Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Signs and voices: joining a conversation in progress

W B Stiles1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.

The British Journal of Medical Psychology
|June 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

This commentary explores psychotherapy, semiotics, and linguistics, viewing individuals as communities of voices communicating through signs. It reinterprets projective identification as unconscious, sign-mediated joint action, challenging passive information models.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Producers and consumers of psychotherapy research ideas.

The Journal of psychotherapy practice and research·2012
Same author

A roundtable on psychotherapy integrafion : common factors, technical eclecticism, and psychotherapy research.

The Journal of psychotherapy practice and research·2012
Same author

Verbal exchange structure of general practice consultations with patients presenting psychological problems.

Journal of health psychology·2011
Same author

Routine psychological treatment and the Dodo verdict: a rejoinder to Clark et al. (2007).

Psychological medicine·2008
Same author

The use of a verbal response mode coding system in determining patient and physician roles in medical interviews.

Health communication·2001
Same author

Some functions of narrative in the assimilation of problematic experiences.

Journal of clinical psychology·2000

Area of Science:

  • Psychotherapy
  • Semiotics
  • Linguistics
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Theories of psychotherapy often view individuals as separate entities.
  • Semiotics and linguistics offer frameworks for understanding communication and meaning-making.
  • A shift is emerging towards understanding individuals as complex systems of interacting voices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To integrate Ryle and Leiman's ideas within broader theories of psychotherapy, semiotics, and linguistics.
  • To propose a model of individuals as "mosaics" or "communities of voices."
  • To re-examine projective identification through the lens of sign-mediated communication and joint action.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis integrating philosophical, linguistic, and psychoanalytic perspectives.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Application of semiotic principles to understand interpersonal dynamics.
  • Reinterpretation of psychological phenomena (e.g., projective identification) using a "voices" framework.

    • Main Results:

    • Individuals are conceptualized as communities of "voices" engaged in sign-mediated communication.
    • Joint action, including unconscious processes like projective identification, is mediated by signs.
    • The "active voices" and "meaning-accumulating signs" concepts challenge the cognitive fallacy of passive information.

    Conclusions:

    • Viewing individuals as "communities of voices" offers a dynamic and relational understanding of human experience.
    • Projective identification can be understood as a form of unconscious, sign-mediated joint action within a dyad.
    • This framework moves beyond cognitive fallacies, emphasizing the active and meaning-making nature of psychological processes.