Thinking-Aloud About Stereotypical Mainstream and Opiate-Dependent Lifestyle Images

• Main Authors: Andrew McLeod, Jane Ogden
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2013-08-01
• Series: SAGE Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013501156

Participants (6 male, 4 female) on a methadone maintenance program completed a Think-Aloud procedure while viewing two stereotypical picture sets depicting opiate-dependent and mainstream lifestyles. Discourse analysis indicated that participants used two different discourses: a stereotype-affirming defensive discourse , which involved affirming the negative and positive stereotypes regarding opiate-dependent and mainstream lifestyles, and a stereotype-refuting defensive discourse , which involved refuting negative opiate-dependent stereotypes while constructing mainstream lifestyles and members negatively. We argue that both discourses fit within a grander discourse concerning normalization with participants’ speech functioning to defend them from being negatively stereotyped by making them “normal” members of society.