- Department of Sociology
University of York
YO10 5DD
Celia Kitzinger
University of York, Sociology, Faculty Member
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Conversation Analysis, Qualitative Research, Bioethics, Traumatic Brain Injury, Patient Experiences, Qualitative Research Methods, and 8 moreFeminism, Conversation Analysis (Research Methodology), Research Ethics, In-depth Interviews, Medical Ethics, End of life care, Language and Social Interaction, and Death Studies edit
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Co-Director of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centreedit
Anonymising qualitative research data can be challenging, especially in highly sensitive contexts such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth interviews with family members of people in... more
Anonymising qualitative research data can be challenging, especially in highly sensitive contexts
such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth
interviews with family members of people in vegetative and minimally conscious states, this article
discusses the issues we faced in trying to maximise participant anonymity alongside maintaining
the integrity of our data. We discuss how we developed elaborate, context-sensitive strategies
to try to preserve the richness of the interview material wherever possible while also protecting
participants. This discussion of the practical and ethical details of anonymising is designed to add
to the largely theoretical literature on this topic and to be of illustrative use to other researchers
confronting similar dilemmas.
such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth
interviews with family members of people in vegetative and minimally conscious states, this article
discusses the issues we faced in trying to maximise participant anonymity alongside maintaining
the integrity of our data. We discuss how we developed elaborate, context-sensitive strategies
to try to preserve the richness of the interview material wherever possible while also protecting
participants. This discussion of the practical and ethical details of anonymising is designed to add
to the largely theoretical literature on this topic and to be of illustrative use to other researchers
confronting similar dilemmas.
Research Interests:
Purpose: To examine family perceptions of physiotherapy provided to relatives in vegetative or minimally conscious states. Method: Secondary thematic analysis of 65 in-depth narrative interviews with family members of people in... more
Purpose: To examine family perceptions of physiotherapy provided to relatives in vegetative or minimally conscious states.
Method: Secondary thematic analysis of 65 in-depth narrative
interviews with family members of people in vegetative or minimally conscious states.
Results: Families place great significance on physiotherapy in relation to six dimensions: ‘‘Caring for the person’’, ‘‘Maximising comfort’’, ‘‘Helping maintain health/life’’, ‘‘Facilitating progress’’,
‘‘Identifying or stimulating consciousness’’ and ‘‘Indicating potential for meaningful recovery’’. They can have high expectations of what physiotherapy may deliver but also, at times, express concerns about physiotherapy’s potential to cause pain or distress, or even constitute a form of torture if they believe there is no hope for ‘‘meaningful’’ recovery.
Conclusion: Physiotherapists can make an important contribution to supporting this patient group and their families but it is vital to recognise that family understandings of physiotherapy may differ significantly from those of physiotherapists. Both the delivery and the withdrawal of physiotherapy is highly symbolic and can convey (inadvertent) messages to people about their relative’s current and
future state. A genuine two-way dialogue between practitioners and families about the aims of physiotherapeutic interventions, potential outcomes and patients’ best interests is critical to providing a good service and establishing positive relationships and appropriate treatment.
Method: Secondary thematic analysis of 65 in-depth narrative
interviews with family members of people in vegetative or minimally conscious states.
Results: Families place great significance on physiotherapy in relation to six dimensions: ‘‘Caring for the person’’, ‘‘Maximising comfort’’, ‘‘Helping maintain health/life’’, ‘‘Facilitating progress’’,
‘‘Identifying or stimulating consciousness’’ and ‘‘Indicating potential for meaningful recovery’’. They can have high expectations of what physiotherapy may deliver but also, at times, express concerns about physiotherapy’s potential to cause pain or distress, or even constitute a form of torture if they believe there is no hope for ‘‘meaningful’’ recovery.
Conclusion: Physiotherapists can make an important contribution to supporting this patient group and their families but it is vital to recognise that family understandings of physiotherapy may differ significantly from those of physiotherapists. Both the delivery and the withdrawal of physiotherapy is highly symbolic and can convey (inadvertent) messages to people about their relative’s current and
future state. A genuine two-way dialogue between practitioners and families about the aims of physiotherapeutic interventions, potential outcomes and patients’ best interests is critical to providing a good service and establishing positive relationships and appropriate treatment.
Research Interests:
The training and expertise of healthcare professionals in diagnosing and treating pathology can mean that every situation is treated as an instance of illness or abnormality requiring treatment. This medicalised perspective is often... more
The training and expertise of healthcare professionals in diagnosing and treating pathology can mean that every situation is treated as an instance of illness or abnormality requiring treatment. This medicalised perspective is often evident in clinical approaches to family members of people with prolonged disorders of consciousness. This editorial was stimulated by reviewing an article (final version now published in this issue) concerning the distress of families with severely brain injured relatives,2 and by reading the larger body of literature to which that article contributes. It was also prompted by the recent publication of national clinical guidelines in the UK about the management of prolonged disorders of consciousness. In this editorial we highlight the depth and range of emotional reactions commonly experienced by families with a severely brain injured relative. We suggest that clinicians should understand such emotions as normal responses to a terrible situation, and consider the ways in which clinical practice can be adapted to avoid contributing to family trauma.
Research Interests:
Advance Decisions (formerly known as 'living wills' have statutory force under ss. 24-26 of the Mental Capacity Act in England and Wales. They allow people to specify which medical treatments they wish to refuse (e.g. clinically assisted... more
Advance Decisions (formerly known as 'living wills' have statutory force under ss. 24-26 of the Mental Capacity Act in England and Wales. They allow people to specify which medical treatments they wish to refuse (e.g. clinically assisted nutrition and hydration) under specified circumstances (e.g. with advanced dementia) in the event that they subsequently lose the capacity to make or communicate those refusals themselves. To be effective in practice advance decisions must (1) reflect the client's wishes; (2) be available when needed; (3) meet with compliance from health care providers (or, in necessary, the courts). This article lays out ways in which solicitors can assist clients on all three fronts. Solicitors who are aware of the findings reported here will be able to maximise the likelihood that a client's wishes for refusal of treatment will be respected.
Research Interests:
Qualitative researchers attempting to protect the identities of their research participants now face a multitude of new challenges due to the wealth of information once considered private but now readily accessible online. We will draw on... more
Qualitative researchers attempting to protect the identities of their research participants now face a multitude of new challenges due to the wealth of information once considered private but now readily accessible online. We will draw on our research with family members of people with severe brain injury to discuss these challenges in relation to three areas: participant engagement with the mass media, the availability of court transcripts online, and participants’ use of social media. We suggest strategies
for managing these challenges via disguise, refining informed consent, and discussion with interviewees. In the context of a largely theoretical literature on anonymization, this article offers concrete examples of the dilemmas we faced and will be of illustrative use to other researchers confronting similar challenges.
for managing these challenges via disguise, refining informed consent, and discussion with interviewees. In the context of a largely theoretical literature on anonymization, this article offers concrete examples of the dilemmas we faced and will be of illustrative use to other researchers confronting similar challenges.
Research Interests:
Anonymising qualitative research data can be challenging, especially in highly sensitive contexts such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth interviews with family members of people in... more
Anonymising qualitative research data can be challenging, especially in highly sensitive contexts such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth interviews with family members of people in vegetative and minimally conscious states, this article discusses the issues we faced in trying to maximise participant anonymity alongside maintaining the integrity of our data. We discuss how we developed elaborate, context-sensitive strategies to try to preserve the richness of the interview material wherever possible while also protecting participants. This discussion of the practical and ethical details of anonymising is designed to add to the largely theoretical literature on this topic and to be of illustrative use to other researchers confronting similar dilemmas.
