Friends Constructing Friendship: a Discourse Analysis

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Friends Constructing Friendship: A Discourse Analysis by Courtney Chasin A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2008 © Courtney Chasin, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-494-44579-2 UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled “Friends Constructing Friendship: A Discourse Analysis” by Courtney Chasin in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science. ___________________________________________________ Supervisor, Dr. H. Lorraine Radtke, Department of Psychology ___________________________________________________ Dr. Hendrikus Stam, Department of Psychology ___________________________________________________ Dr. Susan Boon, Department of Psychology ___________________________________________________ Dr. Gillian Ranson, Department of Sociology _____________________ Date ii Abstract Twelve pairs of young adult friends were interviewed about friendship, and the transcripts analysed using discourse analysis. In their accounts, participants constructed versions of friendship (e.g., friends not having ulterior motives for their friendship) in many ways, while managing their own moral accountability. They also engaged in significant conversational work in order to construct friendship and romance as distinct relationship categories, addressing issues of sexual attraction and desire between friends, and partners. In doing so, they positioned themselves morally, drawing on the presumption of heterosexuality and the prescription of monogamy in romantic partnerships. At times (i.e., friend moments), participants performed their friendship by addressing each other directly and drawing on locally shared resources. They positioned themselves as insiders (i.e., friends), supported by the interviewer taking up a subject position as an outsider. Implications discussed include approaching friendship as an interaction, and the position of “friend” as meaningful and morally relevant. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis supervisor L. Radtke for her guidance and insight. She taught me more than I could ever express, and without once saying “I told you so.” I would also like to thank H. Stam for his input, and for revealing the zombies in the machine. I will never again look at psychology the same way. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of my other two committee members, S. Boon and G. Ranson, as well as the efforts of everyone else who involved throughout the process. The inspiration for this project came from two very dear friends, N. Baker who introduced me to the awesome power of discourse, and C. Milloy who let me believe I could face it head on. They both helped me discover what friendship means to me. iv Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my mother, J. DeLuzio— a strong and accomplished woman, just as her mother always was and always will be. v Table of Contents Approval Page..................................................................................................................... ii Abstract.............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iv Dedication............................................................................................................................v Table of Contents............................................................................................................... vi Epigraph........................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION & LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................1 Why Study Friendship?....................................................................................................1 Theorising About Friendship...........................................................................................3 Attraction in Friendship...................................................................................................6 Friendship and Romantic Relationships..........................................................................9 Social-Cognitive Approaches ........................................................................................11 Friendship as a Social Construction .............................................................................15 A Discursive Approach ..................................................................................................19 My project ......................................................................................................................21 CHAPTER TWO: METHODS..........................................................................................23 Participants....................................................................................................................23 Recruitment....................................................................................................................24 Procedure.......................................................................................................................25 Analysis..........................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS......................................................................................28 Section One....................................................................................................................28 Friend moments accomplished by drawing on local resources not shared by the interviewer, and by using first person addresses. ............................................28 The importance of the interview context in friend moments, and the violations of interviewer and participant subject positions. .............................................36 Friend moments and safety within the interview context.........................................44 Resistance facing an interviewer trying to understand the inside world of friends. .............................................................................................................50 Conclusion................................................................................................................54 Section Two....................................................................................................................55 Distinguishing between friendship and romantic partnership. .................................55 Friendship as lacking something special, and the privileging of romantic partnerships......................................................................................................61 Managing attraction in friendship. ...........................................................................65 Moral proscription against ulterior motives underlying friendship..........................69 Moral positioning around friendships that include sexual behaviour between friends. .............................................................................................................74 Conclusion................................................................................................................78 vi CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS...................................................79 The Relational Performance of Friendship ...................................................................79 Usefulness of the Research Interview ............................................................................81 Friendship as Morally Relevant ....................................................................................84 Sexual Desire and Behaviour, and the Distinction Between Friend and Partner.........86 Privileging Romantic Partnerships Over Friendships ..................................................88 Scope and Limitations of My Project.............................................................................89 Future Directions...........................................................................................................93 Asexuality and the discursive landscape of friendship.............................................94 Polyamory, and monogamy as a moral resource in the distinction between friend and partner.............................................................................................96 The implications of these alternative subject positions............................................97 Conclusions....................................................................................................................98 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................100 APPENDIX A: RPS ONLINE RECRUITMENT POSTING .........................................110 APPENDIX B: RECRUITMENT POSTER....................................................................111 APPENDIX C: RECRUITMENT HANDBILL ..............................................................112 APPENDIX D: INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION ...................................................113 APPENDIX E: CONSENT FORM .................................................................................114

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