ABSTRACT
The following chapter explicates the first approach to discursive psychology as put forward by Edwards and Potter. A reaction against the standard cognitive procedures prevalent in traditional psychology, this strand of discursive psychology stood in favour of detailed analysis of interaction to understand how people created versions of reality, attributed blame and negotiated their identities in talk. The chapter explains in detail the discourse-action model by the theorists, the action-oriented nature of discourse and its link to psychology, citing research to emphasise how conversation analysis can be a useful methodology for the approach. Although the perspective is revolutionary in its understanding of the constructed nature of reality, one of its drawbacks is its relativist stance that does not allow the researchers to view the pervasiveness of ideology and power relations in interaction and to commit themselves to a sociopolitical agenda.
