Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon

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

The management of citizen behavior and action according to some rules of coexistence more or less agreed upon and accepted by society as a whole is carried out by various agents throughout our life. Said surveillance and control would be analyzed in the Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon.

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Understanding the term: what is panopticon?

Although the theory of the panopticon has become popular 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.. Said structure supposed a circular disposition of the cells around a central point, with no communication between them and the inmate being able to be observed from the outside. In the center of the structure would be a watchtower where a single person could see all the cells, being able to control the behavior of all the inmates.

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

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Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon

The idea of ​​the panopticon would be taken up by Michel Foucault, who would see in today's society a reflection of said system. For this author, the passage of time has caused us to immerse ourselves in a disciplinary society, which controls the behavior of its members by imposing surveillance. Thus, power seeks to act through surveillance, control and correction of the behavior of citizens.

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

Self-management and self-censorship

This social model makes the individual self-manage their behavior, hindering the coordination and fusion with the group in order to maintain the behavior within a range established as correct by the power. The formation and action of divergent groups with the established order is difficult.

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 although in ancient times there was a person who exercised power and watched if he was obeyed, now any person or even object can be a representative of said can.

The fact that the surveillance is invisible, that is to say that the people observed cannot determine if are being observed or not, makes individual behavior controlled even when not observed. watch. The subject under possible observation will try to obey the rules imposed in order not to be penalized.

Foucault says that the panopticon expresses very well the type of dominance that occurs in the contemporary age: surveillance mechanisms are introduced into the bodies, they are part of a type of violence that it is articulated through the expectations and meanings that spaces and institutions convey.

The panopticon in society

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

In fact, According to Foucault, all current institutions have this type of organization in one way or another.. While it need not be physically carried out, and even without actual surveillance taking place at any moment, the fact of knowing or believing that we are being watched and evaluated will modify our behavior in the different environments.

For example, Michel Foucault's theory of the panopticon is applicable in the business world, where employees control their behavior in the knowledge that their superiors can view their performances. Such control improves productivity and decreases dispersion. The same thing happens at school, with students self-controlling their behavior when they believe they are being watched by teachers and even with teachers when they consider that they are being watched by the organs managers. The idea is to make the domain blur 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 control of 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 behavior unaffiliated.

Some aspects linked to Psychology

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

This fact corresponds to the operant conditioning according to which the emission or inhibition of a behavior will be given by the consequences of said action. Thus, the fact of being watched implies, depending on the case, the expectation of a possible reinforcement or punishment if we carry out certain behaviors. This will cause the responses to be carried out that seek to carry out the behavior that causes consequences positive or that avoids the imposition of a punishment, while all behavior that entails consequences will be avoided. aversive

Although it can improve work performance and behavior in certain areas, such constant vigilance can in many cases lead to stress reactions and even episodes of anxiety in people who end up becoming excessively inhibited, thus excessive control being a promoter of behavioral rigidity and psychological discomfort.

Likewise, the imposition of power will generate a high level of reactance in many other peoples, inducing behaviors opposite to those initially intended to be achieved.

Such control can also be conducted in a positive way. The fact of knowing that they are being watched can encourage subjects to make behavior modifications that in the long run can have an adaptive advantage. For example, it can help improve adherence and adherence to a treatment or therapy or even prevent acts such as aggression, harassment or mistreatment. The problem is that many of these modifications are going to be merely superficial and facing the public, not causing changes in attitudes or taking place in the private sphere. The behavioral change is carried out basically by the possible consequences and not by the conviction of the need for a change.

Bibliographic references:

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