Special Issue Article
Intraindividual Variability in Narrative Identity: Complexities, Garden Paths, and Untapped Research Potential
Monisha Pasupathi,
Robyn Fivush,
Andrea Follmer Greenhoot,
Kate C. McLean,
Corresponding Author
Monisha Pasupathi
Department of Psychology, Honors College, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Correspondence to: Monisha Pasupathi, Department of Psychology, Honors College, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
E-mail: monisha.pasupathi@psych.utah.edu
Search for more papers by this authorRobyn Fivush
Institute for Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Follmer Greenhoot
Center for Teaching Excellence, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Search for more papers by this authorKate C. McLean
Department of Psychology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMonisha Pasupathi,
Robyn Fivush,
Andrea Follmer Greenhoot,
Kate C. McLean,
Corresponding Author
Monisha Pasupathi
Department of Psychology, Honors College, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Correspondence to: Monisha Pasupathi, Department of Psychology, Honors College, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
E-mail: monisha.pasupathi@psych.utah.edu
Search for more papers by this authorRobyn Fivush
Institute for Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Follmer Greenhoot
Center for Teaching Excellence, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Search for more papers by this authorKate C. McLean
Department of Psychology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This paper introduces key concepts for studying intraindividual variability in narratives (narrative IIV). Narrative IIV is conceptualized in terms of sources of within-person variation (events and audiences) and dimensions of variation (structural and motivational/affective dimensions of narratives). Possible implications of narrative IIV for well-being and self and social development are outlined. Considering narrative IIV leads to complexity in both theory and method, raising the issue of whether some avenues might be more productive than others. Using previously collected data, we sought to evaluate the research potential of different indices of narrative IIV (n = 106 participants; n = 1272 narratives). All analyses were preregistered: doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/SXV4W. Findings show that narrative IIV is distinct depending on source and dimension, replicating previous work. However, narrative IIV was largely unrelated to the measures of well-being and self and social development used in the present study. These findings support the practice of aggregating across narratives in existing research, at least for these outcomes and sources of variation, and provide important guidance for investigators who remain interested in the possible insights that narrative IIV may reveal about the person. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Citing Literature
Special Issue:New approaches towards conceptualizing and assessing personality
November/December 2020
Pages 1138-1150
