Intersubjectivity

Intersubjectivity refers to shared understanding. Drawing on the philosophical notion of subjectivity (i.e., that meaning is necessarily colored by one's experiences and biases), intersubjectivity recognizes that meaning is based on one's position of reference and is socially mediated through interaction. In other words, knowing is not simply the product of individual minds in isolation. In qualitative research, inter-subjectivity not only points to the ways in which we share understanding with others but also indicates that meaning and understanding lie along a continuum of mutual intelligibility. This notion is of particular interest to researchers who study verbal social interactions in general. In various modes of research on discursive processes, shared ways of knowing are of particular interest in trying to reveal analytic positions on the [Page 468]way in which complex social systems come to create meaning for their participants.

Methodologically, intersubjectivity has influenced many social science disciplines' approaches to language, meaning, learning, and identity. It posits that the social and cultural contexts in which communicative events take shape affect individuals' sense of self and ways of knowing via their interactions with other selves as well as with the larger social structures into which these interactions coalesce. Intersubjectivity implies that knowing or understanding is not an individual endeavor but rather is socially situated; knowing cannot exist in a vacuum or a cognitive abstract system.

Although ways of knowing rely on shared understanding, we cannot share understanding completely with others. When two parties communicate, each party may have a sense of understanding the other. In addition, someone analyzing this interaction may have a different sense of how those parties understand each other. For example, someone may notice that her friend's chair is about to break. She may elicit a straightforward warning (“the chair you are sitting on is about to break”) or a more indirect one (“you might soon land where you least expect”). In both of these cases, the intended message is disputable from the perspective of the speaker, hearer, or observer. In the former, the speaker may mean that the chair sitter is overweight; in the latter, this may be a routine joke they share indicating that someone is about to fall. In either case, and with all communication, there is a possible range of intersubjectivity, both intended and realized.

Due to the range of intersubjective overlap, analyzing qualitative data or facets of social life requires an appreciation for gaps in understanding, ways in which to minimize these gaps, and an understanding of what existent gaps signify. At an analytic level, intersubjectivity is a construct that allows one to conceive of how others can be understood when analyzing interactions, texts, or artifacts. At a disciplinary level, intersubjectivity within modes of research perspectives allows researchers and audiences to understand the underlying assumptions, ideologies, and beliefs grounding their research projects.