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was using common-sense discursive resources to construct her mental state in recogniz-
able ways. This meaning making was designed not only to construct shared understand-
ing but to work in the service of persuasion. Emma's mental state was invoked to justify
her constructing a depressed atmosphere in her family despite the fact that her son had
“been badgering me … for cheerful music” (745). Her emotional state was connected
with thoughtful meaning making, but was also connected to her actions, as she conduc-
ted herself in a depressed manner.
As this example shows, the linking of affect and thought is a concern for people as
theygoabouttheirordinarylives.Amongotherthings,affectandthinkingarelinkedby
ties of accountability. To act in ways that are socially intelligible and defensible, people
conduct themselves in ways that are appropriate to the contexts they are in, bringing
their conduct under the auspices of situational norms (cf. Edwards 1997). These ac-
countability concerns are managed by aligning two forms of conduct, meaning making
and embodied practices, in the “articulation of talk and embodied practices” (Durrheim,
Mtose,andBrown2011).Emma'stalkaboutdepressionexpressesamentalstate,buther
expressionsofdepressionarealsoevidentinthewaysheconductsherself—bylistening
to mournful music and not responding to her son's requests despite his badgering—and
forthissheisaccountable.Onewayofrenderingherselfaccountableistolinkthesetwo
expressions by constructing her actions in talk as the consequences of a depressed men-
tal state that prevented her from acting differently. Alternatively, she can act differently,
yielding to her son's requests, thereby displaying other qualities of mind (cf. Edwards
2003).
From the perspective of discursive social psychology, affect is inextricably linked to
meaning making because it is “enfolded in action.” Actions take place against the back-
drop of normative expectation, which includes commonsense understandings of how
emotions affect conduct.
emotional displays have proper (and improper) locations in the sequences of ac-
tions to which a group of people are engaged…. These displays will have ante-
cedents in the context of which they will make sense, and they will have conse-
quents, which will depend on their meaning for those engaged. (Harré 1999, 55)
The mental state of depression is authentically displayed by the expressed desire to
avoid cheerful music. Yet, although this mental state renders the display accountable,
it is nonetheless subject to critique: the moral implications of creating a depressing en-
vironment for other family members are normatively contestable. The assemblages of
depression, the practices that culminate from the channeling of conduct, the meaning of
theconduct,andthementalstatesareinextricablyinterwoveninactionandalwaysopen
to conflicting interpretations.
