Kenneth J. Gergen (born 1935) is an American social
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
and
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
. He obtained his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(1957) and his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
(1962).
Biography
The son of
John Jay Gergen, the chair of the Mathematics Department at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, and Aubigne Munger (née Lermond), Gergen grew up in Durham, North Carolina. He had three brothers, one of whom is
David Gergen
David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He is currently a senior political ...
, the prominent political analyst. After completing public schooling, he attended
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. Graduating in 1957, he subsequently became an officer in the U.S. Navy. He then returned to graduate school at Duke University, where he received his PhD in psychology in 1963. His dissertation advisor was
Edward E. Jones
:For the Louisiana civil rights pioneer, see ''E. Edward Jones''.
Edward Ellsworth "Ned" Jones (August 11, 1926 – July 30, 1993) was an influential American social psychology, social psychologist, he is known as father of Ingratiation due to ...
. Gergen went on to become an assistant professor in the Department of Social Relations at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he also became the chairman of the board of tutors and advisors for the department and representative to the university's Council on Educational Policy.
In 1967, Gergen took a position as chair of the Department of Psychology at
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
, a position he held for ten years. Subsequently, he became the Gil and Frank Mustin Professor in Psychology. After his retirement (emeritus) in 2006, he took the position of Senior Research Professor. At various intervals, he served as visiting professor at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
, the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, the
University of Rome,
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
, and
Adolfo Ibanez University Adolfo may refer to:
* Adolfo, São Paulo, a Brazilian municipality
* Adolfo (designer), Cuban-born American fashion designer
* Adolfo or Adolf
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in Ge ...
. At Swarthmore, he spearheaded the development of the academic concentration in interpretation theory. In an attempt to link his academic work to societal practices, he collaborated with colleagues to create the Taos Institute in 1993. He now serves as the president of the institute.
Gergen is married to Mary M. Gergen, professor emeritus at
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
, and a major contributor to
feminist psychology
Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on social structures and gender. Feminist psychology critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm.Crawford, M. & Unger, R. ...
and performance inquiry. She is the author of over 50 articles and is the co-author (with Ken Gergen) of books on social construction, and performative social science. They publish the Positive Aging Newsletter with a readership of around 20,000
Contributions
Gergen's earliest studies challenged the presumption of a unified or coherent self. He then raised questions about the value of
altruism
Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core as ...
, by exploring the ways in which helping others leads to the recipient's resentment and alienation.
A major point in Gergen's career was his 1973 article "Social Psychology as History". In the article, he argues that while empirical research attempts to establish general laws or principles, the empirical support is always derived from historically situated observations. Yet, because patterns of human action undergo continuous change, support for any principle may wax or wane over time. Further, the scientific knowledge the laws and principles of social interaction are variable over time, and that the scientific knowledge generated by
social psychologists
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
actually influences the phenomena it is meant to passively describe. For example, studying obedience to authority may reduce the likelihood of obedience. He argued therefore that social psychology was not fundamentally a cumulative science, but was effectively engaged in the recording and transformation of cultural life. The article proved widely controversial, and was ultimately listed as a "citation classic" in the ''Social Science Citation Index.'' Also contributing to what was called "the crisis in social psychology"
was Gergen's subsequent publication on generative theory. Here he proposed that, because theoretical suppositions were not so much recordings of social life as creators, theories should not be judged so much by their integration of "what is" as their potential to open new spaces of action.
Combining these ideas with developments in literary and critical theory, along with the history of science, Gergen went on to develop a radical view of
socially constructed
Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The theory ...
knowledge. This view was proposed as a successor project to what Gergen considered an inherently flawed
positivist conception of knowledge
Definitions of knowledge try to determine the essential features of knowledge. Closely related terms are conception of knowledge, theory of knowledge, and analysis of knowledge. Some general features of knowledge are widely accepted among philoso ...