Research Interests:
Families share their experiences of having a relative in a long-term ‘coma’ on the award-winning website healthtalk.org - a resource to support families and health care practitioners, and inform communication and policy. Access the new... more
Families share their experiences of having a relative in a long-term ‘coma’ on the award-winning website healthtalk.org - a resource to support families and health care practitioners, and inform communication and policy. Access the new resource here: http://healthtalkonline.org/peoples-experiences/nerves-brain/family-experiences-vegetative-and-minimally-conscious-states/topics
Research Interests:
Giving treatment to a patient who cannot consent to it is lawful only if (a) it is in the patient’s best interests to receive it and (b) the patient has made no prior legal decision refusing it. In law, the key question is not... more
Giving treatment to a patient who cannot consent to it is
lawful only if (a) it is in the patient’s best interests to receive
it and (b) the patient has made no prior legal decision
refusing it. In law, the key question is not whether withholding or
withdrawing treatment from a severely brain injured patient
is lawful, but rather whether it is lawful to administer
treatments without consent. That question should be asked
about every treatment the person receives. Drawing on our research based on interviews with 65 relatives of people in vegetative or minimally conscious states, the timeline presented in this booklet is a condensed and simplified representation of the legal situation as laid out
in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (together with its Code of
Practice) and the professional advice given in the national
clinical guidelines from the Royal College of Physicians. It highlights a set of ‘decision points’ at which the legality of administering or continuing with life prolonging treatments should be considered when a patient
is unable to consent.
lawful only if (a) it is in the patient’s best interests to receive
it and (b) the patient has made no prior legal decision
refusing it. In law, the key question is not whether withholding or
withdrawing treatment from a severely brain injured patient
is lawful, but rather whether it is lawful to administer
treatments without consent. That question should be asked
about every treatment the person receives. Drawing on our research based on interviews with 65 relatives of people in vegetative or minimally conscious states, the timeline presented in this booklet is a condensed and simplified representation of the legal situation as laid out
in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (together with its Code of
Practice) and the professional advice given in the national
clinical guidelines from the Royal College of Physicians. It highlights a set of ‘decision points’ at which the legality of administering or continuing with life prolonging treatments should be considered when a patient
is unable to consent.
Research Interests:
In W v M, family members made an application to the Court of Protection for withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration from a minimally conscious patient. Subsequent scholarly discussion has centred around the ethical adequacy of... more
In W v M, family members made an application to the Court of Protection for withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration from a minimally conscious patient. Subsequent scholarly discussion has centred around the ethical adequacy of the judge's decision not to authorise withdrawal. This article brings a different perspective by drawing on interviews with 51 individuals with a relative who is (or was) in a vegetative or minimally conscious state (MCS). Most professional medical ethicists have treated the issue as one of life versus death; by contrast, families—including those who believed that their relative would not have wanted to be kept alive—focused on the manner of the proposed death and were often horrified at the idea of causing death by ‘starvation and dehydration’. The practical consequence of this can be that people in permanent vegetative state (PVS) and MCS are being administered life-prolonging treatments long after their families have come to believe that the patient would rather be dead. We suggest that medical ethicists concerned about the rights of people in PVS/MCS need to take this empirical data into account in seeking to apply ethical theories to medico-legal realities.
Research Interests:
Throughout affluent societies there are growing numbers of people who survive severe brain injuries only to be left with long-term chronic disorders of consciousness. This patient group who exist betwixt and between life and death are... more
Throughout affluent societies there are growing numbers of people who survive severe brain injuries only to be left with long-term chronic disorders of consciousness. This patient group who exist betwixt and between life and death are variously diagnosed as in ‘comatose’, ‘vegetative’, and, more recently, ‘minimally conscious’ states. Drawing on a nascent body of sociological work in this field and developments in the sociology of diagnosis in concert with Bauman's thesis of ‘ambivalence’ and Turner's work on ‘liminality’, this article proposes a concept we label as diagnostic illusory in order to capture the ambiguities, nuanced complexities and tensions that the biomedical imperative to name and classify these patients give rise to. Our concept emerged through a reading of debates within medical journals alongside an analysis of qualitative data generated by way of a study of accounts of those close to patients: primarily relatives (N = 51); neurologists (N = 4); lawyers (N = 2); and others (N = 5) involved in their health care in the UK.
Research Interests:
It’s almost like living with a dead person. Some people say, ‘you’ve still got her’. No I haven’t. (Mother of a daughter in a permanent vegetative state, caring for her at home.) I only thought in terms of life and death … not this,... more
It’s almost like living with a dead person. Some people say, ‘you’ve still got her’. No I haven’t. (Mother of a daughter in a permanent vegetative state, caring for her at home.)
I only thought in terms of life and death … not this, this in-between. (Father of a son, who had been in a minimal conscious state.)
And I’d thought of every single possibility. But I hadn’t thought of this one. Because I didn’t even know it existed. (Sister of a woman in a permanent vegetative state.)
These comments encapsulate some common themes in how people describe having a severely brain-injured relative in a coma-like condition, medically known as a ‘disorder of consciousness’. In the past it was highly unusual for such individuals to survive very long after the initial trauma that caused their injury....
I only thought in terms of life and death … not this, this in-between. (Father of a son, who had been in a minimal conscious state.)
And I’d thought of every single possibility. But I hadn’t thought of this one. Because I didn’t even know it existed. (Sister of a woman in a permanent vegetative state.)
These comments encapsulate some common themes in how people describe having a severely brain-injured relative in a coma-like condition, medically known as a ‘disorder of consciousness’. In the past it was highly unusual for such individuals to survive very long after the initial trauma that caused their injury....
Research Interests:
Some brain injured patients are left in a permanent vegetative state, i.e., they have irreversibly lost their capacity for consciousness but retained some autonomic physiological functions, such as breathing unaided. Having discussed the... more
Some brain injured patients are left in a permanent vegetative state, i.e., they have irreversibly lost their capacity for consciousness but retained some autonomic physiological functions, such as breathing unaided. Having discussed the controversial nature of the permanent vegetative state as a diagnostic category, we turn to the question of the patients’ ontological status. Are the permanently vegetative alive, dead, or in some other state? We present empirical data from interviews with relatives of patients, and with experts, to support the view that the ontological state of permanently vegetative patients is unclear: such patients are neither straightforwardly alive nor simply dead. Having defended this view from counter-arguments we turn to the practical question as to how these patients ought to be treated. Some relatives and experts believe it is right for patients to be shifted from their currently unclear ontological state to that of being straightforwardly dead, but many are concerned or even horrified by the only legally sanctioned method guaranteed to achieve this, namely withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration. A way of addressing this distress would be to allow active euthanasia for these patients. This is highly controversial; but we argue that standard objections to allowing active euthanasia for this particular class of permanently vegetative patients are weakened by these patients’ distinctive ontological status.
Research Interests:
This paper addresses, from a socio-legal perspective, the question of the significance of law for the treatment, care and the end-of-life decision making for patients with chronic disorders of consciousness. We use the phrase ‘chronic... more
This paper addresses, from a socio-legal perspective, the question of the significance of law for the treatment, care and the end-of-life decision making for patients with chronic disorders of consciousness. We use the phrase ‘chronic disorders of consciousness’ as an umbrella term to refer to severely brain-injured patients in prolonged comas, vegetative or minimally conscious states. Based on an analysis of interviews with family members of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness, we explore the images of law that were drawn upon and invoked by these family members when negotiating the situation of their relatives, including, in some cases, the ending of their lives. By examining ‘legal consciousness’ in this way (an admittedly confusing term in the context of this study,) we offer a distinctly sociological contribution to the question of how law matters in this particular domain of social life.
Research Interests:
Abstract This article builds on and develops the emerging bioethics literature on the 'window of opportunity'for allowing death by withholding or withdrawing treatment. Our findings are drawn from in-depth interviews with 26 people (from... more
Abstract This article builds on and develops the emerging bioethics literature on the 'window of opportunity'for allowing death by withholding or withdrawing treatment. Our findings are drawn from in-depth interviews with 26 people (from 14 different families) with severely brain injured relatives. These interviews were specifically selected from a larger study on the basis of interviewees' reports that their relatives would not have wanted to be kept alive in their current condition (eg in vegetative or minimally conscious states).
