Article published In:
Pragmatics and SocietyVol. 13:1 (2022) ► pp.107–125
Challenges of trust in atypical interaction
All effective communication is based on the participants trusting that they share their basic orientations to the
world – that is, they have a common ground. In this paper, however, we examine situations in which such trust is lacking. Drawing
on conversation–analytic methodology and on 30 hours of video data featuring persons with dementia and their caregivers in a
Swedish-language daycare center in Finland, we consider some of the social consequences resulting from a lack of trust. Our
analysis focused on three different interactional contexts, highlighting the relevance of different facets of the participants’
common ground. These facets are anchored in the deontic, epistemic, and emotional orders, respectively. We show that, with regard
to each order, a lack of trust in the existence of common ground has drastic consequences, leading to (1) problems related to
getting one’s will acknowledged, (2) a scarcity of conversational partners, and (3) a lack of resources to maintain affection.
Keywords: trust, atypical interaction, conversation analysis
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Background
- 3.Data and methods
- 4.Analysis
- 4.1Everyday choice
- 4.2Confabulation
- 4.3Humor
- 5.Discussion
-
References
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