Now reading: "Social psychology as history" by Kenneth Gergen (1973, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) h/t @derxen 1/n

"An analysis of theory and research in social psychology reveals that while methods of research are scientific in character, theories of social behavior are primarily reflections of contemporary history." 2/n

"dissemination of psychological knowledge modifies patterns of behavior upon which the knowledge is based. It does so because of the prescriptive bias of psych theorizing, the liberating effects of knowledge, & resistance based on common values of freedom & individuality." 3/n

(Brilliant! I can totally see how this puts the whole idea of replicability on its head!) 4/n

"In addition, theoretical premises are based primarily on acquired dispositions. As the culture changes, such dispositions are altered, and the premises are often invalidated. Several modifications in the scope and methods of social psychology are derived from this analysis." 5/n

[about the natural sciences:] "If events were unstable, if the velocity of falling bodies or the compounding of chemicals were in continuous flux, the development of the natural sciences would be drastically impeded." 6/n

"General laws would fail to emerge, and the recording of natural events would lend itself primarily to historical analysis. If natural events were capricious, natural science would largely be replaced by natural history." 7/n

"It is the purpose of this paper to argue that social psychology is primarily an historical inquiry. Unlike the natural sciences, it deals with facts that are largely nonrepeatable and which fluctuate markedly over time." 8/n

"In the following discussion two central lines of argument will be developed in support of this thesis, the first centering on the impact of the science on social behavior and the second on historical change." 9/n

"It is the rare social psychologist whose values do not influence the subject of his [sic] research, his [sic] methods of observation, or the terms of description. In generating knowledge about social interaction, we also communicate our personal values." 10/n

"Cognitive dissonance theory (Brehm & Cohen, 1966; Festinger, 1957) might appear to be value free, but most studies in this area have painted the with countless graduate students drawn into dissonance reducer in most unflattering terms." 11/n

""How witless" we say, "that people should cheat, make lower scores on tests, change their opinions of others or eat undesirable foods just to maintain consistency." 12/n

"While the communication of values through knowledge is to some degree intentional, it is not entirely so. Value commitments are almost inevitable by-products of social existence, and (...) we can scarcely dissociate ourselves from these values in pursuing professional ends." 13/

"Perhaps our best option is to maintain as much sensitivity as possible to our biases and to communicate them as openly as possible. Value commitments may be unavoidable, but we can avoid masquerading them as objective reflections of truth." 14/

"It is common research practice in psychology to avoid communicating one's theoretical premises to the subject either before or during the research. (...) even the most subtle cues of experimenter expectation may alter the behaviour of the subject." /15

"Herein lies a fundamental difference between natural & social sciences. In the former, the scientist cannot communicate his [sic] knowledge to the subjects such that their behavioral dispositions are modified. In [latter] communication can have a vital impact on behavior." 16/

"As a general surmise, sophistication as to psychological principles liberates one from their behavioral implications. Established principles of behavior become inputs into one's decision making." 17/

"Valid theories about social behavior constitute significant implements of social control. To the extent that an individual's behavior is predictable, he places himself in a position of vulnerability. Others can alter environmental conditions (...) to obtain maximal rewards" 18/

(While Kenneth Gergen and I come from very different schools of thought in psychology, I do feel a kinship to these points, and am reminded of what I wrote on my blog ( https://metatheorist.com/Answers-to-Questions/) after the discussion with him after my DLF talk) 19/n

(Continuing tomorrow ... will sleep on these very deep ideas)

Good morning! Continuing ....

"Perhaps the primary guarantee that social psychology will never disappear via reduction to physiology is that physiology cannot account for the variations in human behavior over time." 20/

"People may prefer bright shades of clothing today and grim shades tomorrow; they may value autonomy during this era and dependency during the next. To be sure, varying responses to the environment rely on variations in physiological function." /21

"physiology (...) can never account for the continuously shifting patterns of what is considered the good or desirable in society, and thus a range of primary motivational sources for the individual." /22

"However, while social psychology is thus insulated from physiological reductionism, its theories are not insulated from historical change." (reminded on the discussion of the role of historicity at the #learningsalon)" /23

[on the example of reinforcement theory] "... it is also apparent that reinforcers do not remain stable across time. For example, Reisman (1952) has cogently argued that social approval has far more reward value in contemporary society than it did a century ago." 24/

(I do not disagree with Gergen on these observations, but I think it shows that the level of particulars is the wrong level of analysis for theory of cognition and behaviour. It also makes me realise why the AI/cogsci approach appeals more to me that the experimental psych one >>

>> The former aims to explain not *particulars* of human behaviour, but how we can have a system that has some of the same (high-level) qualitative properties as human cognition and behaviour, including its ability & desire to change over time due to social and cultural changes.)