Discursive Psychology

"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.

Derek Edwards is Reader in Discursive Psychology in the Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University. He is co-author (with Neil Mercer) of Common Knowledge, (with Jonathan Potter) of Discursive Psychology and (with others) of Ideological Dilemmas.

Jonathan Potter is Professor of Discourse Analysis and Dean of the School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences at Loughborough University. He has studied topics such as scientific argumentation, current affairs television, riots, racism, relationship counselling and child protection helplines. His main focus recently has been on the study of helpline interaction, on interaction during family mealtimes, on the conceptualization of cognition in interaction research, and on issues of psychology and institutions. He a world authority on qualitative methods and has written on discourse analysis and discursive psychology, focus groups, the study of psychological issues. Recently has raised questions about the over-reliance of social scientists on open-ended qualitative interviews. He has taught workshops and short courses on analysis in 10 different countries.