Importance of Narratives

Narratives are powerful tools that shape our understanding of the world, communicate ideas, and connect individuals across time and space. They encompass stories, anecdotes, accounts, and interpretations that influence our beliefs, behaviours, and decisions. In various aspects of life, narratives play a crucial role in shaping cultures, identities, and societies. In psychology, “narrative” refers to a linguistic form and mode of thinking in which events are arranged through plots to convey the meaning of experience. The narrative (i.e., the story) is a powerful cognitive form that has been used by humans since ancient times as a framework root metaphor for one’s perception of the world. The story form is fundamental to the human experience and narrative is also a necessary framework for knowing ourselves (Neisser & Fivush, 1994).

 

The Framework 

• A narrative is the framework within which psychology addresses the question of the self. 
• The framework is broken down into 4 aspects 
  • People are meaning makers – constructing their own reality 
  • The meaning of events is not firmly established and fixed in the individual, but it is made sense of and structured at the point of recollection 
  • People organise their own narratives, and arrange their life in a continuous and meaningful narrative overtime 
  • The self narrative is the basis of personal identity and self understanding 

 

Importance of Narratives

• Narrative Psychology works under the assumption that human’s activity, behaviour and experience are filled with “meaning” and stories, rather than logical point of view or legitimate formulations. It is the study of how human beings construct stories to deal with experiences and its influences on the personality of the individual.
• Narrative approaches to personality suggest that human beings interpret their own lives as ongoing stories and that these life stories help to contour behaviour establishing the identity, and integrate individuals into modern social life 
• Narratives become a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way they tell it, can both reflect and shape who the individual is. 
• Narratives contribute to the formation of personal and cultural identities by providing individuals with a sense of belonging, shared history, and values.
• Narratives evoke emotions, enabling people to connect emotionally to ideas, concepts, and experiences, fostering empathy and compassion.
• Narratives influence our beliefs and perceptions by framing events and issues in specific ways, affecting how we interpret the world around us.
• Narratives provide insights into different cultures, histories, and perspectives, promoting cross-cultural understanding and tolerance.
• Narratives help individuals make sense of their experiences and challenges, providing a structure to process and understand the world.
• Narratives are an integral part of human existence, influencing various aspects of our lives from personal identity formation to cultural preservation, communication, education, and even entertainment. Understanding the importance of narratives helps us appreciate their role in shaping our beliefs, emotions, and behaviours, ultimately contributing to a richer and more interconnected human experience. 

 

Research on Narratives

• The way people recount experiences to others often shapes the way they end up remembering those events. 
• According to Pasupathi’s research, this happens in a couple of ways.
• One is that people tailor the stories they tell to their audiences and the context. (For example, You tell the story of the time you crashed your mom’s car much differently now, to friends, than the way you would’ve told it to your mom at the time)
• But just as there are consequences to telling, there are consequences to not telling. 
• If someone is afraid of how people might react to a story, and they keep it to themselves, they’ll likely miss out on the enrichment that comes with a back-and-forth conversation. 
• A listener may give you other things to think about, or may acknowledge that this thing you thought was really bad is actually not a big deal, so you get this richer and more elaborated memory
• If you don’t tell, your memory for that event may be less flexible and give you less chance for growth.

 

Use of Narratives in Therapy 

• In clinical support situations, many clients have identity issues in the background. It is often a question of rewriting their self-narrative. 
• The dominant story (e.g., the story of success at school or work, the story of success in life) can be seen as an alternative to the dominant story. 
• The illness or problem that the client complains about can be seen as an attempt to live an alternative story. 
• In psychosocial support settings, people who have suffered severe life events, such as loss, illness, disaster or violence, are encouraged to reconstruct their sense of self through a process of re-telling their experiences. Narrative practice brings about the recovery of a sense of subjectivity.

 

The basic idea is that human beings make sense of their world and their selves above all through narrative, developing and organising knowledge, memories, intentions, life histories, and personal identities in narrative patterns