Talking about social change: A socio-psychological thematic analysis of citizens’ interviews in Greece

Abstract

The need for changes in crisis-ridden Greece has become a common-place imperative in public discourse both in Greece and in Europe. Focusing on interviews with Greek citizens, this study attempts to explore the ways in which laypeople discuss a) the feasibility of social change and b) construct categories of social change agents. Data were drawn from 10 semistructured interviews with Greek citizens aged 25-45, and they were analyzed using interpretive thematic analysis. From our analysis, it appeared that in all interviews social change was constructed as a necessity. Nevertheless, while in some cases it was presented as a feasible objective, in others it was treated as unattainable. Regarding the categories of agents that either obstruct or should undertake actions for change, the analysis showed that these categories either included political leaders or the Greek people through their individual or collective action. The discussion suggests that focusing on everyday discourse can contribute to the sociopsychologicaldebates about the agents and factors of social change and social stability.