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Journal Article•DOI•

Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus

Shahram Rafieian1, Howard Davis1•
Bangor University1
13 May 2016-European Journal of Social Theory (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 19, Iss: 4, pp 556-573
TL;DR: In this paper, a theory in which reflexivity and habitus are reconciled is proposed, in which a theory of structure and agency is used to explain the dynamics of structure.
Abstract: Many theorists, in their search for a better explanation of the dynamics of structure and agency, have expressed the need for a theory in which reflexivity and habitus are reconciled. In this artic...

Summary (2 min read)

Jump to: [Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus] – [Habitus, reflexivity and unconscious] – [Dissociative theory of mind] – [Habitus and internal conversation] and [Conclusion]

Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus

  • Many theorists, in their search for a better explanation of the dynamics of structure and agency, have expressed the need for a theory in which reflexivity and habitus are reconciled.
  • To Mead (1934) the self is evolved as a result of the dialogue between the ‘I’, the self in the present moment, and the ‘me’ or the ‘generalized other’ which is the socialized aspect of the person that emerges through the person’s interactions with the social world and is developed by internalization of the rules and norms of the society.
  • The “you” in Peirce’s theory of the self is not the other human being but their own “mirror image.”.
  • Reflexivity is an ever present process which has a key role in self development.
  • The next step is to consider the relationship between habitus and reflexivity, and the advantages and inadequacies of different theories in relation to these concepts.

Habitus, reflexivity and unconscious

  • Archer’s aim is to challenge theories that consider the human subject to be the product of social and structural forces and because of that, as Colapietro (2010) argues, she is fearful of reducing human agency to unconscious forces and the repetition of habitual actions.
  • The function of discursive consciousness is rationalisation of actions and it is about ‘what agents are able to say about the conditions of their action’ (Giddens, 1979: 57).
  • They fail to conceptualize personal agency with effective causal power.
  • In sum, structuration cannot explain specific instances of human behaviour because inseparability rejects explanations both in terms of internal motivation and in terms of structural influences (p.290).
  • This private interior world is developed through interactions with others and, with maturation and especially with the formation of internal conversation, the individual can have internal deliberations without the help of others and reflexivity can take place independently from society.

Dissociative theory of mind

  • Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon which is defined as ‘separation of mental and experiential contents that would normally be connected’(Howell, 2005: 18).
  • Taking the first consequence of dissociative theory of mind, the authors argue that the adaptive organization of the human cognitive and psychomotor system is such that it is possible for two or more processes to carry on at the same time and this allows the individual to engage in internal conversation while performing the routine activities of daily life.
  • These perspectives are not necessarily perceptual but could be ontological, axiological, or motivational.
  • In addition, Fernyhough provides evidence that supports the relationship between healthy attachment in early childhood and the proper development of a dialogic mind.
  • Communicative reflexivity is the mode of reflexivity in which ‘internal conversations need to be confirmed and completed by others before they lead to action, thus fostering normative conventionalism’.

Habitus and internal conversation

  • 156) states, in this period the child takes the role of others around and imitates the gestures of others in their role playing, also known as As Mead (1934.
  • This view of internal conversation as an embodied process in which the voices are not disconnected from emotions, feeling and bodily experiences is also important for providing a better understanding of the relationship between internal conversation and habitus.
  • Nobel and Watkins are in agreement with Bourdieu about the fact that automaticity is the cornerstone of achieving success in sports but they also find the other two levels of awareness necessary for reaching the level of automaticity and reject the possibility of obtaining this level without many hours of training in which discursive consciousness has a critical role.
  • In this sense they argue against the theoretical position of Bourdieu in which the habitus and consciousness are opposed and define a framework in which discursive and practical consciousness are in complex interaction with each other.
  • In fact, in hypnosis the consciousness is directed as a result of suggestions in such a way that some actions, behaviours and/or physiological processes are facilitated which are not easily activated in normal daily life.

Conclusion

  • A basic level of routine and habituality is still needed to provide security and prevent disruptive anxiety.
  • Available from: http://www.sagepub.net/isa/resources/pdf/Reflexivity.pdf (accessed 12 May 2012).
  • Harvard University Press. Bourdieu P (1990) The Logic of Practice, also known as Canbridge MA.
  • Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice 1: 123–138.

