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According to Discursive Psychology, What Do We Miss If We Treat

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According to Discursive Psychology, What Do We Miss If We Treat Name: Henry Lennon Student Number: 08152949 Module Coordinator: Ava Horowitz Module Code: PSY3009M Module: Discourse According to Discursive Psychology, what do we miss if we treat language as merely a window into the mind? Illustrate using one or more example(s) of Discursive Psychology’s shift from the focus on mental processes to a focus on discursive practices. Traditional psychological approaches investigate “identity” by applying essentialist epistemology, notably conceptualising language as communication, which is argued to afford the study of ‘internal’ mental processes (Erikson, 1968; Edwards, 1995). Personhood is therefore conceptualised as a fixed and ongoing phenomenon, measurable independently from the ‘social world’. The Discursive Psychology (DP) approach (Edwards, 1995, 2005; Potter, 2005), however, conceptualising language as action, argues that the social world and its members are constituted through discourse and social practice. Allied to social constructionism (Gergen, 1985; Wilkinson & Kitzinger, 1994) and conversation analysis (CA; Sacks, 1992), DP is a qualitative and ecologically- situated approach, committed to investigating how discursive practices are applied in everyday text and talk to discuss psychological phenomena (Edwards, 2005; Kitzinger, 2006). This essay therefore illustrates how constructionist DP investigates “identity” in everyday talk. It is argued that despite theoretical and methodological critiques (Hammersley, 2003), (constructionist) DP offers an emancipatory framework whereby social and cultural contexts are acknowledged as legitimately constructed in members’ everyday talk. It will be concluded that using DP, “identity” is a rhetorical, discursive, and interactional achievement in talk (Speer & Potter, 2000; Kitzinger, 2005, Shepperd, Coyle, & Hegarty, 2010; Moissinac & Bamberg, 2004). Traditionally, essentialism holds that language is a means of understanding the inner “essence” of “identity”. “To be essentialist is to treat objects as if they have essences or underlying natures that make them the thing that they are...and to treat them as if they have properties that result from these essences” (Barrett, 2001, p.3). Erikson’s (1968) psychosocial theory makes this argument: identity “exists” internally, and using language, developmental crises (“properties”) can be observed and theorised to reflect “identity” development. Erikson’s existential (crisis) questions “is it okay to be me?” or “who am I, what can I be?” are designed to “evaluate” one’s “progress” in “identity” “development” – language is assumed to be communicatable with one’s “innerness”. By contrast, DP argues for “...a shift away from viewing the person as self-contained, having identity, and generating his/her individuality and character as a personal identity project toward focusing instead on the process in which identity is done or made – as constructed in discursive activities” (Bamberg, De Fina, & Schiffrin, 2010, p.178). Language may be treated as performative in its own right, whereby talk reveals how “identity” is “used” in conversation – language as action (Edwards, 2005). The prevailing strength of DP is the provision of an empirical approach (vis-à-vis CAs systematic framework), equipped to study the discursive management of “identity”, with the epistemological lens of constructionist relativity (Gergen, 1985). Thus, this essay will discuss instances where “sexual identities” are invoked, and analyse how they are applied discursively. “Sexual identities” are of notable importance, because arguments forwarded by Kitzinger (2005) and Wilkinson and Kitzinger (1994) suggest that the construction and disclosure of “sexuality(ies)” involve a complex and variable utility of context-dependent discursive resources. 1 | P a g e Name: Henry Lennon Student Number: 08152949 Module Coordinator: Ava Horowitz Module Code: PSY3009M Module: Discourse DPs focus on “social action” in “identity” talk reveals a number of observations ignored by essentialist theory. In Extract:1, Ben simultaneously deploys two discursive resources, to (1) present his “identity” as heterosexual, whilst also (2) discounting the plausibility of heterosexism. Thus Ben’s “identity” talk is caught between an ideological dilemma (Billig, 1996), which he carefully resolves by the end of the extract. The interviewer, Sue, opens an adjacency pair with a question, which Ben replies with an agreement, followed by an upgraded assessment (“Yeah I did. I had a bloody good time”, line:2, see Pomerantz, 1984). His cautious, monologic answer spans 16 lines, with consistent pauses in non-transition-relevant-places (Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974), and