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CHAPTER 13: Communication in Psychology 427• WRITE FAIRLY. As a writer you should also strive to choose words anduse constructions that acknowledge people fairly and without bias. TheAmerican Psychological Association has outlined its policy regarding biasin the language authors use (Publication Manual, 2010, pp. 71–77):Scientific writing must be free of implied or irrelevant evaluation of thegroup or groups being studied. As an organization, APA is committedboth to science and to the fair treatment of individuals and groups, andthis policy requires that authors who write for APA publications avoidperpetuating demeaning attitudes and biased assumptions about peoplein their writing. Constructions that might imply bias of gender, sexualorientation, racial or ethnic group, disability, or age are unacceptable.(pp. 70–71)The Publication Manual (2010, pp. 71–77) provides important informationto help you achieve unbiased communication. The following is only thebriefest introduction based on the guidelines found in the Manual (see alsowww.apastyle.org):(a) Describe people at the appropriate level of specificity. For example,the phrase men and women is more accurate than the genericterm man when referring to human adults. “Chinese Americans”or “Mexican Americans” would be a more specific reference forresearch participants than would be Asian Americans or HispanicAmericans.(b) Be sensitive to labels when referring to people, for example, whenusing terms to refer to people’s racial or ethnic identity. The best wayto follow this guideline is to avoid labeling people whenever possibleand use wording that preserves participants’ individuality. For example,rather than talk about the amnesiacs or the demented, a better optionis to refer to “amnesic patients” or “those in a dementia group.”A label that is perceived by the labeled group as pejorative shouldnever be used. In trying to follow this guideline, it is important toremember that preferences for labeling groups of individuals changewith time and that people within a group may disagree about whatlabel is preferred. For example, although some persons indigenous toNorth America may prefer to be called “Native North Americans,”others may prefer “Indians,” and still others might wish to be calledby their specific group name, for example, Navajo, or even more appropriatelyusing their native language, Diné instead of Navajo, forinstance.(c) Write about people in a way that clearly identifies your study’s participants.One way to accomplish this is to describe participants usingmore descriptive terms such as college students or children rather thanthe more impersonal term, subjects. Active voice is better than passivevoice in acknowledging participation. For example, “the studentscompleted the survey” is preferred over “the survey was administeredto the students.”