Review - Critical Psychology: An Introduction
Second Edition
by Dennis R Fox, Isaac Prilleltensky, Stephanie Austin (Editors)
Sage, 2009
Review by Gustav Jahoda, Ph.D.
Jun 2nd 2009 (Volume 13, Issue 23)

In nineteenth century Germany a dispute arose between Ebbinghaus and Dilthey. Ebbinghaus regarded psychology as a rigorous science. Dilthey, while accepting the  legitimacy of  a scientific approach, argued that it fails to deal with the richness and complexity of lived experience and ignored meaning. Dilthey lost out, and for almost a century psychology prided itself on being 'scientific' in the style of natural science.. Some three decades ago a revolt against this stance began, and grew in strength. Unlike Dilthey its exponents not only deny the legitimacy of the claim, but describe its consequences as seriously damaging. Critical psychology is an outstanding example of a number of books now appearing that voice radical dissent. It first appeared in 1997, and this second edition is substantially enlarged and re-shaped.

In their helpful introduction the editors do not conceal the dilemmas faced by critical psychologists. As they explain, the opponents of the mainstream fly under several different flags such as 'discursive psychology', 'social constructionism',  'postmodernism'., and so on, which adopt somewhat different approaches. What 'critical psychologists' have in common is their rejection of the positivism of the mainstream and its chief aims and methods. Inspired by neo-Marxism, feminism, the writings of Foucault and other sources, they take the task of psychology to be that  of struggling against what they see as the oppression and social injustices engendered by modern capitalism. They strive to 'empower' ordinary people, and advocate political activism. One of their main objections to the mainstream is its emphasis on individuals and neglect of socio-cultural conditions. Another complaint, which has considerable justification, is the prevailing lack of 'reflexivity', i.e. 'a conscious exploration of how our own values and assumptions affect our theoretical and methodological goals, activities and interpretations.' All this is of course a rather crude characterization, but probably not too far off the mark.

The body of the work consists of twenty-three chapters, subdivided into four parts. The first deals with broad principles, historical and philosophical; the second takes the conventional subject headings such as personality, clinical, social, industrial, and examines them critically. The third part covers salient social issues such as race, class and gender; lastly practical problems involved in doing critical psychology are surveyed. Usually each chapter begins by expounding the weaknesses of the mainstream relation to the particular topic, followed by proposed 'critical' alternatives. Given the prevailing circumstances, it is not surprising that these alternatives are often mere hopes and plans for the future. As regards the critiques of the mainstream, many of these are certainly well taken, but whether this warrants complete dismissal is a moot point.

The contributors vary considerably in their manner of expressing their views, ranging from moderate disagreements with conventional approaches as in the chapter on social psychology, to intemperate diatribes as in that on colonization and globalization.; here is a sentence to convey the flavor of the latter: 'A global example of racism and cultural supremacy producing common sense colonialism is the English language's global dominance.' It is also noteworthy that here and elsewhere discussion of problems of 'race' is confined to the sins of whites, as though other forms of ethnocentrism did not exist. But it would be wrong to focus on such flaws, since one can learn a great deal from the alternative perspectives on a range of psychological issues presented here; and the sincerity of  the writers in their sympathy with the underdogs shines through.

Readers' response to the general thrust of the arguments will depend on the extent to which they share the writers' values and political orientations. However, even for those who do not share them, there are at least two reasons why it would be salutary for them to read this book: first, many of the critiques deserve to be taken seriously; secondly, the various forms of critical psychology have emerged from obscurity and gained a foothold in the academe. Therefore it would be unwise to simply ignore them, as is usually done by the mainstream.

© 2009 Gustav Jahoda

Gustav Jahoda, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. His main fields of interest are cross-cultural and social psychology, especially the development of social cognition. He is the author of A History of Social Psychology (Cambridge University Press).