Beyond World Images

Abstract

In this article, we outline the analytic limitations of action theories and interpretive schemes that conceive of beliefs as explicit mental representations linked to a desire-opportunity folk psychology. Drawing on pragmatism and practice theory, we recast the notion of belief as a species of habit, with pre-reflexive anticipation the primary mechanism accounting for both the formation of beliefs and their causal influence on action. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in three ways: first, by linking it with recent research on the cognitive and motor development of infants; second, by drawing out a typology of belief states that accounts for a range of different experiential traits; and third, by applying the new model to reinterpret two belief-based phenomena of broad sociological interest: "irrational" decision making and religious conversion.

Karpik in the Bottle: Can Judgment Devices Explain the Demand for Fine Wine?

“…Keep in mind that these models control for income, education, and general lifestyles. The effects of social function and normative expectation are thus likely to reflect a practical sense of the social consequences of using judgment devices rather than some unspecified general cultural dispositions (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1996;Strand and Lizardo 2015). Hypothesis 5b is thus fully supported by the data.…”

“…They do not consciously and deliberately partake in high-status practices with the goal of gaining prestige. Rather, culturally competent consumers have a practical understanding of what is normatively expected and socially valid in a situation (Strand and Lizardo 2015), or, conversely, do not even think of the courses of actions that are inappropriate in a social context (Bourdieu 2007)-whether it is a good idea to bring boxed wine to their boss's dinner party or not, for example (it normally is not). Thus, dispositions generate practices that are objectively linked to social distinction, without necessarily being the product of a conscious and rational strategy (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1996).…”

“…The users of judgment devices also link external rewards and symbolic group boundaries to the practice of fine wine consumption. They seem to have a sense for the rules of the game of fine wine consumption and the social consequences of using judgment devices (Strand and Lizardo 2015;Bourdieu and Wacquant 1996). In short, judgment devices are also "status anchoring devices" (Fourcade 2012, p. 527).…”

Institutionalized behavior, morality and domination: A Habitus in action model of violence

“…Categories, however, can be implicit, encoded through nondeclarative memory systems and involving associations of actors, actions, or situations exhibiting certain features with particular sensory experiences and/or emotions. Implicit categories depend on conditioning and habituation (Strand & Lizardo, 2015) while witnessing or participating in regularized situations.…”

Making Things Possible

“… 16. Dreyfus (1980:8): “ What makes up the background is not beliefs , either explicit or implicit, but habits and customs, embodied in the sort of subtle skills which we exhibit in our everyday interaction with things and people” (see also Dreyfus 2017; Dreyfus and Taylor 2015; Lizardo 2009; Merleau-Ponty 1945; Pagis 2009; Strand and Lizardo 2015). …”