frequent self-repairs (Schegloff, 1992). His stance on “gay male” versus “straight male” “identities” is expressed using a contrast agent (lines:12-17; Drew, 1987), whereby “men” saying “excuse me darling” and acting “obviously more feminine” are contrasted by alternative expressions (“excuse me mate”, “coming through”, lines:14/15). He subsequently distances himself from condoning men “coming onto him” (lines:17/18) by being “straight and honest” that he is “not interested” (lines:20/21). Ben’s response is packed with actions that demonstrate a negotiation of ideological dilemma – he aligns himself with heteronormative “identity”, whilst distancing himself from the extremes heterosexism may present to an interviewer he does not know (Speer & Potter, 2000). Thus, this negotiation is comparable to Wetherall and Potter’s (1992) “I’m not racist but” maxims; utilising multiple arguments, they become entwined and difficult to argue against – Ben’s rhetoric strengthens his both heterosexual and anti-heteronormative “identity” assertions, due to this discursive resource application. To psychosocially investigate Ben’s “identity progress” existentially (Erikson, 1968) fails to address Ben’s discourse – in Extract:1, he carefully but clearly constructed his “identity” using subtle conversational resources – a DP approach addresses this, whereas the million-pound question above clumsily bypasses these subtleties by asking only the ‘big question’. Extract:1 (From Speer & Potter, 2000) 1 Sue: Did you enjoy go to the gay club? 2 Ben: Yeah I ↑did. I had a bloody good ↑time. 3 Sue: Was it a different kind of experience from a: 4 (.) ( ) the pubs you’re used to? 5 Ben: Erm (2.0) yeah it was a different experience 6 but (1.0) it didn’t bother me (0.4) you know. 7 the difference was (.) er:. (1.0) knowing the 8 fact that the: (.) No. It wasn’t knowing the 9 fact. (0.4) >You know< it wouldn’t have 10 bothered me if I didn’t know. (0.4) The 11 difference was they’re very (0.4) ∧↑erm∧ 12 (2.0) well. the fact that you get men (.) 13 going past you and saying “excuse me darling” 14 (.) instead of (.) “excuse me mate” or (0.6) 15 “coming through” or what- you know, they’re 16 (0.8) ob(h)viously more feminine, a lot of 17 Them. (1.0) Or er (.) you know, you get men 18 coming onto you sometimes. (0.8) But it 19 doesn’t bother me. (.) You know, I’ll be 20 straight and honest with any ∧and say∧ 21 “I’m sorry I’m not interested”. 2 | P a g e Name: Henry Lennon Student Number: 08152949 Module Coordinator: Ava Horowitz Module Code: PSY3009M Module: Discourse “Identity” talk may advance a speaker’s cause, but conditionally relies upon participants applying relevant identities to the interaction in question – inappropriately applied or unintentional responses risk the integrity of the conversation. As Clark (2002) reminds, conversations are based on the establishment of participant agreement, hence why repair vigorously occurs when agreement-alignment is lost (Schegloff, 1992). In Extract:2, Ali initiates an insertion-sequenced adjacency pair (line:1) to develop the already-established conversation. May’s response answers in the preferred format (line:2, Atkinson & Heritage, 1984), whilst also providing “identity” insight into her partner’s influence on her decision. However, this answer is assessed by Ali (“oh”, line:3) and the conversation lapses for nearly an hour (lines:3/4). Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974) attribute this occurrence to derive from the non-application of their turn-taking rules (Ali does not select a new speaker, May does not self-select, and Ali does not continue to speak.) Thus, although no discursive resource was directly applied here, it is apparent that discursive management of psychological business requires masterful application of “sexual identity” to ensure that the conversation is enriched, and not stunted. Extract:2 (From Kitzinger, 2005) 1 Ali: How long have you been vegetarian? 2 May: Since I met my partner. She’s vegetarian. 3 Ali: Oh. ((turns to person seated other side of her and does not 4 address May again over the course of nearly 1 hr)) “Identity” can also be used to position talk, both rhetorically to justify actions to the listener, and as an informative tool to enable listener understanding of “said” action. Extract:3 documents how Dave and Katie’s recipient design (Sacks et al., 1974) provides the interviewer with a pre-sequence of the context surrounding their potentially-questionable kiss (lines:1-7). Inherently, this sequence is also lined with talk surrounding the “identity” of the aggressors (the “homophobic twats”, line:3) and the speakers’ actions as not reflecting their own “identity” (“had to pretend to be Dave’s girlfriend”, line:2). Throughout Extract:3, Dave opens two adjacency pairs (lines:1/6), with Katie answering, thus recounting the details of the event. Lines:7-12,
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