narrative identity … …at the crossroads of hermeneutic philosophy and cognitive psychology ray...

Narrative Identity …Narrative Identity … …at the Crossroads of …at the Crossroads of Hermeneutic Philosophy and Hermeneutic Philosophy and Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Psychology

Ray SparroweRay Sparrowe

Framing the conversationFraming the conversation

A narrative about narrative identity – A narrative about narrative identity – or, how I stumbled into this arenaor, how I stumbled into this arena

Where I find myself nowWhere I find myself now Where to go from here?Where to go from here?

– Go forward, or set asideGo forward, or set aside– If forward …If forward …

Directions for further constructive theory?Directions for further constructive theory? Links to other lines of research?Links to other lines of research? Potential empirical work?Potential empirical work?

The story illustratedThe story illustrated

Authentic Leadership?

Authentic Self?

Self?

Hermeneutic Philosophy

The Narrative Self

Cognitive Psychology

Autobiographical Memory

Convergence?

A narrative about narrative …A narrative about narrative …

What is Authentic What is Authentic Leadership?Leadership?– ““To thine own self be true”To thine own self be true”– Speaking one’s own true voice Speaking one’s own true voice

(Kouzes and Posner)(Kouzes and Posner)– Finding one’s inner purpose Finding one’s inner purpose

(George)(George) So, the authentic self …So, the authentic self …

– Is discovered through self Is discovered through self awarenessawareness

– Stands over against the Stands over against the influence of othersinfluence of others

– Endures as a touchstone for Endures as a touchstone for consistencyconsistency


Authentic Self?

But …. (my hunches)But …. (my hunches)

Does self-awareness Does self-awareness faithfully disclose our true faithfully disclose our true selves – or is self-selves – or is self-awareness motivated? awareness motivated? (Think Freud here)(Think Freud here)

Are our true selves Are our true selves constituted apart from constituted apart from others, or through others, or through relationships with others? relationships with others? (Recall who Jesus met in (Recall who Jesus met in the wilderness)the wilderness)

Is consistency all it’s Is consistency all it’s cracked up to be, or is cracked up to be, or is there virtue in flip-flopping?there virtue in flip-flopping?


Authentic Self?

Self?

Take 1: Take 1: The Narrative The Narrative SelfSelf

Paul RicoeurPaul Ricoeur– Heir apparent in the tradition of Dilthey, Husserl, Heir apparent in the tradition of Dilthey, Husserl,

Heidegger and GadamerHeidegger and Gadamer– Emphasis on the Emphasis on the interpretationinterpretation of ‘texts’ – of ‘texts’ –

symbols (1967), metaphor (1977), and narrative symbols (1967), metaphor (1977), and narrative (1984; 1985; 1988)(1984; 1985; 1988)

But uneasy within the interpretative paradigm But uneasy within the interpretative paradigm (Burrell and Morgan)(Burrell and Morgan)

Leans towards social constructivism (Gergen, Leans towards social constructivism (Gergen, 1985), but wants to recover the objective in the 1985), but wants to recover the objective in the subjectivesubjective

Sensemaking: More like Weick Sensemaking: More like Weick

Self?


The Narrative Self

Narrative in Narrative in Ricoeur’s Ricoeur’s ThoughtThought

Emplotment (the narrative engine)Emplotment (the narrative engine)– ““draws a meaningful story from a diversity of draws a meaningful story from a diversity of

events or incidents” (1984, p. 65) events or incidents” (1984, p. 65) – ““brings together factors as heterogeneous as brings together factors as heterogeneous as

agents, goals, means, interactions, circumstances, agents, goals, means, interactions, circumstances, and unexpected results” (1984, p. 65)and unexpected results” (1984, p. 65)

– “ “To understand the story is to understand how To understand the story is to understand how and why the successive episodes led to this and why the successive episodes led to this conclusion, which, far from being foreseeable, conclusion, which, far from being foreseeable, must finally be acceptable, as congruent with the must finally be acceptable, as congruent with the episodes brought together by the story” (1984, p. episodes brought together by the story” (1984, p. 66-67). 66-67).

– ““Discordant Concordance”Discordant Concordance”

Self?


