Emergent Goals at a Relational Turning Point: The Case of Gordon and Denise

Abstract

The present case study describes textual evidence of the goal of 'breaking up' in a heterosexual dating relationship. The evidence appears in three telephone conversations. In the first conversation, a dating couple discusses what to do for the evening. In the second conversation, the same couple agrees to stop dating. In the third, the male offers an account to another female of how the just-accomplished break-up took place. We discuss problems in retrospective studies of relational turning points. Retrospective data presents an overly rationalised picture of action, one in which the role of pre-planned goals grows inflated, and in which the interactive construction of goals is under-specified. By attending to the details of these telephone conversations, we describe constructions and re-constructions of certain goals in one series of conversations.