This document discusses the importance of place for identity formation. It explores how people use place in social interactions to construct their identities by belonging to or being from a certain location. Even though environmental conditions like noise from trains can be disruptive at first, over time people adapt to their surroundings and the noise becomes normalized. Place identities are negotiated and managed through interpretative repertoires that portray locations as peaceful despite disruptions.

1. Where are you from?
The importance of place for identity
Jenna Condie
Lecturer in Psychology
@jennacondie
Psychology Seminar Series
University of Salford
May 2013
#salfordpsych

2. Overview
My PhDMy PhD
journeyjourney

3. Environmental
Psychology

4. Environmental
Conditions
Flickr: Gene Hunt

5. AnnoyanceAnnoyance
StressStress
Manage, mitigate,Manage, mitigate,
& control…& control…

6. ‘Objective’
measurement

7. Establishing exposure-response
relationships
Link: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=15949
Defra Project (NANR209)
Published: March 2011

8. Measuring
human response
as ‘annoyance’
Thinking about the last 12
months or so, when indoors at
home, how bothered,
annoyed or disturbed have
you been by feeling vibration
or shaking or hearing or
seeing things rattle, vibrate or
shake caused by
________________.
Would you say not at all,
slightly, moderately, very or
extremely?
Thinking about the last 12
months or so, when indoors at
home, how bothered,
annoyed or disturbed have
you been by feeling vibration
or shaking or hearing or
seeing things rattle, vibrate or
shake caused by
________________.
Would you say not at all,
slightly, moderately, very or
extremely?

9. PhD Research
““A common story of the professional developmentA common story of the professional development
of most qualitative researchers…goes somethingof most qualitative researchers…goes something
like this: dissatisfaction with quantitative orlike this: dissatisfaction with quantitative or
experimental methods has led many of us to adoptexperimental methods has led many of us to adopt
alternative, qualitative methods and, perhaps, toalternative, qualitative methods and, perhaps, to
wonder how our own perspective and experienceswonder how our own perspective and experiences
enter into, transform or change the issue or areaenter into, transform or change the issue or area
being investigated (as well as ourselves)”being investigated (as well as ourselves)”
(Sullivan, 2002, p. 3).(Sullivan, 2002, p. 3).

10. Moving from…
…a position of knowing to a position of understanding...
…takes time!

11. PhD wordle from 2009

12. PhD wordle from 2013

13. Environmental conditions as ‘place’Environmental conditions as ‘place’
Flickr: fsse8info
Flickr: khym54 Flickr: Bob the courier

14. Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?
The broader context where environmental
conditions “are only part of the story”
(Moser, 2009, p.
1).

15. Language as agency and structure:Language as agency and structure:
That’s so annoyingThat’s so annoying
Music to my earsMusic to my ears
Agency Structure

16. Places are
“doubly constructed”
(Gieryn, 2002, p. 465)
Motive for place
constructions –
identity work!
The
importance
of language

17. ““One of the waysOne of the ways
people use placepeople use place
in interaction isin interaction is
as a resource foras a resource for
constructingconstructing
identity, one’sidentity, one’s
meaning inmeaning in
the world”the world”
(Myers, 2006, p. 39)(Myers, 2006, p. 39)
Where you are is who you are
Do we still need toDo we still need to
belong somewhere?belong somewhere?
Place Identity (Dixon & Durrheim, 2000)

18. Dialogical Self
(Bakhtin, 1986; Hermans, 2004)
Hi, I’m from
Manchester
Hi, I’m from
Manchester I’m from
Manchester too
I’m from
Manchester too
I’m from
Salford
I’m from
Salford

19. From the monologue of the individual toFrom the monologue of the individual to
the dialogue of multiple voicesthe dialogue of multiple voices
‘‘Double voiced’ (Frank, 2005)Double voiced’ (Frank, 2005)
‘…always an orientation to other’‘…always an orientation to other’
(Madill & Sullivan, 2010, p. 2196)(Madill & Sullivan, 2010, p. 2196)
Flickr:marsmet541

20. The (In)Significance of Railways
Donna: well the house that we previously lived in was only a
two bedroomed house and we had two small children at the
time, a boy and a girl so it was a bit cramped we actually,
well my parents knew the people who lived in this house prior
to us and we were searching for somewhere to move to and
they just happened to say you know, come and have a look
at the house and we fell in love with it straight away and
that’s when we put an offer in and the rest is history
Jenna: so can I ask sort of what were the reasons to move,
for more space or?
Donna: it was it was space, there’s a lot more land, there’s a
lot more space in the house as well, and even though with
the train line it is actually a peaceful area

21. Lived ideologiesLived ideologies
(Billig et al., 1988)(Billig et al., 1988)
Kindly drawn byKindly drawn by
@coen_sharon this@coen_sharon this
morning…unprompted!morning…unprompted!
‘‘The Rural Idyll’The Rural Idyll’
Flickr: Katy Wrathall

22. ‘A peaceful and quiet place’
Jenna: What’s the area like?
Roxanne: The areas good, the areas good, it’s
quiet, apart from the trains, but like I say over the
years you just get used to them

23. ‘‘Trouble’ (Wetherell, 1998)Trouble’ (Wetherell, 1998)
Chris:Chris: …the only one, the only concern was the…the only one, the only concern was the
what do you call it, like freight and they’re reallywhat do you call it, like freight and they’re really
early hours and they do make a hell of a row,early hours and they do make a hell of a row,
the screeching and the clanging, what is it, theythe screeching and the clanging, what is it, they
go through very slowly and then they’ll stop andgo through very slowly and then they’ll stop and
then they’ll pick up again but been here eightthen they’ll pick up again but been here eight
years and I couldn’t tell you when they come onyears and I couldn’t tell you when they come on
a regular basis now, you just get used to it yeaha regular basis now, you just get used to it yeah

24. Three interpretative repertoires:
•Strategies of ‘normification’ (Bush et al., 2001)
•Construct moral selves (e.g. tolerant)
•Manage and negotiated identities of place
The Role of Adaptation

25. You get used to it
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNDIiXrjV-8

26. • Spoiled identity (Goffman, 1963)
• Ideological Dilemma – finding somewhere to live
versus living alongside railways
• Making sense of ‘disruption’
Railways as ‘commonplace’
I suppose everyone lives near something that
makes noise and I think its just a by-product
of 21st
century now
I suppose everyone lives near something that
makes noise and I think its just a by-product
of 21st
century now
Allen

27. Miles Apart?
Relativism
Positivism Constructionism
Realism
Quantitative Qualitative

28. Back together…
Response (e.g. annoyance)
Exposure(e.g.noiselevel)
Place Change
Adaptation
New Sources
Sustainability

29. ‘Identity’ matters
to policy making
•Behaviour
•Health & Well-being
•Social Change
•Driver paper on
place-based and
environmental change

30. Where are you from?
The importance of place for identity
Jenna Condie
Lecturer in Psychology
@jennacondie
Psychology Seminar Series
University of Salford
May 2013
#salfordpsych