Recognition (sociology)

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Recognition in sociology is the public acknowledgment of a person's status or merits (achievements, virtues, service, etc.). [1]

Contents

In psychology, excessively seeking for recognition is regarded as one of the defining traits of a narcissistic personality disorder. [2]

Another example of recognition is when some person is accorded some special status, such as title or classification. [3]

According to Charles Taylor, recognition of one's identity is both a fundamental need and a right, and non- or misrecognition is a form of oppression. [4]

In the workplace, recognition has been suggested to increase employee engagement, continuous improvement behaviour, trust in the organization, intention to stay, and satisfaction with management. [5] [6] [7] Others, like Alfie Kohn in Punished by Rewards , point out the dangers of using praise to show recognition, since it may induce compliance in the short-term, but negatively impact quality in the workplace long-term. [8]

Recognition justice

Recognition justice is a theory of social justice that emphasizes the recognition of human dignity and of difference between subaltern groups and the dominant society. [9] [10] Social philosophers Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser point to a 21st-century shift in theories of justice away from distributive justice (which emphasises the elimination of economic inequalities) toward recognition justice and the eliminating of humiliation and disrespect. [9] The shift toward recognition justice is associated with the rise of identity politics. [11]

The political implications of recognition justice are more ambiguous than distributive justice, because recognition is not a resource than can be redistributed, but is rather a phenomenological experience of people and groups. [9] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources, goods, opportunity in a society. It is concerned with how to allocate resources fairly among members of a society, taking into account factors such as wealth, income, and social status. Often contrasted with just process and formal equal opportunity, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considerable attention in philosophy and the social sciences. Theorists have developed widely different conceptions of distributive justice. These have contributed to debates around the arrangement of social, political and economic institutions to promote the just distribution of benefits and burdens within a society. Most contemporary theories of distributive justice rest on the precondition of material scarcity. From that precondition arises the need for principles to resolve competing interest and claims concerning a just or at least morally preferable distribution of scarce resources.

Procedural justice is the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources. One aspect of procedural justice is related to discussions of the administration of justice and legal proceedings. This sense of procedural justice is connected to due process (U.S.), fundamental justice (Canada), procedural fairness (Australia), and natural justice, but the idea of procedural justice can also be applied to nonlegal contexts in which some process is employed to resolve conflict or divide benefits or burdens. Aspects of procedural justice are an area of study in social psychology, sociology, and organizational psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissistic personality disorder</span> Personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathize with other people's feelings. Narcissistic personality disorder is one of the sub-types of the broader category known as personality disorders. It is often comorbid with other mental disorders and associated with significant functional impairment and psychosocial disability.

Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a pattern of passive hostility and an avoidance of direct communication. Inaction where some action is socially customary is a typical passive-aggressive strategy. Such behavior is sometimes protested by associates, evoking exasperation or confusion. People who are recipients of passive-aggressive behavior may experience anxiety due to the discordance between what they perceive and what the perpetrator is saying.

In law, an entitlement is a provision made in accordance with a legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement. It is the content of a subjective right, namely the claim of a legal subject as against other persons to a legal object.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axel Honneth</span> German philosopher (born 1949)

Axel Honneth is a German philosopher who is the Professor for Social Philosophy at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Jack B. Weinstein Professor of the Humanities in the department of philosophy at Columbia University. He was also director of the Institut für Sozialforschung in Frankfurt am Main, Germany between 2001 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Fraser</span> American philosopher (born 1947)

Nancy Fraser is an American philosopher, critical theorist, feminist, and the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City. Widely known for her critique of identity politics and her philosophical work on the concept of justice, Fraser is also a staunch critic of contemporary liberal feminism and its abandonment of social justice issues. Fraser holds honorary doctoral degrees from four universities in three countries, and won the 2010 Alfred Schutz Prize in Social Philosophy from the American Philosophical Association. She was President of the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division for the 2017–2018 term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissism</span> Excessive preoccupation with oneself

Narcissism is a self–centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others.

In psychology, narcissistic injury, also known as narcissistic wound or wounded ego, is emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. In some cases, the shame or disgrace is so significant that the individual can never again truly feel good about who they are. This is sometimes referred to as a "narcissistic scar".

Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others' attention and admiration". This definition does not ascribe a motivation to the behavior and assumes a human actor, although the term "attention seeking" sometimes also assumes a motive of seeking validation. People are thought to engage in both positive and negative attention seeking behavior independent of the actual benefit or harm to health. In line with much research and a dynamic self-regulatory processing model of narcissism, motivations for attention seeking are considered to be driven by self-consciousness and thus an externalization of personality rather than internal and self-motivated behavior. Attention seeking is often caused by threats to one's self-concept and the need for social acceptance. This type of influence on behavior can result in a potential loss of a person's sense of agency, personality disorder and the behavior associated with these conditions.

Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) is employee's behavior that goes against the legitimate interests of an organization. This behavior can harm the organization, other people within it, and other people and organizations outside it, including employers, other employees, suppliers, clients, patients and citizens. It has been proposed that a person-by-environment interaction (the relationship between a person's psychological and physical capacities and the demands placed on those capacities by the person's social and physical environment.) can be utilized to explain a variety of counterproductive behaviors. For instance, an employee who is high on trait anger is more likely to respond to a stressful incident at work with CWB.

Compensation and benefits (C&B) is a sub-discipline of human resources, focused on employee compensation and benefits policy-making. While compensation and benefits are tangible, there are intangible rewards such as recognition, work-life and development. Combined, these are referred to as total rewards. The term "compensation and benefits" refers to the discipline as well as the rewards themselves.

In social psychology, collective narcissism is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs. The group may be defined by ideology, race, political beliefs/stance, religion, sexual orientation, social class, language, nationality, employment status, education level, cultural values, or any other ingroup. While the classic definition of narcissism focuses on the individual, collective narcissism extends this concept to similar excessively high opinions of a person's social group, and suggests that a group can function as a narcissistic entity.

Abusive power and control is behavior used by an abusive person to gain and/or maintain control over another person. Abusers are commonly motivated by devaluation, personal gain, personal gratification, psychological projection, or the enjoyment of exercising power and control. The victims of this behavior are often subject to psychological, physical, sexual, or financial abuse.

In Marxist philosophy, reification is the process by which human social relations are perceived as inherent attributes of the people involved in them, or attributes of some product of the relation, such as a traded commodity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Critical theory</span> Approach to social philosophy

A critical theory is any approach to humanities and social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to attempt to reveal, critique, and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from social structures and cultural assumptions than from individuals. Some hold it to be an ideology, others argue that ideology is the principal obstacle to human liberation. Critical theory finds applications in various fields of study, including psychoanalysis, film theory, literary theory, cultural studies, history, communication theory, philosophy, and feminist theory.

Narcissism in the workplace involves the impact of narcissistic employees and managers in workplace settings.

Nancy McWilliams, Ph.D., ABPP., is emerita visiting professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She has written on personality and psychotherapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahel Jaeggi</span> German philosopher (born 1966)

Rahel Jaeggi is a Swiss professor of practical philosophy and social philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Her research areas are in social philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, philosophical anthropology, social ontology, and critical theory. Since February 2018 she has been the head of the Berlin campus of the newly founded International Center for Humanities and Social Change.

Recognition justice is a theory of social justice that emphasizes the recognition of human dignity and of difference between subaltern groups and the dominant society. Social philosophers Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser point to a 21st-century shift in theories of justice away from distributive justice toward recognition justice and the eliminating of humiliation and disrespect. The shift toward recognition justice is associated with the rise of identity politics.

References

  1. "recognition | Definition of recognition in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  2. "Narcissistic personality disorder - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  3. "Definition of RECOGNITION". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  4. Taylor, Charles (1992). "The politics of recognition".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. "Forever Recognize Others' Greatness". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  6. "Recognition is Not Fluffy Stuff: Why Acknowledging Your People is Good for Business - CPHR Manitoba". www.cphrmb.ca. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  7. "The Secret to Motivating Your Team". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  8. Kohn, Alfie (1993). Punished by rewards. Houghton Mifflin Co. pp.  41, 96. ISBN   978-0-618-00181-1.
  9. 1 2 3 Honneth, Axel (2004). "Recognition and Justice: Outline of a Plural Theory of Justice". Acta Sociologica. 47 (4): 351–364. doi:10.1177/0001699304048668. ISSN   0001-6993. JSTOR   4195049. S2CID   145353415.
  10. Whyte, Kyle Powys (2011). "The Recognition Dimensions of Environmental Justice in Indian Country". Environmental Justice. 4 (4): 199–205. doi:10.1089/env.2011.0036. ISSN   1939-4071.
  11. Fraser, Nancy (2014). Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the "Postsocialist" Condition. doi:10.4324/9781315822174. ISBN   9781317828082.
  12. Schweiger, Gottfried (2019-11-29). "Recognition, misrecognition and justice". Ethics & Global Politics. 12 (4): 1693870. doi: 10.1080/16544951.2019.1693870 . ISSN   1654-4951. S2CID   214079331.