psychology, idea technology, and ideology - Wharton Management ...

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PSYCHOLOGY, IDEA TECHNOLOGY, AND IDEOLOGY By Barry Schwartz Swarthmore College Scienafic development leads to a technology of ideas—uka technology—no less than it leads to a technology t^ (Ejects But idea technology can have mstdtous effects that the technology of objects does not First, ideas can si^fuse through a culture before people notice they are there And second, ideas can have prcfound effects even when they are false—when they aure nothing more than ideology These effects can arise because sometimes when people act on the basis of ideology, they inadvertently arrange the very conditions that bring reality into correspondence with the ideology This potential effect of ideology IS discussed m connection with the behavioral psychology of Skinner and the clam by Hermstein and Murray that intelligence is, for all practical purposes, unmodifiable I suggest that, in general, psychologists must be on the lookout for positive feedback loops between theory and practice that contribute to theory confirmaoon and thus midead psychologists into interpreting historically and culturally contingent truths as universal ones

iK^ creates coasxp^, ways of asdasimimg the wcH-ld and our pl«» m it, dutt have an OKMUKHIS effect on how we think and act If we muterstaiKl birdi ^fects as acts of God, we pray If we understand them as acts of choice, we gnt our teedi and loU die (bee If «« undrastend dwm as tbe product of prenatal abuse and i»glect, we take better care of pregnant wonwn. It hanily needs to be said diat p e q ^ are i»ictfoundly affected by die matenal conditions of dwtr livefr—^ die hvn^ standards of du societies dwy udiabit Tte availidjility (rf necessities like food and shelter and die mrans by whidi imlividuals may obtam them make all a&xet mfli^oces on tife seem msignificanL People widiout food will starve whedi^ Ihey acceiA dKir ctrnditions beatifically as God's will, accqpt then widi depressed resign^cm as lndicatuHis of dieir own inadequacy, or respomi to dwm m an^r as socud mjustkx No We live m a culture and an age m which the influence of matter what ideas pet^ic q^esd to m o n ^ to explain dieir lask scientific technology is obvious and overwhelming As I wwd of food, their bellies remam empty Aad yet u is clear diat ideas dso matter, and diey matt«' ft process this document, later to send it via modem to get hard copy from die laser prmter m my office, my microwave oven great deal, evrai m the case of an obvuMis mateml cwMliAon IS ^frostmg tonight's dinner, my video cassette recorder hke die availabihty of food. What a squirrel fmagu^ fa- food (VCR) IS taping a movie on cabte television for tune-shifted m the paik does in toBes of scarcity has m^ui^ to w ^ iiow viewing, and my digital ccanpsKt disc player is deUvenng back- the squtrtel uncterstands dus scarcity. TbB squinel ts tM aixxd grouiMl music of extraordinary quality All around mt, people to pray fa food, cultivate ttees, m (M'gamze otba sc^irdb to aie having hi^-tech medical scans, fetuses are being mom- nse up in protest gainst peopte who bave p^trted tbe eantored, gBoes are bemg spliced, organs are beii^ ttansplanted, and dinunidied the squrrel's food seot much of dieir time behaving just as he said dwy would What fcdlowed fnnn our argument was diat human behavior ccwld look more or tess like d» behavKH- of rats ^essu^ levers depeiKbng eeitpenmentidsyniiMMstfbcfaaviarRen«iKceaMot,bebwioi4 stereolypy and protfcm »|VB«. b C H