Editorial: Discourse, conversation and argumentation: theoretical perspectives and innovative empirical studies, volume IV

Despite the central role of discourse, conversation, and argumentation in social life, psychological research still lacks a unified framework for understanding these communicative phenomena across contexts, methods, and theoretical traditions. Investigations of language use, dialogic interactions, and argumentative processes continue to develop within partially separate research communities, often limiting the possibility of a systematic interdisciplinary exchange. This fourth volume of the Research Topic “Discourse, conversation and argumentation: theoretical perspectives and innovative empirical studies” aims to further bridge this divide by bringing together innovative contributions that examine communicative practices from a broad psychological and socio-discursive perspective. The papers collected in this Research Topic explore the place of discourse within institutional, educational, interpersonal, media, and intercultural contexts, while also advancing a methodological reflection through corpora analyses, meta-analyses, comparative discourse analyses, stories completion, and functional linguistic approaches. Taken together, the contributions presented in this volume demonstrate the vitality and diversity of contemporary research on communication: they show how discourse and interaction are deeply implicated in the construction of identities, values, institutional positions, epistemic stances, and moral responsibilities. At the same time, they reveal how communicative practices are shaped by historical changes, cultural contexts, technological environments, and shifting social norms. By assembling studies that range from media representations and diplomatic discourses to educational dialogues, research writings, executive identities, and digital subtitlings, this volume offers a rich and multifaceted account of the psychological significance of language in use.