Essentials Of Discursive Psychology

This guide explains how to conduct a discursive psychology research project. Such research explores how our use of language results in specific beliefs, versions of reality, and social actions.

A unique and creative textbook that introduces the 'discursiveturn' to a new generation of students, Social Psychology andDiscourse summarizes and evaluates the current state-of-the-artin social psychology. Using the explanatory framework found intypical texts, it provides unparallel coverage on DiscourseAnalytic Psychology in a format that is immediately familiar toundergraduate readers. A timely overview of the breadth and depth of discourseresearch, ideal for undergraduates and also a great resource forpostgraduate research students embarking on a discursiveproject No other text offers the same range of coverage - from the coretopics of social cognition, attitudes, prejudice and relationshipsto lesser known areas such as small group phenomena Includes a host of student-friendly features such as chapteroutlines, key terms, a glossary, activity questions, classicstudies and further reading

Discursive Psychology is the first collection to systematically and critically appraise the influence and development of its foundational studies, exploring central concepts in social psychology such as attitudes, gender, cognition, memory, prejudice, and ideology. The book explores how discursive psychology has accommodated and responded to assumptions contained in classic studies, discussing what can still be gained from a dialogue with these inquiries, and which epistemological and methodological debates are still running, or are worth reviving. International contributors look back at the original ideas in the classic papers, and consider the impact on and trajectory of subsequent work. Each chapter locates a foundational paper in its academic context, identifying the concerns that motivated the author and the particular perspective that informed their thinking. The contributors go on to identify the main empirical, theoretical or methodological contribution of the paper and its impact on consequent work in discursive psychology, including the contributors’ own work. Each chapter concludes with a critical consideration of how discursive psychology can continue to develop. This book is a timely contribution to the advance of discursive psychology by fostering critical perspectives upon its intellectual and empirical agenda. It will appeal to those working in the area of discursive psychology, discourse analysis and social interaction, including researchers, social psychologists and students.

For over thirty years, discursive psychology has offered a robust challenge to cognitivist approaches to psychology, demonstrating the relevance of discursive practices for understanding psychological topics and social interaction. Matters of embodiment – the visceral, sensory, physical aspects of psychology – have, however, so far received much less attention. This book is the first text to address the theoretical and analytical challenges raised by bodies in interaction for discursive psychology. The book brings together international experts, each of which tackles a different topic area and interactional setting to examine embodiment as a social object. The authors consider the issue of subject-object relations and how ‘inner’ psychological subject-side states are constructed and enacted in relation to object-side states through embodied discursive practices. How do bodily processes become particular kinds of embodiment through and within social interaction? How are bodies psychologised as social objects? Moving beyond dualisms of the subject/object that construct an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ psychological state, the book pushes forward contemporary theory and analysis within discursive psychology. Discursive Psychology and Embodiment is therefore an essential resource for researchers across the social sciences working within discourse, social interaction, and the ‘turn to the body’.

"It is the combination of a number of insights about language, and their innovative application to other areas of research, that are the hallmarks of discursive psychology. The book is a persuasive account of the insights that discourse analysis can provide, and the benefits of the discursive approach. It is well written and researched. The discusssion of other psychological, sociological and linguistic perspectives, and the discursive analyses of memories and attribution, should provoke the interest of a wide range of social scientists. This book complements and builds on previous work, and makes a significant contribution to the promotion of this important approach." --Gavin Nobes in Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Discursive Psychology is an accessible, introductory volume that explores the key elements of a discursive approach to psychology. Building on discourse analysis, the authors present an integrated discursive action model which leads to a radical reworking of some of psychology's most central concepts; namely, language, cognition, truth, knowledge, and reality. The implications of a discursive perspective for these topics are explored within the framework of the perceptual-cognitivist emphasis that currently dominates psychology. A particular theme is the reconceptualization of memory and attribution. The authors also examine the communicative and interactional work performed when individuals describe and explain past events, construct factual reports, and attribute mental states. Based on empirical knowledge and research, this volume will be an invaluable tool for students and professionals of psychology, counseling, and communication studies.

Discursive Psychology is a theoretical and analytical approach used by academics and practitioners alike, widely applied, though often lost within the complicated web of discourse analysis. Sally Wiggins combines her expertise in discursive psychology with her clear and demystifying pedagogical approach to produce a book that is committed to student success. This textbook shows students how to put the methodology into practice in a way that is simple, engaging and practical.

In the past decade, new, independent thinking in psychology has merged into an international movement that rejects the traditional "scientific" psychology and the reliance on experimental methodology. The movement is underpinned by the principle that human life is best understood through discourse. This "discursive" psychology has found adherents across all psychological disciplines and has ushered in a comprehensively revised understanding of the subject matter. Discursive Psychology in Practice puts these theoretical insights to work as it investigates concrete problems from decision making, memory, and attribution to emotions, learning, and the self in a discursive light, thus mapping out a vision of a new psychology. Discursive Psychology in Practice will be invaluable to students and academics in all areas of psychology who have an interest in applying a discursive perspective.