Discourse and Social Psychology, postmodernism, and capitalist collusion: An argument for more complex historiographies of psychology. (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wetherell, Margaret; Potter, Jonathan
• Is Part Of: Theory & psychology. Volume 25:Number 3(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 388
• Page End: 395
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: discourse and social psychology -- genealogy -- history of psychology -- late capitalism; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.1
• DOI: 10.1177/0959354314552009
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-3543

Abstract

Hayter and Hegarty argue that Discourse and Social Psychology (DSP) is a text sustaining late capitalism as surely as Taylorism sustained the Fordist capitalist epoch. In response, we first situate DSP in its intellectual context; second, highlight limitations in Hayter and Hegarty's use of Harvey's work on the history of capitalism; third, note the importance of analysing contexts and effects in genealogical research on psychology; fourth, show how the argument fails to clearly explicate different senses of reflexivity in DSP and; finally, consider the platform DSP built for the study of ideology and the implications for Hayter and Hegarty's own project. All of this highlights a need for psychologists to be more sophisticated in their historiography.