Discursive psychology - the direction of social constructionism , a type of discourse analysis . Discursive psychology describes and cognizes psychic phenomena in the process of social interaction through language.
Content
History
It is believed that the concept arose in the second half of the 1980s when the Discourse and Rhetoric Group (DARG) formed at Loughborough University, UK. The founding work of Jonathan Potter and Margaret Weatherly was “Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behavior” in 1987. The book had a significant impact on contemporaries: for example, Charles Antaki notes in the journal Times Higher Education Supplement (1987) that “Potter and Weatherly developed a completely new vision of social psychology that will help her escape from sterile laboratories and traditional mentalism. ” [one]
The name "discursive psychology" was proposed by Jonathan Potter and Derek Edwards in the late 1990s. Since then, this direction has developed through research in social psychology , philosophy, linguistics and sociology.
Discursive psychology appeared after the so-called “discursive turn” in the social sciences and humanities. In many ways, it contradicts classical science and inevitably causes disputes with related trends in the psychological sciences. In contrast to cognitive psychology , which studies information processes in an individual framework, discursive psychology places social interaction at the center of its paradigm, seeing the subject of study on a social plane.
Key
In contrast to the approach of other currents of psychology to discourse as a reflection of people's thoughts, intentions and motives , discursive psychology believes that discourse does not reflect reality, but indirectly creates it using linguistic means. Discursive psychology does not rely on the study of personality directly, but on indirect evidence of certain attitudes and beliefs found in written and oral speech. Rum Harre , one of the first theorists of discursive psychology, notes that everyday language is the most important source of knowledge of the human psyche, since the study of a person should take into account the inclusion of personality in a cultural and social context, not limited to the description of neural processes [2] .
In the book "Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behavior", the main principles of discursive psychology were formed:
- The principle of constructivity: discourse is constructed with words and constructs the social world itself.
- The principle of intentionality: the discourse is focused on actions and social practices.
- The principle of situationality: discursive actions are derived from communicative, rhetorical and institutional situations.
Thus, based on these principles, it is assumed that psychological phenomena are constructed, oriented and understood in the process of social contacts. Personality continuously creates its identity in society, which is why it cannot be thought of separately from it. It is argued that mental processes are of a communicative nature, and cognition is a set of symbolic language tools, which actually contrasts discursive psychology with a cognitive approach to understanding the language.
One of the specific tasks of discursive psychology is the selection of interpretation repertoires. Under the repertoire of interpretation is understood a specific set of concepts that evaluates and describes social phenomena, events and actions. It is easily culturally recognizable, often includes cliches and stereotypes , local and flexible, can be formed on the basis of specific metaphors or figures of speech.
Bibliography
- Edwards, D (1997) Discourse and Cognition . London: Sage.
- Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1992). Discursive Psychology ( ISBN 0-8039-8442-1 ) London: Sage.
- Potter, J. and Edwards, D. (2001). The New handbook of language and Social Psychology .
- Potter, J. & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and social psychology: Beyond attitudes and behavior . London: Sage
- Busygina N. P. “Discursive turn” in psychological studies of consciousness // Advisory Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2010, 1, p. 55-82
- Kasavin I. T. Discourse analysis and its application in psychology // Questions of Psychology, 2007, 6, p. 97-119
- Kutkova E. S. Discourse analysis of emotions and positioning theory in the study of social events // Psychological studies. 2014.V. 7, No. 34.P. 6.
- Pereverzev E. V. Discursive Psychology