Theory development in critical psychology

The dialectic between foundational categories and empirically derived theoretical concepts

Abstract

This article addresses the development of theo- retical concepts based on the German and Da- nish traditions of critical psychology. To ex- plore this issue this article examines a central foundational text entitled “Grundlegung der Psychologie” by Klaus Holzkamp, first pub- lished in 1983. Drawing on work from other contributors, Holzkamp’s ambition was to develop an overall framework for psychological theorizing with categories informed by historical dialectical materialism. The present article takes a closer look at the philosophical roots and Holzkamp’s proposed five-step procedure to analysing the psycho-phylogenetic devel- opment, ranging from the first living organ- isms on earth through to the development of the human species. The article describes how this analysis results in a system of categories that account for human subjectivity as societal. The societal nature of human beings is conceptualised as built into these categories. In turn, the categories constitute the foundation for em- pirical research in critical psychology, which is conducted as practice research. The article then explores how diverse empirical studies contributed to the development of the central concept of ‘conduct of everyday life’. Lastly, the implications of Holzkamp’s understanding of the relationship between his proposed categories and theoretical concepts resulting from empirical research are discussed. The article ends with considerations of the continued de- velopment of critical psychology.