Psychology and the Question of Agency

By Jeff Sugarman, Janice Thompson, James M. Lee, et al.

Looks at the limits of free will in human action.

Disciplinary psychology has failed to achieve a coherent conception of human agency. Instead, it oscillates between two differing conceptions of agency that are equally untenable: a scientistic, reductive approach to choice and action, and an instrumental approach that celebrates a romantic notion of free will. This book examines theoretical, philosophical psychology and argues for a historically and socioculturally situated human capacity for choosing and acting in ways not entirely determined by culture and/or biology. The authors present a detailed developmental theory of how agentic capability emerges from the pre-reflective activity of humans in a real physical and social world. Implications of the theory are considered for psychological research and practice, and for the broader socio-political impact of disciplinary psychology in Western liberal democracies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791457265
• ISBN13: 9780791457269
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.9" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher