The stories we tell,the reputations we form: Narrative identity and person perception

We explored the degree of consensus and accuracy in observers’ ratings of targets’ traits and autobiographical narratives. Targets narrated life high, low, and turning points and reported their personality traits. The conceptual content of these stories had previously been quantified. Here, groups of observers provided ratings of targets’ traits, knowability (how well the observer felt they ‘knew’ the target), and story conventionality, after reading each narrative. Observers exhibited consensus in perceptions of traits, knowability, and story conventionality. These ratings corresponded with targets’ self-ratings of traits, to a modest degree. The knowability of narrators did not moderate this relation, nor did key scene type. The conceptual content of targets’ narratives partially accounted for the relation between observer-reported and target-reported traits.     

JEAB: Past,present, and future

The effects of response force on microstructure were evaluated. A strain-gauge operandum permitted the manipulation of the force required to produce reinforcers (criterion responses) independently from the force defining response threshold. Thus, we could detect subcriterion forces that fell short of the force criterion. Eight rats earned food according to variable-interval (VI) 30- and 120-s schedules. The force requirements were set to 5.6 or 32.0 g; the response threshold was fixed at 5.6 g. Interresponse times were computed when subcriterion responses were both included and omitted from the analysis. Log-survivor functions of interresponse times showed that increasing force requirements elevated the mean between-bout interval of the VI 120-s schedule, but only if subcriterion behavior was excluded. Omitting subcriterion responses thus leads to overestimation of intervals separating response bouts. Increasing force requirements also increased the skewness of the between-bout distribution. A subsequent analysis found that subcriterion responses are most plentiful following reinforcer delivery, which helps to explain why their omission might inflate between-bout intervals, as this period is an important transition from reinforcer consumption to engagement in operant activity. The data suggest caution interpreting the effects of force on microstructure when subcriterion behavior is not or cannot be measured.     

Narrating career, positioning identity: Career identity as a narrative practice

In contrast to traditional definitions of career identity as an individual construct, this article argues for a discursive approach to career identity as a narrative practice. Career identity is conceptualized as a practice of articulating, performing and negotiating identity positions in narrating career experiences. By using the concept of positioning, this approach situates identities within particular historic, cultural and interactional contexts via the discourses and master narratives that position identity. It also leaves space for individual agency and change via the reflexive capacity of the person to modify and negotiate the competing positions available. The methodological implications are considered, and illustrated with an empirical case analysis. The contribution of the proposed approach is in offering contextualized understandings of actual practices, resources and constraints of identity construction while also allowing for in-depth analyses of the particularities of identity work and possibilities for change in careers.     

Animal memory: Past, present and future

This paper introduces a special issue on animal memory and discusses progress made as a result of the present upsurge of interest in the topic, an upsurge that owes much to developments in human cognitive psychology and neuropsychology. Work reported over the last decade has shown that the memory capacity of (at least some) animals is larger—in terms both of number of items stored and of duration of retention—than might previously have been expected. Recent physiological investigations appear to have succeeded in reconciling the effect on memory of hippocampal lesions in humans and non-humans, and further work on the hippocampus may help establish the physical nature of the changes involved in setting up memories. Theoretical accounts of animal memory rely on concepts drawn from cognitive psychology, and various experimental approaches to one particular notion, that animals may rehearse recent information, are discussed. Finally, the research papers of this issue are introduced to show their place in the broad context of memory research.     

Automated testing: Past,present and future

Over the past 15 years, a considerable body of literature has built up concerning the automation of psychological tests. Most of this research has been in the area of clinical testing, and may be unfamiliar to many of those involved in occupational assessment. However, the growth of office automation over the past few years has provided the hardware support needed for the development of automated personnel assessment techniques in industry and commerce. The present paper: (1) reviews the major developments in the field of automated testing, bringing together the literature from the clinical and occupational fields; (2) describes the potential provided by microcomputers for the development of new forms of testing; (3) outlines certain problems peculiar to automated testing; and (4) describes the possible future development of ‘expert’ personnel assessment and selection decision support systems.     

Inspection time: Past, present, and future

This paper is a commentary on the other papers in this special issue. A speculative account of inspection time is presented. Inspection time is viewed as an index of a core information-processing ability which has a causal influence on the development of complex intellectual skills.     

Psychobiography in psychology: Past,present, and future

The present article reviews the history and emerging trends in the field of psychobiography. Five historical periods are highlighted: hagiography and pre-19th century study of lives; Freud and applied psychoanalysis; psychodynamic extensions and personology; modern multi-theoretical models; and psychobiography as interdisciplinary science. The author advocates for a science of psychobiography manifested in expanded and empirically validated theoretical models anchoring research. Further, attention is drawn to the need for more rigorous historiographic research methods weighting first-person sources and incorporating mixed methods designs. Increased attention to ethical and legal issues in the conduct and reporting of psychobiographical studies is also highlighted. Finally, emerging trends in psychobiography related to research production, academic training, and organisational initiatives are presented.     

The teleological stance: Past,present, and future

We review the support for, and criticisms of, the teleological stance theory, often described as a foundation for goal‐directed action understanding early in life. A major point of contention in the literature has been how teleological processes and assumptions of rationality are represented and understood in infancy, and this debate has been largely centered on three paradigms. Visual habituation studies assess infant's abilities to retrospectively assess teleological processes; the presence of such processes is supported by the literature. Rational imitation is a phenomenon that has been questioned both theoretically and empirically, and there is currently little support for this concept in the literature. The involvement of teleological processes in action prediction is unclear. To date, the ontology of teleological processes remains unspecified. To remedy this, we present a new action‐based theory of teleological processes (here referred to as the embodied account of teleological processes), based on the development of goal‐directed reaching with its origin during the fetal period and continuous development over the first few months of life.     

