Ethical-political elements in research and intervention: reflections from social psychology

Abstract

Assuming that social psychology is directly, intrinsically, totally and fundamentally political (Ibáñez, 1983), in this text we make a brief reflection in relation to the political and ethical character of the work in social psychology. In a first section we tackle why is it important to consider the political and the ethical aspects in our discipline. Then, in the second section, we develop some elements that we can use, as social psychologists both in the field of research and intervention: reflexivity and problematisation; the issue of expert knowledge; accessibility, commitment, craftmanship or learning. Finally, in the third section, we present some conclusions about the interrelation between those topics, their application and some of their possible limitations.