Michel Foucault’s theory of the panopticon

On how political and economic power controls us without our being able to notice it.

Power and its control and management are elements that are constantly present in society and institutions.

The management of the behavior of citizens and the performance according to rules of coexistence more or less agreed and accepted by society as a whole is carried out by various agents throughout our lives. Such surveillance and control would be analyzed in Michel F. F.'s theory of the panopticon. Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon..

Understanding the term: what is panopticon?

Although the theory of the panopticon has been popularized thanks to Michel Foucault, the panopticon concept was devised by Jeremy Bentham as a mechanism applicable to the control of the behavior of prisoners in prisons.

The panopticon itself is a form of architectural structure designed for jails and prisons.. This structure involved a circular arrangement of cells around a central point, without communication between them and the inmate could be observed from the outside. In the center of the structure would be a watchtower where a single person could view all the cells, being able to control the behavior of all inmates.

These, however, could never be aware of whether they were being watched or not, since the tower was built in such a way that from the outside it was seen as opaque, not knowing where he was or what the watchman was doing. Thus, the inmate could be watched at every moment, having to control his behavior in order not to be punished.

Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon

The idea of the panopticon was taken up by Michel Foucault, who saw in today's society a reflection of this system. For this author, the passage of time has caused us to submerge ourselves in a disciplinary society, which controls the behavior of its memberswhich controls the behavior of its members through the imposition of surveillance. Thus, power seeks to act through surveillance, control and correction of the behavior of citizens.

Panopticism is based, according to Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon, on being able to impose behaviors on the population as a whole based on the idea that we are being watched. It seeks to generalize typical behavior within ranges considered normal, punishing deviations or rewarding good behavior.

Self-management and self-censorship

This social model makes the individual self-manage his behavior.This makes it difficult to coordinate and merge with the group in order to maintain behavior within a range established as correct by the powers that be. The formation and action of groups diverging from the established order is hindered.

The use of mechanisms based on the same principle of the panopticon means that power does not have to be exercised and manifested continuously, since while in ancient times there was a person who exercised power and watched whether it was obeyed, now any person or even object can be a representative of that power.

The fact that surveillance is invisible, i.e. that the persons being observed cannot determine whether they are being observed or not, means that individual behavior is controlled even when it is not being monitored. The subject under possible observation will try to obey the imposed norms in order not to be sanctioned.

Foucault says that the panopticon expresses very well the type of domination that takes place in the contemporary ageThe panopticon: surveillance mechanisms are introduced into bodies, they are part of a type of violence that is articulated through the expectations and meanings conveyed by spaces and institutions.

The panopticon in society

For Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon, the panopticon-like structure in which some agents enjoy the power to monitor and sanction the behavior of the rest without the latter being able to discern whether or not they are being watched is not limited only to the prison environment in which Bentham imagined it.

In fact, according to Foucault, all current institutions have in one way or another this type of organization.. Although it is not necessary that it is physically carried out, and even without actual surveillance at some point, the fact of knowing or believing that we are being watched and evaluated will modify our behavior in different environments.

For example, Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon is applicable in the corporate world, where employees control their behavior in the knowledge that their superiors can visualize their actions. Such control improves productivity and reduces dispersion. The same happens in schools, with students self-monitoring their behavior when they believe they are being watched by teachers, and even with teachers when they believe they are being watched by the governing bodies. The idea is to blur the dominance in the dynamics of power and social relations.

For Foucault, everything today is linked through surveillance, from participation in different institutions to our daily lives. Even in areas such as sex, the control mechanisms of today's society are visible, seeking to control our drives through the normalization of sexuality.. This has been reinforced with the birth of information technologies, in which cameras and surveillance systems have been implemented and improved in order to control the behavior of others.

Some aspects related to Psychology

Both the structure designed by Bentham and Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon have an important consequence at the psychological level: the emergence of self-control of the subjects due to the presence of surveillance..

This fact corresponds to operant conditioning according to which the emission or inhibition of a behavior will be given by the consequences of that action. Thus, the fact of knowing that we are being watched implies, depending on the case, the expectation of a possible reinforcement or punishment if we perform certain behaviors. This will provoke responses that seek to perform the behavior that provokes positive consequences or avoids the imposition of a punishment, while any behavior that entails aversive consequences will be avoided.

Although it can improve work performance and behavior in certain areas, such constant vigilance can in many cases give rise to stress reactions and even episodes of anxiety in people who end up inhibiting themselves excessively, with excessive control promoting behavioral rigidity and psychological discomfort.

Likewise, the imposition of power will generate a high level of reactance in many other people, inducing behaviors opposed to those initially intended.In addition, the imposition of power will generate a high level of reactance in many other people, inducing behaviors opposite to those initially intended.

Such control can also be conducted in a positive way. The fact of knowing that they are being watched can incite subjects to make behavioral modifications that in the long run can have an adaptive advantage. For example, it may help to improve adherence and follow-up to treatment or therapy or even prevent acts such as aggression, harassment or abuse. The problem is that many of these modifications will be merely superficial and in the public eye, not leading to attitudinal changes or taking place in the private sphere. Behavioral change is basically carried out because of the possible consequences and not because of the conviction of the need for change.

Bibliographical references:

• Foucault, M. (1975). Surveiller et punir. Éditions Gallimard: Paris