Mary M. Gergen

Pennsylvania State University | Penn State · Psychology, Women's Studies

The concept of evocative ethnography is described and contrasted with realist representation. Two examples of evocative ethnography are provided: the plight of women as they age, and the impact of digital immersion on cultural life. Discussion focuses on the benefits of expanding the repertoire of writing in the social sciences.

This panel, which took place at International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in May 2016, examines the experiences of five scholars who have retired from university life and the responses to the panel by two scholars anticipating that transition. Panelists discuss how and when they decided to retire; the role of the university, department, and pro...

Here we challenge the traditional separation of science and art and demonstrate significant ways in which the social sciences can be enriched through performative inquiry. We begin with a brief commentary on philosophic work that detaches representation from observation. In effect, there is no privileged (in principal, accurate, neutral, or objecti...

We focus on four major tensions pervading much narrative inquiry to date, tensions that threaten to divide the field into alienated enclaves. Of specific concern are psychological vs. social explanations of narrative, structural vs. process orientations to research, approaches that celebrate experience vs. those that textually deconstruct experienc...

A biographical account of 45 years of professional development of Kenneth J. Gergen, as seen through the eyes of his colleague and wife, Mary Gergen.

This article presents an overview of "Performative Social Science," which is defined as the deployment of different forms of artistic performance in the execution of a scientific project. Such forms may include art, theater, poetry, music, dance, photography, fiction writing, and multi-media applications. Performative research practices are in thei...

Mary: To begin, I think it is important that we take into account some milestones in the development of multivoiced organizing. This will also set the stage for our extension into the realm of polyvocality. For example, we owe a debt here to work that René Bouwen did with Chris Steyaert (1999) on global organizing. They were among the first to prom...

Narrative inquiry in psychology has become a richly hued endeavor with multiple and significant implications for social and personality investigation. Such inquiry first represents an important venue for dialogue between psychologists and scholars from across the social sciences and humanities. Furthermore, the focus on narrative invigorates concer...

Findings relating personality and demographic variables to prosocial behavior are reviewed. Original research results are then presented. These results show that different personal dispositions are related to various forms of prosocial behavior in different ways. The traditional search for general correlates of prosocial behavior is viewed as short...

Der Begriff „performativ“ stammt aus J.L. Austins Werk „How to do Things with Words“ (1962) [dt. „Zur Theorie der Sprechakte“], in welchem er auf die Art und Weise Bezug nimmt, wie Äußerungen über die Vermittlung von Inhalt hinaus mannigfaltige soziale Funktionen erfüllen. Performative Sozialforschung umfasst die Verwendung verschiedener Formen kün...

Qualitative researchers are increasingly being called upon to become human rights advocates, to help individuals and communities honor the sanctity of life, and to promote the core values of privacy, justice, freedom, peace, and human dignity. In this volume of plenary papers from the Fifth International of Qualitative Inquiry in 2009, leading qual...

Abstract From a social constructionist perspective, conceptions of aging emerge from participation in relationships. Thus, there is reason to counter the Western stereotype of aging as decline with a more robust and positive vision. In the same way, resilience in everyday life may be achieved by engaging creatively and collaboratively in coordinati...

Women face powerful and negative stereotypes of who they will become as they age. They can either fight against them or they can succumb. From a social constructionist position, one may question any given formulation of reality, including the nature of aging. Because no image of aging is compulsory, there are ways of resisting the tide of negativit...

Conversing by e-mail and mediated by an imaginary cyber-moderator, two of the co-editors of this Special Issue on Performative Social Science (PSS) Mary GERGEN and Kip JONES, themselves pioneers of PSS, engage in conversation around such topics as creativity, skill and craft, outputs and outcomes, aesthetics, audience, evaluation, interpretation, s...

The Social Construction of AgeVarieties of Positive AgingPersonal Development: The Infinite Extension of the SelfThe Return to RelationshipCommunal Contribution: Transcending the SelfResources and Positive AgingConclusion

As narrative theorists claim, we are made from the stories we tell. Yet, we may also say that the stories we tell are made from the lives we live. These two versions of narrative analysis summarize the central contention of narrative research.1 Within these boundaries, it is clear that the focus of narrative research has been almost exclusively on...

