DISCOURSE AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell @ Sage Publications London. Newbury Park. Beverly Hills. New Delhi© 1987 Jonaan Power and Margaret Wesherel) First Published 1987 Allright served. No pat of thi bank my be Feprodaces or utiae in ny form ve by sy means eleesronsc a mectanes, including hewoeopying eecordin, by any iafernetin sHorage and sercval sytem. without pormisson in writing from the Publishers SAGE Publicstions Lit 28 Banner Stect London ECLY #QE SAGE Publications tne 275 South Beverly Orive Beverly Hills, Califia 9212 snd [SAGE Publications Ine 2111 Wes llerest Brive ‘Newbacy Pack, Californin 91320 SAGE Pablicstions Indi Pot Li (C236 Defense Colony New Det 110.024 British Library’ Cataloguing in Publication Dot Pater, Jonathan [Dhicasrie snd social psycholog autudes sed bokaviour ion — Social apes 1M. Wetheell Margaret 9s beyond Library of Congress Catslogue Card Number 87-060198 “asa 0-6039-4035.8, ISBN 0-8029-8056-6 Po Phoxotypsei by System 4 Assocites, Gerurls Cross, Buckinghamshire Printed ia Great Bein by 1. W. Atrowsinth Lid, Brisl Contents Introduction Three illustrative examples Definitions of discourse analysis 1. Foundations of discourse analysis Chomsky and psychology Words as deeds: speech act theory ‘Doing’ talking: ethnomethodology Signs of structure: semiology Social study of language Problems and limitations 28° Unfolding discourse analysis Sone major components of discourse analysis Variable discourse and traditional social psychology ‘The suppression of account variability Attitudes in discourse Beyond aitues 3. Making rules work The ethogenic perspective Problems with ethogenics Discourse analysis and the sucy of scientists’ rules Testability, soccer violence and the analysis of rules 4, Accounts in sequence Accounts anul social psychology Conversation analysis and accounts Accouits in court Discourse and accounts Speaking subjects Traditional images of the self Towards a new conception of the subject The ideological self Discourse analysis ar work on the self Categories in discourse Social psychology and social categories Problems with traditional categorization research 4 18 B2 28 29 2 2 36 39 3 3 56 56 6 i "4 ” 80 87 93 95 95 iol 108 0 16 ny 10Provorypes «nel variability Motives and membership categories Categories, content and community Categories and the construction of discourse 7. From representations to repertoires The theory of social representations Problems with social representations Interpretative repertoires Language, representation and repertoire 8, How to analyse discourse Philosophy, sociology and methodology Ten stages in the analysis of discourse Conclusions 9. Controversial topics and future diccctions Discourse end the svorkd ‘wuler the skull” Discourse and the warld “au there" Discourse and reflexivity The development of discourse analysis ‘Appendix: (ranseription notation References Index 12 126 (32 136 138 139 142 M46 155 158 158 160 05 7 7 80 1g 134 188 190 205 About the authors Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell are both Lecturers in Psychology at the University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY16 9IU. They are the authors (with Peter Stringer) of Soctal Texts and Context: Literanure and Social Psychology (1984) and many scholarly articles.