Another landmark right-to-die case hit the U.K. headlines last week. A High Court judge ruled, in W v M & Ors [2011] EWHC 2443 (Fam), that a 52-year- old woman in a minimally conscious state (after contracting viral encephalitis nearly... more
Another landmark right-to-die case hit the U.K. headlines last week. A High Court judge ruled, in W v M & Ors [2011] EWHC 2443 (Fam), that a 52-year- old woman in a minimally conscious state (after contracting viral encephalitis nearly 10 years ago) cannot be allowed to die (by having artificial nutrition and hydration withdrawn) as her family says she would want. Media responses covered the full range of views – from very critical (“’M’ condemned to suffer”) to supportive ("Families must not have the right to play executioner") on the judge’s decision.
Read more: http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=5557&blogid=140#ixzz1bPXELnrW
Read more: http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=5557&blogid=140#ixzz1bPXELnrW
Research Interests:
Another landmark right-to-die case hit the U.K. headlines last week. A High Court judge ruled, in W v M & Ors [2011] EWHC 2443 (Fam), that a 52-year- old woman in a minimally conscious state (after contracting viral encephalitis nearly... more
Another landmark right-to-die case hit the U.K. headlines last week. A High Court judge ruled, in W v M & Ors [2011] EWHC 2443 (Fam), that a 52-year- old woman in a minimally conscious state (after contracting viral encephalitis nearly 10 years ago) cannot be allowed to die (by having artificial nutrition and hydration withdrawn) as her family says she would want. Media responses covered the full range of views – from very critical (“’M’ condemned to suffer”) to supportive ("Families must not have the right to play executioner") on the judge’s decision.
Read more: http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=5557&blogid=140#ixzz1bPXELnrW
Read more: http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=5557&blogid=140#ixzz1bPXELnrW
Research Interests:
The skills of talking with women who have had unhappy birth experiences rarely find a place in midwifery education. Nor is it apparent from the literature just what these skills are, or how they can be implemented in the moment-by-moment... more
The skills of talking with women who have had unhappy birth
experiences rarely find a place in midwifery education. Nor is it
apparent from the literature just what these skills are, or how
they can be implemented in the moment-by-moment unfolding
of an interaction. Yet this is a vital part of any relationship that
offers continuous support to women through the transition to
motherhood. We have recorded more than 400 calls to the Birth
Crisis help-line, and used conversation analysis to explore the
skills deployed in these interactions. We show some examples
from the calls and describe how we use our analyses as a basis
for workshops with midwives and other caregivers.
experiences rarely find a place in midwifery education. Nor is it
apparent from the literature just what these skills are, or how
they can be implemented in the moment-by-moment unfolding
of an interaction. Yet this is a vital part of any relationship that
offers continuous support to women through the transition to
motherhood. We have recorded more than 400 calls to the Birth
Crisis help-line, and used conversation analysis to explore the
skills deployed in these interactions. We show some examples
from the calls and describe how we use our analyses as a basis
for workshops with midwives and other caregivers.
Research Interests:
Feminist conversation analysis uses the standard methods of conversation analysis to explore issues of interest to feminist scholars—for example, refusal of unwanted sex, prosecution of violence against women, empowering of women in... more
Feminist conversation analysis uses the standard methods of conversation analysis to explore issues of interest to feminist scholars—for example, refusal of unwanted sex, prosecution of violence against women, empowering of women in childbirth,
and understanding of how gender affects the way people engage with each other. It is an approach to the study of human interaction that brings together the political and ethical concerns of feminism and the rigorous technical methods of conversation
analysis (CA).
and understanding of how gender affects the way people engage with each other. It is an approach to the study of human interaction that brings together the political and ethical concerns of feminism and the rigorous technical methods of conversation
analysis (CA).
Research Interests:
This article briefly considers the convergence and divergence between Discursive Psychology (DP) and Conversation Analysis (CA), in relation to cognition in talk-in-interaction. It explores the possibilities for research that begins from,... more
This article briefly considers the convergence and divergence
between Discursive Psychology (DP) and Conversation Analysis (CA), in relation to cognition in talk-in-interaction. It explores the possibilities for research that begins from, rather than argues for, a post-cognitive perspective. Drawing in particular on an analysis of a single fragment of conversation, I suggest three analytic areas for researchers concerned both with talk-ininteraction
and with cognition: i) the social organization of cognitive displays
and embodiments; ii) the (re)production of taken-for-granted culture through‘internalized social norms’; iii) cognitions (e.g. memories) made manifest in interaction, as the cognitive infrastructure upon which talk-in-interaction depends. After post-cognitivism, research in these areas can contribute both to
scholarly understanding of cognition, and to the emerging discipline of CA.
between Discursive Psychology (DP) and Conversation Analysis (CA), in relation to cognition in talk-in-interaction. It explores the possibilities for research that begins from, rather than argues for, a post-cognitive perspective. Drawing in particular on an analysis of a single fragment of conversation, I suggest three analytic areas for researchers concerned both with talk-ininteraction
and with cognition: i) the social organization of cognitive displays
and embodiments; ii) the (re)production of taken-for-granted culture through‘internalized social norms’; iii) cognitions (e.g. memories) made manifest in interaction, as the cognitive infrastructure upon which talk-in-interaction depends. After post-cognitivism, research in these areas can contribute both to
scholarly understanding of cognition, and to the emerging discipline of CA.
Research Interests:
Drawing on a corpus of 80 calls to a Home Birth helpline, we use conversation analysis to analyze how callers and call takers display to one another that they are talking for a second or subsequent time. We focus in particular on the role... more
Drawing on a corpus of 80 calls to a Home Birth helpline, we use conversation analysis to analyze how callers and call takers display to one another that they are talking for a second or subsequent time. We focus in particular on the role of memory in these interactions.
Research Interests:
This article focuses on the ways in which heterosexuality is routinely deployed as a taken-for-granted resource in ordinary interactions. Using the foundational data sets of conversation analysis (CA), this article analyzes the... more
This article focuses on the ways in which heterosexuality is routinely deployed as a taken-for-granted resource in ordinary interactions. Using the foundational data sets of conversation analysis (CA), this article analyzes the conversational practices
through which cointeractants, in the course of accomplishing other activities, routinely produce themselves and each other as heterosexual. These practices include heterosexual topic talk and person reference terms: husband and wife; in-law terminology; identification of the other with reference to their spouse; the production of heterosexual “couples”; and the use of locally initial proterms. Finally, this article discusses the implications both for CA and for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender studies of the ways in which a normative taken-for-granted heterosexual world is produced and reproduced in everyday talk-in-interaction and suggests that the research reported here further opens up the analytic possibilities of CA for studying culture, understood as constructed through and by particular practices for managing interaction.
through which cointeractants, in the course of accomplishing other activities, routinely produce themselves and each other as heterosexual. These practices include heterosexual topic talk and person reference terms: husband and wife; in-law terminology; identification of the other with reference to their spouse; the production of heterosexual “couples”; and the use of locally initial proterms. Finally, this article discusses the implications both for CA and for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender studies of the ways in which a normative taken-for-granted heterosexual world is produced and reproduced in everyday talk-in-interaction and suggests that the research reported here further opens up the analytic possibilities of CA for studying culture, understood as constructed through and by particular practices for managing interaction.
Research Interests:
Along with many other feminist researchers (e.g., Fenstermaker & West, 2002), we are concerned to develop a feminist understanding of everyday life drawn from a social constructionist or ethnomethodological perspective, which, like... more
Along with many other feminist researchers (e.g., Fenstermaker & West, 2002), we are concerned to develop a feminist understanding of everyday life drawn from a social constructionist or ethnomethodological perspective, which, like positioning theory, sees social order as grounded in contingent, embodied, ongoing interpretive work—in how people do social order rather
than how they are animated by it. The substantial body of conversation analytic work on how persons are
referred to talk-in-interaction (e.g., Schegloff, 1996; Sacks & Schegloff, 1979; Sacks, 1972) offers the most obvious purchase on issues of positioning, and this chapter uses that literature to focus initially on how individuals are referred to as presumptive representatives of some category or other (including “Welsh people,” “handicapped people,” and “men”), exploring both the process whereby the shift from individual to category member is achieved, and the interactional uses of such shifts. Through apparently trivial incidental person references, positioning those persons in terms of their category memberships, the world of such categories, and the inferences associated with them is produced, reproduced, and sometimes (as we will see) resisted.
than how they are animated by it. The substantial body of conversation analytic work on how persons are
referred to talk-in-interaction (e.g., Schegloff, 1996; Sacks & Schegloff, 1979; Sacks, 1972) offers the most obvious purchase on issues of positioning, and this chapter uses that literature to focus initially on how individuals are referred to as presumptive representatives of some category or other (including “Welsh people,” “handicapped people,” and “men”), exploring both the process whereby the shift from individual to category member is achieved, and the interactional uses of such shifts. Through apparently trivial incidental person references, positioning those persons in terms of their category memberships, the world of such categories, and the inferences associated with them is produced, reproduced, and sometimes (as we will see) resisted.
