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Displaying emotional control by how crying and talking are managed

  • Ann Weatherall
  • Victoria University of Wellington
Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Abstract

In this study I investigated crying, as a display of emotional upset. The aim was to provide a detailed description of how turns of talk were organised around crying. Using conversation analysis, I examined a sample of 26 calls to a helpline for victims. Talking and crying regularly occurred together, with evidence of effort to keep talking and suppress crying. A loss of emotional control was displayed when talking was suspended by crying. However, even when flooded out by crying, the resumption of talk was routinely linked back to where it had been disrupted which suggests a normative orientation to not crying and to progressing talk. I use the findings to elaborate on the concept of being flooded out by emotion so being out of play for interaction (Goffman, 1961, 1974), in microanalytic terms. A conclusion considers the relationships between the sequential organisation of talking and crying and social-cultural norms about emotions.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 77-97 (21 pages)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 12/05/2021

Publication status

Published - 12/05/2021

Publisher

John Benjamins Publishing Company, Netherlands

Publication series

  • Publication series name: Pragmatics and Beyond New Series
    ISSN (Print): 0922-842X
    Volume: 321

ISBN (Print)

9789027208521

ISBN (Electronic)

9789027260062

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/625687
  • Scopus: 85105465109

Host publication title

How Emotions Are Made in Talk

Host publication editors

  • Jessica S. Robles
  • Ann Weatherall 

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