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Non-Transformative Social Interaction

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Social Relations in Human and Societal Development

Abstract

How do people protect themselves from being transformed or changed through social interaction? While we often assume that changes brought about through social interaction are positive, leading to human and societal development, it is also the case that people can feel threatened and thus resist change. Moreover, in contemporary societies, people are confronted by such a bewildering variety of perspectives that one could argue that stability is more of a problem for research than change itself (Gergen, 1991; Grossen et al., 2011). The aim of this chapter is to analyse the semiotic mechanics of resisting the transformative potential of social interaction.

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Authors
  1. Alex Gillespie
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cyprus, Cyprus

    Charis Psaltis (Assistant Professor of Social and Developmental Psychology) (Assistant Professor of Social and Developmental Psychology)

  2. London School of Economics, UK

    Alex Gillespie (Associate Professor of Social Psychology) (Associate Professor of Social Psychology)

  3. University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont (Professor Emeritus) (Professor Emeritus)

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© 2015 Alex Gillespie

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Gillespie, A. (2015). Non-Transformative Social Interaction. In: Psaltis, C., Gillespie, A., Perret-Clermont, AN. (eds) Social Relations in Human and Societal Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137400994_6

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