Affective small stories – Witnessing an ‘ideal’ instance of knowledge mobilization

In this short reflective intervention, I utilize an innovative narrative format to document my account of being an invited academic witness for the Canadian House of Commons as a graduate student. Drawing upon layered forms of critical witnessing, I utilize five small stories to consider this seemingly ideal instance of sexual health knowledge mobilization that spanned academic, government, media, and social-profit sectors. I braid complex, messy threads to capture my affective wayfinding through the complicated institutional processes involved in the generation, representation, critique and control of sexual knowledge. Highlighting how this work can be more broadly applicable to graduate students and emerging scholars in related disciplines, I note how my critical witnessing is intertwined with social, economic and political conditions present in Canada and elsewhere. This work additionally illustrates experimental self-inquiry that disrupts distinctions between researcher/subject/seer and participant/object/seen.     

Sometimes stories sell: When are narrative appeals most likely to work?

Research has demonstrated that narratives can be effective in eliciting attitude change, especially when recipients become transported into the narrative. In three studies, we addressed whether some people are predisposed to be influenced by narratives and whether narrative and rhetorical appeals are differentially effective for different people. In Study 1, participants read an experimental or a control narrative, and completed measures of attitudes, need for affect (NFA), need for cognition (NFC), transportation, and transportability. The results revealed that NFA and NFC were positively correlated with transportation and transportability. In Study 2, participants read either a narrative appeal or a rhetorical appeal about cervical cancer and completed a measure of attitudes and the individual difference constructs. Study 3 was a replication of Study 2 using a different topic (organ donation). In both studies, the results revealed a consistent pattern of correlations among the individual difference measures. Further, we found that although the narrative and rhetorical appeals were judged to be of equal efficacy, the persuasiveness of the narrative appeal differed as function of individual differences in NFA and NFC. The implications for narrative persuasion are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Good to the last drop? Millikan stories as “canned” pedagogy

In recent literature, the famous Millikan oil-drop experiment appears as a case of “good scientific judgment” on the one hand, and scientific misconduct on the other. This article discusses different interpretations of the fact that Nobel laureate Robert Millikan’s notebooks show that he eliminated a number of oildrops in his published 1913 paper on the charge of the electron, while reporting that he had included all the drops. Starting with the common source of all Millikan stories, historian of physics Gerald Holton’s 1978 paper, I discuss recent “canned” versions of Millikan-as-misbehaver in books on scientific fraud. Then I examine some versions of Millikan-as-good-scientist, particularly the reconstruction by historian of physics Allan Franklin, and the views of some practicing physicists. Finally, we have an instructive head-on collision between the two standard treatments of Millikan. The problem with canned stories is not only insufficient information; we also lack a realistic evaluation of the role of ethics in science. As a fundamentally knowledge-seeking enterprise, science may harbor an inherent, perhaps irresolvable, conflict between scientific and ethical concerns. The author’s special interests include standards for “good science”, science and values, and social psychology.     

Life stories managing chronic illness: Young adults’ lived experiences with type 1 diabetes

This study aimed to characterise diabetes management experiences of South African young adults living with well-controlled type 1 diabetes (n = 8, female = 5, male = 3, age range = 20–25). The young adults told life stories managing their type 1 diabetes. Thematic analysis revealed the young adults to construct personal identities as people living with type 1 diabetes, to mostly utilise emotion-focused management strategies and social support for successful living with type 1 diabetes. Behavioural health strategies appear important for living well with this chronic insulin deficiency condition.     

Do illustrations enhance preschoolers' memories for stories? Age-related change in the picture facilitation effect

This study investigated whether illustrations facilitate story recall in preschoolers (N=58) 46 to 63 months of age. Each child was exposed to either a verbal story narrative with illustrations (Verbal and Picture condition), the narrative alone (Verbal Only condition), the narrative with uninformative illustrations (Verbal and Irrelevant Picture condition), or the illustrations alone (Picture Only condition). Children recalled the story immediately and after a 1-week delay. With increasing age, the Verbal and Picture group increasingly outperformed the other verbal groups, particularly when recalling central details conveyed by both narrative and illustrations. Performance did not vary among the three verbal groups at lower values of age, whereas the Verbal and Picture group recalled more than the other verbal groups at the older ages. Regardless of age, all verbal groups outperformed the Picture Only group, suggesting that preschoolers are unlikely to spontaneously generate a narrative from pictures alone.     

