Micro Analyses and Social Structure: Cognitive and Linguistic Models in Sociology

Abstract

Cognitive and linguistic models from recent works on discourse analyses are introduced as relevant and important contributions to sociological meth odology. By the use of such models, the integration of micro and macro levels of social scientific research, and the cognitive aspects of the phenom enon of social structure are addressed. It is suggested that cognitive schemata are part of the social structure, which again is always a tacit precondition for the description and interpretation of social details or micro phenomena. As a consequence, linguistic models and concepts may be useful for analyses of social interaction, while cognitive and sociological models and categories are necessary parts of conversational analyses.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Austin, J.L. How to do Things with Words, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1962

Cicourel, A.V. Discourse and Text: Cognitive and Linguistic Processes in Studies of Social Structure. Versus, Sept/Dec., 1975, pp. 33-48.

Cicourel, A.V. 'Three Models of Discourse Analysis: The Role of Social Structure', Discourse Processes, Vol. 3 (2), (1980), pp 101-132.

Cicourel, A.V. 'Notes on the Integration of Micro and Macro Levels of Analysis', in: K. Knorr , A. V. Cicourel , (Eds.), Advances in Social Theory and Methodology , Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1981.

Goodwin, C. 'The Interactive Construction of a Sentence in Natural Conversation'. in: G. Psathas , (Ed.), Everyday Language' Studies in Ethnomethodology, Irvington, New York 1979.

Grice, H.P. 'Logic and Conservation', in. P Cole & Y. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 3: Speech Acts, Academic Press . New York 1975

Hancher, M. 'The Classification of Cooperative Illocutionary Acts', Language in Society, Vol. 8 (1) (1979), pp 1-14

Lavob, M. & Franshel, D. Therapeutic Discourse: Psychotherapy as Conversation, Academic Press, New York 1977.

Manning, P.K. 'Talking and Becoming: A View of Organizational Socialization', in: J. D. Douglas , (Ed.), Understanding Everyday Life, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1973

10.

Måseide. P. 'An Exercise in Analysis of Doctor-Patient Interaction' Unpublished paper. 1979

11.

Rumelhart, D. Schemata : The Building Blocks of Cognition. The University of California, Department of Psychology. San Diego 1979

12.

Searle, J. Speech Acts, Cambndge University Press, Cambridge 1969.

13.

Speier. M. Some Conversational Problems for Interactional Analyses', in D Sudnow (Ed.), Studies in Social Interaction , Free Press, New York 1972.

14.

Strauss, A. Negotiations, Varieties, Contexts, Processes, and Social Order, Jossey-Bass. San Francisco 1978.

15.

Streeck, J. 'Speech Acts in Interaction: A Critique of Searle' Ducourse Processes, Vol. 3 (2) (1980), pp 133-153

16.

van Dijk, T. A Text and Context. Explorations in the Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse , Longman, London 1975.