Examining Relations between Aging,Life Story Chapters,and Well‐Being

Socio‐emotional selectivity theory holds that older age is associated with a sense of limited remaining time. We suggest that life story chapters may be involved in this experience. In this first study on the connection between socio‐emotional selectivity theory and chapters, we examined whether older age is associated with fewer, temporally less distant, and less positive future chapters. We also examined relations between chapters and subjective well‐being. Two samples (18–84 years) described past and future chapters and completed well‐being measures. Older age was associated with fewer, less temporally extended, and less positive future chapters. Less positive past chapters was most consistently related to lower subjective well‐being, but less positive future chapters also predicted lower subjective well‐being in some analyses. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Continulty in the Life Story: Self-Defining Memories, Affect, and Approach/Avoidance Personal Strivings

To study affective responses to memories and their relationship to personal strivings, 117 participants (65 males, 52 females) wrote selfdefining memories and indicated their affective responses to the memories. A week later they generated personal strivings, rated them along 10 dimensions, and indicated the relevance of their memories to the strivings. Participants who recalled more memories relevant to the attainment of their strivings felt more positively about their memories. Additionally, participants who listed greater percentages of avoidance strivings also recalled more memories related to the nonattainment of their strivings. Participants with higher percentages of avoidance strivings also recalled less positive memories. In an extension of Emmons's (1986) research, participants' feelings about personal strivings were linked to their affective responses to memories generated a week earlier. These results support a goal-based theory of affect and a role for motivation in memory.     

My Silent Story: Conflicted Memories,Silences and Intergenerational Traumas1

This article aims to present the interdisciplinary project “My Story from Silence”, conceived in 2022. The project represents a pioneering effort in assembling individuals from diverse communities, characterized by varying ethnic, national, and migratory backgrounds, along a historically dynamic border. Its primary objective was to provide a platform for these participants to articulate and share narratives previously shrouded in silence, offering insights into their historical pasts. Emphasizing reciprocal dialogue for the first time, the initiative fostered an environment where participants engaged in the dual act of narrating their own experiences and attentively listening to the narratives of others. These memories were explored in group workshops on both sides of the border. By combining elements of cultural anthropology fieldwork and analytical psychology, the workshops attempted to address hitherto unaddressed traumas and silent personal memories linked to major traumatic historical events such as fascism and Istrian exodus through the narratives of individuals. Three vignettes will illustrate the workshop dynamic and our Jungian understanding of it.     

Lacan's Theory of Self and the Story of the Last Cookie

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Distorted Reflections: Media Exposure and Latino Adolescents' Conceptions of Self

Because Latinos are underrepresented and often negatively stereotyped in the media, concern is frequently expressed that repeated exposure to these portrayals may reflect poorly on Latino adolescents' self-esteem. To test this issue empirically, we conducted 2 studies examining associations between multiple dimensions of self-esteem and several forms of media use. Testing 40 Latino high school students in Study 1, we found that more frequent and more active TV viewing was associated with lower social and appearance self-esteem. Many of these general patterns were replicated in Study 2 with 115 college students and with several demographic controls. Additional analyses of possible moderators revealed more consistent negative correlations among women and among participants with a stronger Latino ethnic identity. Together, these findings provide powerful evidence of a potential link between media use and the self-conceptions of Latino youth.     

Self and Identity in Later Life: Protecting and Enhancing the Self

Self and identity are central concepts in the social and behavioral sciences for multiple reasons. At least three major research traditions focus on the self. First, sociologists view the self as a primary bridge between social structures and individual attitudes and behaviors, as a mechanism by which social structures and individuals affect and are affected by each other. Second, self and identity are viewed as cornerstones of well-being. Thus, social and behavioral scientists have documented important links between the self and physical and mental health, role performance, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and subjective well-being. Third, the self is conceptualized as a central motivating force in human behavior. Issues as diverse as self-selection into specific environments, defense mechanisms, and the desire and ability to break addictive behaviors have been informed by attention to the motivational force of the self. This latter tradition serves as the conceptual bedrock of this paper. This paper examines three components of the self: self-efficacy, self-esteem, and a sense of authenticity. The first two have received substantial theoretical and empirical attention; the latter, much less. I argue that this unequal distribution of scientific inquiry is a result of too much emphasis on the motivation to protect the self, to the neglect of motivation to enhance the self. I make a case for the particular importance of examining self-enhancement in late life.     

往生与临终关怀——佛教净土宗的生命伦理观

净土宗作为中国佛教信仰的主流,因其专注彼岸之往生,故曾被讥为“专属送死之教”,然而正是这一点恰恰说明了净土宗在临终关怀和终极关怀上的殊胜。这里主要是从心灵抚慰角度来阐释净土宗于临终关怀方面的价值及其对当代的启示。     

Transcendence and the Moral Self: Identity Integration, Religion, and Moral Life

Although moral reasoning is able to account for some of the variability in moral behavior, much remains unexplained. Recently, a number of components of personality have been proposed as bridging the gap between moral reasoning and moral behavior. The present study investigates the role that identity integration (the extent to which one's moral values have become integrated into identity) and religious orientation (one's motivation for engaging in religious practice) play in moral functioning. A sample of 60 undergraduates was assessed on identity integration, religious orientation, moral reasoning, and self-reported altruism. We found positive correlations among moral reasoning, identity integration, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-reported altruism. A hierarchical regression analysis, however, revealed moral reasoning to be the only significant predictor of self-reported altruistic behavior. We discuss the relationship between moral reasoning and identity integration and the extent to which the intrinsic religious orientation scale may be a measure of identity integration in the religious domain.     