In various professional fields today, a profusion of practices are inspired by or draw sustenance from narrative inquiry; similarly, narrative inquiry must attend to these practices as they are vital to its future. Ultimately a full fledged dialogue between scholars and practitioners is to be sought. We review three major domains in which narrative...

Incarceration Nation: Investigative Poems of Prison, Hope and Terror is the poetic outcome of the author's nine-year commitment to working in prisons as a teacher. For 12 years he has been writing about prison life and protesting conditions within prisons; he has never given up his hopes for a brighter future for those who are locked up. The poems...

Die Akzentuierung des Positiven ist ein Grundsatz, der im geschäftlichen Alltag von Organisationen oft verloren geht. Wertschätzendes Organisieren liefert hier neben einem innovativen theoretischen Rahmen auch neue Praxisformen, die wachsende Effizienz-, Leistungs- und Qualitätsanforderungen erfüllen. Wertschätzendes Organisieren setzt dabei zwei z...

In this chapter we are exploring Appreciative Inquiry within organizations through the dialogic process in its relational aspect. The present discussion is composed of four parts: An exploration of the myriad meanings of dialogue and a description of a useful orienting platform, dialogue as “discursive coordination.” We then turn to the pivotal fun...

The gerontological literature in the social sciences has typically characterized the aging process in terms of decline, degeneration, and decrepitude. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the possibility of growth, generativity, and development in the last decades of life. With the growing population of older people who enjoy increasing...

This book introduces a distinctive new mode of studying psychology, based on the increasingly popular range of ideas of social constructionism. The volume introduces new forms of theory and methods of inquiry relating social constructionism to feminist topics. Each chapter highlights different topics of special concern within gender studies, especi...

A selection of innovative methods congenial to research in feminist psychology is reviewed. The methods described include collaborations, discourse analysis, ethnography, existential-phenomenological inquiry, focus groups, interviews, narrative investigations, performative methods, and the Q-sort. A brief description of undergraduate and graduate c...

Descartes's philosophical position, founded upon a mind/body dualism, has had a strong influence on psychology. His dualistic system has supported the creation of a discipline in which individuals are viewed both as systems affected by mechanistic bodily emanations and as self-regulating agents replete with self-awareness and the capacity for moral...

From a social-constructionist standpoint, emotional expressions are constitu-ents of lived narratives, and gain their meaning from their position within these narratives. These special forms of narrative, termed emotional scenarios , are themselves lodged within a broader cultural and historical landscape. This article compares major features of ro...

Free will is discussed from a feminist/social constructionist perspective, especially in relationship to therapy. According to many psychological studies, women are perceived as less likely to exercise their free will and to suffer serious psychological consequences. Feminist critiques challenge this argument and the underlying liberal humanist ima...

Responds to criticisms made by H. Peskin (see record 1993-45259-001) of the article by Stroebe et al (see record 1993-05637-001). Stroebe et al assert that their representation of J. Bowlby's (1980) conception of grief as lending itself to a modernist zeitgeist is an accurate one and that Peskin's views are idiosyncratic. (PsycINFO Database Recor...

The psychology of women has as a major focus of study differences between women and men. This paper examines the “sex/gender”1 variable in psychology and the various feminist approaches to the study of difference. I have chosen a focus on the sex/gender variable for both historical and intellectual reasons: first, the issue of sex differences serve...

Psychological theories and practices frequently neglect the extent to which their subject matter is historically and culturally defined. This issue is explored in the context of theories and therapies related to bereavement. Contemporary orientations emphasize the importance of breaking bonds with the deceased and the return of survivors to autonom...

As Adele sat in the fading light, I was again struck by how elegant she appeared in her long brocade caftan. Few women of any age, much less 93, could claim such social presence as she. As she patiently ended her answer to my previous question, I glanced at my questionnaire, gritted my teeth and plunged ahead with the interview schedule. “Have you...

