Commentary on Scheff: the analysis of meaning in social interaction

Thomas Scheff's "Cognitive and Emotional Conflict in Anorexia" is a fascinating example of what Scheff has described elsewhere (1987) and what Clifford Geertz (1973) (after Gilbert Ryle) has called "thick description." One of the advantages and challenges of this kind of intensive research with a single case or small number of cases is the opportunity to look in detail at a particular aspect of behavior and in that way develop a unique perspective. This kind of inquiry, at a less systematic level, is also closely related to the everyday practice of clinicians trying to understand a patient and carry out a therapeutic regimen.