Positioning: Dialogical voice in mind and culture

The article combines discourse analysis and dialogical self theory to propose an integrated model of positioning processes in social interaction. The model incorporates social positioning—a focus for discursive psychology—with reflexive positioning—a focus for dialogical self theory. To illustrate the model, a fictionalized scenario is presented involving two people who meet for a date at a restaurant. The discursive dynamics of the scenario are then parsed using the model. The sequelae to the encounter take in the social rules for conducting dates at restaurants, but also the life trajectories of those concerned, their social worlds, and their internal micro-dialogues. Bakhtin’s concept of “loophole” is invoked to conceptualize reflexivity in the self, in the context of interactional dialogues. In discussion, the prospects for using fictional accounts as tools for developing psychological theory are considered. Without innovation in methods, advances in our understanding of positioning processes may be compromised.