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The Context-Variable Self and Autonomy: Exploring Surveillance Experience, (Mis)recognition, and Action at Airport
Meghan E McNamara1, Stephen D Reicher1
1School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom.
Frontiers in Psychology
|November 22, 2019
Summary
This study redefines autonomy, highlighting how airport surveillance reveals the self as multifaceted. Feeling recognized enhances participation, while misrecognition hinders autonomy by limiting self-expression.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Surveillance Studies
Background:
- Autonomy definitions in psychology often focus on volition and a singular self.
- This overlooks the context-dependent and multiple nature of selfhood.
- Recognition and misrecognition significantly impact self-perception and behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critique and extend the concept of autonomy.
- To examine how selfhood is constructed through autonomy definitions.
- To analyze the role of recognition and misrecognition in surveillance contexts.
Main Methods:
- Ethnographic analysis of airport security experiences.
- Qualitative data from 156 respondents across multiple nations.
- Examination of security procedures like identification checks and questioning.
Main Results:
- Airport security procedures position individuals in various ways (e.g., safe/dangerous, human/object).
- Recognition led to positive experiences and engaged participation.
- Misrecognition resulted in negative experiences, alienation, and varied behavioral responses (accommodation, disruption, withdrawal).
Conclusions:
- Autonomy requires a dual analysis: the freedom to determine one's sense of self and the freedom to enact selfhood.
- Misrecognition in surveillance contexts can undermine autonomy by limiting self-expression.
- Rethinking autonomy necessitates acknowledging the multiple and context-variable self.
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