Chinese and South Asian Conceptions of the Good Life and Personal Narratives

Are cultural visions of a good life reflected in how people narrate the personal past? Do they tend to emphasize experiences that correspond to their cultural commitments about what is important and worthwhile in the life they are hoping to live? To examine this possibility, Chinese and South Asian international students at a Canadian university were compared on the content of their narrative accounts of their post-arrival experiences. Predictions about how these groups differ in the prevalence of various topical categories were made on the basis of previous research on cultural conceptions of a good life. A majority of the predictions were confirmed, supporting the general claim that Chinese tend more toward practical and prudential concerns, and less toward spiritual and beneficent concerns, than do South Asians.     

The Role of Defense in the Life Story

In modern societies, adults typically provide their lives with some sense of unity and purpose by constructing self-defining life stories that serve as their identities. Such stories are told to others and to an internalized audience or listener who serves as an ultimate judge and interpreter of the narrative. Defense mechanisms specify narrative strategies that persons use to shape how their lives are told to others and to their internalized audiences. Life events and experiences are incorporated into a life story to the extent that the internalized audience can make sense of the telling. Defenses function to make some stories more tellable than they might otherwise be and to keep other potentially storied accounts from ever reaching the status of being told.     

Self Psychology and End of Life Pastoral Care

This paper explores salient concepts of Heinz Kohut's self psychology in relation to pastoral caregiving with dying persons and family members. Examination of a principle case study and other relevant clinical examples illumines the discussion. It is argued that the principles of Kohut's psychology can critically inform pastoral theological reflection. Strengths and limitations are considered throughout the analysis, and gestures are made toward beneficial end of life pastoral theological practices for clients and practitioners.     

Taking Our Selves Too Seriously: Commitment,Contestation, and the Dynamic Life of the Self

In this article, I distinguish two models of personal integrity. The first, wholeheartedness, regards harmonious unity of the self as psychologically healthy and volitional consistency as ethically ideal. I argue that it does so at the substantial cost of framing ambivalence and conflict as defects of character and action. To avoid these consequences, I propose an alternate ideal of humility that construes the self as multiple and precarious and celebrates experiences of loss and transformation through which learning, growth, innovation, and dynamic relationship become possible. This ideal not only sustains prospects for integrity but is more suitable than wholeheartedness for recognizing practices of contestation, such as those involving potentially destabilizing encounters with difference that is common within pluralistic societies, as vital for rich, well‐lived lives.     

Chapters of Our Lives: Life Narratives of Midlife and Older Australian Women

A narrative approach was used to explore whether women perceive their later years as a time of loss, stability, or gain, and the explanations they give for their perceptions. Life review interviews were held with 20 married or previously married mothers aged 60–65 living in lower-income suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Participants were asked to consider their life story as a book, to divide the book into chapters, and to entitle each chapter. Two types of gain narrative accounted for 70% of the stories: one (breakouts) described gains that resulted from the womans own actions, and the other (stress relief) described gains from role changes and the passage of time. A further 20% described continuing contentment with their lives, and 10% of the accounts described later life in terms of losses. The findings suggest that one reason for the later life satisfaction regularly found by surveys of older adults may be the disappearance or diminishment of previous life stressors. As part of a planned cohort comparison, similar interviews were held with women aged 50–55 and 40–45. An additional category of ongoing stress was required to accommodate their narratives.     

Individual Self,Relational Self,Collective Self: Hierarchical Ordering of the Tripartite Self

The individual self comprise unique attributes, the relational self comprises partner-shared attributes, and the collective self comprises ingroup-shared attributes. All selves are fundamental components of the self-concept, with each being important and meaningful to human experience and with each being associated with health benefits. Are the selves, however, equally important and meaningful? We review a program of research that tested four competing theoretical views suggesting that the motivational hub of human experience is (a) the individual self, (b) the relational self, (b) the collective self, or (c) determined by contextual or cultural factors. The research furnished support to the view that the individual self is the primary form of self-definition. We discuss alternative explanations and implications. We end with the introduction of a theoretical model, the boomerang model, that has the potential to integrate the diverse literature on the topic.     

The Story of the Self in the Aftermath of Crisis: A Case Study

Adopting a dialogical framework, a case study is presented that explores the story of the self in the aftermath of crisis. An analysis and interpretation of the case study leads to the hypothesis that integration and dialogue through promoters, coalitions, and cooperation are needed in the process of reconstructing the story and the self. A cultural narrative may facilitate such a process. It is proposed that during these developments a new core position may arise that has the capacity to unite and reconcile the self while promoting growth in the aftermath of crisis. Future research is encouraged that examines this hypothesis more broadly.