Researching the Use of Psychoanalysis in Narrative Inquiries

Human lives are inherently storied. It is the story or narrative of life which allows for arriving at “meanings”, “feel”, “sense” of our and others’ lives. The present article is abstracted from a psychoanalytically informed, qualitative research work endeavouring to explore and understand identity dynamics in the lives of young men and women. It is an attempt to provide insights into the psychoanalytic methodology of studying lives. It tries to respond to the methodology-related concerns like: How does the researcher understand the participant’s communication? What is the role of theory in research? Does the participant speak in a singular voice? Is it possible to map through the participant’s biography, a cultural biography as well? These concerns are addressed through a life story of an Indian young man interviewed as a part of a research project and interweaving it with available models of interpretations. In doing so, the author has retained and reflected a self-reflexive consciousness. The article, rather than engaging in theoretical debates, presents a researcher’s meaning-making journey of reaching questions and finding answers. It also provides an overview of the utility of psychoanalysis for qualitative research.     

Elite athletic career as a context for life design

Against a theoretical backdrop of narrative career construction, this article argues for the cultural constitution of life-designing processes in and through sport. A narrative case study approach is used to explore the culturally infused, gendered construction of elite athletic careers from the life story perspective. One Finnish, male, professional hockey player (age 29) and one Baltic, female, amateur orienteer (age 27) participated in a series of three individual interviews, generating approximately five interview hours per athlete. Both participants drew upon the performance narrative plot of an exemplary athletic career to make sense of their sporting experiences, life choices, and career behaviors. Further analysis of gendered career narrations in the context of participants' lives extended contextualized understandings of career practices, discursive resources and cultural constraints of the life design at a particular socio-historical juncture. The present study elucidates the complex social, cultural, and gendered underpinnings of athletic career, as well as the ways in which agentic individuals create novel meanings in bringing authenticity to their life through the athletic pursuit.     

Biotech 101: An Educational Outreach Program in Genetics and Biotechnology

Recent advances in research and biotechnology are making genetics and genomics increasingly relevant to the lives and health of the general public. For the public to make informed healthcare and public policy decisions relating to genetic information, there is a need for increased genetic literacy. Biotech 101 is a free, short-course for the local community introducing participants to topics in genetics, genomics, and biotechnology, created at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Biotech 101 in increasing the genetic literacy of program participants through pre-and-post surveys. Genetic literacy was measured through increases in self-perceived knowledge for each content area covered through the course and the self-reported impact the course had on various aspects of participants' lives. Three hundred ninety-two individuals attended Biotech 101 during the first three course offerings. Participants reported a significant increase in self-perceived knowledge for each content area (p?相似文献   

Strong Attachment to Heroes: How Does It Occur and Affect People’s Self-Efficacy and Ultimately Quality of Life?

In spite of increasing evidence on the influence of heroes on the lives of ordinary people, there has been no formal study on the subject in relation to people’s attachment to a hero (or hero attachment). The current study proposed a consumer model to examine how a hero makes a positive impact on people’s lives in terms of their hero attachment, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Using observations from a survey, we examined both the direct and indirect effects that the contribution of a hero in people’s fundamental A-R-C (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) need fulfillment has on self-efficacy and ultimately on life satisfaction. We found that the impact of a hero in fulfilling the A-R-C needs has a direct, differential effect on self-efficacy and life satisfaction. More importantly, we found that the fulfillment of A-R-C needs by a hero significantly influences hero attachment, which in turn positively affects life satisfaction through self-efficacy. As the first empirical study on hero attachment in relation to people’s self-efficacy and life satisfaction, the study yields significant theoretical contributions and practical implications for practitioners and policy makers in the areas of public health, education, and quality of life.     

