Schiff Brian
Department of Psychology, American University of Paris.
New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2014 Fall;2014(145):1-13. doi: 10.1002/cad.20063.
In this introductory chapter, I place Bertram J. Cohler's () seminal essay Personal Narrative and Life Course in the context of the history of narrative psychology and developmental theory. I describe four theses from Personal Narrative and Life Course, which impacted developmental theory and research: (a) the self is a narrative project, (b) developmental periods have a distinct narrative character, (c) narratives are always told in (personal and historical) time, and (d) persons strive for coherence. I briefly describe the chapters to follow. However, my main goal is to argue for the implications of narrative for developmental science. Following Cohler, I argue that narrative has a central role to play in understanding human lives and can provide substantial benefit to developmental theory and research. A narrative perspective allows for a complex and nuanced description of developmental phenomena that accounts for the subjective and unpredictable nature of human lives. The narrative interpretation of experience is a primary human activity that alters the meaning of experience and potentially sets development on a new course, rendering the prediction of developmental outcomes a difficult venture. The narrative perspective provides detailed insights into how development unfolds, how persons actually interpret and reinterpret life in time and place, and can help psychologists to engage fundamental questions about the meaning of experience.
在本章引言中，我将伯特伦·J·科勒（Bertram J. Cohler）的开创性论文《个人叙事与生命历程》置于叙事心理学和发展理论的历史背景下进行探讨。我阐述了《个人叙事与生命历程》中的四个论点，这些论点对发展理论和研究产生了影响：（a）自我是一个叙事建构；（b）发展阶段具有独特的叙事特征；（c）叙事总是在（个人和历史的）时间中展开；（d）个体追求连贯性。我简要介绍了后续各章的内容。然而，我的主要目标是论证叙事对发展科学的意义。追随科勒的观点，我认为叙事在理解人类生活方面具有核心作用，并且能够为发展理论和研究带来实质性的益处。叙事视角能够对发展现象进行复杂而细致入微的描述，从而解释人类生活的主观性和不可预测性。对经验的叙事性解读是人类的一项主要活动，它改变了经验的意义，并有可能使发展走上一条新的道路，这使得预测发展结果成为一项艰巨的任务。叙事视角能够深入洞察发展是如何展开的，个体实际上是如何在特定的时间和地点诠释和重新诠释生活的，并且能够帮助心理学家探讨有关经验意义的基本问题。