Research Interests:
This report identifies a distinct, and distinctly positioned, element of the repair segment—the repair preface—and focuses on or-prefacing to introduce the practice of repair prefacing and to develop an analysis of one preface type.... more
This report identifies a distinct, and distinctly positioned, element of the repair segment—the repair
preface—and focuses on or-prefacing to introduce the practice of repair prefacing and to develop an
analysis of one preface type. Although or-prefaced repairs do substitute one formulation for another,
the or-preface shows that the trouble source formulation is not being discarded altogether, thereby
mitigating the reparative character of the repair operation. We also examine expanded or-prefaced
repair segments for what they reveal about the part or-prefacing plays in repair. Additionally, and as
part of our explication of repair prefacing, we show how some same-TCU repairs (with and without
or-prefaces) can be mounted without progressivity-disrupting hitches or alerts. Data are in American
and British English.
preface—and focuses on or-prefacing to introduce the practice of repair prefacing and to develop an
analysis of one preface type. Although or-prefaced repairs do substitute one formulation for another,
the or-preface shows that the trouble source formulation is not being discarded altogether, thereby
mitigating the reparative character of the repair operation. We also examine expanded or-prefaced
repair segments for what they reveal about the part or-prefacing plays in repair. Additionally, and as
part of our explication of repair prefacing, we show how some same-TCU repairs (with and without
or-prefaces) can be mounted without progressivity-disrupting hitches or alerts. Data are in American
and British English.
Research Interests:
Abstract On some occasions of self-reference there can be two equally viable forms available to speakers: individual self-reference (e.g. 'I') and collective self-reference (e.g. 'we'). This means that selection of one or the other in... more
Abstract On some occasions of self-reference there can be two equally viable forms available to speakers: individual self-reference (e.g. 'I') and collective self-reference (e.g. 'we'). This means that selection of one or the other in talk-in-interaction can—akin to the selection of terms for reference to non-present persons—be guided by such considerations as recipient design and action formation.
Research Interests:
The expression of surprise—at something unexpected—is a key form of emotional display. Focusing on displays of surprise performed by means of reaction tokens (akin to Goffman’s “response cries”), such as wow, gosh, oh my god, ooh!, phew,... more
The expression of surprise—at something unexpected—is a key form of emotional display. Focusing on displays of surprise performed by means of reaction tokens (akin to Goffman’s “response cries”), such as wow, gosh, oh my god, ooh!, phew, we use an ethnomethodological, conversation-analytic approach to analyze surprise in talk-in-interaction. Our key contribution is to detach the psychology of surprise from its social expression by showing how co-conversationalists collaborate to bring off an interaction ally achieved performance of surprise. Far from being a visceral eruption of emotion, the production of a surprise token is often prepared for several turns in advance. We also show how surprise can be recycled on an occasion subsequent to its initial production,
and how surprise displays may be delayed by silence, ritualized disbelief, and other repair initiations. Finally, we consider some of the uses of surprise as an interactional resource, including its role in the reflection and reproduction of culture.
and how surprise displays may be delayed by silence, ritualized disbelief, and other repair initiations. Finally, we consider some of the uses of surprise as an interactional resource, including its role in the reflection and reproduction of culture.
Research Interests:
This report examines what can be accomplished in conversation by reformulating a reference to a place using the practices of repair. It is based on an analysis of a collection of place references situated in second pair parts of adjacency... more
This report examines what can be accomplished in conversation by reformulating a reference to a place using the practices of repair. It is based on an analysis of a collection of place references situated in second pair parts of adjacency pairs taken from a wide range of field recordings of talk-in-interaction. Not surprisingly, place references are sometimes reformulated so as to indicate a misspeaking or in pursuit of recipient recognition. At other times, however, we show that place references can be reformulated to more adequately implement the action of a turn in prosecuting the course of action of which it is a part. In these cases repairing a place reference can target a source of trouble associated with implementing the action of a turn at talk, and thus reformulating place can serve as a practical resource for accomplishing a range of interactional tasks. We conclude with a more complex case in which two reformulations are deployed in responding to a so-called ‘double-barrelled’ initiating action.
Research Interests:
This article examines connections between communication and identity. We present an analysis of actual, recorded social interactions in order to describe intersections between identity and vocabulary selection. We focus on how, in... more
This article examines connections between communication and identity. We present an analysis of actual, recorded social interactions in order to describe intersections between identity and vocabulary selection. We focus on how, in selecting or deselecting particular terms (e.g., cephalic, doula, cooker) speakers can display both their own identities and the identities of others. We show how these identities are constructed in part through speakers’ selection and competent deployment of the specialist vocabularies associated with particular territories of expertise, how identities can be challenged when cointeractants presume understanding problems with specialist vocabularies, and how they can be defended (more or less vigorously) against such challenges with claims or displays of understanding. This conversation analytic approach to talk-in-interaction documents how specialist vocabularies can be deployed, in situ, in the construction of social identities. In describing how communication is used in the enactment and construction of identity, our findings contribute to the developing body of research specifying communication practices through which identity is constructed and showing how salient identities are made manifest in interaction.
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An on-line article - perhaps best read online- see url below - written for the Association for Qualitative Research
http://www.aqr.org.uk/a/20090601-conversation
http://www.aqr.org.uk/a/20090601-conversation
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Abstract The rate of home births in the UK is very low (around 2%) and many women who would like to give birth at home find it impossible to get midwifery cover or are advised of medical contraindications. The Home Birth Helpline offers... more
Abstract The rate of home births in the UK is very low (around 2%) and many women who would like to give birth at home find it impossible to get midwifery cover or are advised of medical contraindications. The Home Birth Helpline offers support and expertise for women in this situation. Based on the analysis of 80 recorded calls, this article uses conversation analysis (CA) to explore how callers present their reason for calling the helpline, and what this shows about the culturally shared medicalized culture of birth.
We show the value of conversation analysis for feminist theory and practice around refusal skills training and date rape prevention. Conversation analysis shows that refusals are complex conversational interactions typically... more
We show the value of conversation analysis for feminist theory and practice around refusal skills training and date rape prevention. Conversation analysis shows that refusals are complex conversational interactions typically incorporating delays, prefaces, palliatives and accounts. Refusal skills training often ignores and overrides these with its simplistic prescription to "Just Say No". It should not in fact be necessary for a woman to say "no" in order for her to be understood as refusing sex. We draw on our own data to suggest that young women are able explicitly to articulate a sophisticated awareness of these culturally normative ways of indicating refusal and we suggest that insistence upon "Just Say No" may be counterproductive insofar as it implies that other ways of doing refusals (e.g., with silences, compliments or even weak acceptances) are open to reasonable doubt. Finally we discuss the implications of our use of conversation analysis for feminist psychology, both in relation to date rape and more broadly.
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Calidoscópio municate to callers their own right to give birth in a place of their choosing, and to support them in achieving that. One important way the call-taker accomplishes (what the helpline intends by)“empowerment” is by... more
Calidoscópio municate to callers their own right to give birth in a place of their choosing, and to support them in achieving that. One important way the call-taker accomplishes (what the helpline intends by)“empowerment” is by complimenting women, eg “You're terrific!”,“I admire what you're doing”,“I think you're doing brilliantly and I can't see but that you will succeed”,“I love your attitude!”. Of course there is already a huge literature on compliments.
