Continuities and discontinuities in interpretive and textual approaches in developmental psychology

Abstract

This article traces continuities between current approaches and earlier qualitative and interpretive traditions in developmental psychology. Current research and discourse analysis are often presented as ‘new’, or as precipitating a ‘crisis’ in psychology, with the result that commonalities with previous work within psychology, and particularly developmental psychology, are often ignored. The fate of Piaget’s clinical method and its continuities and contrasts with current approaches are explored. Rather than calling for a revival of Piaget’s approach, the article focuses on the tensions within it and the conflict it generated for Anglo-American psychology. These are taken as providing a useful forum in which to explore new possibilities and directions for research in developmental psychology. © 1996 S. Karger AG, Basel.