L10 - Discursive Psychology Flashcards
What is discursive psychology (DP) concerned with examining?
The ‘constitutive’ nature of discourse
(written text and talk)
What ‘Doise’ level of analysis does DP look at?
level 4: ideological
the way we engage with each other at a broader ideological level of analysis
Does DP use ‘qualitative methodology’?
No
- It is fundamentally different from mainstream psychology in the way it views language*
- Preference for ‘naturally occurring’ data (i.e. comments and media)*
Is discursive psychology (DP) social constructionist or cognitivist?
Social constructionist
(non-cognitivist)
What is reality according to discursive psychology (DP)?
Reality is constructed through the meaning we give to words and is constructed through interaction.
Does DP believe that objects in the world are reality?
No
All objects, events, people etc. are constructed as they are talked about in interaction
What is the behaviour that DP focuses on?
Talk (conversation)
Are DP researchers interested in beliefs?
No
They are interested in how the ‘talk’ about their so-called beliefs
What is ‘situated discourse’ in DP?
The ‘action orientation of talk’
how people use language to ‘do things’ or ‘get things done’
Why is language ‘functional’ according to DP?
People use language to do things
persuade, excuse, justify etc.
DP History
Wittgenstein (1953) believed that language is a form of ‘social practice’ rather than a fixed system of meanings that are represented in the world.
True or False
True
Did Wittgenstein believe that there are two cognitive phenomena - cognition and language?
No
- He thought ‘language itself is the vehicle of thought’*
- (thinking happens through talk)*
DP history
John Austin’s speech act theory (1962) argued that because people use language to persuade, argue, blame, excuse etc language is therefore ______
functional
History of DP
What does ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (CA) study?
The use of language and conversation in its everyday natural settings
focused on the ordering of everyday language and the practical consequences for people
Which type of analysis looks at the minute details of conversation (including when a breath is taken, pauses in conversation, sequential turn ordering of conversation)
conversation analysis
History of DP
Who was it who argued that the historical emergence of disciplines and knowledge which develop into powerful ‘discourses that regulate our behaviour and experience?
Also, that ‘discourses’ shape our everyday understandings of the world and our subjectivities - the very people we ultimately become?
Michel Foucault
What did Foucault believe about the truth of ‘disorders’?
What is deemed as a ‘disorder’ is a social construct that has been given legitimacy by those in power and the knowledge institutions and is not necessarily ‘true’.
What are the 4 core principles of discourse psychology (DP)?
- Discourse is constitutive
- Discourse is functional
- Discourse is put together with discursive resources and practices
- Discourse constructs identities for speakers
Explain the DP principle that ‘discourse is constitutive’.
2) How does this contrast to traditional psychology?
Objects, events, people etc are constructed as they are talked about in interaction.
2) Traditional psychology treats objects in the world as ‘reality’ and is seen as an unproblematic given.
reality -> perception -> discourse
What type of psychological theory sees discourse this way?
Perceptual cognitivism
(cognitive psychology)
discourse -> perception -> reality
What psychological theory sees discourse this way?
Discursive Psychology
Explain the DP principle that discourse is functional.
Talk is a social practice that accomplishes social actions in the world
(focus is on the discourse itself; how it is organized and what it is doing)
The third core principle in DP of discourse is put together with discursive resources and practices.
What are the three discursive resources and practices?
1. Interpretative repertoires - (recurrently used set of metaphors, arguments and terms to describe actions and events)
2. Discursive strategies and devices - (which are used in talk to build accounts as factual, objective and disinterested
3. Rhetorical commonplaces - (clinching arguments premised on commonsense notions and idioms)
Explain the core principle in DP of discourse constructs identities for speakers.
We create our identities through discourse. We have many identities that shift depending on the context.
People are positioned (in terms of power) by particular ways of talking, but people also make active choices about the identities they mobilise in particular settings.