Heterosexism has become a recognized social problem since the rise of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) activism in the 1970s. One of its manifestations is heteronormativity: the mundane production of heterosexuality as the... more
Heterosexism has become a recognized social problem since the rise of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) activism in the 1970s. One of its manifestations is heteronormativity: the mundane production of heterosexuality as the normal, natural, taken-for-granted sexuality. My research uses conversation analysis to explore heteronormativity as an ongoing, situated, practical accomplishment by people oriented to other actions entirely. I show that family reference terms—across a dataset of 59 after-hours calls to the doctor—are deployed so as to construct a normative version of the heterosexual nuclear family: a married couple, co-resident with their biological, dependent children. I examine the inferences normatively attached to family reference terms, consider
how these inferences are used interactionally, and document how this everyday talk-in-interaction both reflects and reconstitutes the culturally normative definition of the family. This research advances our understanding of normativity by showing how a social problem can exist even when there is no orientation to “trouble” in interaction. Here, the persistent and untroubled reproduction of a taken-for-granted heteronormative world both reflects heterosexual privilege and (by extrapolation) perpetuates the oppression of non heterosexual people, denied access to key social institutions such as marriage and unable to take for granted access to their culture’s family reference terms. The article shows how the heteronormative social order is reproduced at the level of mundane social interaction, through the everyday conversational practices of ordinary folk.
how these inferences are used interactionally, and document how this everyday talk-in-interaction both reflects and reconstitutes the culturally normative definition of the family. This research advances our understanding of normativity by showing how a social problem can exist even when there is no orientation to “trouble” in interaction. Here, the persistent and untroubled reproduction of a taken-for-granted heteronormative world both reflects heterosexual privilege and (by extrapolation) perpetuates the oppression of non heterosexual people, denied access to key social institutions such as marriage and unable to take for granted access to their culture’s family reference terms. The article shows how the heteronormative social order is reproduced at the level of mundane social interaction, through the everyday conversational practices of ordinary folk.
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Idiomatic formulations are often successful in achieving affiliative responses: They are hard to challenge both because their generality makes them independent of the specific details of any particular person or situation, and because... more
Idiomatic formulations are often successful in achieving affiliative responses: They are hard to challenge both because their generality makes them independent of the specific details of any particular person or situation, and because they invoke and constitute the taken-for-granted knowledge shared by all competent members of the culture (Drew & Holt, 1988). Drawing on data in which women with breast cancer talk in groups about their experiences, in this article we explore how they resist the rhetorical power of the idiom “think positive.” Three resistance strategies are described and illustrated: (a) pauses and token agreements, (b) the production of
competing idioms, and (c) particularization. The article ends with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings for conversation analysis and for current debates about the value of fine-grained conversation-analytic approaches within
discourse analysis.
competing idioms, and (c) particularization. The article ends with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings for conversation analysis and for current debates about the value of fine-grained conversation-analytic approaches within
discourse analysis.
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In this article, we explore lesbian lives “beyond the closet” (Seidman, Meeks, & Traschen, 2002) through an empirical analysis of conversational data in which lesbian speakers make their sexual identities apparent. We analyze when and how... more
In this article, we explore lesbian lives “beyond the closet” (Seidman, Meeks, & Traschen, 2002) through an empirical analysis of conversational data in which lesbian speakers make their sexual identities apparent. We analyze when and how lesbian identities become interactionally relevant and in particular, the ways in which lesbian speakers challenge—or (sometimes) fail to challenge—the heterosexist presumption
of their coconversationalists. Drawing on a data set of 150 tape-recorded telephone calls from 5 lesbian households in England, we show how, in calls to family and friends, lesbian speakers index their (already-known) lesbianism in the same
ways as heterosexuals index their heterosexuality (Kitzinger, 2005c): via joking and sexual innuendo, topic talk, and person reference practices. By contrast, in institutional calls, lesbian speakers frequently have to manage the presumption that they are heterosexual—and we examine the ways in which they do this: through electing not to come out (passing up the opportunity for repair), through coming out explicitly
(exposed correction), and through coming out discreetly (embedded correction). Our analysis contributes to conversation analysis work on membership categorization,
person reference, repair and correction; and to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered work on being closeted, passing, and coming out. Coming out disrupts tacit assumptions about the taken-for-granted world, showing that unlike heterosexuality, homosexuality is not (yet) a “routinized” or “normalized” sexual identity.
of their coconversationalists. Drawing on a data set of 150 tape-recorded telephone calls from 5 lesbian households in England, we show how, in calls to family and friends, lesbian speakers index their (already-known) lesbianism in the same
ways as heterosexuals index their heterosexuality (Kitzinger, 2005c): via joking and sexual innuendo, topic talk, and person reference practices. By contrast, in institutional calls, lesbian speakers frequently have to manage the presumption that they are heterosexual—and we examine the ways in which they do this: through electing not to come out (passing up the opportunity for repair), through coming out explicitly
(exposed correction), and through coming out discreetly (embedded correction). Our analysis contributes to conversation analysis work on membership categorization,
person reference, repair and correction; and to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered work on being closeted, passing, and coming out. Coming out disrupts tacit assumptions about the taken-for-granted world, showing that unlike heterosexuality, homosexuality is not (yet) a “routinized” or “normalized” sexual identity.
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This article argues for, and offers empirical demonstration of, the value of conversation analysis (CA) for feminist research. It counters three key criticisms of CA as anti-feminist: the alleged incompatibility of CA’s social theory with... more
This article argues for, and offers empirical demonstration of, the value of conversation analysis (CA) for feminist research. It counters three key criticisms of CA as anti-feminist: the alleged incompatibility of CA’s social theory with feminism; the purported difficulty of reconciling analysts’ and participants’ concerns; and CA’s apparent obsession with the minutiae of talk rather than socio-political reality. It demonstrates the potential of CA for advances in lesbian/feminist research through two examples: developing a feminist approach to date rape and sexual refusal; and an ongoing CA study of talk in which people ‘come out’ as lesbian, gay, bisexual or as having (had) same-sex sexual experiences. These examples are used to illustrate that it is precisely the features of CA criticized
as anti-feminist which can be used productively in doing feminist conversation analysis.
as anti-feminist which can be used productively in doing feminist conversation analysis.
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There is an extensive social science and psycho-oncology literature on coping with cancer which claims that ``thinking positive'' is correlated with Ð and, by extension, causally implicated in Ð individuals' morbidity and mortality rates,... more
There is an extensive social science and psycho-oncology literature on coping with cancer which claims that ``thinking positive'' is correlated with Ð and, by extension, causally implicated in Ð individuals' morbidity and mortality rates, and their overall level of mental health. Drawing on our own data, in which groups of women with breast cancer talk about ``thinking positive'', this paper interrogates the basis of such claims from a discursive perspective, by challenging the data analyses upon which they are based. We show that previous literature overwhelmingly relies on self-report data, which are taken as oering more or less accurate depictions of speakers' psychological states (i.e. their mental adjustment or coping style). A discursive approach, by contrast, explores talk as a form of action designed for its local interactional context, and pays detailed attention to what statements about ``thinking positive'' actually mean for speakers in the contexts in which they occur. We show that ``thinking positive'' functions not as an accurate report of a internal cognitive state, but rather as a conversational idiom, characterised by vagueness and generality, and summarising a socially normative moral requirement; we also show that even those breast cancer patients who report ``thinking positive'' can also actively resist its moral prescriptions. Finally, we sketch out the implications of our analysis for analyses of cancer patients' talk more generally and for future research on coping with cancer
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One of the most pressing concerns for many helpline staff is how to manage overt forms of distress and anxiety manifest in ‘troubles talk’, while also encouraging (or ‘empowering’) callers to take action to change the conditions that are... more
One of the most pressing concerns for many helpline staff is how to manage overt forms of distress and anxiety manifest in ‘troubles talk’, while also encouraging (or ‘empowering’) callers to take action to change the conditions that are creating the distress. Based on an audio-recording of a single call to a Home Birth helpline (drawn from a corpus of 80 such calls), we use conversation analysis to explore how the call-taker negotiates the tension between managing the caller’s distress about her scheduled hospital labour (the ‘presenting problem’), while also encouraging her to arrange a home birth (the ‘problem solution’). We focus on the work the call-taker does to position herself as troubles-talk recipient, while also ensuring that by the end of the encounter the caller has received the information and advice she needs to take action to organise her home birth.