The Narrative Self

The Narrative The Narrative SelfSelf

Emplotment Emplotment UnifiesUnifies discordant events… discordant events…– Weaves together discordant events into a Weaves together discordant events into a

cohesive narrativecohesive narrative– Intertwines the character and the plot thereby Intertwines the character and the plot thereby

lending self-constancy to an individual’s identity lending self-constancy to an individual’s identity in relation to the temporal totality of an implied in relation to the temporal totality of an implied beginning, middle, and endbeginning, middle, and end

……thereby disclosing character through the thereby disclosing character through the plotplot

Self?


The Narrative Self


Emplotment unifies Emplotment unifies discordantdiscordant events and events and experiences …experiences …– What Ricoeur calls “imaginative variation”What Ricoeur calls “imaginative variation”– Actual, counter-factual, and hypotheticalActual, counter-factual, and hypothetical– we ‘make sense’ of events by figuring them into we ‘make sense’ of events by figuring them into

brief plots – often with implied or actual actors, brief plots – often with implied or actual actors, intentions, and outcomes. intentions, and outcomes.

– These brief plots are then retrospectively figured These brief plots are then retrospectively figured into larger narratives where there is an implied into larger narratives where there is an implied or actual beginning, middle, and ending. or actual beginning, middle, and ending.

Self?


The Narrative Self


But where do these imaginative variations But where do these imaginative variations come from?come from?– Literature represents a “vast laboratory for Literature represents a “vast laboratory for

thought experiments” (1992, p. 148)thought experiments” (1992, p. 148)– Providing story lines (short plots and episodes) Providing story lines (short plots and episodes)

for entertaining alternative pasts, presents, and for entertaining alternative pasts, presents, and futuresfutures

And so, by extension, imaginative And so, by extension, imaginative variations come from others all around us variations come from others all around us (e.g. culture)(e.g. culture)

Self?


The Narrative Self


The Narrative Self is constituted in relation to The Narrative Self is constituted in relation to others … “Oneself as Another” in two ways …others … “Oneself as Another” in two ways …– Others as sources for plot lines and selves roviding Others as sources for plot lines and selves roviding

story lines (short plots and episodes) for entertaining story lines (short plots and episodes) for entertaining alternative pasts, presents, and futuresalternative pasts, presents, and futures

Much like Markus’s possible selves or Ibarra’s Much like Markus’s possible selves or Ibarra’s provisional selvesprovisional selves

– In narrating the self, we represent ourselves as In narrating the self, we represent ourselves as ‘another’ who is the ‘object’ of our subjective ‘another’ who is the ‘object’ of our subjective narrationnarration

Connections to Mead, Cooley, and Berger and LuckmannConnections to Mead, Cooley, and Berger and Luckmann

Self?


The Narrative Self

The Narrative The Narrative SelfSelf ….. So …. ….. So ….

The self is a narrative interpretation, where The self is a narrative interpretation, where disparate events and imaginative variation disparate events and imaginative variation illuminate character and identity illuminate character and identity – Rather than a prototype-matching process Rather than a prototype-matching process

Authenticity is not flight from others, but Authenticity is not flight from others, but emergent from interpretation of self in emergent from interpretation of self in relation to others and oneself as anotherrelation to others and oneself as another

Authenticity is not being true to one’s self, Authenticity is not being true to one’s self, but the esteem one holds for others and but the esteem one holds for others and the regard others hold for usthe regard others hold for us

Self?


The Narrative Self

Take 2: Time TravelTake 2: Time Travel(Autobiographical (Autobiographical Memory)Memory) What do you remember of …What do you remember of …

– Your second day of high school?Your second day of high school?– Your first day in college?Your first day in college?– Your second publication?Your second publication?– Your first publication?Your first publication?

… … the day of the 9/11 attacks?the day of the 9/11 attacks?

Self?



Take 2: Take 2: Autobiographical Autobiographical MemoryMemory

Flashbulb MemoriesFlashbulb Memories– Great vividness, Great vividness,

detaildetail– Narrative qualities: Narrative qualities:

setting, event, setting, event, outcomeoutcome

– Confidence in Confidence in veracity is high but veracity is high but mostly illusorymostly illusory

False MemoriesFalse Memories– ‘‘Lost at the mall’Lost at the mall’

ForgettingForgetting IntrusionIntrusion

Self?



