Ana Caetano

The main goal of this article is to analyse the relationship between reflexivity and action along three axes. The first entails the discussion of a reflexive action model that explores the combination of factors, processes and mechanisms which explain the guiding role reflexivity can play with regard to practices, in specific circumstances. The second axis concerns situations in which reflexivity does not act as an orientation mechanism and may even have the opposite effect, as a source of disorientation and paralysis of practices. The third relates to the production of social change and reproduction that may arise from the exercise of reflexivity. The whole discussion points to the mediation role that reflexivity assumes in the relationship between structure and agency, i.e. in the way structural enablements and constraints are received, filtered and mobilised by subjects in the subjective definition and reflexive implementation of their personal projects.

Biographical research has a long tradition in social sciences. Being an incredibly dynamic interdisciplinary field, it has evolved in its core mission to study the links between individuals and society, strongly anchored in its tradition while also experimenting new approaches. In this paper we discuss a number of challenges resulting from this noteworthy development (theoretical, methodological, object-related and singularity-related) and the creative strategies put into practice by social scientists to answer and overcome them (in observing subjectivity, in the methodological devices implemented and in the analytical procedures applied). These issues and creativity are transversal to the biographical research field (also in its connection to the life course perspective) and are particularly present in the 11 articles brought together in this themed volume of Contemporary Social Science. Although coming from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and different parts of the world, and developing approaches focused on heterogeneous research topics and methodologies, these papers illustrate how challenging biographical research can be and how resourceful, imaginative and innovative social scientists need to be to overcome those issues.

O léxico das crises biográficas. O objetivo central deste artigo é discutir e apresentar um modelo de análise sociológica de crises biográficas, ou seja, de fases de vida dos indivíduos marcadas pela quebra dos quadros habituais de ação e pensamento, com impactos substanciais nos seus percursos. Num primeiro momento são mapeados os principais contributos da sociologia para o estudo desta problemática, nomeadamente identificando o que na literatura pode ser enquadrado no conceito de crise. É nesta discussão que assenta, numa segunda parte, a identificação dos principais eixos analíticos que estruturam as dimensões de análise sociológica das crises biográficas.

Margaret Archer’s work suggests that reflexivity is exercised through internal dialogues, in which subjects talk to themselves in order to clarify ideas, mull over problems, make plans, and take decisions. The present article argues that the exercise of reflexive competences is not limited to the privacy of individual minds, but that there is also an external component, which can lend the concept a broader analytical scope. Using the results of qualitative research focused on the social mechanisms of personal reflexivity, including biographical interviews, the article examines two other modalities of exercising reflexivity: external conversations in interaction contexts and writing practices (autobiographical, creative, communicational, and organisational). It also looks at the differential activation of reflexivity according to both the subjects’ different positions in social space and inter- and intra-contextual variations.

Resumo Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar a centralidade dos processos de socialização familiar na formação da reflexividade individual, com base numa abordagem biográfica. Uma visão diacrónica dos percursos individuais é crucial para compreender não só o modo como a capacidade de cada pessoa se pensar a si mesma no mundo é desenvolvida ao longo do curso de vida, sendo estruturada decisivamente no seio da família, mas também a forma como o impacto da socialização familiar na formação de competências reflexivas ocorre diferenciadamente de acordo com o enquadramento socioeconómico da família. Palavras-chave: reflexividade; socialização familiar; biografia. The world as we see it: family socialisation and reflexivity Abstract The main goal of this article is to analyse the centrality of family socialisation processes in the formation of personal reflexivity, using a biographical approach. A diachronic overview on individual lives is crucial to understand not only how the ability to think about oneself is developed throughout the life course and is structured in a significant way within the family, but also how the impact of family socialisation in the formation of personal reflexivity competences occurs differently according to the family's social background. Résumé Cet article vise à analyser la centralité des processus de socialisation familiale dans la formation de la réflexivité individuelle, basée sur une approche biographique. Une vision diachronique des parcours individuels est cruciale pour comprendre non seulement la manière dont la capacité de chaque personne se pense elle-même dans le monde est développée au fil du cours de la vie, en étant structuré de manière décisive au sein de la famille, mais également la manière dont l'impact de la socialisation familiale sur la formation de compétences réflexives se produit de manière différente selon le cadre socioéconomique de la famille.

Personal reflexivity is understood as a social competence that makes life in society possible. All individuals reflect upon themselves, taking their social circumstances into consideration, though they do not necessarily do it in the same way. The formation, exercise, and causal efficacy of reflexivity depend on the social processes and contexts involved. This article focuses precisely on the differential component of the exercise of reflexivity. A typology of reflexivity profiles, consisting of five categories, is presented and discussed: self-referential, pragmatic, functional, resistant, and resilient. This typological analysis is the result of sociological research centered on the social mechanisms of personal reflexivity. By means of biographical interviews, the goal was to understand how people think about themselves, what meanings they ascribe to their past choices, how they interpret their present situation, and what future projections they create according to their social circumstances, contexts, and relationships.

This article examines the methodological device used in a sociological study that analyses empirically the concept of personal reflexivity. Taking into account the specific challenges of such an investigation the paper emphasises the potential of a biographical approach and the concrete parameters of its use. It is based on the experience of in-depth interviews conducted in more than one session and considers the different phases and elements of the empirical research process. Topics such as epistemological concerns, preparation of the interview guide, methodological cautions, the research relationship and the interview setting are at the centre of the discussion.

Aquilo que pensamos e o modo como o fazemos faz parte de quem somos e de como nos relacionamos com as outras pessoas. Refletimos sobre o que aconteceu, avaliamos opções tomadas, interpretamos o dia-a-dia, descodificamos o que nos rodeia, projetamos o futuro. É isto a reflexividade individual, que consiste no objeto deste livro. Sozinhas ou acompanhadas, silenciosamente nas suas mentes ou em situação de interação, as pessoas dialogam consigo mesmas e com os outros para fazerem sentido do que são no mundo. A pesquisa aqui apresentada explora diferentes formas através das quais, no entrecruzamento de fatores relacionados com as origens sociais, os posicionamentos de classe, os processos de socialização e as experiências em várias esferas de vida, esta capacidade reflexiva é formada, exercida e tem efeitos nos percursos biográficos. A reconstituição de histórias de vida de pessoas com trajetos distintos permitiu perceber que a reflexividade faz a ponte entre o mundo exterior e a vida interna, ou seja, entre, por um lado, os constrangimentos e possibilidades dos nossos enquadramentos sociais, e, por outro, aquilo que deles fazemos nas nossas práticas e projetos.