4. Narrative identity

Question 1

Defining narrative identity

Answer 1

• Third and Broadest level of personality outlined by McAdams (1996)
  
  • Level of personality that captures how an individual defines themselves through the social construction of a coherent and purposeful life story

Question 2

McAdams’ Critique of Trait Theories

Answer 2

• “But as an integrative framework for studying persons, the Big Five may not be comprehensive enough, for it makes the whole of personality to be synonymous with traits.”

(McAdams, 1996, p.296).
- Traits DO NOT = how adults explain their individuality
- Traits DO NOT = grounded in a cultural or sociohistorical context

Question 3

• McAdams’ theory is based on these assumptions:

Answer 3

○ Selfhood is not given, it is made
○ The self develops over time
○ People seek temporal coherence in their self

Question 4

McAdams’s Integrative Theory of Personality

Answer 4

○ Level 1 - Traits (e.g., FFM)
○ Level 2 - Personal concerns
○ Level 3 - Narrative Identity

Question 5

Level 1 - Traits (e.g., FFM)

Answer 5

§ FFM: OCEAN
§ Dispositional signatures of personality
§ Decontextualised - (fairly) stable across lifespan and situations

Question 6

Level 2 - Personal concerns

Answer 6

§ Motives, values, goals, beliefs, skills, coping styles, defence mechanisms, attachment styles …etc
§ It draws upon many areas of psychology where there are individual differences between people
§ Involves focus on motivation, self-development, and strategies or skills
§ Contextualised within a specific time, place and/or role

Question 7

Level 3 - Narrative Identity

Answer 7

§ McAdams and McLean (2013)
□ The life story that is constructed from autobiographical memory
□ An evolving, integrative account, which provides temporal coherence and meaning
□ Answer to ‘Who am I?’ question

Question 8

MEASURING NARRATIVE IDENTITY

Answer 8

Life story interview
- Method used to collect data on narrative identity
- It positions the participant as a storyteller
○ In depth qualitative interview, normally 2-3 hours
○ Person divides their life story into distinct chapters
Person describes key scenes, characters and plots and significance of the event(s) in each chapter

Question 9

Written (Abbreviated) Life story

Answer 9

• LSI is a labour intensive method
  
  • Researchers sometimes collect written narratives of key life scenes using similar instructions to the interviews
  • Narratives do not assess the truth of event(s), rather it is individual differences in the interpretation of event(s) that is important
  • There is often not a constraint on the retrospective time frame for narrative recall, rather a focus on subjectively meaningful scenes

Question 10

Coding the life story interview

Answer 10

• Each life story is unique, but researchers can code for common dimensions and examine how these narrative dimensions related to variables of interest (McAdams & McLean, 2013)

Agency
Communion
Redemption
Contamination
Meaning making

Question 11

Inter-Rater Reliability

Answer 11

• Narrative identity researchers code qualitative data for the purpose of statistical analyses
  
  • Agreement and consistency in the interpretation of the narrative data is important:
    1. Defined coding schemes
    2. Training with example narratives
    3. Multiple coders, often bind to study hypothesis
    4. Inter-rater reliability statistics to examine the consistency and agreement cross coders

Question 12

The importance of Narrative Identity

Answer 12

• Narrative identity is not just a bunch of random stories
  
  • For narrative identity to be a level of personality, then it should predict important life outcomes
  • Researchers have often focused on health and well-being outcomes

Narrative identity –> Unity, purpose & meaning –> well-being

Question 13

• McAdams et al (2001)
  Redemption

Answer 13

• 2 samples in different life stages
  ○ 74 mid-life adults - completed Life Story Interview (LSI)
  125 UG students - written LSI for 10 life scenes
  • Researchers coded for redemption and contamination in life scenes

for mid-life sample correlations between redemption and satisfaction with life, redemption and depression AND contamination and SWL , Contamination and Depression

Undergraduate sample found Significant correlation redemption and SWL and redemption and psychological well-being

Question 14

Alder et al 2015 longitudinal study

Answer 14

is narrative identity style of health challenges associated with well-being over time?
89 late-mid-life participants were sampled from a study that included the Life Story Interview
Mental and physical health were assessed 5 times (once a year for 4 years post-baseline)

4 life scenes selected: high point, low point, personal health challenge and turning point

Agency and redemption: positive trajectory to Mental Health

Contamination: negative trajectory to Mental health

A & R positive traject for low point and health challenge compared to neg traject for contamination

Low point neg for PH contamination

Question 15

Alder et al 2015 study 2

Answer 15

Illness group
+ Traject for Agency, communion and redemption

• Traject for contamination

No significant changes in physical or mental health over time

Question 16

Dunlop & Tracy study 2

Answer 16

• Does a redemptive narrative precede behavioural change in recovering alcoholics (sober < 6 months)?
  
  • 44 ppts who were recovering from alcoholism
  • In wave 1, a narrative about their last drink and questionnaires on health, personality, months of sobriety were collected
  • In wave 2 at 4-months after wave 1 - ppts were re-administered the same questionnaires
  • Ppts divided into redemption narrative (n=12) and non-redemptive narrative (n=32) groups
  • Redemption significantly predicted sobriety (83% vs 44%)
  • Health of ppts in redemption group also significantly improved wave 1 to wave 2

Question 17

Adler (2012)

Answer 17

examined changes in narrative identity in 47 individuals across 12 weeks of psychotherapy

- Found evidence for changes in narrative identity over 12 weeks of psychotherapy
	○ Agency increased over 12 weeks
	○ No evidence of changes in narrative coherence
- The increases in narrative agency were significantly and positively associated with increases in mental health over subsequent sessions