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.
Although much has been written about discourse analysis in recent years, little of it has been intelligible to the average undergraduate or graduate student. It has become a field in which terminological confusions abound and a bewildering variety of theoretical perspectives compete. Discourse and Social Psychology is the first systematic and easily understood introduction to the theory and application of discourse analysis within the field of social psychology. Beginning with an insightful discussion of the theoretical roots of discourse analysis in linguistic philosophy, ethnomethodology, and semiotics, the authors continue by exploring those concepts which are at the heart of the study of social psychology: rules, accounts, the self, and social representations. Concluding chapters not only tackle some of the broader and more controversial issues, but also offer suggestions as to the direction future research should take. In addition, the authors provide an exhaustive bibliography which will help acquaint students with all the relevant literature in the field. "A provocative little text, that is pitched at the advanced student of social psychology. . . . Concrete observations, evolving definitions, changing circumstances, and dynamic variability, are central ideas to their refreshing approaches in current social psychology. An extensive bibliography supplements this text." --Choice "An invigorating breath of fresh air--clear, innovative, and compelling. With bold theoretical vision and a range of creative research strategies, the volume brings social psychologists into catalytic connection with communication specialists, micro-sociologists, linguists, and philosophers of social science. A significant step toward a post-modern psychology." --Kenneth J. Gergen, Swarthmore College "Potter and Wetherell have genuinely presented us with a different way of working in social psychology. The book's clarity means that it has the power to influence a lot of people ill-at-ease with traditional social psychology but unimpressed with (or simply bewildered by) other alternatives on offer. It could rescue social psychology from the sterility of the laboratory and its traditional mentalism." --Charles Antaki, University of Lancaster "This book represents a lucid and entertaining introduction to the study of language and discourse. The authors analyze social texts of all kinds and offer interesting exemplars to illustrate important concepts and theoretical ideas. Although I disagree with the authors' critique of the neo-positivist research tradition, I still found the book provocative." --Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, University of Wisconsin "Just about the best book that could have been written at the moment as an introduction for psychologists to discouse analysis, its scope and its problems, given the current state of the art. . . . An impressive effort. It is a book I shall use in my own courses." --Current Psychology "Potter and Wetherell provide accessible and compelling short reviews of key issues in Chomskyan, speech act, ethnomethodological and semiological traditions." --Journal of Language and Social Psychology "Potter and Wetherell have genuinely presented us with a different way of working in social psychology. The book's clarity means that it has the power to influence a lot of people ill-at-ease with traditional social psychology but unimpressed with other alternatives to offer. It could rescue social psychology from the sterility of the laboratory and its traditional mentalism." --Times Higher Education Supplement
