L9 - Discursive Psychology

Question 1

What type of conversation does Discursive Psychology include?

Answer 1

Written text and talk

e.g. Written transcripts, parliamentary talk, written transcripts

Question 2

Is DP viewed as a qualitative methodology?

Answer 2

Yes, but not simply, it is fundamentally different from the positivist and realist epistemology of mainstream psychology

Question 3

What does social constructionist mean?

Answer 3

It is not a realist approach to understanding human experience.

Question 4

What does ‘non-cognitivist’ mean for discursive psychology?

Answer 4

It refrains from making cognitive assumptions

Question 5

What features are involved in discursive psychology?

Answer 5

Social constructionist,

non-cognitivist,

fundamentally reworks topics central to traditional psychology such as (self and identity, attitudes, attributions, memory, prejudice/racism)

Question 6

Describe the topics that DP includes

Answer 6

Question 7

Whose philosophy is DP based on?

Answer 7

Wittgenstein

Question 8

What did Wittgenstein mean when he talked about ‘the interactive nature of language’?

Answer 8

Language is interactive - it is a form of social practice rather than a fixed system of meanings

“Language is not a fixed system of meanings, but a flexible system of meaning.” - people can play language games and people can use words differently depending on what they want to achieve with the word.

Question 9

How is Wittgenstein’s view of language different from the ‘dominant view’?

Answer 9

The dominant view is that there are two parallel systems, cognition and language - that cognition finds expression through language.

Wittgenstein - “Language is itself the vehicle of thought”

Question 10

Describe John Austin’s speech act theory

Answer 10

1. Action orientation of talk or situated discourse

Emphasizes how people use language ‘to do things’ and to ‘get things done’

2. People use language to persuade, argue, blame, excuse, justify etc.

• Language is therefore functional*
• People view language as a form of communication that expresses thoughts and feelings, but analysing conversation shows that language is the primary medium of which things get done. Language enables people to get on with their lives​*

Question 11

John Austin says that language is _______ and _______.

Answer 11

Action-Oriented and Functional

Question 12

Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis focuses on…

Answer 12

the language and syntax in everyday life and conversation

Question 13

What is conversation analysis (CA) - ‘talk-in-interaction’?

How does CA analyse this?

Answer 13

Everyday conversation is orderly in its sequential turn-by-turn organization.

CA attends to the ways in which participants talk is oriented to the practical concerns of the social interaction

How participants treat the interaction, what they treat as relevant, how they display understanding, disagreement etc. in their talk

Question 14

What did Foucault say about ‘disciplines of knowledge’

Answer 14

Disciplines of knowledge have developed into powerful ‘discourses’ that regulate our behaviour and experiences

Question 15

What did Foucault say about ‘Discourses’?

Answer 15

They shape our everyday understandings of the world and our subjectivities - the very people we ultimately become

Question 16

What does Foucaults ‘subjectivities’ refer to?

Answer 16

Our identity, the very people we ultimately become

Question 17

Whats the first core principle in DP

Answer 17

Discourse is constitutive

Question 18

What criticism of traditional psychology regarding how it sees the world does DP have?

Answer 18

It criticises the perceptual-cognitive metatheory at its core that treats objects in the world or ‘reality’ as an unproblematic given.

The words and language we use depicts events in particular ways, so language doesn’t objectively shape the world

Question 19

Describe the perceptual cognitivism metatheory that underpins the theoretical framework that psychology is based on

Answer 19

World exists (reality) -> we percieve the world (perception) -> this leads to discussion of the world (discourse)

Treats language or discourse as reflecting the world ‘out there’

Language is seen as neutral and transparent medium, passive and ‘doing nothing’.

Language is seen as ‘reflective’ and not ‘real’

Question 20

What does DP believe is the true structure of the world rather than perceptual cognitivism?

Answer 20

Language (discourse) leads to - what we see (perception) - and this shapes our reality (reality)

Question 21

DP believes ____ actively constructs and builds versions of the world

Answer 21

Language

Question 22

What is the second core principle in DP?

Answer 22

Discourse is functional

Question 23

What is the third core principle in DP?

Answer 23

Discourse is put together with discursive resources and practices

Question 24

What are interpretive repertoires?

Answer 24

Recurrently used set of metaphors, arguments and terms to describe actions and events

Question 25

What are “discursive strategies” and devices?

Answer 25

Descursive strategies and devised are used in talk to build accounts as factual, objective and disinterested

Question 26

What are rhetorical commonplaces?

Answer 26

Clinchin arguments premised on commonsense notions and idioms

Question 27

What is the 4th core principle in DP?

Answer 27

Discourse constructs identities for speakers

Question 28

How is DP’s 4th principle ‘discourse constructs identities for speakers’ different from traditional psychological models of identity?

Answer 28

Traditional models studies identity through questionnaire scales.

DP thinks we have multiple and shifting identities are brought into being through discourse.

• DP believe that psychologists search for a ‘core identity’ is wrong and people change their identities based on the environment that they are in.*
• People can choose to change their identity depending on who they are talking to.*
• To try and find ‘who the real Max is’ is seen as reductionist in DP as my identity is constantly changing*