This masters’ thesis addresses ideological assumptions of psychology as a science and ideological state apparatus with the function of the interpellation of subjects in existing social order through theories of critical psychology and critical ideology theory. In the introduction we conceptualize repetitive crises of psychology as a science, critical psychological perspectives and build the critique of psychology on the basis of ideology critique. Ideology is understood as a complex study subject that is applied in the field of psychology as a complex material structure of social relations that define human praxis and thought forms. In the main part we demonstrate social and historical conditions such as enlightenment, history of madness, evolutionary theory, as well as existing ideologies and political economy that enabled the rise of psychology as a science. Psychology is presenting itself as a positivist natural science under assumptions of objectivity, value neutrality, separation of common sense and ideology. In the discussion about her workings as a science we deconstruct these assumptions and show their untenability. We present in more detail the social-historical conditions of the constitution of psychological subject as a unified, rational individual separated from society and problematise these assumptions. We show congruence of this specific subjectivity with the subject of capitalist economic exchange and expose some problematic consequences of assumptions about subject as individual and dualism of individual and society. Based on historical conditions of emergence and active prepositions, we demonstrate the workings of psychology as an ideological state apparatus: psy-complex as a material ensemble of ideological social practices, thought-forms, rituals, texts, and professionals. We present interpellation of individuals into psychological subjects as a key element of psy-complex. Interpellated subjects voluntary subject and work through ideology thus reproducing productive forces, which is elaborated in the case of psychological subject. Psychology participates in mechanisms of social control through the production of epistemic violence over different knowledges and subjectivities as well as technologies of the social, legitimized with scientific psychological knowledge. We showcase two specific examples: occupational assessment and the concept of mental health, through which we demonstrate simultaneous workings of the discussed aspects of the psy-complex.
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