Storying endometriosis: Examining relationships between narrative identity,mental health,and pain

We examined whether narratives related to mental health and pain in 120 women with endometriosis. Participants wrote narratives about endometriosis, rated the narratives on centrality to identity and positive and negative self-change, and completed measures of depressive symptoms, life-satisfaction, pain intensity and pain symptoms. Narratives were content-coded for themes of agency and communion. Higher centrality to identity, more negative self-change, and lower agency and communion were related to poorer mental health. Higher centrality to identity was associated with more pain symptoms. Narrative measures predicted mental health beyond pain intensity, pain symptoms, and neuroticism. The results indicate that how women with endometriosis narrate their illness is connected to mental health.     

Anxiety and depression: Past,present, and future events

This article focuses on differences between anxiety and depression. The first study is concerned with the timing (past, present, future) of negative events associated with high levels of anxiety and depression in normal participants. Depression was associated more with past events than future events, whereas the opposite was the case with anxiety. These findings are consistent with those reported in several studies on clinical samples. In a second study, participants provided their emotional reactions to scenarios referring to negative events lying in the past or in the future with the future events being either uncertain or probable. Past events were associated with more depression and less anxiety than future events whether uncertain or probable. Probable future events were associated with more anxiety and depression than uncertain ones. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

领导者行为一致性研究:过去、现在与未来

领导者行为一致性是指员工关于领导者言行匹配程度的知觉模式。行为一致性是一个本身不存在善恶之说但对于达到道德上的善却非常必要的附属性美德。领导者行为一致性的测量方法包括情景测量法和量表测量法。在实证研究模型中,领导者行为一致性通常扮演因变量、自变量、中介变量和调节变量等角色。未来研究应该关注领导者行为一致性的多元测量方法,情景变量的调节效应,领导者行为不一致性,以及行为一致性概念在集体层次或员工层次上的应用等方面。     

Narrative identity in female patients with remitted bipolar disorder: a negative past and a foreshortened future

The present study examined narrative identity and subjective well-being in outpatients with remitted bipolar disorder (BD) and a healthy control group. Fifteen female outpatients with remitted BD and 15 healthy control participants identified past and future chapters in their life stories, gave their age for the beginning and end of each chapter, rated emotional tone as well as positive and negative self-event connections associated with the chapters, and for future chapters rated the probability of the chapter. The BD patients reported less positive emotional tone and self-event connections for past chapters, but not for future chapters. However, the patients did describe fewer future chapters with shorter temporal projection into the future, and reported lower probability of future chapters. These characteristics of chapters were related to lower subjective well-being. The study suggests that a more negative narrative identity with a foreshortened future perspective may contribute to lower subjective well-being in patients with BD.     

Intersecting identities of elite female boxers: Stories of cultural difference and marginalization in sport

ObjectivesThe project responds to calls for research that attends to issues of cultural diversity within sport and that facilitates expanded understandings of socially constructed identities. The intersecting identities of elite female boxers are explored in terms of how they shape experiences of marginalization and well-being within sport. Focus is on constructions of race and ethnicity, language, and religion.DesignAn intersectional lens grounded in social constructionism was integrated with a cultural sport psychology approach to espouse the complexity, fluidity, and multi-dimensionality of the athletes’ identities as the product of intersecting narratives.MethodsMandala drawings and conversational interviews were employed as open-ended data collection processes that enabled the participants to share their identities. Portrait vignettes were then developed as creative nonfiction to elucidate how identities dynamically intersect and shape sport experiences.ResultsFive portrait vignettes layer together to show issues of identity expression, oppression and White privilege within the boxing context. The stories provide contextual insight into the ways in which athletes continually construct and negotiate identities in relation to dynamics of difference and sameness. They move fluidly between identities that are valued and identities that are marginalized, moments of open expression and moments of concealment.ConclusionsThe research contributes to social justice missions within sport by illuminating how certain identities result in individuals being dis/advantaged, socially excluded, and discriminated against. Possibilities are revealed for challenging social inequalities and facilitating more inclusive sport spaces that resonate with who athletes are as holistic, multifaceted people.     

Positive psychology: Past,present, and (possible) future

A survey study and two experiments were done to test the hypothesis that social flow is more enjoyable than solitary flow. In the survey study it was found that recalled social flow experiences were rated more enjoyable than solitary flow experiences. In the first experiment when challenge and skill were the same across social and solitary conditions, social flow was reported to be more enjoyable than solitary flow. In the second experiment when the level of social interdependence was manipulated it was found that participants in highly interdependent teams reported more joy in flow than individuals performing less interdependently. In both experiments, people playing simple paddleball games reported and expressed more joy performing with others than alone. Taken together, the three investigations support the conclusion that doing it together is better than doing it alone. Solitary flow, while quite enjoyable, is not as enjoyable as social flow.     

Community psychology in Hong Kong: Past,present, and future

The expansion of mental health services during the 1960s from a single remote mental hospital to centers and clinics in mainstream communities fostered the development of community psychology in Hong Kong. Few psychologists were initially involved in the local community mental health movement, but its momentum resulted in increasing numbers of practitioner psychologists working in community-based service settings. Community psychology in Hong Kong today consists primarily of service delivery, but also includes applied research, community organization/consultation, and community education. Despite having many parallels with the American situation, key concepts underpinning the practice of community psychology in the Territory possess their own character as a reflection of nuances in the local scene. Prospects for the continued development of community psychology in Hong Kong appear favorable. Of special relevance is the field's potential contribution to a better understanding of the psychological phenomena associated with the Territory's sociopolitical transformation in 1997.     

Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures: Parental socialisation,ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face‐to‐face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self‐report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self‐esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self‐esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self‐esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation.