Description

Power, ethics and the production of subjectivity in the group interview

Gerd Christensen

Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to discuss how Michel Foucault’s concept of power can contribute to the discussion of research ethics in qualitative interviewing within the field of social psychology. Minimizing power is a common aim in the ethical principles of psychology and in research interviewing. Using examples from my own research, I show that the traditional concept of power seems insufficient to capture what is at stake in group interview situations. The group interview adds a group dynamic, making it significantly more complicated than the individual interview. To account for this complexity, this paper suggests elaborating the discussion of ethics in the research interview through Foucault’s concept of power as a productive force.

KEYWORDS: Michel Foucault; qualitative interview; subjectification; research ethics; group relations; project studies; university teaching