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Nudging into Subjectification

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Nudging into Subjectification John Cromby Psychology, SSEHS OVERVIEW Cromby, J. & Willis, M.E.H. (in press) Nudging Into Subjectification: governmentality and ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Nudging into Subjectification


1
Nudging into Subjectification
  • John Cromby
  • Psychology, SSEHS

2
OVERVIEW
  • Cromby, J. Willis, M.E.H. (in press) Nudging
    Into Subjectification governmentality and
    psychometrics. Critical Social Policy
  • The Story
  • Context
  • Nudge and BIT
  • Positive Psychology
  • Character Psychometrics
  • Signature Strengths
  • Subjectification

3
The Story
4
Context
  • Neoliberal government policies austerity
  • Punitive changes to benefits system
  • Media and ministerial attacks on claimants
  • During periods of economic downturn worklessness
    is typically named as a problem of character
    (Clarke Newman 2012, p.311)

5
Nudge and BIT
  • Behavioural economics
  • Economics, neuroscience, psychology
  • Human decisions neither simply rational nor
    simply irrational
  • Choice architectures, imprinting
  • Libertarian paternalism
  • People can legitimately be nudged toward goals
    that have prior public consent
  • Whitehead et al (2011)
  • Policy implementations of behavioural economics
    frequently associate emotional decisions with
    particular groups
  • Behavioural economics enables policy makers (and
    an emerging cartel of psychocrats) to foreclose
    discussion of what the values associated with
    good behaviour should be (Whitehead et al.,
    2011 p.2834, italics in original).

6
Positive Psychology
  • Test based upon the Values in Action (VIA)
    Inventory of Character Strengths and Virtues -
    the scientific backbone of positive psychology
  • Becker Marecek (2008) show that positive
    psychology
  • Endorses the American Dream
  • Takes a selective view of positive institutions
  • Largely ignores power relations of e.g. SES,
    gender, ethnicity
  • Held (2008) the double epistemic standard of
    positive psychology
  • Positive psychology has influenced previous UK
    social policy
  • Lord Layard and IAPT
  • Measuring national wellbeing

7
Character Psychometrics
  • 48 questions, 5 point Likert Scale
  • Issues
  • Reliablity and validity
  • Reactivity/response bias
  • Introspection
  • Quantification
  • Meaning

8
Character Psychometrics
  • VALIDITY
  • "They are using the non-validated version we
    had tested it a while back and it failed VIA,
    The Guardian, May 6th
  • REACTIVITY AND RESPONSE BIAS
  • social desirability responding the tendency of
    respondents to answer questions in a manner that
    (they imagine) will be viewed favourably by
    others
  • More likely in relation to topics such as sexual
    behaviour, drug use, abilities and personality
    (Rust and Golombok, 1999)

9
Character Psychometrics
  • INTROSPECTION
  • the supposed ability to look inside the self
    and objectively report what we see
  • behavioural economics presumes that we do not
    have this kind of rational insight
  • QUANTIFICATION
  • It has never been demonstrated that psychological
    attributes are discrete and quantifiable in
    character
  • In the natural sciences it is axiomatic that
    measurement viability is demonstrated before
    measures are deployed
  • Psychology sidesteps this requirement by using an
    ad hoc and anomolous operational definition of
    measurement the assignment of numerals to
    objects or events according to rule (Michell,
    2000 p. 650)

10
Character Psychometrics
  • MEANING
  • 5 point Likert scale very much like/unlike me
  • Rosenbaum Valsiner (2011) participants
    completed the NEO-PI, for each question wrote
    down the meanings of the end points of the scale
  • These meanings often varied between questions,
    and between participants
  • it is a misplaced assumption that participants
    have direct access to their response and that
    this response is static and can be represented as
    a mark along a line .. rating scale data, despite
    being statistically manipulated, should not (and
    indeed cannot) be thought of as objective
    (Rosenbaum Valsiner 2011, p.61).

