The Psychology of Neoliberalism and the Neoliberalism of Psychology

2019/02/07 by Glenn Adams, Sara Estrada‐Villalta, Daniel Sullivan +1 · 300 citations
Psychology · #Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology #Context (archaeology) #Cultural Differences and Values #Epistemology #Mainstream #Neoliberalism (international relations) #Political science #Psychology #Social Representations and Identity #Social psychology #Social science #Sociology

paper · doi:10.1111/josi.12305

published in Journal of Social Issues 75(1), 189-216 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2019/02/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Abstract In this article, we approach the relationship between neoliberalism and psychological science from the theoretical perspective of cultural psychology. In the first section, we trace how engagement with neoliberal systems results in characteristic tendencies—including a radical abstraction of self from social and material context, an entrepreneurial understanding of self as an ongoing development project, an imperative for personal growth and fulfillment, and an emphasis on affect management for self‐regulation—that increasingly constitute the knowledge base of mainstream psychological science. However, as we consider in the second section, psychological science is not just an observer of neoliberalism and its impact on psychological experience. Instead, by studying psychological processes independent of cultural–ecological or historical context and by championing individual growth and affective regulation as the key to optimal well‐being, psychological scientists reproduce and reinforce the influence and authority of neoliberal systems. Rather than a disinterested bystander, hegemonic forms of psychological science are thoroughly implicated in the neoliberal project.

Citations

• The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.
• Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index.
• Positive psychology: An introduction.

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