Critical realism

Escaping the straightjacket of cognitivism. Developing a theoretical basis for planned intervention and change in social systems

Nick McDonald

Anti-realism
There are 2 main philosophical positions in social science which deny that we can have knowledge of reality All reality consists in conscious states
phenomenalist idealism E.g. cognitive psychology

Reality is socially constructed

social constructionism Various theories from social cognition to critical theory

Organisations as mental constructions - some examples

Organisation theory as metaphor (Morgan)
Machines Cultures Organisms Domination and suppression

Organisations as relational processes (Hosking and Morley)

Enactive, socially constructed processes Against reification, entitative concepts,

Organisations as sensemaking (Weick)

Problems of cognitive & social constructionist models

Cognition / social cognition
Focus on internal states (mental models) or local relationships with technology (ergonomics) Tends to lack ecologically valid evidence of actions in context No independent criterion beyond intentionality
When is an action correct/ appropriate/ effective? Takes external authority for granted - cannot ever challenge whether a rule or procedure is adequate

Social construction Represents reality as experienced by participants Rich interpretation No evaluation criteria
Cannot evaluate strengths or weaknesses of social organisations

No causal analysis
What social constraints influence how people act?

Cannot be used to design better social systems

A logical fallacy
Denial of reality is based on a logical fallacy:
We are only aware of reality through mental states
Tautology

The reality we experience is construed / constructed mentally

Restatement of tautology

Therefore there is no reality other than our experience / mental construction

False inference

Therefore the object of human / social science is only cognition / mental constructions
False conclusion

3 varieties of realism
Nave realism
Gibsons theory of visual perception

Speech acts and institutional facts

Searle: Construction of social reality

Critical realism
Bhaskar: Possibility of Naturalism

Critical realism (Bhaskar)

Society socialises individuals who reproduce or transform social reality through social action Social systems are real, with real causes and constraints that are external to the individual They are created by people, unlike natural systems, but can be investigated, like natural systems Role of agency - intentions as causes of actions Society Socialisation Reproduction / transformation

Individuals

What is a social system?

Normative regularities of social action create social systems But, norm is an ambiguous concept
What should be done What normally is done

In social systems with important consequences

Relations of power determine what ought to be done - the official system The contingencies of situated action determine what is done The regularities of situated action create the real system

The real system is what normally actually happens

A social theory should explain:

Desire, mental model, Sense-making Intentionality

Small scale
Short term Action Movement / change

Culture Near Simple Causality constraint Complex

Long term Large scale Micro Task/activity

Social system

Social institution plus technology & environment

Macro Organisation / Social system

Remote

Action, system, context

Actions
Make social processes work (or not) Are not necessarily governed by the functional logic of operations, but by broader social processes Can be represented in narrative accounts

System
Aggregation of social action in regular generic pattern Operational processes are only part of the social system Formal system may differ radically from real system

Context
Causal influence on action, mediated by people making sense of their situation, understanding (imperfectly) the constraints in which they are acting and formulating intentions Understanding context often makes intentions transparent

Social Systems
Reality of social systems (SS)
They have compelling force upon their members

Our knowledge of an SS is imperfect & partial

We construe reality rather than construct it

One starting point is to look at operational processes

Most work we do is based on a functional sequence linking input to outcome

Other social processes (not directed at the functional goal) may facilitate or inhibit operational processes
Should not assume all social processes are goal-driven (teleology)

Some core elements of social processes

Structural characteristics of relationships
Power, affinity of interest, authority, expertise

Mechanisms of social interaction

Co-ordination by mutual adjustment, supervision, standardisation of skills, output, etc.

Capacity of individuals/ groups

Competence

Quality of social relationships

Trust

Action
Actions instantiate social processes
Stability of social systems is only relative Constantly reproduced or transformed by aggregated activity

Causal structure of action and consequence

Intention, action, result, consequence

The logic of action (according to von Wright)

Acts create events which bring about change in the world
Transition of one state of affairs to another Initiating, transforming or ending a process

4 logical possibilities
Doing something Undoing something Preserving some state Preventing some state coming about

Forebearing to act in the above ways gives 8 possibilities of action

Context
Structured model of context / situation?
Current social processes Actions of others Environment
Physical, technology, social, organisational

Relevant history
Self, group, organisation

Culture
Culture and system are two sides of the same coin Therefore a cultural account has to mirror all the same relations as outlined above
In the domain of meanings and values Not the domain of functions and causality

Culture links, through sensemaking, to intentions Cultural accounts give interpretive richness to system descriptions

Stability and change

The social system constrains/directs action, but not absolutely - role of agency. People act intentionally as agents. Actions can reproduce or transform the social system Stability and change represent the resolution of the tension between
Real actions in time of individuals and groups of individuals
Influenced by socialisation, but directed by intentions

Normative regularities of aggregated actions of individuals

Reproducing or transforming the social system, socialising individuals

Society Socialisation Reproduction / transformation

Individuals

Intention and action

Incompatible theories
(A) Intentions are causes of action (Bhaskar) (B) Intentions are retrospective justifications of action (Cognitive dissonance theory)

If B is correct then the motivation of action is not comprehensible & cognition is essentially conservative (no possibility of intentional change in actions and hence of planned social change) It is difficult to reconstruct intentions, but it can be done through exhaustive reconstruction of the context of action

Relevance and Leverage

Two questions about a useful theory:
Does it address the mechanisms we wish to explain (is it relevant)? Does it enable us to change the situation in a positive way (does it give us leverage)?

Cognitive and social constructivist theories only address cognitive/mental mechanisms

Ignore causal mechanisms in social systems (lack relevance) Only focus on change mechanisms involving changing mindsets (e.g. training) - not a powerful influence if nothing else changes (limited leverage)

If we want to change the ways which social systems function in order to improve outcomes, we need a theory which is relevant (addresses actions in social systems) and which gives leverage (identifies how to change the system to improve the outcome).

Bibliography
Searle, J.R.(1995): The Construction of Social Reality. Allen Lane: the Penguin Press Von Wright, G.H. (1963): Norm and Action. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Chapter III Act and Ability, pp 35-55

Bhaskar, R (1979): The Possibility of Naturalism. Brighton: Harvester

Readings
Robson C. (2002): Real World Research (second edition). Oxford: Blackwell
Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 3-44

Sayer, A. (2000): Realism and Social Science. London: Sage

Pp. 10-28

Some of our own work discussed in the lecture can be seen in:
McDonald N.(2006): Organisational resilience and industrial risk. In Resilience Engineering (Eds.: E. Hollnagel, D. Woods., N. Leveson) Aldershot:Ashgate