PSYC 332 - Chapter 9

In her book Writing a Woman's Life, late feminist author Carolyn Heilbrun (1988) remarked that many women have traditionally "been ___ of the narratives, or the texts, plots, or examples, by which they might assume power over—take control of—their own lives" Narrative identity, therefore, reflects structural and cultural ___ in society and the patterns of economic, political, and cultural hegemony that prevail at a given point in a society's history North American adults typically report an ___ of first memory and have longer and more detailed memories of childhood than do Chinese, Japanese, and Korean adults (Leichtman, Wang, & Pillemer, 2003). In addition, several studies have noted that North Americans' personal memories tend to be more ___ than are the memories of East Asians European Americans may prioritize ___, viewing personal narratives as vehicles for articulating the breadth, depth, and uniqueness of the inner self. By contrast, Chinese may prioritize the ___ function, using personal narratives as guides for social conduct. From a Confucian perspective, the highest purpose in life is __—a blending of benevolence, moral vitality, and sensitive concern for others. One method for promoting ren is to scrutinize your autobiographical past for ___ in social conduct. Another method is to reflect on historical events to understand your appropriate ___ in the social world. It should not be surprising, then, that personal narratives imbued with a Confucian ethic should draw on both individual and historical events to derive ___ for life. Cultural psychologist Philip Hammack (2008) describes how a culture's ___ provide vital resources for the construction of narrative identity while, at the same time, severely constraining the kinds of lives that people can live. the effort to match the personal and the cultural is relatively easy, but in other cases, autobiographical authors struggle to line up their own unique experiences with what their culture suggests their lives should mean. Group members may sometimes __ the master narrative set forth by their culture

deprived boundaries earlier age self-focused self-expressive functions self-directive ren mistakes position directions master narratives resist

Finally, there is redemption via ___, which tracks the move from sickness or other related negative states (abuse, addiction, criminality) to the recovery of health, innocence, wholeness, and the like. For the past three decades, no American has been a more effective spokesperson for redemptive narratives of upward mobility and recovery than ___. Born dirt-poor in Kosciusko, Mississippi, this African American heroine survived sexual abuse as a child to become first a radio reporter, then a news anchor, talk-show host, moviemaker, publishing czar, and finally international celebrity. Oprah's story and her message tap into a long-running stream of American romanticism, initially identified with the writings of 19th-century intellectual ___ (1803-1882). It is your personal ___ to pursue that good mission. An admirer of Emerson (she carries Emersonian aphorisms in her purse), Oprah channels cultural ideas like these into contemporary psychological and spiritual forms. Culture shapes the stories we tell about our lives, in our capacity as autobiographical authors. But culture also shapes the goals and values we develop as motivated agents. And culture impacts how we behave as social actors. At the level of the social actor, culture provides rules for how to ___ the traits and the roles that structure social life. As members of a eusocial species, human beings are exquisitely attuned to the behavioral and affective ___ established by groups. Groups tell us how to feel and what to do, and we perform our traits and roles accordingly. At the level of the motivated agent, different cultures provide ___ for the content and importance of personal goals and values. In authoring a narrative identity, a person selectively appropriates and personalizes the ___ provided by culture, looking for a way to convey what his or her life seems to mean within the categories of understanding that prevailing cultural narratives set forth. working-class children and adolescents learn to narrate their lives with a greater sense of ___, compared to their middle-class peers.

recovery Oprah Winfrey Ralph Waldo Emerson manifest destiny perform standards norms stories humility and vigilance