Towards a model of female occupational behavior: a human development approach

Substantial evidence suggests that women have added the role of worker to their characteristic adult roles of wife and mother. The inclusion of a work cycle in the female life course is a significant alteration of traditional roles, and is likely to have a major impact on both individual lives and the social structure. However, little has been done to incorporate these changes into theoretical perspectives on occupational development. This paper examines the literature on women and work by reviewing, at the societal level, the trends in female labor force activity since 1900 and, at the individual level, theories of the development of occupational behavior. An integration of these two areas is then suggested through an evaluation of their relevance to the human development paradigm.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Self-Stigma Around Sexual Orientation: A Multiple Baseline Evaluation

This study evaluated the effectiveness of 6 to 10 sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for self-stigma around sexual orientation linked to same-sex attraction (what has generally been referred to as internalized homophobia; IH) in a concurrent multiple-baseline across-participants design. Three men and 2 women showed sizeable reductions from baseline to posttreatment and to 4- and 12-week follow-ups in daily reports of the degree to which thoughts about sexual orientation interfered in their lives; distress associated with these thoughts also decreased. Positive changes were observed in self-report measures of IH, depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life, and perceived social support. Consistent with the theory underlying ACT, reductions in daily ratings of the believability of thoughts about same-sex attraction (a process variable) were greater than those observed for frequency of such thoughts. Improvements were also observed in questionnaires measuring ACT processes. Mixed regression analyses confirmed outcome and process effects that were apparent through visual inspection. Implications and the distinctiveness of ACT as an approach are discussed.     

同性恋认同发展的理论模型述评

本质论取向的阶段模型和社会建构论取向的影响因素模型是早期的同性恋认同发展理论,两者对性倾向是否为人类的本质属性产生了激烈的争论。当代发展心理学从生态化理论、毕生发展观、生命历程观出发试图对这两种研究取向进行整合,并提出了相应的模型。未来的研究应该注意同性恋认同发展多样性的特点,正确理解对外暴露在认同发展中的作用,并把纵向研究作为以后的研究方向。最后,提出了中国同性恋认同的特点和本土化研究的假设     

Wisdom and Life Experience: How Grandfathers Mentor Their Grandchildren

This exploratory study uses qualitative methods to focus on the largely unexamined role of the grandfather and to examine men's experiences as grandfathers. We gathered information through both surveys and individual interviews to explore men's feelings and attitudes toward the grandfather role. Of the 51 grandfathers that completed a survey, 20 participated in interviews. Our examination of the data collected reveals the life lessons men teach their grandchildren. The grandfathers in this study expressed strong desires for purposeful involvement in their grandchildren's lives and indicated desires for transferring values to grandchildren and teaching interpersonal relationships. Through this involvement, they educate through life experiences and serve as mentors for their grandchildren. We suggest that this mentoring role makes a positive contribution to the lives of grandchildren and to the identity of grandfathers.     

Meaning-Centered Couples Therapy: Logotherapy and Intimate Relationships

Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy posits that human life has purpose and that human beings are motivated to discover meaning in their lives. This paper’s objective is to present a case for incorporating meaning into couples therapy as a way of enhancing a clinician’s existing approach. Logotherapy is a potentially useful modality, regardless of the clinician’s theoretical orientation, given its collaborative nature and focus on the significance of meaning and values to the human condition. A logotherapeutic approach to couples therapy (i.e., meaning-centered couples therapy) would involve values clarification (individually and collectively) and emphasis on a love that is based on acceptance and self-transcendent growth. Logotherapy techniques are discussed, a composite illustration is presented, and recommendations for research are offered.     

Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation

Human differentiation on the basis of gender is a fundamental phenomenon that affects virtually every aspect of people's daily lives. This article presents the social cognitive theory of gender role development and functioning. It specifies how gender conceptions are constructed from the complex mix of experiences and how they operate in concert with motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms to guide gender-linked conduct throughout the life course. The theory integrates psychological and sociostructural determinants within a unified conceptual structure. In this theoretical perspective, gender conceptions and roles are the product of a broad network of social influences operating interdependently in a variety of societal subsystems. Human evolution provides bodily structures and biological potentialities that permit a range of possibilities rather than dictate a fixed type of gender differentiation. People contribute to their self-development and bring about social changes that define and structure gender relationships through their agentic actions within the interrelated systems of influence.     

Calendar interviewing: a mixed methods device for a biographical approach to migration

Biographical interviews are used in life stories research to elicit narratives on retrospective views of the self and the social world. Life calendars are used in life course research to collect standardized data in various domains of individual lives. Both instruments deal with autobiographical memory, which is a critical aspect for data quality and accuracy. This article presents a mixed methods use of life calendars and life stories for researching on migration called the Calendar Interviewing Device (CID). The CID consists of a life calendar for characterizing trajectories and collecting life stories through open-ended interviews. An analysis of 12 interviews examines the features of this particular research device, namely its flexibility on adapting to different interviewees, the strategies they used for recalling events and locating them in time, and the richness of the data obtained with the CID.     

