Categories in social interaction: unlocking the resources of conversation analysis and membership categorization for psychological science

Stokoe, Elizabeth ORCID: 0000-0002-7353-4121, Raymond, Geoffrey and Whitehead, Kevin (2024) Categories in social interaction: unlocking the resources of conversation analysis and membership categorization for psychological science. Annual Review of Psychology, 26. ISSN 0066-4308

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Abstract

This article reviews two related approaches—conversation analysis (CA) and membership categorization analysis (MCA)—to sketch a systematic framework for exposing how categories and categorial phenomena are (re)produced in naturally occurring social interaction. In so doing, we argue that CA and MCA address recent concerns about psychological methods and approaches. After summarizing how categories are typically theorized and studied, we describe the main features of a CA approach to categories, including how this differs from conventional psychology. We review the core domains of research in CA and how categories can be studied systematically in relation to the basic machinery of talk and other conduct in interaction. We illustrate these domains through examples from different settings of recorded naturally occurring social interaction. After considering the applications that have arisen from CA and MCA, we conclude by drawing together the implications of this work for psychological science.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/psy...
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	H Social Sciences B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	21 Jun 2024 15:33
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 05:46
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123946

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