Whereas nobody's narrative identity conforms to the script in every way, research consistently shows that highly generative American adults construct life stories that tend to emphasize the six themes (see Table 9.2) in the script to a greater degree than do the stories told by less generative adults. I call this script the ___. The redemptive self often begins with accounts of childhood wherein the protagonist felt that he or she enjoyed an ___ in life (Theme 1). Whatever the case, the protagonist feels special or blessed early on. At the same time, the protagonist of the story shows an early ___ to the suffering of others (Theme 2). The juxtaposition of the first two themes in the redemptive self sets up an implicit ___ challenge in the life story: I am blessed, but others suffer. I am the gifted protagonist who journeys forth into a dangerous world. Erikson (1969) identified a similar sentiment from ___ childhood years. Moreover, the story suggests that the world indeed ___ what the generative adult has to offer, for the world is a dangerous place and bad things often happen. Reinforcing the generative adult's commitment to making a positive difference is the ___ that many protagonists in these stories tend to show (Theme 3). As such, the life story is punctuated by many ___ (Theme 4). Redemption sequences may reinforce the generative adult's conviction that the hard work and the setbacks that go into generative pursuits may someday lead to ____. The life stories told by highly generative adults often portray protagonists who repeatedly express strong motivations for both ___. Highly generative adults want to have a strong impact on the world while, at the same time, connecting to others, especially those of the next generation, in caring and compassionate ways. In some of the most inspiring stories, power motives are fulfilled in the service of ___ Finally, life stories told by highly generative adults tend to project an ___ (Theme 6). Even if the world is going to hell in a handbasket, the protagonist of the story typically soldiers on, convinced that projects taken on today will grow and bear fruit in future years.

redemptive self early advantage sensitivity moral Gandhi's needs moral steadfastness redemption sequences fruition power and love communion optimistic and prosocial future

To be generative in midlife is to create, sustain, and care for the people and the valued things (and ideas) that will ultimately ___ you. To fail in generativity is to experience what Erikson called "___"—to feel that you are stuck or stymied, that you cannot generate anything useful, that you are unable or unwilling to be of good use to the next generation. As eusocial animals, human beings meet the evolutionary challenge by not only producing offspring and caring for them but also engaging in a wide range of ___ that, directly or indirectly, benefit those individuals who will survive them. Every society has its own unique demands, but the normative expectations for generativity typically ___ as adults move through their 20s, 30s, and 40s Increases in C may prepare midlife adults to focus energy on serious work and on ____ commitments. Increases in A suggest a warming up of the personality and a greater emphasis on___ in relationships with others. Indeed, research has demonstrated ___ correlations between measures of generativity on the one hand and features of C and A on the other. It is also ___ associated with overall E and O, and ___ associated with N. In one study, for example, midlife adults (around the age of 40) listed ___ as many personal strivings oriented toward generativity as did younger adults in their mid-20s. Research and theory suggest that there may indeed be a ___ component to generativity for many people. Furthermore, an expansive sense of generativity may satisfy narcissistic urges for some adults, serving to bring ___ to the self. ___ had something like that going in his life. Generative inclinations, moreover, may wax and wane in any particular human life. Complicating things even further, people may show different ___ of generativity in different domains of life (MacDermid, Franz, & de Reus, 1998). Whereas one person's generativity may flourish in the family domain, another's may express itself only through work or involvement in a religious organization. The ___ in Gandhi's generativity were so glaring, in fact, that Erikson (1969) felt the need to step back from the biography of Gandhi in the middle of his book and write Gandhi (who had been dead for 20 years) an imaginary letter.

survive stagnation social behaviors increase family and community care and compassion positive positively negatively twice selfish glory Gandhi levels contradictions

Gandhi came to abhor ___ of all kinds, even as it revealed itself among the wealthy Muslim business owners in South Africa, who looked down upon their Hindu indentured servants. Over the course of his 20s and 30s, Gandhi's ____—to improve the lives of Indians living in South Africa and to bring them together as one people—seemed to trump his natural meekness and diffidence. In South Africa, he developed ____, and the bold political and religious philosophy that he would employ, to world-changing effect when he finally returned to India as a mature, middle-aged man. became the most ___ leader in the drive for Indian self-rule and independence from England. Along the way, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for erasing poverty, healing religious and ethnic strife, reforming the Indian caste system, and expanding women's rights. His effectiveness relied largely on the power of ___, or militant nonviolence. In Gandhi's mind, ___ must entail the endurance of suffering in order to improve the self and advance society. Gandhi could be ___ in his dealings with family members. By the time he returned to India, Erikson asserted, Gandhi had already developed the ideological outlook and social role commitments that would characterize his ___. When Gandhi returned to India as a middle-aged man, he embarked upon a fundamental life mission in "___," which, according to Erikson, is an adult's concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of future generations, as evidenced in parenting, teaching, mentoring, leadership, and other activities aimed at leaving a positive legacy for the future

discrimination motivational agenda activist skills influential ahisma Satyagraha dictatorial and cruelly insensitive adult identity generativity

Despite change in the manifest content of the stories, however, we also documented significant longitudinal consistencies in certain ____ qualities in the stories, and in the level of narrative ___. Furthermore, over the 3-year period, students' life-narrative accounts became __ complex, and they incorporated a greater number of themes suggesting personal ___ For example, researchers have found that midlife adults tend to engage in more sophisticated forms of autobiographical reasoning than do younger adults when telling stories about ___ in life (Pasupathi & Mansour, 2006). Other studies have found that midlife adults tell life stories that are more thematically coherent and more illustrative of personal ___, compared to younger adults Sampling across the age range of 20-70 years, a research team found that older respondents tended to tell more ___ earliest memories relative to younger respondents. Younger and older adults were more likely than adolescents to narrate ___ scenes in ways that connected the experiences to larger life themes and philosophies ___—emotionally vivid scenes in their lives in which they grappled with important psychological issues (Singer, Rexhaj, & Baddeley, 2007). The study showed that older adults found greater integrative ___ in their self-defining memories, compared to younger adults. Moreover, the older adults told stories that were more ___ in emotional tone. Researchers have shown that older adults exhibit less ___ in their life stories compared to younger adults the ____—the fact that older adults tend to emphasize positive emotions in their daily lives and in their memories, compared to younger adults. Some studies suggest that life review can improve life satisfaction and relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety among older adults

emotional and motivational complexity more growth and integration. turning points and crises continuity vivid and coherent wisdom self-defining memories meaning positive conflict positivity bias of aging

personality psychologists Kate McLean and Michael Pratt (2006) found that young adults who used more elaborated and sophisticated meaning making in narrating difficult events in their lives tended also to score higher on an index of overall ___. They found that the extent to which women at age 52 explored the ramifications of negative life events predicted better clinical ratings on psychological maturity made at age 61, as well as significant increases in ___ between ages 43 and 61. the number of redemption sequences found in life-story accounts ___ indices of psychological well-being, above and beyond the effect of a generally optimistic narrative style. those who narrated low-point events in redemptive terms, providing coherent positive resolutions to life problems, reported more positive ___ with their parents at age 17 and showed higher levels of emotional ___ at age 26 A longitudinal study of high school students revealed that those who attributed positive meanings to turning point events in their lives demonstrated significant increases in___ between their freshman and senior years (Tavernier & Willoughby, 2012). In a study of recovering alcoholics, the ability to create a redemptive narrative about alcohol addiction was strongly associated with maintaining ___ The researchers found that Americans who derived redemptive meaning from the 9/11 attacks, and who indicated greater levels of psychological ___ in their accounts, had higher scores on psychological ___ than those Americans whose stories of 9/11 lacked clear positive resolutions. In the question-and-answer session, a woman in the front row said something like this: "Professor McAdams, this is very interesting, but these life stories you describe, they sound so, well, American." After all, generative adults are the norm-bearers and the destiny-shapers in any society, the adults who have taken it on themselves to pass on that society's ___ to the next generation. First, there is redemption via ___. Reflecting America's Puritan heritage and its remarkably robust religious traditions, redemption via atonement tracks the move from sin to salvation in American lives. Captured in the idea of the American Dream, redemption via ____ tracks the move from "rags to riches,"

identity maturity maturity positively predicts experiences adjustment psychological health sobriety closure well-being culture atonement upward social mobility