The experience of ‘healing stories’ in the life narrative: A grounded theory

‘healing stories' are part of an emergent narrative literature in psychology and counselling. This research explored the subjective experience of ‘healing stories’ within the context of individual's life narratives. A grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) method of analysis was used to generate and analyse six participant's life narratives. Analysis of these accounts revealed three categories. The first is the context of struggle that preceded the healing process. participants told of struggle in their relationships with others as well as turmoil in their experience of themselves. The second category, the healing process reflected the participants' growing awareness of life's existential givens (Yalom, 1980). This represented a personal exploration that opened lparticipants to a ‘healing story’ that offered them an insight into choices and possibilities for liberation. The third category illustrated that in the ongoing struggle the ‘healing story’ has continued to provide inspiration in the participants' lived experience as an ‘evoked companion’ (Stern, 1985). This research posited a core dynamic whereby participants' experience of their ‘healing story’ provided not only an initial inspiration that was healing but also, in their ongoing struggle, the ‘healing story’ continued to inspire their lived experience.     

Women’s spiritually mediated stories about recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder: A brief report

This study explored women’s lived recovery experiences from alcohol use disorder (AUD) facilitated by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The women (n?=?10; age range 30–62 years; married?=?6) completed life story interviews regarding their recovery from AUD with AA participation. Discourse analysis of the interview data yielded themes to suggest the women characterise their recovery as spiritual growth, a healing process with reliance of a higher authority, renewed purpose of life, and actively engaging rehabilitation. Spirituality appears a key resource in women’s AUD recovery.     

The effects of gendered information in stories on preschool children’s development of gender stereotypes

Social-cognitive theory posits that children learn gender stereotypes through gendered information. The present study examined whether children learn new gender stereotypes from stories when unknown words are linked to a gendered protagonist or context information. In Experiment 1, 40 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers were read stories with either a gendered protagonist embedded within a non-gendered context, or a non-gendered protagonist embedded within a gendered context. In Experiment 2, the same sample of children were read stories with the protagonist and the context displaying congruent or incongruent gender information. Each story featured an unknown activity linked with the stereotypical content. Both experiments indicate that the children rated the activity according to both the gender of the context and of the protagonist; however, the effect of the latter was stronger. In addition, children showed higher interest in the unknown activity if the protagonist’s gender matched their own sex. Thus, gender information in stories influences how children perceive unknown words.     

A review of: “interacting stories: Narratives,family beliefs,and therapy”

Rudi Dallos (1997) Interacting Stories: Narratives, Family Beliefs, and Therapy, London: Karnac Books, $18.95     

Does the character-based dimension of stories impact narrative processing? An event-related potentials (ERPs) study

Cognitive Processing - This event-related potentials (ERPs) study investigated online processes of integration of information relating to characters in narrative comprehension. The final sample...     

The psychology of telling murder stories: do we think in scripts,exemplars, or prototypes?

According to the story model of Pennington and Hastie, jurors collect information at trial and modify it with general knowledge to create case stories. Schank and Ableson argue that human memory is organized to tell and understand stories. However, Finkel and Groscup questioned the use of manipulated, experimenter-constructed narratives to demonstrate the existence of multiple prototypical crime stories. We interviewed 76 jury eligible, death qualified citizens and asked them to imagine a first-degree murder scenario, describing the events that led to the killing. We coded the presence of dichotomous variables in the resulting stories and identified at least three shared story prototypes using cluster and profile analysis. We conclude that people do not store crime stories as simple prototypes and comment on the implications of this finding for legal decision-making.     

Trait impressions from voices: Considering multiple ‘origin stories’ and the dynamic nature of trait-related cues

Experimental findings for trait impressions from voices are often discussed in relation to potential evolutionary origins. This commentary takes Sutherland and Young's (2022) account of the different potential origins of facial trait impressions to suggest that vocal trait impressions should also be viewed as having been shaped by cultural and individual learning.     

State education,spirituality, and culture: teachers’ personal and professional stories of negotiating the nexus

This paper explores the implications of spirituality for teaching and learning in multicultural state schools through the examination of several teachers’ personal and professional narratives. In attempting to capture the intangible, these narratives provide insights into the possibilities, both conscious and unconscious, of creating a climate that fosters spirituality. The classroom stories of a spiritual nature that the teachers recounted (while many and varied) revealed some common themes that related to the climate of the classrooms. Sensitive issues of faith, beliefs, and culture emerged and the teachers’ narratives illustrate ways in which inclusive communities can be fostered. The paper provides examples of cultural and social inclusiveness with a focus on two major themes: the relationship between life and death, and fostering a sense of belonging.     