11
Character Psychometrics
  • The VIA test
  • may lack validity
  • is not a neutral scientific process of
    quantification
  • does not provide objective assessments of
    character
  • The contribution of psychometric modelling is
    fundamentally a political one, as it permits the
    assimilation of the reality of phenomena that are
    described in a qualitative way and can at best be
    partially ordered to an intuitively totally
    ordered reality, where the social utility rests
    on the need for comparison of human beings.
    (Vautier et al., 2012 p. 818)

12
Signature Strengths
13
Signature Strengths
  • The focus on character and signature strengths
  • Ignores experience, skills, aptitude, knowledge
  • Emphasises psychological attributes of the self
  • How much can such an emphasis actually help
    people to find work?
  • How much help can actually be derived from these
    very brief, decontextualised, non-specific
    descriptions?

14
Subjectification
  • Foucault (2008), rather than govern by dictating
    rights and responsibilities, neoliberalism
    proceeds by
  • harnessing desires for independence and
    creativity to the interests of business
  • reconfiguring workers as entrepreneurs of their
    own skills and abilities
  • reconfiguring the social relations of capitalism
    to emphasise competition, not between workers and
    capitalists, but between workers themselves
  • Neoliberalism therefore demands a new
    governmentality, a changed mode of
    subjectification
  • being subject to a power relation
  • working to reflexively understand oneself as a
    particular kind of subject

15
Subjectification
  • The VIA test as an instrument of
    subjectification (coerced) personal
    responsibilities to
  • take the test
  • email results to benefits advisor
  • work on the self in light of the results
  • aim to use each of your strengths in a new way
    everyday for at least a week
  • The VIA test as an instrument of
    subjectification the nature of the test results

16
Subjectification
  Paragon Sociopath Neutral Like Me Unlike Me Random 1 Random 2 Random 3 Random 4 Random 5
Curiosity x x x x x   x   x x
Love of Learning x x x x x   x   x x
Critical Thinking x x x x x x   x   x
Social Intelligence x   x   x   x x x x
Originality x   x x x       x  
Carefulness   x                
Humour           x        
Kindness       x            
Fairness           x       x
Dedication           x   x    
Honesty             x x    
Loving               x    
Perspective             x   x  
Modesty   x                
Appreciation of Culture           x        
17
Subjectification
  • Three profiles (paragon, neutral, very much
    unlike me) were identical
  • 15 different signature strengths were generated
  • 6 of these appeared only once
  • 4 more appeared only twice
  • Of the 5 strengths presented above
  • 3 of these appeared on 8 different profiles
  • another appeared on 7 profiles, the other on 5

18
Subjectification
  • Rationality
  • asks questions, carefully evaluates every
    situation, does not jump to conclusions,
    considers only solid evidence
  • Flexibility
  • enjoys exploration and discovery, takes
    opportunities to learn, adapts to the feelings
    and positions of others, able to change her or
    his mind
  • Innovation
  • seeks out new ideas, can take up new positions,
    is ready to defy convention in order to develop
    new ways of working

19
Subjectification
  • Character Strengths and Virtues (2004) include
  • BRAVERY not shrinking from threat, challenge,
    difficulty, or pain speaking up for what is
    right even if there is opposition acting on
    convictions even if unpopular includes physical
    bravery but is not limited to it
  • FAIRNESS Treating all people the same according
    to notions of fairness and justice not letting
    personal feelings bias decisions about others
    giving everyone a fair chance
  • VIA Test Fairness
  • Treating all people fairly is one of your abiding
    principles. You do not let your personal feelings
    bias your decisions about other people. You give
    everyone a chance

20
Conclusion
  • This procedure
  • nudges benefit claimants toward the adoption and
    rehearsal of core aspects of neoliberal
    subjectivities
  • responsibility, rationality, flexibility,
    innovativenss
  • inflects the discursive networks within which
    subjectivities are formed with a particular
    constellation of qualities
  • helps inculcate a collective self-image consonant
    with the demands of a precarious labour market
  • is probably unethical (informed consent, right to
    withdraw, confidentiality, anonymity, integrity)
  • trades in the allure of science, quantification
    and psychological expertise
  • illustrates the potential dangers of libertarian
    paternalism
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