Personality, Psychosocial Variables, and Life Satisfaction of Chinese Gay Men in Hong Kong

This study explored associations of life satisfaction with personality traits, life events, and social support among 187 Chinese gay men in Hong Kong. In general, participants were modestly satisfied with various aspects of their lives. Findings from a hierarchical regression analysis indicated that a high level of life satisfaction of Chinese gay men was related to weak borderline personality traits, disclosure of homosexual sexual orientation, and gay peer support. Results also showed that there was no interaction effect between personality and psychosocial variables in affecting life satisfaction. Limitations and implications of this study were also discussed.     

First-year course experience and college adjustment: a case study

This is a study on first year students’ experiences to adjusting to university life. Secondary data analysis was carried out on 49 cases, where students were required to record how they view university life and how they have adjusted. Thematic analysis was used. Results indicate that first-year students struggled with their academic, personal and social lives as well as attaching to the institution. For students to survive in an institution there is need for systems that can support them like the First Year Experience (FYE) course to help them connect to their new environment.     

Challenges and opportunities of a transactional world view: Case study of contemporary Mormon polygynous families

Summarized an ongoing research program on contemporary Mormon polygynous families. Husband-wife and wife-wife relations in plural families are examined from dialectical and transactional world views. Key research issues center on (a) how husbands and wives achieve viable dyadic and communal relationships, and (b) how dyadic and communal issues are managed in social and physical contexts through the life cycle of plural family relationships. I wish to express my appreciation and respect for the individuals and families who welcomed us into their lives and homes during the course of this research. Their honesty, forthrightness, and commitment to religious and family life is deep and honorable. We were personally enriched by having the opportunity to learn about a unique life-style, and hope that our portrayal of aspects of participants' lives is objective, responsible, and understanding.     

Learner-Centered Counseling Theory: An Innovative Perspective

One of the most useful tools counselors possess is a consistent, effective theoretical orientation. Yet, counselors often experience theory as an academic-only enterprise, rather than a skill-set informed by reason and empiricism. This article presents an alternative approach to learning and harnessing the power of theory to impact clients’ lives.     

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis

Case studies drawn from a 20-year longitudinal study of aging were examined for the support they provide to two theoretical viewpoints on the self in later life: one focusing on management of self-esteem, the other on development of identity as story. The five cases selected for scrutiny represented diverse trajectories of self-esteem. They furnished ample illustrations of certain key aspects of both theories, including assimilative processes of coping, depression related to absence of accommodation, maintenance of life story themes, and life review processes. They did not, however, give strong support to the dichotomy, drawn within both theoretical models, between younger and older old age. Examples of accommodation, disengagement, and self-transcendence, hypothesized to typify advanced old age, were relatively few in number and emerged only toward the very end of life. It is argued that examination of prototypical cases provides a useful approach to validating and developing theory. A conclusion drawn from this study is that more analysis should be carried out on the lives of persons who exemplify the theoretically ideal characteristics of advanced old age.     

Continuities and Consequences of Interactional Styles Across the Life Course

Behavior patterns can be sustained across the life course by two kinds of person-environment interaction. Cumulative continuity arises when an individual's interactional style channels him or her into environments that themselves reinforce that style, thereby sustaining the behavior pattern across the life course through the progressive accumulation of its own consequences. Interactional continuity arises when an individual's style evokes reciprocal, sustaining responses from others in ongoing social interaction, thereby reinstating the behavior pattern across the individual's life course whenever the relevant interactive situation is replicated. Using archival data from the Berkeley Guidance Study (Macfarlane, Allen, & Honzik, 1954), we present evidence for the operation of these two continuity-promoting processes by identifying individuals who were ill-tempered, shy, or dependent in late childhood and then tracing the continuities and consequences of these interactional styles across the subsequent 30 years of their lives in the domains of work and family. The importance of the sociocultural context in mediating these continuities and consequences is stressed.