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.     

The narrative identity approach and romantic relationships

Narrative identity is an internal and evolving life story in which the narrator integrates conceptions of the personal past, present, and presumed future within a coherent story‐based framework. Carrying a number of personal and social implications, this construct represents a psychological resource. We contend that, like life itself, one's history within the romantic domain as well as one's current romantic relationship(s) are often viewed using story‐based frameworks. As such, we argue that the greater adoption of the narrative identity approach within the close relationships literature would complement and extend current assessment paradigms used to study romantic relationships. In this article, we outline the conceptual and methodological background of the narrative identity approach. This is followed by a brief review of extant research using narrative methodologies in the study of romantic relationships. Finally, a series of current and future research directions are presented that rest at the nexus between the narrative identity approach and the study of romantic relationships. We conclude that the more extensive integration of the narrative identity approach within the close relationships literature would contribute to the understanding of such relationships. This is a story worth telling.     

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.     

The co-construction of adolescent narrative identity: narrative processing as a function of adolescent age, gender, and maternal scaffolding

The current study aimed to situate the development of adolescent narrative identity in the context of past-event conversations between adolescents and their mothers, extending work on conversational contexts in early childhood to adolescence. We examined a cross-section of 63 adolescents with 2 goals: (1) to examine how adolescent age and gender interacted with mothers' scaffolding behaviors and how those interactions were associated with adolescents' narrative processes of meaning-making, vulnerability, and resolution; (2) to examine mothers' behaviors in conversation and how the interactions between those behaviors and event type (important, sad, and happy themes) were associated with those narrative processes. We found that maternal behavior in the conversation was related to adolescent narrative processes, yet this link varied as a function of characteristics of the adolescent and type of event discussed. Overall results suggest that those with potentially less practice at narrating the self in elaborative ways--younger adolescents and boys--receive more supportive scaffolding, and that for those with likely more practice with elaborative narration--girls and older adolescents--mothers engage in more negation behavior. The role of these scaffolding behaviors in adolescent narrative identity development is discussed.     

The dynamic and recursive interplay of embodiment and narrative identity

Although there is an increase in research into how narrative identity interrelates with embodiment, the mechanisms underlying this interplay are hardly addressed. In this paper, I target this hiatus in the literature by proposing two mechanisms that can help to (non-exhaustively) elucidate the dynamic interplay of narrative identity and embodiment. I start by briefly sketching the debate so far and then go on to argue that the way narrative self-understanding affects our embodiment can be understood on the model of narrative self-programming. After that I turn to the other side of the interaction. Drawing on research in ecological psychology and phenomenology, I show how embodiment affects our narrative self-understanding through the way in which we engage with affordances in our narrative background. After that I highlight the dynamic and recursive character of this interplay. I end with some conclusions and unresolved issues.     

Incorporating narrative identity into structural approaches to personality and psychopathology

Structural models that connect personality and psychopathology have tended to adopt a somewhat narrow view of personality, focused on dispositional traits. In this paper, we lay the groundwork for incorporating narrative identity into future research on the structure of personality and psychopathology. Narrative identity is a well-mapped domain of personality, one with demonstrated incremental validity in the association with and prediction of psychological well-being. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the construct of narrative identity, situate it within the broader endeavor of integrating basic personality science with the science of psychopathology, particularly involving personality pathology, and describe an agenda for future research on this vital and largely overlooked topic.     

The content and processes of autobiographical reasoning in narrative identity

Building on research that focuses on individual differences in the narration of important life events, this study examined the content of self-event connections and thematic coherence in relation to the processes of autobiographical reasoning. Autobiographical reasoning was defined as making connections between the past and the self, the effort reported in making those connections and the emotional evaluation of the connections. Personality differences at the levels of traits and ego development were examined in relation to autobiographical reasoning. One hundred and nineteen younger and older adults completed a self-defining memory interview. Self-event connections reported in the interviews were coded as being about dispositions, values, outlook, and personal growth. Connections were then coded for the degree of cognitive effort required to make the connection and the emotional evaluation of the connection. Finally, the entire interview was coded for the presence or absence of a theme. Results showed that cognitive effort and evaluation differed across type of connection, and ego development and traits moderated some of these results. Further, across connections, there were individual differences in cognitive effort and evaluation, as well as in the reports of a themes across memories. Results are discussed in terms of individual differences in the construction of narrative identity.     

Contextualizing narrative identity: A consideration of assessment settings

We examined the influence features of assessment contexts exhibited on the content of the key autobiographical scenes often considered by personality psychologists. Participants (N = 402) narrated life high points, low points, and turning points within a 2(interviewer; present, absent) × 2(response format; written, spoken) study design. Narratives were quantified for 15 linguistic (e.g., negative emotion words) and six conceptual (e.g., affective tone) variables. We noted that 93% of linguistic variables and 83% of conceptual variables differed as a function of assessment context in the form of main effects for, and/or interactions between, study variables. The narrative materials commonly assessed by personality psychologists are highly sensitive to features of the contexts in which they are assessed.     

Faith,violence, and phronesis: narrative identity,rhetorical symbolism,and ritual embodiment in religious communities

Continental Philosophy Review - This contribution explores the question to what extent religious narratives can move the adherents of religious communities to violence or teach wisdom and...     

