Discourse analysis and emotions

This chapter is concerned with discourse-centred approaches for examining emotion in conversation. Specifically, the chapter focuses on Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology. These approaches share a focus on the study of language as a topic in its own right- as a means of constructing, rather than representing, reality. With regard to emotion, the focus is on examining emotional displays and the ways in which these are invoked, managed and treated in conversation. The primary issue is the interactional work that is done and how notions of emotion are topicalized and managed in specific settings. The chapter has two major subsections. In the first I introduce Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology as research tools. I provide a description of each and outline their core methodological features. In the second I provide specific examples that illustrate the application of Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology to the study of emotion. The aim is to elucidate these approaches as ways of exploring emotion in naturally occurring interaction, highlighting the ways in which approaches based on analysis of authentic interaction can contribute to an understanding of emotion in conversation.