. From Gergen's perspective, all human intelligibility (including claims to knowledge) is generated within relationships. It is from relationships that humans derive their conceptions of what is real, rational, and good. From this perspective, scientific theories, like all other reality posits, should not be assessed in terms of truth, but in terms of pragmatic outcomes. Such assessments are inevitably wedded to values, and thus all science is morally and politically weighted in implication. As he saw it, this same form of assessment also applies to social constructionist theory. The question is not its accuracy, but its potentials for humankind.
This latter conclusion informed most of Gergen's subsequent work, in areas including therapy and counseling, education, organizational change, technology, conflict reduction, civil society, and qualitative inquiry. In one form or another, this work is concerned with transforming social life. For the most part, his preferred direction of change is toward more collaborative and participatory relationships. Additionally, he has been concerned with fostering a "
relational" view of the self, where the "traditional emphasis on the individual mind is replaced by a concern with the relational processes from which rationality and morality emerge." He is also known for his comment "I am linked therefore I am" as an answer to
Descartes' proposition "
I think, therefore I am
The Latin , usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am", is the "first principle" of René Descartes's philosophy. He originally published it in French as , in his 1637 ''Discourse on the Method'', so as to reach a wider audienc ...
".
[Relational Being. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 400.] Most of these developments are summarized in ''Relational Being, Beyond the Individual and Community,'' which attempts to demonstrate that what are considered mental processes are not so much "in the head" as in relationships. It also attempts to answer charges of
moral relativism
Moral relativism or ethical relativism (often reformulated as relativist ethics or relativist morality) is used to describe several philosophical positions concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different peoples and cultures. ...
with a non-foundational morality of collaborative practice, and to outline a way to bring science together with concerns for the sacred.
The development of social constructionist, relational theory, and their professional applications is associated with relations between, ethics in a pluralistic world, qualitative inquiry in the social sciences, explanations of human action, and reconstructing the conception of ageing. He also served as a co-founder of the journals, ''Theory and Psychology'', and ''Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology''.
Notable concepts
Concepts that Gergen has written about include:
*''Enlightenment effects''. The moral and political effects on cultural behavior of disseminating scientific knowledge. ("Social psychology as history")
*''Generative theory'': Theory that unsettles common assumptions, and opens up possibilities or new forms of action. ("Toward generative theory")
*''Deficit discourse'': By constructing the world, and particularly individuals, in terms of problems, there is an objectification of deficit and a suppression of positive possibilities. (''Realities and Relationships'')
*''Cycle of progressive infirmity'': With the dissemination of information about
categories of mental illness, people come to see themselves in these terms. As a result, they seek help from the
mental health professions
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a ...
, which are in turn, expanded in numbers. With the expansion of the mental health industry, new diagnostic categories are developed and disseminated. The society becomes progressively infirmed. (''Realities and Relationships'')
*''Multiphrenia'': The condition, largely attributed to technologies that increase social contact, of being simultaneously drawn in multiple and conflicting directions. (''The Saturated Self'')
*''Pregression''. To unsettle the modernist value placed on progress, the proposal that for every change that is effected in societal life, the repercussions will unsettle multiple conditions that people define as positive. (''The Saturated Self'')
*''Positive aging'': As an alternative to the pervasive view of aging as decline (deficit discourse), it is possible to discover and construct myriad ways of creating later life as a period of unparalleled growth and enrichment.
*''First and second order morality'': All collaborative relationships will be about some understanding of the good. With multiple groups proclaiming their own good, the stage is set for interminable conflict. Second order morality is achieved through practices that bring otherwise embattled groups into a condition of positive collaboration. (''Relational Being'')
*''Transformative dialogue'': Forms of dialogic practice that dissolve the barriers of meaning separating otherwise conflicted parties. (''Relational Being'')
*''Co-action''. One's actions have no meaning in themselves, but come into meaning through another's collaborative action. At the same time, another's potentially collaborative actions only become so as they are supplemented. All human intelligibility emerges not from individual actors but through co-action. (''Relational Being'')
*''Multi-being''. What is commonly viewed as the individual subject is the common intersection of multiple relationships. (''Relational Being'')
*''Future forming research''. In a world of increasingly rapid change, research focused on what is currently the case rapidly loses relevance. As a result, research should shift its emphasis to creating the future. Action research is illustrative.
