From objects to acting: Repopulating psychology with people who act

Abstract

This article builds on Billig’s (2013) claim that psychologists use too many nouns, which leads to inappropriately objectifying human beings and human functioning. Rather than treating human beings as physical objects or things in order to emulate the natural sciences, Billig calls for repopulating psychology with people who act. After summarizing Billig’s analysis, I argue that using nouns reflects prior theoretical assumptions about human functioning that inform psychology’s experimental and quantitative methods. I question varied theoretical assumptions and outline an alternative theoretical framework for conceptualizing what people do by positing action as a unit of analysis for psychology. This action perspective provides a theoretical basis for using verbs to characterize human functioning. Conceptualizing human functioning holistically and in terms of dynamic qualitative processes can transform psychology into a science focused on understanding the complexities of what people do as they act in relation to others in varied cultural contexts.