The conventional landscape of experimental psychology, often striving for objective measurement and universal truths, finds itself in a profound tension when confronted with the nuanced, fluid critiques offered by queer theories. A widespread understanding of both fields suggests an inherent incompatibility, where the pursuit of fixed categories and reproducible results in psychology seems to clash with the deconstructive, context-dependent perspectives of queer thought. This perceived chasm arises from fundamental differences in how reality is conceived, how knowledge is produced, and the very nature of existence and knowing. The epistemological and ontological frameworks currently prevalent in academic experimental psychology, particularly within European and US-American contexts, struggle to reconcile with the challenges posed by queer theory, which questions stable identities and binary understandings.
Yet, a path exists to bridge this divide, a scientific-theoretical position that permits a queer experimental psychology to emerge not as a contradiction, but as a robust and ethically engaged endeavor. This possibility unfolds through the adoption of Karen Barad's agential realism, a framework that fundamentally reconfigures our understanding of reality and scientific practice. It posits that the world is not composed of pre-existing, independent entities that merely interact, but rather that phenomena, including what we perceive as 'objects' and 'subjects,' emerge through their 'intra-actions.'
From this perspective, the very act of measurement in psychology ceases to be an innocent representation of an independent truth. Instead, it becomes a dynamic process of co-creation. The apparatuses employed in psychological experiments - be they questionnaires, observational protocols, or technological instruments - are not neutral tools for uncovering pre-given facts. They are, in their material-discursive configurations, active participants in enacting the phenomena under investigation. To measure is to perform an intra-action, carving out one of many possible realizations from a field of indeterminacy. This means the boundaries and properties of what is being studied become determinate only through these specific agential intra-actions.
Consequently, agential realism rejects the notion of entity realism, where individual objects with fixed boundaries and properties are presumed to exist independently. Instead, it elevates phenomena as the primary ontic units of reality. This implies a situated reality, where experiences and observations are always bound to specific contexts and material-discursive configurations. A 'reality' is recognized in shared experiences, such as discrimination being profoundly real for certain individuals, but this reality is always contingent on the specific situation and the agential cuts that bring it forth. What is 'real' manifests in phenomena, not in isolated, pre-existing entities.
The concept of agency itself is re-envisioned, no longer understood as an inherent property possessed by an individual, but as a dynamic relationship. Within this relational understanding, the researcher is inextricably entangled with the experimental apparatus, becoming an integral part of the phenomenon under study. This participation is not an unwanted bias to be eliminated, but an inevitable aspect of scientific work that actively contributes to the co-creation of outcomes. The traditional separation between observer and observed dissolves, revealing a profound ethical dimension to scientific inquiry.
This ethico-epistem-ontological understanding demands a significant shift in the researcher's responsibility. It is not merely about the knowledge one seeks to produce, but, in part, for what actually comes into being through the research process. Human practices, as agentive participants, are co-creators of the world being investigated. Therefore, researchers bear the responsibility to justify their methodological decisions and to clarify the ethical implications of the boundary-drawing apparatuses they employ, recognizing that these choices actively shape what is 'measured' and understood.
Furthermore, agential realism introduces the inherent indeterminacy within every phenomenon. This means that the quest for a single, true score in psychological measurement gives way to the recognition of a 'realization potential.' This fundamental indeterminacy has profound implications for how comparisons are made and how replications are understood. If configurations are always part of the things-in-phenomena, then context is not merely an external variable to be controlled or accounted for; rather, all 'parts' are co-creators. This entanglement must be embraced and considered in replication efforts, rather than attempting to eliminate its pervasive impact.
Ultimately, embracing agential realism transforms the entire research endeavor within psychology. It compels the asking of new questions and necessitates a different interpretation of research outcomes. The conventional underlying philosophy of science in quantitative psychology, with its tenets of entity realism, a clear distinction between ontic existence and epistemic approaches, complete causality, and determinism, is challenged. In its place emerges a framework that acknowledges the entanglement of matter and meaning, the situatedness of reality, and the profound ethical responsibilities inherent in the scientific act, thereby providing a robust theoretical foundation for a truly queer-informed experimental psychology.
