We present results from an extensive study (14 classes, 407 students) of the degree to which college students self-censor broad political views in classroom settings. We estimate the prevalence of self-censorship by comparing private and public reporting of views. We also study the accuracy of student beliefs about classmate self-censorship by eliciting beliefs about classmates’ private views. We find that students were approximately equally likely to report being socially liberal, economically liberal, and leaning Democratic in private and public settings. However, of students who privately reported being socially conservative, Republican, and economically conservative outside of economics classes, 38%, 45%, and 30% (respectively) did not reveal this publicly. Students in introductory classes were more likely to self-censor. The order of responses options was randomized and had a large effect on the degree of self-censorship of Republicanism. Student beliefs about the distributions of classmates’ political views were mostly accurate but there was substantial underestimation of the percentages of economic conservatives and non-partisans. Results from a follow-up survey suggest that social consequences for students who publicly stated that they were conservative were limited, but not non-existent.