Narrative psychology
'Bold text'Narrative psychology is a viewpoint or a stance within psychology concerned with the "storied nature of human conduct",[1] that is, how human beings deal with experience by observing stories and listening to the stories of others. Operating under the assumption that human activity and experience are filled with "meaning" and stories, rather than logical arguments or lawful formulations, narrative psychology is the study of how human beings construct stories to deal with experiences.
Definition
The word narrative is used with a broad range of meanings. It is a method of articulating life experiences in a meaningful way.[2] Narrative psychology is not a single or well-defined theory. It refers to a range of approaches to examining the role of stories in human life and thought.[3] In narrative psychology, a person's life story becomes a form of identity as how they choose to reflect on, integrate and tell the facts and events of their life not only reflects, but also shapes, who they are.[4] It is a social constructivist approach that studies the implications of these stories for individuals and societies.[5]
History
Psychologists became interested in stories and everyday accounts of life in the 1970s. The term narrative psychology was introduced by Theodore R. Sarbin in his 1986 book Narrative Psychology: The storied nature of human conduct[1] in which he claimed that human conduct is best explained through stories and that this explanation should be done through qualitative research.[6] Sarbin argued that "narrative" is a root metaphor for psychology that should replace the mechanistic and organic metaphors which shaped so much theory and research in the discipline over the past century.[1]
Jerome Bruner explored the "narrative kind of knowing" in a more empirical way in his 1986 book Actual Minds, Possible Worlds.[7] Bruner makers a distinction between "paradigmatic" and "narrative" forms of thought, proposing that they are both fundamental but irreducible to one another.[8] The narrative approach was also furthered by Dan P. McAdams,[9] who put forward a life story model of identity to describe three levels of personality, leading to explorations of how significant life transitions are narrated and how the "self and culture come together in narrative."[10][11]
Narrative psychological approaches have become influential in research into the self and identity, as analysing life stories can explore the "unity and coherence" of the self.[6][12] More recently, narrative psychology has sought to use quantitative research to study communication and identity, studying narratives to obtain empirical data about human social cognition and adaptation.[13]
Practice
Narrative psychologists use interviews to provide an opportunity for a person to give a detailed account of their life or particular events. Narratives can then be transcribed and analyzed in order to describe and interpret them.[14]
Examples
John Donald McKinnon, Narrative Psychologist, Graduate of University of Wisconsin, Green Bay -suggests that a structure can be more appreciated if the discourse of story analysis originates as an overt interpretation, with a single apriori event. The first cause event is then being increasingly contextually dependent on the ability of the text to allow for a specifically accurate reading-out of a story -along with the act and intention/s of the authoring a story. McKinnon argues that precise structuring of a narrative discourse is fundamental to the scientific comprehension of Narrative Psychology and the importance of, access to, the anatomy of an emotional economy. Then the history of literature as fiction and History as a literary art can, finally, be exposed as somebody's fact.
Within the Scientific Method -fact is sustained through the rational cause and effect relationship/s of the matter told, even if of the motif given to us is given to us as fictional, The physical events are as unequivocal as quantum mechanics and human chemistry -the truth cannot be hidden (from the tip of the pen on paper to the neurons that are exchanging chemo-electric signals from Werrnike's and Broccha's area in the brain, all the way to, perhaps; even the sound of the language off the tip of the tongue). There is much to be learned about the science of the matter of Narrative Psychology. To limit it's definition to what has been said about narrative psychology in the past -in the way of quotable references, is to suggest no more needs to be said and independently researched and, should have no chance to blossom. Why should we be limited to the rote academic rigors of anyone who can come up with the most L.O.P.(least objectionable possibilities) citations? After all, Wikipedia is not conducive, nor should it be, to limiting definitions by eliminating pretty much anyone who has a deep concern, (beyond the restrictions of text book type of rote academics) for the welfare of our fellow human beings. Limiting those of us who are interested in more than the art of psychology is a mistake... no more than a overly simplistic view in regards to the Scientific Method. otherwise known as; an effort to find the truth in matter/s. Think of the potential of introducing Narrative Psychology and it's possible contribution to the study of psychology. The possibilities inherent within the essence of being human -making the reach for the art of the matter should not be limited to saying what has already been said within a predisposed set of formal language.
It is good to continue to, through the science of the matter, discover new matter/s. This format is approachable for those of us that want to discover more truth outside the box. This effort is for the review of other's, and greatly depends upon the unsaid future and the sharing of opinion's. Hopefully, some time in the future, more people, from many different field's of study will be granted the use for MRI-ing the neurological aspect of the cause and effect relationship/s of the human condition and "the storied nature of human conduct" -Sarbin.
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According to Brown and Taylor (1997), African-American slaves have made contributions to narrative psychology by participating in the Federal Writers' Project that was conducted from 1937 to 1938. Nearly three hundred field workers participated in the process of interviewing 2000 slaves across seventeen states to construct narratives from the former slaves' accounts of their lives as slaves and during the period after the Civil War. One of the best interviewers was said to be folklorist Ruby Pickens Tartt, who worked principally in rural Sumter County in Alabama. She recorded exactly what the slaves would say in their interviews, and she went on to write folk tales based on their tales.[15]
See also
References
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- ^ a b c Sarbin, Theodore R. (1986). Narrative Psychology: The storied nature of human conduct. Praeger.
- ^ Schiff, Brian (2012). "The Function of Narrative: Towards a Narrative Psychology of Meaning". Narrative Works: Issues, Investigations and Interventions. 2: 33–47.
- ^ Brockmeier, Jens; Carbaugh, Donal A. (2001). Narrative and Identity: Studies in Autobiography, Self and Culture. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 10.
- ^ Beck, Julie (August 10, 2015). "Life's Stories". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ Crossley, Michele L. (2000). Introducing Narrative Psychology. McGraw-Hill education. p. 40.
- ^ a b Forgas, Joseph P.; Vincze, Orsolya; László, János (2013). "Social Cognition and Communication: Background, Theories, and Research". Social Cognition and Communication. Psychology Press. p. 8.
- ^ Bruner, Jerome (2009). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Harvard University Press.
- ^ Bruner, Jerome (1990). Acts of Meaning. Harvard University Press.
- ^ McAdams, Dan P. (1993). The Stories We Live by: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self. Guilford Press.
- ^ Vassilieva, Julia (2016). Narrative Psychology: Identity, Transformation and Ethics. Springer. p. 15.
- ^ McAdams, Dan P. (2013). The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Crossley, Michele L. (2000). "Narrative Psychology, Trauma and the Study of Self/Identity". Theory Psychology: 527–546. doi:10.1177/0959354300104005.
- ^ László, János (2008). The Science of Stories: An Introduction to Narrative Psychology. Routledge.
- ^ Murray, Michael (2007). "Narrative Psychology". In Jonathan A. Smith (ed.). Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. SAGE. pp. 111–132.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
brown-taylorwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Chatman, Seymour Benjamin (1980). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Cornell University Press.