Cognitive polyphasia
Encyclopedia
The concept of cognitive polyphasia refers to the ability of people to think about the same issue in contradictory terms in different situations. From Greek
: polloi "many", phasis "appearance".
of psychoanalysis
in France
, Serge Moscovici
observed that different and even contradictory modes of thinking about the same issue often co-exist. In contemporary societies people are "speaking" medical, psychological, technical, and political languages in their daily affairs. By extending this phenomenon to the level of thought he suggests that "the dynamic co-existence—interference or specialization—of the distinct modalities of knowledge
, corresponding to definite relations between man and his environment, determines a state of cognitive polyphasia".
systems do not habitually develop towards a state of consistency
. Instead, judgements are based on representational terms being dominant in one field of interests, while playing a minor role in other fields; that is, thoughts tend to be locally but not globally consistent. Contemporaries in Western and non-western societies alike face a variety of situations where particular modes of reasoning fit better than others. Some are more useful in the family and in matters involving relatives, and others are more apt in situations involving political, economic, societal, religious or scientific matters. Knowledge and talking are always situated.
Scientific
explanations frequently contradict everyday and common-sense based explanations. Nevertheless, people tend to apply each of the two ways of explanation
in their talk depending on the audience and the particular situation. This can be observed with health related issues where Sandra Jovchelovitch
and Marie-Claude Gervais have shown how members of the Chinese community attend to Western medical doctors and simultaneously apply traditional Chinese treatments. In their study on modernization processes in the educated middle-class of the city of Patna
in India
, Wolfgang Wagner
, Gerard Duveen, Matthias Themel and Jyoti Verma showed a similar behaviour with regard to mental health
. Respondents in the study were more likely to mention traditional ideas about treatment in private and family contexts while displaying "modern" psychiatric reasoning in the public.
In terms of social representation theory
such contradictions highlight the role of representational systems as serving the purpose of relating, social belonging and communication in everyday life. This contrasts with science
that aims at veridical representations of the world according to standards of scientific evidence. Both systems of knowledge have their own domain of validity but they are at the same time fluid enough to cross-fertilize each other in dialogical encounters.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: polloi "many", phasis "appearance".
Origin of the concept
In his research on popular representationsSocial representations
A social representation is a stock of values, ideas, beliefs, and practices that are shared among the members of groups and communities. Social Representations Theory is a body of theory within Social Psychology and Sociological social psychology...
of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Serge Moscovici
Serge Moscovici
Serge Moscovici is a Romanian-born French social psychologist, currently the director of the Laboratoire Européen de Psychologie Sociale , which he co-founded in 1974 at the Maison des sciences de l'homme in Paris...
observed that different and even contradictory modes of thinking about the same issue often co-exist. In contemporary societies people are "speaking" medical, psychological, technical, and political languages in their daily affairs. By extending this phenomenon to the level of thought he suggests that "the dynamic co-existence—interference or specialization—of the distinct modalities of knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
, corresponding to definite relations between man and his environment, determines a state of cognitive polyphasia".
Extension and applications
CognitiveCognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
systems do not habitually develop towards a state of consistency
Consistency
Consistency can refer to:* Consistency , the psychological need to be consistent with prior acts and statements* "Consistency", an 1887 speech by Mark Twain...
. Instead, judgements are based on representational terms being dominant in one field of interests, while playing a minor role in other fields; that is, thoughts tend to be locally but not globally consistent. Contemporaries in Western and non-western societies alike face a variety of situations where particular modes of reasoning fit better than others. Some are more useful in the family and in matters involving relatives, and others are more apt in situations involving political, economic, societal, religious or scientific matters. Knowledge and talking are always situated.
Scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
explanations frequently contradict everyday and common-sense based explanations. Nevertheless, people tend to apply each of the two ways of explanation
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....
in their talk depending on the audience and the particular situation. This can be observed with health related issues where Sandra Jovchelovitch
Sandra Jovchelovitch
Sandra Jovchelovitch, from Porto Alegre, Brazil, is British social psychologist, currently senior lecturer and Director of the MSc program in Social and Cultural Psychology at the Institute of Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, of which she serves as head since August 2007. Dr...
and Marie-Claude Gervais have shown how members of the Chinese community attend to Western medical doctors and simultaneously apply traditional Chinese treatments. In their study on modernization processes in the educated middle-class of the city of Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner (social psychologist)
Wolfgang Wagner is an Austrian social psychologist, currently professor at the Department of Social and Economic Psychology at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and affiliated with the Department of Social Psychology and Methodology at the University of San Sebastián,...
, Gerard Duveen, Matthias Themel and Jyoti Verma showed a similar behaviour with regard to mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
. Respondents in the study were more likely to mention traditional ideas about treatment in private and family contexts while displaying "modern" psychiatric reasoning in the public.
In terms of social representation theory
Social representations
A social representation is a stock of values, ideas, beliefs, and practices that are shared among the members of groups and communities. Social Representations Theory is a body of theory within Social Psychology and Sociological social psychology...
such contradictions highlight the role of representational systems as serving the purpose of relating, social belonging and communication in everyday life. This contrasts with science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
that aims at veridical representations of the world according to standards of scientific evidence. Both systems of knowledge have their own domain of validity but they are at the same time fluid enough to cross-fertilize each other in dialogical encounters.