Reviews the book, Social and Moral Values: Individual and Societal Perspectives by Nancy Eisenberg, Janusz Reykowski, and Ervin Staub (Eds.) (see record 1989-97879-000 ). In 1984, before the thaws of East-West political relations, a group of American and Polish psychologists met in Zaborow to share results and conclusions from their studies of mora...

Psychological theories of women's lives in middle age and beyond are restricted, negative, and scarce. An overview of women's adult development in textbooks and the professional literature indicates that (a) the prevailing focus of concern is the woman as a biological creature, especially as a mother; (b) the proposed lifecycle trajectory is one in...

75 male and 75 female undergraduates rated the extent to which they had engaged in horseplay and in aggressive acts with same-sex friends and boyfriends or girlfriends over the past 3 yrs. A broad range of playful and aggressive activities was reported. There was a strong relationship between the tendency to horseplay and to aggress. The relationsh...

Feminist theorists have developed a range of alternative approaches to scientific work in the last three decades. The application of these ideas would have strong implications for change in psychology. Especially vulnerable would be the notion of ‘objective’ and value-neutral scientific inquiry. A feminist psychology would require value explicit th...

Commentaire de l'opinion de Moscovici sur la psychologie sociale, sa nature, son objet, etc… dans ses rapports avec le positivisme-empirisme classique, le constructivisme et le constructionisme sociaux. Difficulte d'adherer a la fois par certains aspects a l'inductivisme et par d'autres au constructionisme. Illustration de la question du constructi...

Comments on S. Scarr's (see record 1988-15683-001) assertion that researchers should study sensitive social issues related to "underrepresented groups" such as women or racial minorities. The problem of researcher bias in the framing of questions and interpretation of responses is noted.

This chapter explores the nature of stories of self, both as they are told and lived in social life. It examines the story form—or more formally, the structure of narrative accounts. It then describes the way narratives of the self are constructed within social life and the uses to which they are put. As story advances, it become increasingly clear...

An issue of relatively long-standing in the literature on aging in social psychology has been that of the effects of personal control or its absence on well-being. Theorizing and research by psychologists such as Rotter, Seligman, Bandura, Langer, Rodin and Schulz in general conclude that the risk of physical decline and death are increased as pers...

present the idea of accounts as stories—not random sequences of action and reaction, but coherent unfolding narratives of human conduct analysis of narrative explanation theoretical analysis of narrative lines empirical examples advantages and disadvantages (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Feminist scholarship is not just about women, by women, and for women. The feminist approach to scholarship represents a daring set of challenges to the existing practices in every intellectual endeavor. Thus far, many traditional fields seem to have successfully fended off the feminist challenge. But the question remains: How and in what ways has...

Addresses the storied nature of psychological theories of development. The authors begin their chapter with a reasoned rejection of the empiricist assumption that traditional science provides theories that serve as objective mirrors of the world. Scientific theories are underdetermined' by events in the world. They are written from preconceptions o...

The people in this situation were faced with an option to help someone in distress, and they did not choose to offer aid. This is a dramatic example of a situation that people face every day. An encounter with a beggar on the street, a request to give blood, or a call from a friend who is lonely or depressed—each is a situation in which someone can...

Each of these instances represents an important shift in social conduct. In some cases the shift seems to represent a social revolution. Many others could be cited—shifts in drug use, divorce rates, career choices, volunteering for the armed services, and so on. What causes these changes? If we wanted to increase the speed of such changes, how woul...

In this chapter we explore people’s experiences in groups—in families, in friendship and work circles, and in other organizations. For the purpose of our discussion, a group can be defined as two or more people who interact or communicate (Shaw, 1976). Typically this interaction takes place on a face-to-face basis. Groups are composed of people who...

Both of these vignettes illustrate the vast impor­tance in our lives of the way we think about ourselves. Paul doesn’t think very much of him­self, and as a result is avoiding the one relation­ship he has always wanted. In contrast, Brenda thinks so highly of herself that she spoils many of her relationships and seems out of touch with reality. In...

