Apposition and Defining Terms in Psychology: Examining Communication

in the Discipline
Surprisingly, perhaps, it seems that very little material has been written on
apposition at all, let alone regarding its use within the context of the discipline of
Psychology. What work has been done principally relates to the species of
apposition and how those differing varieties may be set apart from one another, or
else when it is acceptable to make use of one sort of another (Lee, 1952). However,
despite the critical importance of defining terms in Psychology, and appositions
place in classification, there has been no effort to decipher which of the many
branches of the discipline most rely upon the aforementioned (Perrin, 1955). To this
end, I hope to examine both the frequency of use of apposition in the various
branches of Psychology, as well as the ways in which this literary phenomenon is
utilized. According to this purpose, the corpus materials selected represent a
sampling of the various approaches to Psychology (cognitive behavioural,
evolutionary etc.). These articles are largely contemporary, and should give a good
idea of the question as it is relevant to the discipline today. The examination of the
above-mentioned phenomena will allow conclusions to be made regarding the
transmission of knowledge in the discipline of Psychology, and the techniques used
to enable that diffusion (Lee, 1952). Such an endeavour will equally be useful in
determining which branches of Psychology make greatest use of complex definitions
in both diagnostic and educational material. This analysis will in turn allow the
discipline community to gain insight into its own practices going forward.
References
Blakemore, D. (2008). Apposition and Effective Communication. Language and
Literature,17,
37-57.
Confer, J. C., Easton, J. A., Fleischman, D. S., Goetz, C. D., Lewis, D. G., Perilloux, C.,
& Buss, D. M.
(2010). Evolutionary psychology: Controversies,
questions, prospects, and limitations. American Psychologist, 65(2), 110126.
Hockett, C. (1955). Attribution and Apposition. American Speech, 30, 99-102.

Hyland, K. (1998). Boosters, hedges and the negotiation of academic knowledge.

Text, 18(3), 349-382.
Perrin, Porter. (1955). Apposition Again. American Speech, 30, 197-98.
Lee, D. (1952). Close Apposition: An Unresolved Pattern. American Speech, 27, 26875.