This study examined the effects of different narrative modes (writing and speaking) on the theme (Agency and Communion) and the level of positive processing through a group counseling based on psychobiographical therapy. A qualitative study approach was used to encode and analyze the life stories collected by group counseling. Results: The number of Communion in the speaking group was higher than that in the writing group, and the positive processing level of the writing group was higher than that of the speaking group. Conclusion: Different narrative modes have different effects on the theme and the level of positive processing.
Cite this paper
Cheng, S. and Chen, Y. (2020). The Impact of Narrative Mode on the Theme and the Level of Positive Processing of Psychobiography. Open Access Library Journal, 7, e6884. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1106884.
Pennebaker, J.W. and Graybeal, A. (2001) Patterns of Natural Language Use: Disclosure, Personality, and Social Integration. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 90-93. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00123
Cox, K. and Mcadams, D.P. (2014) Meaning Making during High and Low Point Life Story Episodes Predicts Emotion Regulation Two Years Later: How the Past Informs the Future. Journal of Research in Personality, 50, 66-70.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2014.03.004
McCoy, T.P. and Dunlop, W.L. (2016) Contextualizing Narrative Identity: A Consideration of Assessment Settings. Journal of Research in Personality, 65, 16-21.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.08.006
Grysman, A. and Denney, A. (2017) Gender, Experimenter Gender and Medium of Report Influence the Content of Autobiographical Memory Report. Memory, 25, 132-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2015.1133829
McLean, K.C., Syed, M., Pasupathi, M., Adler, J.M., Dunlop, W.L., Drustrup, D., McCoy, T.P., et al. (2020) The Empirical Structure of Narrative Identity: The Initial Big Three. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119, 920-944.
https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000247
Adler, J.M. (2012) Living into the Story: Agency and Coherence in a Longitudinal Study of Narrative Identity Development and Mental Health over the Course of Psychotherapy. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 102, 367-389.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025289
Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L. and Dickerhoof, R. (2006) The Costs and Benefits of Writing, Talking, and Thinking about Life’s Triumphs and Defeats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 692-708.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.692
Habermas, T. and Bluck, S. (2000) Getting a Life: The Emergence of the Life Story in Adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 748-769.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.748
Lilgendahl, J.P. and Mcadams, D.P. (2011) Constructing Stories of Self-Growth: How Individual Differences in Patterns of Autobiographical Reasoning Relate to Well-Being in Midlife. Journal of Personality, 79, 391-428.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00688.x
Frattaroli, J. (2006) Experimental Disclosure and Its Moderators: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 823-865. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.823
McAdams and Dan, P. (1996) Personality, Modernity, and the Storied Self: A Contemporary Framework for Studying Persons. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 295-321.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0704_1
Klein, K. and Boals, A. (2001) Expressive Writing Can Increase Working Memory Capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 130, 520-533.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.3.520
Pasupathi, M. and Hoyt, T. (2009) The Development of Narrative Identity in Late Adolescence and Emergent Adulthood: The Continued Importance of Listeners. Developmental Psychology, 45, 558-574. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014431
Murray, E.J. and Segal, D.L. (1994) Emotional Processing in Vocal and Written Expression of Feelings about Traumatic Experiences. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 391-405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490070305