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Re‐reading Discourse and Social Psychology : Transforming social psychology
Author(s) -
Potter Jonathan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02085.x
Subject(s) - normative , discursive psychology , psychology , epistemology , social psychology , naturalism , context (archaeology) , theme (computing) , generalization , focus (optics) , reading (process) , naturalistic observation , sociology , discourse analysis , linguistics , paleontology , philosophy , physics , computer science , optics , biology , operating system
This paper considers one theme in the contemporary legacy of Potter and Wetherell's (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology . It overviews the context that led to that book and considers a series of critical responses from both experimental and critical/qualitative social psychologists. It refutes criticisms and corrects confusions. Focusing on contemporary discursive psychology, it highlights (a) its rigorous use of records of actual behaviour; (b) its systematic focus on normative practices. In methodological terms, it (a) highlights limitations in the use of open‐ended interviews; (b) considers the way naturalistic materials provide access to participants’ own orientations and displays; (c) builds a distinctive logic of sampling and generalization. In theoretical terms, it (a) highlights the way discourse work can identify foundational psychological matters; (b) offers a novel approach to emotion and embodiment; (c) starts to build a matrix of dimensions which are central to the constructing and recognizing of different kinds of social actions. It now offers a fully formed alternative social psychology which coordinates theory and method and a growing body of empirical work.