A Discourse Analytic Approach to “Turning the Tables” in Romantic Couple’s Arguments

Location

DeSantis Room 1053

Format Type

Plenary

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

15-1-2020 8:45 AM

End Date

15-1-2020 9:05 AM

Abstract

This study uses a discourse analytic approach to examine how twenty young adult heterosexual romantic couples (ages 19-26) ‘turn the tables’ (deflection) or flip a criticism back on the other during everyday argumentative exchanges. Deflection is an interactional move where the recipient of a complaint or criticism (or any perceived attribution of blame for something), flips it back and positions the other as somehow having done something to cause or deserve the very thing that they are upset about. In the self-help/clinical field of psychology, this flipping or defelction is often conceptualized as a form of gaslighting (specifically, a narcissistic flip), where the person doing the flipping or turning of the tables is often seen as dispositionally motivated to create a reaction in the other as a narcissitic manipulation tactic. Given that the present study is anchored in a discursve orientation, the interest here is in the interactional architecture of the turning/flipping process, analyzing it as a rhetorical move designed to accomplish some bit of important relational business. The data stem from a larger series of in-depth qualitative studies interested in intimacy, identity, and romantic attraction in emerging adults (see Korobov, 2011a, 2011b, 2017, 2018; Korobov & Laplante, 2013). Inductive sequential discursive analyses specifically found a reoccurring sequential pattern in the interactional environment surrounding moments of deflection that involved alternating subject-side and object-side assessments. This pattern will be illustrated in detail. This study not only demonstrates the fine-details by which romantic partners manage conflict in real-time, but will also specify a range of interventions for more productive interactions.

Keywords

Discourse analysis, qualitative, romantic relationships, arguments

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Jan 15th, 8:45 AM Jan 15th, 9:05 AM

A Discourse Analytic Approach to “Turning the Tables” in Romantic Couple’s Arguments

DeSantis Room 1053

This study uses a discourse analytic approach to examine how twenty young adult heterosexual romantic couples (ages 19-26) ‘turn the tables’ (deflection) or flip a criticism back on the other during everyday argumentative exchanges. Deflection is an interactional move where the recipient of a complaint or criticism (or any perceived attribution of blame for something), flips it back and positions the other as somehow having done something to cause or deserve the very thing that they are upset about. In the self-help/clinical field of psychology, this flipping or defelction is often conceptualized as a form of gaslighting (specifically, a narcissistic flip), where the person doing the flipping or turning of the tables is often seen as dispositionally motivated to create a reaction in the other as a narcissitic manipulation tactic. Given that the present study is anchored in a discursve orientation, the interest here is in the interactional architecture of the turning/flipping process, analyzing it as a rhetorical move designed to accomplish some bit of important relational business. The data stem from a larger series of in-depth qualitative studies interested in intimacy, identity, and romantic attraction in emerging adults (see Korobov, 2011a, 2011b, 2017, 2018; Korobov & Laplante, 2013). Inductive sequential discursive analyses specifically found a reoccurring sequential pattern in the interactional environment surrounding moments of deflection that involved alternating subject-side and object-side assessments. This pattern will be illustrated in detail. This study not only demonstrates the fine-details by which romantic partners manage conflict in real-time, but will also specify a range of interventions for more productive interactions.