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The Behavioral Scientist: Insider and Outsider
Author(s) -
Deutsch Cynthia P.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1981.tb02631.x
Subject(s) - conformity , insider , bureaucracy , milgram experiment , socialization , process (computing) , action (physics) , psychology , social psychology , behavioural sciences , sociology , positive economics , epistemology , political science , social science , law , computer science , economics , obedience , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , operating system , politics
A problem with respect to social action research is being sufficiently “outside” to be objective, and yet enough “inside” to understand the phenomena being studied. The issue of critical periods in development is used as an example of the problem, in terms of the tendency to be wedded to convenient theories, the difficulty in examining the bureaucratic‐institutional socialization process, the problem of avoiding conformity when one is an insider, and the general difficulty of incorporating research findings into social programming and policy decisions. Some suggestions are offered, including the potential role of SPSSI as an organization of “significant others” for the social researcher and the behavioral scientist.