Nick McDonald

1. Critical realismEscaping the straightjacket of cognitivism. Developing a theoretical basis for planned intervention and change in social systems Nick McDonald

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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 Problems of cognitive & social constructionist models

5. 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

6. 3 varieties of realism • Naïve realism • Gibson’s theory of visual perception • Speech acts and institutional facts • Searle: ‘Construction of social reality’ • Critical realism • Bhaskar: ‘Possibility of Naturalism’

7. Society Reproduction / transformation Socialisation Individuals 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

8. 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

9. Desire, mental model, Sense-making Small scale Short term Intentionality Action - Movement/ change Long term Culture Large scale Near Micro - Task/activity Simple Social system Social institution plus technology & environment Causality – constraint Complex Remote Macro - Organisation / Social system A social theory should explain:

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Context • Structured model of context / situation? • Current social processes • Actions of others • Environment • Physical, technology, social, organisational • Relevant history • Self, group, organisation

16. 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

17. Society Reproduction / transformation Socialisation Individuals 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

18. 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

19. 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).

20. 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

21. 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