自传体叙事中的自我欺骗:个体的自我认同策略

自传体叙事中的自我欺骗是一种从个体内角度理解的自我欺骗,是无人际压力情况下个体自我建构过程中所使用的一种认同策略。这种自我欺骗发生在自传体叙事过程中,个体通过叙事语言拉开"新我"和"旧我"的叙事距离,建立新的目标追求并实现,最终构建新的叙事认同。在这个过程中,个体在维持正性自我概念的动机驱动下,采用有偏差的信息加工方式叙述自我故事,满足情绪体验与情绪评价一致性的需要,进而影响个体的自我意识,引发自我改变。未来研究可以探讨自传体叙事中自我欺骗在临床中的行为表现与治疗策略,考察其认知神经机制,并探讨不同社会文化背景下自我欺骗的特点与影响因素。     

Late adolescent identity development: narrative meaning making and memory telling

Personally important autobiographical memories are the smallest unit of the life story, which begins to emerge in adolescence. This study examined 2 features of self-defining memories in late adolescence, the meaning made of the memories to garner an understanding of the narrative construction of identity as a life story and how those memories were told with an emphasis on the functions for telling and audiences to understand the social component of narrative identity development. For late adolescents (N = 185), meaning was infrequently reported for the entertainment function in comparison with the self-explanation function. At later ages, adolescents' audiences were more likely to be peers, and at earlier ages, adolescents' audiences were more likely to be parents. Discussion focuses on the individual and social levels of identity construction that are apparent in personally important autobiographical memory narratives.     

Stories of the young and the old: personal continuity and narrative identity

This study examined narrative identity in 2 groups of participants who were younger (ages ranging from late adolescence through young adulthood) and older (over the age of 65 years). Participants completed an extensive interview in which they reported three self-defining memories. Interviews were coded for several characteristics of autobiographical reasoning: self-event connections representing self-stability or self-change, event-event connections, reflective processing, and thematic coherence. Results showed that the older and younger groups were not different in terms of the frequencies of self-event connections or the levels of reflective processing. However, in comparison with the younger group, the older group had more thematic coherence and more stories representing stability, whereas the younger group had more stories representing change. Gender differences also emerged, suggesting that females may have an advantage in the development of narrative identity. Results are discussed in terms of the different ways to represent narrative identity at 2 ends of the life span.     

A narrative approach to ethnic identity in emerging adulthood: bringing life to the identity status model

This study used a narrative approach to understand how emerging adults experience ethnicity in their everyday lives and to link ethnic identity processes with the content of how ethnic identity is experienced. Participants were 191 ethnically diverse emerging adults who completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and provided a written narrative about a time at which they became aware of their ethnicity. Participants' narratives differed significantly by ethnic group and by ethnic identity status membership, as indexed by the MEIM. The results underscore the value of adopting a narrative approach to understanding the content of ethnic identity and the links between content and ethnic identity development processes.     

Integrating self and experience in narrative as a route to adolescent identity construction

The authors outline the concept of self-event relations and propose that adolescents accomplish narrative identity construction in part by building relations between self and experience as they tell stories about their lives. They outline different types of self-event relations and consider how they contribute to building a sense of identity. They then examine the likely developmental trajectory of self-event relations from childhood through adolescence. Finally, the authors consider the importance of conversational narration in allowing expert adults, especially parents, to help adolescents acquire skills in constructing self-event relations.     

The collective past,group psychology and personal narrative: Shaping Jewish identity by memoirs of the Holocaust

Through honing its collective memory, especially after the Holocaust, the Jewish community has attempted to sustain its culture, bolster the Jewish identity of its members, and regain a resolute sense that its narrative is again proceeding. To some degree, all these aims are realized by instilling in its members the Jewish modal character structure: a psychological configuration with two contrastable entities. One chronically discomposed self-structure, defining itself as polluted and helpless, trembles with the appalling imagery of historical and imminent community disasters. The other entity believes in its unmatched capacity for reparative, socially beneficial actions. The paradigm of this psychological organization is found in many children of survivors. The memory of a tragic history abides alongside the community's hopes in the Jewish modal personality. The need to set forth and accommodate these two motifs imprints upon the Jewish "national" character many of its distinctive qualities. The designs of the Jewish community for this particularly Jewish twofold personality formation are augmented by the personal revelations of survivors. Therefore, Holocaustic testimonies are invested with a sacred aura. In measure, these recitals of the disaster with their stark images, plus the clashing affects aroused in the reader toward main characters of the narrative, dictate the way Jews define themselves in the world and the way they live. A confluence of being covertly commissioned by the Jewish community joins with the narrators' more idiosyncratic longings. Together they generate a steady stream of Holocaustic accounts. Complementary vectors drive the reader to peruse these records. The results therefrom, intimate knowledge of the disaster, plus the twofold personality motifs stamp many Jews as scions of the Holocaust.     

Career writing: Creative,expressive and reflective approaches to narrative identity formation in students in higher education

This study investigates whether creative, expressive, and reflective writing contributes to the formation of a narrative career identity that offers students in higher education a sense of meaning and direction. The contents of writing done by students who participated in 2 two-day writing courses before and after work placements and of a control group were compared. Employers were also asked to evaluate students' performance. Writing samples were analyzed using the Linguistic Index Word Count program and an instrument based on Dialogical Self Theory. Work-placement self-reports were gathered, examined, and used as anecdotal evidence presented in the form of case studies. The results show that career writing can promote the development of career identity and holds promise as a narrative career guidance approach.     

Getting the story right: a Reductionist narrative account of personal identity

A popular “Reductionist” account of personal identity unifies person stages into persons in virtue of their psychological continuity with one another. One objection to psychological continuity accounts is that there is more to our personal identity than just mere psychological continuity: there is also an active process of self-interpretation and self-creation. This criticism can be used to motivate a rival account of personal identity that appeals to the notion of a narrative. To the extent that they comment upon the issue, proponents of narrative accounts typically reject Reductionist metaphysics that (ontologically) reduce persons to aggregates of person stages. In contrast to this trend, we seek to develop a narrative account of personal identity from within Reductionist metaphysics: we think person stages are unified into persons in virtue of their narrative continuity with one another. We argue that this Reductionist version of the narrative account avoids some serious problems facing non-Reductionist versions of the narrative account.