As Jerome Bruner (1986) observed, the best stories in literature—and in lives—result from a character's encounter with ___. Experiences of failure, loss, sadness, fear, shame, and guilt seem to beg for an explanation in life stories. personality and developmental researchers have paid special ___ to the ways in which adults construct stories in response to negative life events Narrative psychologist Mark Freeman (2011b) has argued that some traumatic and especially shameful experiences in life cannot be readily incorporated into narrative identity because the narrator (and perhaps the people to whom the narrator might tell the story) lacks the world assumptions, cognitive constructs, or experiential categories to make the story make ___. Memories of these kinds of events may, therefore, be buried in what Freeman calls the ____. Less extreme are examples of what social psychologist Shelley Taylor (1983) has called ___. Autobiographical authors may simply overlook the most negative aspects of life events and ___ the positive meanings. Clinical psychologist George Bonanno (2004) has shown that many people experience surprisingly little angst and turmoil when stricken with harsh misfortunes in life. People often show ___ in the face of adversity, Bonanno maintains. Research suggests that autobiographical authors who emerge strengthened or sustained from negative life experiences often engage in a ____ (Pals, 2006). In the first step, the narrator explores the negative event in ___. In the second step, the narrator articulates and commits the self to a ___ of the event, providing some temporary closure and clearing a path to the future. Among mothers of children with Down syndrome, for example, those who were able to articulate especially probing accounts of the pain and struggle they experienced as caregivers for their developmentally disabled children tended to score higher on measures of psychological ___ compared to narrators who showed less exploration, and they tended to ___ in maturity over the following 2 years. Moreover, attaining a sense of positive closure in their narratives (illustrating the second step described earlier) was associated with increased ___.

trouble attention sense narrative unconscious positive illusions exaggerate resilience two-step process of meaning making depth positive resolution maturity increase life satisfaction

Generative parents value ____with their children, and tend to view parenting as an opportunity to pass on values and wisdom to the next generation. Mothers and fathers high in generativity tend to adopt an ___ style of parenting, combining high standards and discipline with a warm, child-centered, and caring approach to raising children. High scores on self-report measures of generativity consistently ___ broader networks of social support, engagement with religious institutions, higher levels of voting and political participation, and more charitable giving and volunteerism, even after researchers control for educational and income factors Suggesting that the benefits of generativity also feed back to enhance the self, many studies have documented positive associations between generativity on the one hand and measures of life satisfaction, happiness, mental health, and psychological ___ on the other (e.g., Keyes & Ryff, 1998). By contrast, extremely low scores on generativity are associated with ___. By the time adults reach, say, the age of 40, the countless differences that separate them from each other—economic resources, educational opportunities, cognitive and personality differences, factors of race and class, gender norms, sheer luck—accumulate to produce dramatic ___ in life trajectories. While many midlife adults enjoy the fruits of maturity, others fall into stagnation and despair. Among the countless sources for frustration and angst is the possibility that your children will never ___ what you have done for them. More generally, the idea that people "do not value what I do" or "fail to appreciate the sacrifices I have made" is a recurrent ___ in midlife. Despite ____, adults find meaning and fulfillment in many different expressions of generativity. My thesis is this: Generativity is really hard, so it takes a good ___ to be a highly generative adult. Our studies suggest that highly generative American adults tend to narrate their lives as stories of ___. As in this last example, many redemption sequences involve the narrator's deriving a ___ inference about a negative event long after the event has occurred.

trust and communication authoritative predict maturity depression disparities appreciate refrain failures story redemption positive

Hammack notes that the citizens of the state of Israel and the Palestinian people who were displaced by its founding hold to dramatically different master narratives regarding the meaning of recent historical events. When Israeli youth in Hammack's study envisioned the time line of their own lives—from childhood past to adult future—they tended to envision an ___ arc; correspondingly, Palestinian youth imagined their own lives as ___ narratives. In the year or two following Hammack's interviews, the same Israeli and Palestinian youth came to the United States to participate in an ___ designed to encourage friendship and understanding between the two groups. In the short term, the program seemed to be a ___. Moreover, the master cultural narratives of their respective groups proved to be paramount. In Hammack's (2011) view, the discordant master narratives of Israelis and Palestinians not only produce sharply ___ narrative identities for individual members of their respective group but also perpetuate intergroup ___. In the United States, Mexican Americans and Chinese Americans, among many other groups, often face the challenge of navigating two different cultures, each with its own prevailing language, customs, values, and social norms. For many people, developing a clear and meaningful ___ is an important psychological project, especially in adolescence and early adulthood Indeed, for some people, becoming a ___ marks a psychological and social challenge with strong moral overtones. Life stories change over time. First, people's ___ change. Second, people change their ___ as they change their understandings of themselves. Compared to dispositional traits such as extraversion and neuroticism, and compared to goals and values, life narratives are likely to reveal rather less continuity and more ___ over the course of life

upward, redemptive downwardly mobile, declension intensive program success different conflict ethnic identity global citizen lives stories change