Scientific Method, the Rhetoric of Asceticism, and the Moral Economy of Psychological Science

• In Event: 262 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 06.

Abstract

Research in the history of science has shown that the exchange of intellectual labor for prestige, money, and institutional authority in scientific fields is structured by historically-developed “moral economies.” In contrast to unchanging Mertonian norms, these represent ongoing points of contention in scientific communicates deciding how to enforce standards, allocate credit, and establish trust. However, although the idealism of the Mertonian vision of science has been rightly critiqued, researchers have not appreciated the rhetorical power that such ideals still hold. Using conceptual tools developed in the sociology of markets to elaborate the moral economy framework, we demonstrate how Mertonian rhetoric is used by scientists in order to lay claim to “Scientific Method” and, thus, contest market order. Recent debates in social psychology—evidenced in email archives, ethnographic observation, interviews, and social media—are used as a case study to demonstrate the role of methodology in the moral economy of science.

Authors

• David Peterson, Northwestern University

• Jeremy Freese, Stanford University