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This article explored the discursive production of a major disjuncture in sexual identity in adult life: women's accounts of transitions to lesbianism after a substantial period of heterosexuality. Eighty semistructured interviews with... more
This article explored the discursive production of a major disjuncture in sexual identity in adult life:
women's accounts of transitions to lesbianism after a substantial period of heterosexuality. Eighty
semistructured interviews with self-identified lesbians, all with at least 10 years prior heterosexual
experience (plus additional materials drawn from published autobiographical sources), were analyzed
within a social constructionist framework. The article examined the creation of contexts in
which sexual identity transitions become possible, explored how such transitions are defined and
marked, identified the consequences, and detailed the continuing development of lesbian identity
posttransition. In conclusion, the article reflected on the status and salience of such data in supporting
the social constructionist position, particularly in the face of the continuing popularity of essentialist
theories of sexual identity development.
women's accounts of transitions to lesbianism after a substantial period of heterosexuality. Eighty
semistructured interviews with self-identified lesbians, all with at least 10 years prior heterosexual
experience (plus additional materials drawn from published autobiographical sources), were analyzed
within a social constructionist framework. The article examined the creation of contexts in
which sexual identity transitions become possible, explored how such transitions are defined and
marked, identified the consequences, and detailed the continuing development of lesbian identity
posttransition. In conclusion, the article reflected on the status and salience of such data in supporting
the social constructionist position, particularly in the face of the continuing popularity of essentialist
theories of sexual identity development.
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What are the challenges posed to feminist researchers when analysing interview data from anti-feminist or right-wing women. What do we say for example about this (from a young female interviewee): "I think there's too much fuss about... more
What are the challenges posed to feminist researchers when analysing interview data from anti-feminist or right-wing women. What do we say for example about this (from a young female interviewee):
"I think there's too much fuss about sexual harassment really. I don't mind the odd compliment you know. It just brightens up the day. There's been a few things at work that the feminists would probably call sexual harassment... It's not natural trying to ban it... You can't do away with sex..." Do we leave this data out? Describe it as false consciousness? Find an essential feminism underneath? Concentrate on the contradictions in her discourse? Or just say we disagree?
"I think there's too much fuss about sexual harassment really. I don't mind the odd compliment you know. It just brightens up the day. There's been a few things at work that the feminists would probably call sexual harassment... It's not natural trying to ban it... You can't do away with sex..." Do we leave this data out? Describe it as false consciousness? Find an essential feminism underneath? Concentrate on the contradictions in her discourse? Or just say we disagree?
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Editorial introduction to the Special Feature in Feminism & Psychology on Feminism, Suicide and Assisted Dying. Ten feminist scholars reflect on what constitutes a feminist approach - and express very different views.
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An early feminist activist campaigning against child sexual abuse Florence Rush's "The Freudian Cover-Up" is a classic. It explores the way in which experts attributed blame to the child, treated abuse as 'wish fulfilment' or fantasy,... more
An early feminist activist campaigning against child sexual abuse Florence Rush's "The Freudian Cover-Up" is a classic. It explores the way in which experts attributed blame to the child, treated abuse as 'wish fulfilment' or fantasy, or even attempted to normalise child sexual abuse. This classic reprint (in Feminism & Psychology is followed by commentary by Janet Sayers, Lynne Segal, Alex Benjamin, Siobhan Lloyd, and Louise Armstrong, along with a new piece responding to the commentaries and written specially for the journal by Florence Rush
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This piece is of historical interest for anyone researching the history of lesbian and gay psychology in Britain. It reflects on the failure of the Psychology of Women Section of the British Psychological Society to support a proposal... more
This piece is of historical interest for anyone researching the history of lesbian and gay psychology in Britain. It reflects on the failure of the Psychology of Women Section of the British Psychological Society to support a proposal for a psychology of lesbianism section. It was published in Feminism & Psychology in 1992 Volume 2(2), pp. 265-268
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This introduces a Special Feature in Feminism & Psychology about Naomi Weisstein's groundbreaking 1968 paper, "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche as Scientific Law: Psychology constructs the female". Her paper is a searing indictment of psychology -... more
This introduces a Special Feature in Feminism & Psychology about Naomi Weisstein's groundbreaking 1968 paper, "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche as Scientific Law: Psychology constructs the female". Her paper is a searing indictment of psychology - its concentration on inner traits at the expense of social context and a failure to consider evidence which contradicts sexist stereotypes. The journal reprints her paper along with commentaries on it from older feminists in three different countries (Sandra Bem, Oonagh Hartnett, Una Gault, Rhoda Unger) and feminists who were encountering the article for the first time (Jane Prince and Ros Gill)
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Abstract. This paper explores the relationship between the fields of lesbian and gay psychology and critical psychology. Both fields emphasise that one of their key goals is to challenge oppressive theories and practices in (and beyond)... more
Abstract. This paper explores the relationship between the fields of lesbian and gay psychology and critical psychology. Both fields emphasise that one of their key goals is to challenge oppressive theories and practices in (and beyond) psychology.
There is an extensive social science and psycho-oncology literature on coping with cancer which claims that ``thinking positive'' is correlated with Ð and, by extension, causally implicated in Ð individuals' morbidity and mortality rates,... more
There is an extensive social science and psycho-oncology literature on coping with cancer which claims that
``thinking positive'' is correlated with Ð and, by extension, causally implicated in Ð individuals' morbidity and
mortality rates, and their overall level of mental health. Drawing on our own data, in which groups of women with
breast cancer talk about ``thinking positive'', this paper interrogates the basis of such claims from a discursive
perspective, by challenging the data analyses upon which they are based. We show that previous literature
overwhelmingly relies on self-report data, which are taken as oering more or less accurate depictions of speakers'
psychological states (i.e. their mental adjustment or coping style). A discursive approach, by contrast, explores talk
as a form of action designed for its local interactional context, and pays detailed attention to what statements about
``thinking positive'' actually mean for speakers in the contexts in which they occur. We show that ``thinking
positive'' functions not as an accurate report of a internal cognitive state, but rather as a conversational idiom,
characterised by vagueness and generality, and summarising a socially normative moral requirement; we also show
that even those breast cancer patients who report ``thinking positive'' can also actively resist its moral prescriptions.
Finally, we sketch out the implications of our analysis for analyses of cancer patients' talk more generally and for
future research on coping with cancer.
``thinking positive'' is correlated with Ð and, by extension, causally implicated in Ð individuals' morbidity and
mortality rates, and their overall level of mental health. Drawing on our own data, in which groups of women with
breast cancer talk about ``thinking positive'', this paper interrogates the basis of such claims from a discursive
perspective, by challenging the data analyses upon which they are based. We show that previous literature
overwhelmingly relies on self-report data, which are taken as oering more or less accurate depictions of speakers'
psychological states (i.e. their mental adjustment or coping style). A discursive approach, by contrast, explores talk
as a form of action designed for its local interactional context, and pays detailed attention to what statements about
``thinking positive'' actually mean for speakers in the contexts in which they occur. We show that ``thinking
positive'' functions not as an accurate report of a internal cognitive state, but rather as a conversational idiom,
characterised by vagueness and generality, and summarising a socially normative moral requirement; we also show
that even those breast cancer patients who report ``thinking positive'' can also actively resist its moral prescriptions.
Finally, we sketch out the implications of our analysis for analyses of cancer patients' talk more generally and for
future research on coping with cancer.
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The names of some psychologists are inseparably linked with particular ideas. Skinner and operant conditioning, Bowlby and attachment, Eysenck and extroversion/introversion. Say "Sandra Bem" and the average reader of The Psychologist... more
The names of some psychologists are inseparably linked with particular ideas. Skinner and operant conditioning, Bowlby and attachment, Eysenck and extroversion/introversion. Say "Sandra Bem" and the average reader of The Psychologist will respond "androgyny". She didn't, of course, invent the concept (feminists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Virginia Woolf had used the idea long before), but she is renown for giving it an operational definition and scientific credibility within (and beyond) psychology. Celia Kitzinger interviewed her about her work.