Awards
Gergen has received research grants from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
, the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
, and the Barra Foundation. His work has merited awards from the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
, the
National Communication Association
The National Communication Association (NCA) is a not-for-profit association of academics in the field of communication.
Organization
NCA is governed by the Legislative Assembly, which meets during the NCA Annual Convention. Between annual me ...
, the
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
,
Adolfo Ibanez University Adolfo may refer to:
* Adolfo, São Paulo, a Brazilian municipality
* Adolfo (designer), Cuban-born American fashion designer
* Adolfo or Adolf
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in Ge ...
in Santiago, Nanjing Normal University, and Absalon University College in Denmark. Gergen received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Graduate School of Duke University in 2017, and in 2018 was listed as amount the 50 most influential living psychologists in the world (''The Best Schools''). He has received fellowships from the
Guggenheim Foundation, the
Fulbright Foundation
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, and the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...
. He also holds honorary degrees from
Tilburg University
Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Tilb ...
,
Saybrook Graduate School
Saybrook University is a private university in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1971 by Eleanor Camp Criswell and others. It offers postgraduate education with a focus on humanistic psychology. It features low residency, master's, and ...
, and the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
.
Bibliography
;Books (selected)
* ''Toward Transformation in Social Knowledge''. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1982. Second Edition, London: Sage, 1994.
* ''Historical Social Psychology''. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum 1984, (edited with M. Gergen).
* ''The Social Construction of the Person''. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985 (edited with K. E. Davis).
* ''The Saturated Self, Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life''. New York: Basic Books. 1991; 2nd. Ed. 2001.
* ''Therapy as Social Construction''. London: Sage (1991). (edited with S. McNamee).
* ''Realities and Relationships, Soundings in Social Construction''. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. 1994
* ''Relational Responsibility''. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage. 1999 With S. McNamee
* ''An Invitation to Social Construction''. London: Sage, 1999. 3d ed 2015
* ''Social Construction in Context''. London: Sage, 2001.
* ''Therapeutic Realities, Collaboration, Oppression and Relational Flow''. Chagrin Falls, OH: Taos Institute Publications. 2006
* ''Relational Being''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2009
* (Adobe eReader Format). Essay originally published 1996. See article listing below.
*''Playing with Purpose: Adventures in Performative Social Science''. Lanham, Md: Alta Mira Press. (2012) With M. Gergen
;Articles (selected)
*
*
* (Scroll down to page 3 for article).
*
*
* See also chapter in book, listed above.
*
*
*Gergen, K.J. (2015) "From Mirroring to World-Making: Research as Future Forming." Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 45: 287–310.(Winner of the 2014 essay competition, Independent Social Research Foundation, London, UK)
*Gergen, K.J. (2018) The Limits of Language as the Limits of Psychological Explanation. Theory and Psychology. (1–15) DOI: 10.1177/09593543 1881 1641
Notes
References
* Gergen, K. (1993). ''Refiguring Self and Psychology: Kenneth J. Gergen'', Hampshire: Dartmouth Publishing.
* Stroebe, W. and Kruglanski, A.W. (1989). Social psychology at epistemological cross-roads: On Gergen's choice. ''European Journal of Social Psychology'', 19, 485–489.
* Wallach, L. and Wallach, M.A. (1994). Gergen versus the mainstream: Are hypotheses in social psychology subject to empirical test? ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'', 67, 233–242.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gergen, Kenneth
1935 births
Living people
American psychologists
Social psychologists
Yale University alumni
Duke University alumni
People from Durham, North Carolina
Constructivism (psychological school)
Social constructionism