Narrating Identity: The impact of literary reading on storied autobiographical memory development

• Author / Creator

  Douglas, Shawn Timothy

• This dissertation describes the development and validation of a questionnaire (Narrating Identity Questionnaire; NIQ) that captures the differential contribution of expressive and integrative forms of literary reading on narrating identity development (storied autobiographical memory – Goldie, 2012). Exposure to expressive metaphors and aesthetic outcomes can transform feelings and self-perceptions (Kuiken & Douglas, 2017; Kuiken & Douglas, 2018; Kuiken, Miall, & Sikora, 2004a; Kuiken, Miall & Sikora, 2004b Kuiken, Phillips, Gregus, et al., 2004; Sikora, Kuiken, & Miall, 2010; Sikora, Kuiken, & Miall, 2011). Alternatively, conventional metaphors and pragmatic outcomes can lead to a deeper comprehension of world knowledge and the mental states of others (Johnson, 2012; Kidd & Castano, 2013; Bowes and Katz, 2015; Mar et al., 2006; Mar, Oatley & Peterson, 2009; Mar et al., 2011; Sopčák, Salgaro, & Herrmann, 2016; Kidd, Ongis, & Costano, 2016). However, previous research has yet to capture the impact of these contrasting forms of literary reading and metaphor comprehension on storied autobiographical memory development (Goldie, 2012). Utilizing three studies, a new questionnaire is developed and validated (NIQ). The NIQ articulates a framework for understanding the narrating of identity through the interplay between expressive narrating (primarily self-implicating – based in personal knowledge) and integrative narrating (primarily world-identifying – based in world knowledge). The results indicate that while an expressive approach to narrating identity directly supports a form of self-understanding, an integrative approach to narrating identity may simultaneously support this self-understanding by “inoculating” against rumination. Results are discussed first in terms of a new synthesis in mental simulation research that includes an expressive form of mental simulation, and second, in terms of future directions for the NIQ.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Absorption
  • Metaphor
  • Expression
  • Integration
  • Narrative Identity.

• Graduation date

  Spring 2019

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-cgcx-2q33

• License

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