Following Foucault: Tall stories of mapping and inhabiting Pierre Rivière's landscapes as a 21st century inquiry

This paper documents the research methods adopted in a series of workshops on Pierre Rivière that took place at the University of Bristol. A group of scholars from Europe and Australia used philosophical, narrative, performative and artful approaches to re-examine the life of Pierre Rivière and family as documented by Michel Foucault (1975) and his team. They watched the film of the book (Allio, 1976) listened to emerging papers and wrote themselves into pivotal moments within the narratives they heard. They conducted narrative family therapy sessions with the ‘Rivière family’ and wrote themselves into the ensuing moments of evocation and connection. They made dolls, and wrote themselves into the voices of those dolls, and they gave presentations about how Pierre Rivière might be positioned within contemporary therapeutic, educational and media discourses. They wanted to find out if different kinds of knowledge might emerge from these ways of doing research differently. And yet it seemed that whatever form of inquiry they undertook, other subliminal, imaginary, fantasy and folk and fairy tale narratives seeped under efforts to produce rational, coherent academic texts. This paper explores this dual process of investigation in real time accompanied by eruptions into imaginary folklore and fairy story times, with segues into contemporary, fantastical stories of horror and murder. Each step the research team took became a doubled step, involving doubled listening and doubled knowing. To this end they have represented their research process (after Lather, 2007) as a doubled text and yet they have still not fully captured the emotional space of the workshops they inhabited. It was as if they were, for the short, intense period of time they were working together, collectively emotionally disassociated.     

Do homosexual teachers account for about half of news stories of molestations of pupils? A Boston Globe replication

Homosexual interaction was involved in 11 (48%) of 23 and 10 (45%) of 22, that is, about half of two nationwide databases of newspaper stories about teachers sexual involvement with pupils reported by Cameron and Cameron in 1998. Whether this relationship holds at a local level was examined by searching all indexed 'sex crimes' in the Boston Globe from 1991 through 1998 for local stories about sex between pupil and teacher. Of the 21 teachers in 20 stories, 11 (52%) interacted homosexually with pupils. Thus it appears that nationally and locally, as reported in newspapers, about half of the molestations by teachers are homosexual.     

Is narrating growth in stories of personal transgressions associated with increased well-being,self-compassion,and forgiveness of others?

We tested whether narrating growth from transgressions was associated with increased well-being, self-compassion, and forgiveness. Study 1 was cross-sectional (N = 118). Studies 2 and 3 were short-term longitudinal (N’s = 77 and 88). Study 1 revealed positive associations between narrating growth and well-being. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and growth-oriented narration was associated with increased self-compassion and forgiveness at session 2 beyond expected levels given session 1 scores. Study 3 replicated some Study 2 findings and growth-oriented narration was once again associated with increased self-compassion at session 2 beyond expected levels given session 1 scores. We discuss how growth-oriented narration in specific types of events may be associated with changes in specific forms of adaptive functioning and gender differences.     

Do stories (always) make food products taste better? The boundary effects of matching package type and product dimension

This research examines when the narrative transportation induced by storytelling influences taste. In a field experiment conducted in two wine stores, we first demonstrate that storytelling enhances actual taste through narrative transportation, but only when the package type matches the product. In the next experiment, we determine that product dimension (hedonic vs. utilitarian) is another boundary condition. We specifically show that the effect of storytelling through narrative transportation on expected taste is positively stronger for utilitarian products than hedonic products. This article contributes to the research on storytelling, narrative transportation, and sensory marketing by showing that storytelling indirectly enhances taste for products with matching packages and utilitarian products. This article also offers important implications for marketers and retailers who aim to enhance the perceived taste of their products.     

‘What meaning does somebody's death have,what meaning does somebody's life have?’ Psychotherapists’ stories of their work with suicidal clients

Working with suicidal clients is perceived to be demanding and anxiety provoking for psychotherapists. This investigation explores what it is like for psychotherapists who work with suicidal clients, particularly as within the prevailing culture there is an increasing focus on strategies aimed at suicide prevention. Five themes were identified through narrative analysis, with support systems such as supervision and peer support being seen as vital in surviving working with suicidal clients. However, there is also ambivalence about involving other professionals, such as mental health services, as there is a sense that to do so may be anti-therapeutic and unhelpful to the client. Overall, what emerges from this study is that it is important to challenge the prevailing culture in which a medical discourse is dominant, in order to find a different way of talking about suicide and despair.     

When family and research clash: The role of autobiographical emotion in the production of stories of the Italian civil war, 1943–1945

This paper engages the emotional side of Second World War storytelling practices and research. Specifically, it explores how a politics of trust and togetherness animates communities of remembrance concerning the anti-Fascist Resistance experience in northern Italy. I reflect on my encounter with memories of wartime violence through the lens of autobiographical emotion. In a region torn asunder by conflicting stories of loss and violence during the anti-Nazi resistance and civil war, I possess a dual identity of researcher and Partisan's grandchild. This carries a powerful emotional bond of ethical obligations that cannot be ignored in the research process. Drawing on affect theory, I contextualize my oral history fieldwork experience in relation to that emotional bond.