'But I'm different to them': constructing contrasts between self and others in talk-in-interaction

Contrast occurs as an important theme across a range of post-structural, conversation and discourse analytic and 'traditional' social psychological work. Some approaches link contrasts to identity issues--thus self-categorization theory argues that identity arises in part through self assignment to particular categories--which is done on the basis of one's perception of similarities and differences with others. This paper explores contrast in identity talk from a different vantage point: one which has the strengths and shortcomings of an emphasis upon talk in interaction rather than on cognition in isolation. In so doing it draws upon a corpus of extracts largely derived from unstructured interviews with television news audiences but supplemented with some published data of relevance to the deployment of contrast with others. The paper illustrates some of the different ways in which contrasts with others can be constructed and deployed, which may challenge a category assignment, construct a generic category of others against whom self is favourably positioned, or act as an interactionally astute self-deprecation. In each case the contrast is understood as tuned in to the interactional issues at hand. In this way contrast is conceptualized as a live talk-in-interaction activity which can be fruitfully explored from the perspective of the participants themselves.