To be sure, rash actions are not always the result of strong feelings of attraction. Many social theorists argue that positive feelings are the glue that holds society together (Durkheim, 1949). Positive sentiment motivates men and women to seek the company of others, raise children, join organizations, or live in a particular community. Because at...

Clearly, prejudice is very much alive, and it affects virtually all of us in one way or another. Most people evaluate certain groups negatively, while at the same time they themselves are targets of other people’s animosity. Such prejudices have consequences. The slaughter of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany is perhaps the most blatant example in rec...

Similar reports of violence appear in each day’s newspapers. While the use of guns is a fairly recent development in human history, violence is hardly new on the human scene. The pre-Christian Romans eradicated the populations of entire cities. Medieval religious leaders used poison to remove their undesirable acquaintances. In modern times over 6...

Consider the following descriptions: Michael is warm and friendly; he really helps you when you are down. Cindy is a live wire; she makes everyone around her happy. Fred is a serious student; he thinks a lot and is kind of a loser. Barbara is stuck up; she thinks money makes up for brains. These are off-the-top-of-the-head descriptions of four clas...

Many social psychologists would agree with Brad’s observation that he is buying Janet’s affection. What is more, they would argue that in many respects, all social relationships operate like a marketplace. People give others certain goods and services, and in return they hope to receive a payoff. No matter what the level of the relationship—romanti...

Each of these cases raises a significant question about the relationship between the social world and physical well-being. How do our relations with others affect the length of our lives, our emotional state, and our ability to remain healthy? Until recent years such questions were seldom asked, primarily because of the narrow view of health and il...

These examples are typical of problems that occur in our society. Many social psychologists believe they should devote themselves to solving such problems. Kurt Lewin (1951) argued that social psychologists should take an active interest in society’s problems and strive to use the discipline for social betterment. As we mentioned in Chapter 1, duri...

What do these three dramas of daily life have in common? Each of them highlights the enormous significance of personal relationships in people’s lives. Stephen gave up a valued award because of his deep attachment to his family. Donna made a promise to her father that dictated the course of her life. Rich’s anger over his friends’ deceit moved him...

The point of these observations is not that professors are fickle. Rather, the professors’ remarks illustrate a central conflict that exists in our society between pressures for individuality and autonomy and pressures for fitting into existing society. These pressures are with us every day. We experience great security and pleasure when we are acc...

3. Greater sensitivity to European work: We have can cut common experience so close to the bone. long felt very close to European social psychol­ In the present volume we wish to share what we ogy, and the European responsiveness to the first believe to be some of the most significant and edition suggested that we were communicating stimulating ins...

The hypothesis that the death of a spouse results in high mortality risk for the remaining mate is gaining credence. Further, it is held, this risk recedes with the age of the couple, and is elevated in the male population. The validity of these views is assessed. Direct evidence for this “loss effect” has been derived from cross-sectional and long...

Students who have smoked marijuana are compared with non-users on a variety of attitudinal and demographic characteristics. Approximately 36% of the sample of over 5,000 college students from a national survey report usage of the drug. The major demographic characteristics that separate users from non-users are religious affiliation, region of the...

focus on narrative forms as the grounding literary means for creating significant lives / explore how what is taken to constitute the personal realities of individuals is endowed by narrative autobiographies and gender roles in the culture / physical embodiment within the autobiography / consequences of gendered narrative forms / autobiography an...

detail how traditional research methods have violated many tenets of feminist belief major focus of the critique is on the status of "objectivity" in social science research methodology illustrate how a methodology formulated within a feminist framework might be used within the social science arena using a study developed around the concerns...

from a social constructionist position, in which language practices are central, and where meaning is derived from social interactions, we have explored several possibilities for expanding on the immediate, taken-for-granted world of the researcher, through reflexive elaboration of the initial language commitment discussion was opened on three fo...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Temple University, 1980. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-183). Microfilm of typescript.