Social media & the observed body
, Ethos
• Taking a critical approach to how we consider the body
• Understand that the body is a socially embedded thing and is entwined in social
understanding
• Movement away from the micro (individual) to macro (society) explanations
• Questioning what we “know” about the body
Key messages
• The body is a social object – not in a vacuum, they exist within society and culture
• We conceptualise and theorise about our bodies and the bodies of others
• Critical social theory can help others to explore broader discourses and narratives about the
body
• We need to think critically about what assumptions we have of the body
Introducing social media and the body
Social psychology
Experimental social psychology (ESP)
Stainton-Rogers (2011) – distinguished between experimental social psychology and critical social
psychology
ESP
• Differs on one of the first fundamental axioms of critical social psychology – the axiom of
reality (ontology). This adheres to positivism and realism whereby the only way that we can
social phenomena, processes and events is through scientific methods. Conceptualising
complex issues as factors.
• Knowledge is neutral – it does not necessarily disrupt what is assumed in these approaches
• Considers the social world to not be as necessarily separate as you would imagine but that it
can be looked at in terms of factors
• Could be reduced down to a factor such as: I want to prioritise scientific enquiry to
understand human social behaviour from the position of biologically pre-programmed
instincts and influenced by social factors later on.
Critical social psychology
• Considered to be what we refer to as a term back to language – scientific methods in ESP
are not the only ways to gain insight into the social phenomena, processes and events
but that there are other ways to do this
, Ethos
• Taking a critical approach to how we consider the body
• Understand that the body is a socially embedded thing and is entwined in social
understanding
• Movement away from the micro (individual) to macro (society) explanations
• Questioning what we “know” about the body
Key messages
• The body is a social object – not in a vacuum, they exist within society and culture
• We conceptualise and theorise about our bodies and the bodies of others
• Critical social theory can help others to explore broader discourses and narratives about the
body
• We need to think critically about what assumptions we have of the body
Introducing social media and the body
Social psychology
Experimental social psychology (ESP)
Stainton-Rogers (2011) – distinguished between experimental social psychology and critical social
psychology
ESP
• Differs on one of the first fundamental axioms of critical social psychology – the axiom of
reality (ontology). This adheres to positivism and realism whereby the only way that we can
social phenomena, processes and events is through scientific methods. Conceptualising
complex issues as factors.
• Knowledge is neutral – it does not necessarily disrupt what is assumed in these approaches
• Considers the social world to not be as necessarily separate as you would imagine but that it
can be looked at in terms of factors
• Could be reduced down to a factor such as: I want to prioritise scientific enquiry to
understand human social behaviour from the position of biologically pre-programmed
instincts and influenced by social factors later on.
Critical social psychology
• Considered to be what we refer to as a term back to language – scientific methods in ESP
are not the only ways to gain insight into the social phenomena, processes and events
but that there are other ways to do this
