Political disagreement in the classroom: testing cultural theory through structured observation

M. Aenne Schoop (), Marco Verweij (), Ulrich Kühnen () and Shenghua Luan ()
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M. Aenne Schoop: Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
Marco Verweij: Jacobs University
Ulrich Kühnen: Jacobs University
Shenghua Luan: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2020, vol. 54, issue 2, No 13, 623-643

Abstract: Abstract The cultural theory pioneered by Dame Mary Douglas has been tested with a range of research methods, but it has not yet been made subject to a ‘structured observation’. This method has been developed in psychology and management studies, and is especially useful for testing cultural theory’s prediction that fatalistic, hierarchical, egalitarian, and individualistic ways of perceiving and justifying tend to emerge in group debates about pressing social and environmental issues. We present the results of a structured observation of this prediction. Groups of high school students (aged 17–19) were asked for their opinions concerning three to five ‘wicked’ (i.e., highly complex) problems, and to discuss how to resolve them. Each utterance was coded according to the rationalities proposed by cultural theory. The results confirm cultural theory’s hypothesis that all four specific ways of defining, perceiving and resolving a wicked problem emerge when a number of people debate such an issue. We also discuss how Douglas’ cultural theory can be further developed and tested. Finally, we use our study to outline how the method of structured observation can contribute to political culture research in general.

Keywords: Mary Douglas’ cultural theory; Wicked problems; Structured observation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-019-00903-8

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