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300 HANNAH FRITH AND CELIA KITZINGER want to make is that 'emotion work' is not simply an analytical category of use to social scientists in explaining behaviour (ie an analyst resource): it is also a participant... more
300 HANNAH FRITH AND CELIA KITZINGER want to make is that 'emotion work' is not simply an analytical category of use to social scientists in explaining behaviour (ie an analyst resource): it is also a participant resource which is actively employed by ordinary social ...
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Using the contemporary issue of equal access to marriage for same-sex couples as a case study, we examine two distinctive frameworks within which social advocacy may be pursued. We argue that when we speak as psychologists, we use a... more
Using the contemporary issue of equal access to marriage for same-sex couples as a case study, we examine two distinctive frameworks within which social advocacy may be pursued. We argue that when we speak as psychologists, we use a discourse of mental health; when we speak as social activists, we use a discourse of human rights and justice. Although these two frameworks may converge in supporting equal access to marriage, they represent radically different ways of understanding inequality and advocating for social change. A discourse of mental health focuses on psychological damage or deficit (caused, for example, by the social exclusion of particular groups or individuals. A discourse of rights asserts
universally-applicable principles of equality, justice, freedom, and dignity. Further, the paradigmatic framework of psychology as an approach to understanding human beings in the world seems fundamentally antithetical to the conceptual framework of human rights, as a basis for social justice.
universally-applicable principles of equality, justice, freedom, and dignity. Further, the paradigmatic framework of psychology as an approach to understanding human beings in the world seems fundamentally antithetical to the conceptual framework of human rights, as a basis for social justice.
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... Gender and psychology: Feminist and critical perspectives. Wilkinson, Sue (Ed); Kitzinger, Celia (Ed). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc. (1995). ix, 193 pp. ... Links. Book TOC. Our Apologies! The function listed is not... more
... Gender and psychology: Feminist and critical perspectives. Wilkinson, Sue (Ed); Kitzinger, Celia (Ed). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc. (1995). ix, 193 pp. ... Links. Book TOC. Our Apologies! The function listed is not available with your current Browser configuration. ...
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In this paper we explore popular television talk show debates about lesbian and gay parents. We show that the heterosexist framing of these debates compels lesbian and gay parents and their supporters to produce defensive and apologetic... more
In this paper we explore popular television talk show debates about lesbian and gay parents. We show that the heterosexist framing of these debates compels lesbian and gay parents and their supporters to produce defensive and apologetic arguments that normalize lesbian and gay families. Lesbian and gay parents end up reinforcing the legitimacy of anti-lesbian/gay fears in the very act of demonstrating that they are groundless.
Chapter 1 Introducing Lesbian and Gay Psychology Celia Kitzinger and Adrian Coyle Publication of this book marks the'coming of age'of British lesbian and gay psychology. It celebrates the founding of the British... more
Chapter 1 Introducing Lesbian and Gay Psychology Celia Kitzinger and Adrian Coyle Publication of this book marks the'coming of age'of British lesbian and gay psychology. It celebrates the founding of the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Lesbian and Gay Psychology Section in 1998 ...
Recent developments in same-sex partnership legislation are reviewed in the light of human rights activism, feminist and LGBT debates, and our own decision to marry. We argue that critiques of marriage based on its reproduction of... more
Recent developments in same-sex partnership legislation are reviewed in the light of human rights activism, feminist and LGBT debates, and our own decision to marry. We argue that critiques of marriage based on its reproduction of gendered power relations or its reinforcement of compulsory heterosexuality cannot be applied without problems to same-sex marriage, but that other critiques remain clearly relevant: in particular, state surveillance and regulation of relationships, and the normative construction of ‘the couple’ as a basic social unit. Civil partnership is no more exempt from these latter criticisms than is marriage itself. The re-branding of marriage as ‘civil partnership’ is useful to governments in enabling them to extend rights to, and control over, same-sex relationships while reserving the privileged status of ‘marriage’ for heterosexuals only. Under the camouflage of new nomenclature, marriage ‘in all but name’ is rendered attractive to feminists and other radicals whose critique does not extend to the re-branded version. We argue that the powerful symbolic meanings of marriage – to the right wing and to feminists – both provides evidence of the need for, and stands in the way of, same-sex marriage legislation.
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When persons are asked to explain themselves (eg in the 'Who am I' technique: see Kuhn, 1960; Gordon, 1968) the expressed self-concepts they offer in reply are heterogeneous in terms both of level of explanation (eg... more
When persons are asked to explain themselves (eg in the 'Who am I' technique: see Kuhn, 1960; Gordon, 1968) the expressed self-concepts they offer in reply are heterogeneous in terms both of level of explanation (eg physical, psychological, sociological) and of degree of ...
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Abstract 1. the argument of this chapter has been, in general, that identities are not primarily the private property of individuals but are social constructions, suppressed and promoted in accordance with the political interests of the... more
Abstract 1. the argument of this chapter has been, in general, that identities are not primarily the private property of individuals but are social constructions, suppressed and promoted in accordance with the political interests of the dominant social order/argued that the oppressed are actively encouraged to construct identities that reaffirm the basic validity of this dominant moral order/demonstrated how liberal humanistic discourse serves this purpose and is widely promoted, while political lesbian or radical feminist accounts, which ...
Abstract 1. Argues that heterosexuality (HST) has been untheorized within feminism and psychology and that it deserves analytic attention. HST is assumed, but never explicitly addressed, and the overt and covert violence with which... more
Abstract 1. Argues that heterosexuality (HST) has been untheorized within feminism and psychology and that it deserves analytic attention. HST is assumed, but never explicitly addressed, and the overt and covert violence with which compulsory HST is forced on women is obscured. Issues addressed include definitions of HST, comparison of HST and lesbianism, ego-dystonic HST, politics of the erotic, and reconstructions of HST.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
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In 1987, the theme of the International Scientific Conference on Gay and Lesbian Studies (Free University of Amsterdam, December 15-18) was what was then known as the" essentialism/social constructionism... more
In 1987, the theme of the International Scientific Conference on Gay and Lesbian Studies (Free University of Amsterdam, December 15-18) was what was then known as the" essentialism/social constructionism debate," seen as" the hottest philosophical controversy to hit psychology in years"(Weinrich, 1987). It is a debate which no longer attracts the same passion it did then—not because one theory has gained precedence, but rather because the adversaries apparently became weary of the argument, and the debate itself came to be ...
© 2002 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd except for editorial arrangement and introduction© 2002 by Adrian Coyle and Celia Kitzinger A BPS Blackwell book Editorial Offices: 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK Tel:+ 44 (0) 1865 791100 350 Main... more
© 2002 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd except for editorial arrangement and introduction© 2002 by Adrian Coyle and Celia Kitzinger A BPS Blackwell book Editorial Offices: 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK Tel:+ 44 (0) 1865 791100 350 Main Street, Maiden, MA 02148-...
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APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...
Abstract 1. describes how psychological language has gradually replaced political language/as a result, the values of psychology—the focus on the individual, victim blaming, liberalism, and pervasiveness of therapy as a solution for... more
Abstract 1. describes how psychological language has gradually replaced political language/as a result, the values of psychology—the focus on the individual, victim blaming, liberalism, and pervasiveness of therapy as a solution for political problems—have infiltrated the gay and lesbian communities/examines the political consequences of language in our communities and the power of language in contributing to heterosexism| explore just one way in which this psychologizing manifests itself: through the language used to speak of ...
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Cultural Studies and Law
Résumé/Abstract Cet article se penche sur les représentations sociales des droits de l'homme en Grande-Bretagne. Contrairement à la plupart des études sur le sujet, cette recherche n'est pas basée sur des... more
Résumé/Abstract Cet article se penche sur les représentations sociales des droits de l'homme en Grande-Bretagne. Contrairement à la plupart des études sur le sujet, cette recherche n'est pas basée sur des définitions établies sur un consensus pré-supposé (comme celles de la Déclaration universelle). Dans le cas présent, les participants devaient se prononcer sur des affirmations concernant les droits tirées de la littérature et de la presse, et couvrant des acceptions fort éloignées entre elles de cette notion sur cinq principaux ...
