Discursive and Psychosocial? Theorising a Complex Contemporary Subject

Abstract

This article outlines one tradition of qualitative research in social psychology, that of discourse analysis and discursive research. It proposes that the tradition offers an alternative conceptualisation of a psychosocial subject to accounts which draw on psychoanalytic theorising. The article reviews some of the problems around conceptualising a subject in discursive terms, then sets out some resolutions. It outlines a narrativediscursive approach to subjectivity and proposes that this is consistent with a psychosocial project to explore the person as inseparable from their social contexts. The narrativediscursive conceptualisation admits of agency and change, avoiding over-complete accounts of subjectification, while retaining the critical and political focus of the discursive tradition.It is also consistent with sociological theorisations of the subjects of late capitalism and neoliberalism. The article discusses an example of narrative-discursive analysis from research on identities of residence and relationships to place.

Critical social psychology and interdisciplinary studies of personal life: Greater than the sum of its parts

“…Evaluations of self as a family member are pervasive in mundane social life, including in situations when family seems very distant or absent, and in situations where these assumptions are unwelcome, oppressive, or irrelevant. In studying the routine, taken for granted, practical knowledge articulated in everyday accounts which characterise practice theory approaches more generally (Molloy, ), the field of sociology of personal life is effectively pushed into closer alignment with what might be considered process‐oriented critical social psychology approaches (e.g., Brown & Stenner, ; Taylor, ; Wetherell, ). Underpinning such approaches are a commitment to notions, such as becoming and emergence, where social formations and identity‐making follow patterns, but are inherently contingent, because reflexive, intersubjective meaning‐making is perpetual.…”

“…As Stephanie Taylor () demonstrates, the field of psychosocial research is diverse, but is brought together through an interest in the connections between subjectivities and societies. In what follows, I make use of and explain the advantages of discursive and narrative traditions of psychosocial analysis (Mcavoy, ; Scully, ; Taylor, ; Wetherell, ), but there are other forms of psychosocial research which sociologists could use (Taylor, ).…”

“…As Stephanie Taylor (2017) demonstrates, the field of psychosocial research is diverse, but is brought together through an interest in the connections between subjectivities and societies. In what follows, I make use of and explain the advantages of discursive and narrative traditions of psychosocial analysis (Mcavoy, 2015;Scully, 2015;Taylor, 2015;Wetherell, 2008), but there are other forms of psychosocial research which sociologists could use (Taylor, 2017). Whilst Rose's analysis, in common with other sociological texts (Giddens, 1991), makes links between individualisation and therapy discourses, his work stands out in its emphasis on the changes in subjectivity required to enable psy-societies (Rose, 1996(Rose, , 1999 as well as other factors, such as globalisation or technological changes (for example, Beck, 1992).…”

Psychoanalytic Approaches to Qualitative Psychology

“…In particular, steps 7 and 8 below overlapped 27 considerably during the research process as we sought to root the psychoanalytic interpretation of narratives in the previous levels of analysis (particularly in the field notes and the 'poetic' reading or linguistic analysis of the text). There are many examples of discourse analysis; for this study we drew mainly on Gee's (1999) approach which has since been further developed (Gee, 2014 Taylor, 2015;McAvoy, 2015 andScully, 2015) 5. Identify core narratives in the interview selected for their emotionality or 'breaches'.…”

“…On the face of it, this is congruent with a psychoanalytic understanding of how discourse itself might be 'fuelled' by mental states and affects that are not immediately visible in texts. Certainly, the affective turn has seen discursive psychologists paying attention to micro-social processes in the interpersonal context (see Taylor, 2015 for a brief review of these) but the emphasis continues to be on situated affective practices (Wetherell, 2012) that can be found in observable data. While some discursive psychologists are increasingly comfortable with analyses that pay attention to unformulated or non-conscious experiences (see special issue on Researching the Psychosocial of Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2015), responding to critiques ushered in by the affective turn that bemoan a privileging of text and discourse, these unconscious experiences are not conceptualised as dynamic as within the psychoanalytic tradition.…”