Childhood amnesiaChildhood amnesia– ABM starts at about ABM starts at about

four years of agefour years of age– Not especially Not especially

accurate before six accurate before six years of ageyears of age

First time events First time events have greater recallhave greater recall

Emotional AspectsEmotional Aspects– Increase recallIncrease recall– Increase fuzzinessIncrease fuzziness

Take 2: Take 2: Autobiographical Autobiographical Memory (Conway, Memory (Conway, 1991)1991) Episodic MemoryEpisodic Memory– Recollected episodes associated with visual Recollected episodes associated with visual

informationinformation– Not particularly sensical as self-reports by themselves Not particularly sensical as self-reports by themselves

(e.g. when people relate their dreams)(e.g. when people relate their dreams) Semantic MemorySemantic Memory

– Knowledge we ‘remember’ about our pastKnowledge we ‘remember’ about our past Autobiographical Memory weaves episodic and Autobiographical Memory weaves episodic and

semantic memory together into scripts (plots) when semantic memory together into scripts (plots) when we have an occasion to give an account of ourselveswe have an occasion to give an account of ourselves

Self?



EM

SM

EM

SM

EM

SM

EM

SM

Take 2: Take 2: Autobiographical Autobiographical MemoryMemory

Autobiographical memoryAutobiographical memory– Narrative provides a context uniting Narrative provides a context uniting

knowledge and recollectionknowledge and recollection– Draws from scripts learned in interaction as a Draws from scripts learned in interaction as a

small child (Nelson and Fivush, 2000)small child (Nelson and Fivush, 2000)– Like the script that “things get better over Like the script that “things get better over

time” (Rubin & Bernsten, 2003) time” (Rubin & Bernsten, 2003) – Scripts are embedded in culture and language Scripts are embedded in culture and language

(Ross, Xun & and Bernsten, 2002)(Ross, Xun & and Bernsten, 2002)

Self?



EM

SM

EM

SM

EM

SM

EM

SM

The Narrative The Narrative SelfSelfPutting it Putting it togethertogether

““As for the narrative As for the narrative unity of a life, it must be unity of a life, it must be seen as an unstable seen as an unstable mixture of fabulation mixture of fabulation and actual experience. It and actual experience. It is precisely because of is precisely because of the elusive character of the elusive character of real life that we need real life that we need the help of fiction to the help of fiction to organize life organize life retrospectively, after the retrospectively, after the fact, prepared to take as fact, prepared to take as provisional and open to provisional and open to revision any figure of revision any figure of emplotment borrowed emplotment borrowed from fiction or history.”from fiction or history.”– RicoeurRicoeur

Self?


The Narrative Self

““Our attitudes and our choices Our attitudes and our choices are, in no small part, the are, in no small part, the consequence of the “occasion of consequence of the “occasion of personhood” that organisms personhood” that organisms concoct on the fly of each instant. concoct on the fly of each instant. Little wonder, then, that we can Little wonder, then, that we can vary and waver, succumb to vary and waver, succumb to vanity and betray, be malleable vanity and betray, be malleable and voluble. The potential to and voluble. The potential to create our own Hamlets, Iagos, create our own Hamlets, Iagos, and Falstaffs is inside each one of and Falstaffs is inside each one of us. Under the right circumstances, us. Under the right circumstances, aspects of those characters can aspects of those characters can emerge, briefly and transiently, emerge, briefly and transiently, one hopes. In some respects it is one hopes. In some respects it is astonishing that most of us have astonishing that most of us have only one character, although there only one character, although there are sound reasons for the are sound reasons for the singularity.singularity.– DamasioDamasio

But …. (my hunches)But …. (my hunches)

Does self-awareness Does self-awareness faithfully disclose our true faithfully disclose our true selves – or is self-selves – or is self-awareness motivated? awareness motivated? (Think Freud here)(Think Freud here)

Are our true selves Are our true selves constituted apart from constituted apart from others, or through others, or through relationships with others? relationships with others? (Recall who Jesus met in (Recall who Jesus met in the wilderness)the wilderness)

Is consistency all it’s Is consistency all it’s cracked up to be, or is cracked up to be, or is there virtue in flip-flopping?there virtue in flip-flopping?


Authentic Self?

Self?

narrative identity … …at the crossroads of hermeneutic philosophy and cognitive psychology ray...

Documents

narrative identity

narrative enginedraws

conversationa narrative

authentic self

weick self

self awarenessstands

discordant eventsweaves

discordant concordanceself