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Поиск в библиотеке, Расширенный поиск. ...
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1. BMJ. 2010 Aug 10;341:c4307. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c4307. Sharing summary care records. What about advance directives? Kitzinger CC. PMID: 20699320 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Publication Types: Letter. MeSH Terms. Advance Directives*;... more
1. BMJ. 2010 Aug 10;341:c4307. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c4307. Sharing summary care records. What about advance directives? Kitzinger CC. PMID: 20699320 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Publication Types: Letter. MeSH Terms. Advance Directives*; Humans; Medical Records*; Treatment Refusal*.
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Gender and sexuality are routinely displayed, negotiated, and constructed through talkin-interaction. The cumulative, empirically derived body of knowledge foundational to conversation analysis (CA) as a discipline is increasingly used in... more
Gender and sexuality are routinely displayed, negotiated, and constructed through talkin-interaction. The cumulative, empirically derived body of knowledge foundational to conversation analysis (CA) as a discipline is increasingly used in feminist (and other politically engaged) research as a way of engaging with gender and sexuality as part of the politics of everyday life.
Chronic disorders of consciousness (CDoC) pose significant problems of understanding for both medical professionals and the relatives and friends of the patient. This paper explores the tensions between the different interpretative... more
Chronic disorders of consciousness (CDoC) pose significant problems of understanding for both medical professionals and the relatives and friends of the patient. This paper explores the tensions between the different interpretative resources that are drawn upon by lay people and professionals in their response to CDoC. A philosophical analysis of data from 51 interviews with people who have relatives who are (or have been) in a vegetative or minimally conscious state. The medical specialist and the lay person tend to draw on two different interpretative frameworks: a medical science framework, which tends to construct the patient in terms of measurable physical parameters, and an interpretative framework that encompasses the uniqueness of the patient and the relative's relationship to them as a social being. These differences potentially lead to ruptures in communication between medical professionals and relatives such that that an increased self-consciousness of the framing ass...
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... Page 3. Page 4. SUSAN KRIEGER The Family Silver Essays on Relationships among Women university of california press berkeley los angeles london Page 5. ... London, England © 1996 by Susan Krieger Library of Congress... more
... Page 3. Page 4. SUSAN KRIEGER The Family Silver Essays on Relationships among Women university of california press berkeley los angeles london Page 5. ... London, England © 1996 by Susan Krieger Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Krieger, Susan. ...
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... Vladimir, and Alexei Preves-Taranovsky; Laura, Scott, Mariah, Hannah, and Faith Helgeson; Alice Preves; Judith and David Anderson; Jane, Del, and Hilary Neroni; Todd McGowen; Jen Gehrig; Lorie Schabo Grabowski; Deb, Jon, Ellen, and... more
... Vladimir, and Alexei Preves-Taranovsky; Laura, Scott, Mariah, Hannah, and Faith Helgeson; Alice Preves; Judith and David Anderson; Jane, Del, and Hilary Neroni; Todd McGowen; Jen Gehrig; Lorie Schabo Grabowski; Deb, Jon, Ellen, and Aaron Halvorson; Barbara Bedney ...
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Underpinned by the influential literature on gender differences in communication (eg, Tannen, 1991), miscommunication theory claims that sexual violence is a problem that can be solved through better communication skills: this theory is... more
Underpinned by the influential literature on gender differences in communication (eg, Tannen, 1991), miscommunication theory claims that sexual violence is a problem that can be solved through better communication skills: this theory is used not only by social ...
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In asserting the importance of breast cancer as a feminist issue, the authors look at the treatment of women with breast cancer, both at the hands of the medical profession and within the... more
In asserting the importance of breast cancer as a feminist issue, the authors look at the treatment of women with breast cancer, both at the hands of the medical profession and within the 'alternative', self-help movement. The authors argue that both orthodox medicine and 'New Age'healing are harmful to women with breast cancer, and that a feminist approach is badly needed. The authors sketch out some of the characteristics of such a theory and consider how it has informed, and might continue to inform, practice.
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Cultural Studies and Law
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Abstract Conversation analysis–the study of talk-in-interaction–is proving a valuable tool for politically engaged inquiry and social critique. This article illustrates the use of conversation analysis in feminist and critical research,... more
Abstract Conversation analysis–the study of talk-in-interaction–is proving a valuable tool for politically engaged inquiry and social critique. This article illustrates the use of conversation analysis in feminist and critical research, drawing on a range of empirical studies. After introducing conversation analysis–its theoretical assumptions, methodological practices and empirical findings–it highlights projects based on two key conversation analytic domains: turn-taking and turn design, and sequence organization and preference structure. The ...
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Given the relative rarity of Q-methodology in feminist psychology, I ain delighted to see it included in this Special lssue on Innovations in Feminist Research. Susan Snelling's article demonstrates a sophisticated... more
Given the relative rarity of Q-methodology in feminist psychology, I ain delighted to see it included in this Special lssue on Innovations in Feminist Research. Susan Snelling's article demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of Q-methodoloa, and her study provides an exeiriplaiy use of the method in researching people's subjective perspectives and in exploring a diversity of different viewpoints. In this commentary, I draw on her article to illustrate some of the key features of Q-methodology: in particular, its use in researching ...
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This is a textbook designed for use by those studying, researching, and teaching in the field of gender and language. Although it is written from the perspective of linguistics, it is also accessible to people in other relevant... more
This is a textbook designed for use by those studying, researching, and teaching in the field of gender and language. Although it is written from the perspective of linguistics, it is also accessible to people in other relevant disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, and education. As a teacher (Celia Kitzinger) and as an advanced undergraduate student (Rose Rickford) in a sociology department, we read this book at our different academic career stages and both found it a comprehensive and scholarly overview of the field and a useful ...
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Psychology and Sex
Abstract This paper describes, for an interdisciplinary audience, the impact of gender analyses within psychology as a discipline and the implications of this for interdisciplinary research on gender issues. The paper argues that, because... more
Abstract This paper describes, for an interdisciplinary audience, the impact of gender analyses within psychology as a discipline and the implications of this for interdisciplinary research on gender issues. The paper argues that, because psychological notions (personality, motive, desire etc.) are part of ordinary contemporary Western discourse, the unreflective incorporation of psychological ideas into other disciplinary frameworks is commonplace. While much feminist psychology also uncritically adopts such notions, ...
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A B S T R A C T. From the first recognition of AIDS as a disease, it was publicly conceptualized as a ‘gay plague’. In response, health education and diversity training sought to counter this association claiming that AIDS is an ‘equal... more
A B S T R A C T. From the first recognition of AIDS as a disease, it was publicly conceptualized as a ‘gay plague’. In response, health education and diversity training sought to counter this association claiming that AIDS is an ‘equal opportunity’ virus – that it can affect anyone. In this article, we analyse talk about HIV/AIDS within a data corpus of 13 tape-recorded lesbian and gay awareness training sessions. Counter to the way in which interactions are described in the lesbian and gay awareness training literature, we found that it was trainees, rather than trainers, who pursued discussions about HIV/AIDS, and who did so in order to claim the ‘de-gaying’ of AIDS, which they treated as representing a ‘non-prejudiced’ position. By contrast, and in response to trainees’ insistence on de-gaying AIDS, trainers were ‘re-gaying’ AIDS. Our analysis highlights that in these sessions – designed explicitly to counter homophobic attitudes – apparently ‘factual’ claims and counter-claims about infection rates and risk groups are underpinned by essentially contested definitions of what constitutes a ‘homophobic’ attitude. We conclude by pointing to the value of detailed analysis of talk-in-interaction for understanding professional practices, and suggest strategies for improving the pedagogic value of training.
K E Y W O R D S : AIDS, conversation analysis, discourse, heterosexism, HIV, homophobia, language, lesbian and gay awareness training, lesbian and gay psychology, prejudice
K E Y W O R D S : AIDS, conversation analysis, discourse, heterosexism, HIV, homophobia, language, lesbian and gay awareness training, lesbian and gay psychology, prejudice