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Psychology essays and dissertations | Autonomy

So what perspective within the discipline of social psychology best lends its support to the idea of the autonomous agent? The answer to this lies within the sphere of the experiential perspective. The experiential perspective has at its centre the premise that the focus for investigation in social psychology is subjective experience, particularly that from the viewpoint of the actual experiencing person (first person experience). This involves the process of being aware, both in terms of being aware of things and people's awareness of being aware (reflexive awareness).

Subjective experience encompasses the richness and variety of the human inner world, often ignored by other perspectives. Indeed, without a sense of awareness, people would be unable to function: unable to experience feelings, remember and learn, anticipate future events, interact with others and have self-awareness. It utilises analyses and qualitative accounts to study its subject matter rather than traditional experiments. The experiential approach incorporates phenomenological (what people are aware of), existential (quality of human existence and the human condition) and humanistic (personal development and improving awareness) positions.

The experiential perspective postulates the concept of autonomy (agency, choice) as an existential issue. Agency is the human capacity to make choices and undertake change through their own actions and reasons that people are aware of the consequences of their actions.

A person's choice (of actions and feelings) will determine future events or what the person will become: phenomenologically, people can influence their actions and experience through the focusing of attention, imagination and reflection and so generate different ways of creating experience. However, it should be noted that existentialists recognise restrictions on people's autonomy:

Heidegger (1962) pointed out what he called "throwness" in that people are "born at a particular time to particular people in a particular cultural and historical context." (p.197). People make choices within different situations/conditions and so freedom (autonomy) is "situated".