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PRIFYSGOL BANGOR / B
ANGOR UNIVERSITY
Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus
Rafieian, S.; Davis, H.H.
European Journal of Social Theory
DOI:
10.1177/1368431016646516
Published: 01/11/2016
Peer reviewed version
Cyswllt i'r cyhoeddiad / Link to publication
Dyfyniad o'r fersiwn a gyhoeddwyd / Citation for published version (APA):
Rafieian, S., & Davis, H. H. (2016). Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus. European Journal of
Social Theory, 19(4), 556-573. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431016646516
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09. Aug. 2022
1
Title: Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus
First Author: Shahram Rafieian
Affiliation: School of Social Sciences, Bangor University
Email: Rafieiansh@yahoo.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 7733721392
Fax: +44 (0) 1248 382085
Address: 1 Maddison Road, Droylsden, Manchester, M14 5RY
Shahram Rafieian is a medical doctor graduated from Isfahan University of medical
sciences, Iran. He also studied Masters of Psychology and a PhD in sociology and social policy at
Bangor University, UK. His research interests are the role of body and emotions in the social life
and developing an embodied relational social theory.
Second Author: Howard Davis
Affiliation: School of Social Sciences, Bangor University
Email: h.h.davis@Bangor.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1248 382123
Fax: +44 (0) 1248 382085
Address: Room 108, Neuadd Ogwen, School of Social Sciences, Bangor University,
Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, UK
Howard Davis is Professor of Social Theory and Institutions in the School of Social
Sciences, Bangor University. He studied sociology at Cambridge and Edinburgh before moving to
Glasgow, where he was a founder member of the Glasgow University Media Group. He is
currently a co-director of the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods
(WISERD). His research interests include social theories of culture, the organization of creative
work, civil society and questions of local, national and European identity.
2
Dissociation, reflexivity and habitus
Many theorists, in their search for a better explanation of the dynamics of structure and
agency, have expressed the need for a theory in which reflexivity and habitus are reconciled. In
this paper we argue that a dissociative theory of mind can provide the essential framework in which
habitual routines and reflexivity function in parallel. This is explored using the examples of athletic
training and hypnosis, where the interplay between conscious and unconscious mechanisms is
displayed. In both settings, there is evidence to show that conscious reflexiveness and
intersubjective and unconscious automatic processes are necessary to reach the desired outcome.
We conclude that a dissociative theory of mind can shed new light on the relationship between
habitus and reflexivity.
Keywords: consciousness, dissociation, habitus, reflexivity, unconscious.
3
Since the emergence of the discipline of sociology, theorists have struggled with a core
problem, namely the relationship between structure and agency. In theorising the structure-agency
relationship it is necessary to refer to the underlying mechanisms by which agents act in the
society. In that context, theories of mind, subjectivity and consciousness have an important place.
The habitus theory of Bourdieu (1977, 1990) builds on an understanding of practice in which the
reproduction of structure is not the result of intentional and conscious actions of the people.
Focusing on dispositions and the unconscious embodied mechanisms of transmission of
sociocultural repertoire he considers the possibility of formation of habitus through agents’
interactions with different fields (such as the academic or political fields) and the reproduction of
both via this process (Swartz, 1997). Although the habitus theory has been influential, critics claim
that it is deterministic and the agentic power of the individual is not adequately addressed
(Crossley, 2001; Jenkins, 1982; King, 2000). The other important concept is reflexivity. In theories
of reflexivity, the focus is on the individual’s capacity for reflexive deliberation and conscious
evaluation of the situation. Drawing on pragmatist theories, especially those in Peircean
philosophy, Archer (2000, 2003) describes internal conversation as the most important mode of
reflexivity. In her view, people use internal conversation to design projects to reach goals defined
according to the ultimate concerns in their lives. Archer (2010b) rejects the need to give place to
habitus or habit in her theories and believes that it is possible to develop an adequate theory of the
structure-agency relationship without the need for the habitus concept. There are other theorists
4
who believe that both habitus and reflexivity are necessary for a comprehensive formulation and
who have made attempts to reconcile or hybridize them (Adams, 2006; Caetano, 2015; Elder-
Vass, 2007; Mouzelis, 2007). In this paper our aim is to show the usefulness of the concept of
dissociation for providing a better understanding of the reflexivity and habitus relationship. First,
it is necessary to review the place of the concept of reflexivity.
Theories of reflexivity in modern social theory
American pragmatism is the important tradition in social philosophy in which the concept
of reflexivity is well explored. The mode of reflexivity that pragmatists are particularly interested
in is internal conversation. In fact, they assign a central role to inner speech in their theories of self
but each exponent of pragmatism has their own conceptualization of this process. To Mead (1934)
the self is evolved as a result of the dialogue between the ‘I’, the self in the present moment, and
the ‘me’ or the ‘generalized other’ which is the socialized aspect of the person that emerges through
the person’s interactions with the social world and is developed by internalization of the rules and
norms of the society. To Peirce (1933: 421), the internal dialogue takes place between the ‘I’, the
self in the present moment and the imagined self of the future or what he calls the ‘you’ (Wiley,
2006c). To develop a more comprehensive theory of self based on the process of internal
conversation, Wiley (1994) has tried to merge the above theories and develop a triadic model of
self development in which the self is formed in the process of the triadic dialogue between ‘I’,
‘Me’ and ‘you’. In this model, self development encompasses all interactions of the self at the
present moment with the self which has emerged through the all past encounters with the society,
and the imaginary and emerging self of the future (Rafieian, 2012). This synthesis has been
influential in social theory and can be considered as a productive development. For example, in a
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Hypnos and Psyche: How Hypnosis Has Contributed to the Study of Consciousness: [reprint from Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 204, 1, 2, 123–138]

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"Dissociation, reflexivity and habit..." refers background in this paper

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