Visible Deflation: Embodiment and Emotion in Interaction

This article identifies one embodied practice for implementing a recognizable action in interaction: what is here called “visible deflation.” This practice appears to embody a negative stance in response to a prior turn: one that is recognizable, and glossable, as “exasperation” in response to a prior turn. A number of instances of the practice captured in family interactions reveal how bodily resources are mobilized and organized with respect to the sequence of talk in which they are embedded; collectively they contribute to ongoing research in three domains: embodiment, the interactive construction of emotion, and family interaction. Data are in American and British English.