CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.5 Literature Overview
1.5.4 Life stories
Stories, in narrative theory, are important because of the social role that they play – including constructing identities, acting as sense-making tools, and encouraging ourselves and others to act (Riesmann, 2008). In this research, sharing stories about our lives is considered a way into becoming more reflexive and aware of ourselves and others in context and is explored at a number of levels as detailed below.
1.5.4.1 Making sense of our lives and our identity
“[P]eople by nature lead storied lives and tell stories of those lives” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990, p.
2). The narratives we tell can be viewed as a cognitive process that organises and gives meaning to events; and in stories about the self, gives meaning to our lives (Polkinghorne, 1991). Polkinghorne (1991) views the stories we tell about our lives as a basis for self-understanding and personal identity.
This view is supported by McAdams (2001) who views identity as an internalised life story, the story one tells about themselves that reflects their cultural norms of values. He describes life stories as
“psychosocial constructions, co-authored by the person himself or herself and the cultural context within which that person’s life is embedded and given meaning” (McAdams, 2001, p. 101).
McAdams (2001) views identity as “an integrative configuration of self-in-the-adult-world,” both by synchronic (in content) and diachronic (in time) means (p. 102). This understanding stems from Erikson’s 1963 theory of psychosocial development, specifically stage five, which focuses on identity versus role confusion and the psychosocial desire to be ‘one thing’ (McAdams, 2001).
McAdams (2001) argues that people then begin to make sense of their lives by developing integrated stories of the self that are culturally meaningful and provide them with purpose. He also points out that as we choose which events are important to define us, identity itself becomes, to a certain extent, about choice and, depending on how we structure our narratives, can impact mental health. “People create unity and purpose in their lives, and they make sense of the psychosocial niches they inhabit in adulthood through stories, even if they must rely on more than one story to do so” (McAdams, 2001, p. 117). In this sense we create a ‘narrative identity’ through the stories we integrate about ourselves (McAdams, 2008, p. 242). Polkinghorne (1991) describes our identity as “the drama we are
unfolding” in our self narrative, emphasising the constructive and storied nature of the self (p. 149).
In this sense, our identity is not static, and further, there are times when we are not able to integrate our experiences or hold the plot together, leading to despair or disconnectedness. The resulting
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feeling of incoherence requires a “new” plot for the reintegration of the self (Polkinghorne, 1991).
Identity development is therefore viewed as a way of negotiating the complexities of society and coming to understand who we are within our social contexts. It is not an individual endeavour but, embedded within social context and culture, the individual and social world are viewed as “co- authors” of identity (McAdams, 2001, p. 116).
1.5.4.2 Stories in context
Just as McAdams (2001) considers both the storyteller and his or her cultural context as co-authors in self-narratives, Bruner (2004) points out that “life narratives obviously reflect the prevailing theories about ‘possible lives’ that are part of one’s culture” (p. 694). He emphasises the susceptibility of our life stories not only to cultural influences but also to interpersonal and linguistic influences. In shaping our stories, these influences also shape our perceptual experiences. Bruner (2004) therefore stresses the importance of considering how our autobiographies develop, how the way we talk about ourselves changes, and how our stories can ‘control’ the way we think about our lives.
“It is painfully clear that life stories echo gender and class constructions in society and reflect, in one way or another, prevailing patterns of hegemony in the economic, political, and cultural contexts wherein human lives are situated.” (McAdams, 2001, p. 114). In terms of post modernism, power is varied and comes in many different forms, so as Graham (2017) points out, “[b]odies are ascribed with perceived power based on ethnicity, race, age, gender, disability and sexual orientation,” which influences relationships, experiences, and social institutions (p. 39). Because stories reflect the norms, values and power differences of our societies, it becomes important to expose these
“constitutive meanings” and give voice to narratives of suppression and marginalised groups (McAdams, 2001, p. 118).
Although I follow a broad narrative approach in this research and am not focused on the therapeutic outcomes of sharing stories in terms of narrative therapy, it is useful to consider the approach taken in therapy, as personal stories are used in a similar way to better understand ourselves in our stories in developing reflexivity. In narrative therapy there is a focus on a client’s personal story and the way the story expresses the client’s problem. In viewing the narrative as the problem, there is an attempt to remove self-blame from the client and to “construct alternative interpretations of their life
circumstances and assist them in becoming aware of the social/cultural forces impinging upon them”
(Gergen & Gergen, 2006, p. 113). As stories are understood to shape our lives in powerful ways, it is necessary to explore our life stories, the meanings we give to them, their effects, and the context in which they arose (Morgan, 2000). Therapists then work together with clients to build ‘new’ or alternative preferred narratives based on existing experiences but reducing the influence of the
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problem, which is seen as ‘external’ to the person, and so offer new possibilities of living differently (Morgan, 2000). The PP module does not have therapeutic intentions and the broad aim is to develop critical reflexivity, however participants on the course may experience healing effects by sharing and deconstructing their stories in a group as story tellers and witnesses. Gergen and Gergen (2006) outline the possible reasons for the efficacy of narratives in a number of practices as involving:
receptivity (often associated with pleasure), familiarity (a common vehicle of communication), witness trust (storyteller as witness to a ‘truth’), empathic witnessing (audiences engage in emphatic listening), and recreating the self (through the storyteller’s story) (p. 118). More generally, stories are believed to “inform human life,” in the sense that they “give form – temporal and spatial orientation, coherence, meaning, intention, and especially boundaries – to lives that inherently lack form” (Frank, 2010, p. 2).
1.5.4.3 From storytelling towards empowerment and agency
Life-narratives are believed to be an important vehicle for the realisation of agency in one’s life in terms of an ecological view of agency as something that is not merely possessed but achieved
“through the active engagement of individuals with aspects of their contexts-for-action” (Biesta &
Tedder, 2007). Empowerment has been viewed as a “process of change” whereby people who have been “denied the ability to make choices acquire such an ability” (Kabeer, 1999, p. 437). However, the ability to make choices, is not as simple as implied when considerations of power are taken into account. Kabeer (1999) understands choice in this sense in terms of three inter-related dimensions:
resources (pre-conditions, not just material but also social), agency (process) and achievements (outcomes) (p. 437). She further describes agency as the “ability to define one’s goals and act upon them” but says that this includes more than “observable” action but “encompasses the meaning, motivation and purpose which individuals bring to their activity, their sense of agency” (p. 438).
Kabeer (1999) also extends the forms that agency can take beyond just decision-making (which is the usual conceptualisation) to include forms ranging from negotiation to manipulation and the ability to analyse and reflect. It is this dimension of empowerment and broad view of agency with an
underlying purpose that requires a process that links decision-making and choices to lived experience.
Denborough (2014) emphasises that it is not the “facts” of our lives that we can change, but their
“meanings” and our perceptions of ourselves, “[a]nd if the story we tell about ourselves changes, it will influence what becomes possible for us in the future” (p. 21).
The multidimensional nature of agency is also explored by Samman and Santos (2009) who look at the various indicators of agency and empowerment in terms of Rowlands’ 1997 empowerment framework: power over (resisting manipulation), power to (creating new possibilities), power with
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(acting in a group), and power from within (enhancing self-respect and self-acceptance). Of important consideration in working with life stories is an intertwining of these different dimensions to facilitate a capability of working from a strength-based perspective. Through storytelling it is important to identify the strengths, skills and steps people are taking in various aspects of their everyday lives or have taken in the past to develop new perspectives on their identities and meaning in their lives (Denborough, 2014).
Agency, as described by Bandura (2001) is seen as enabling people to play a part in their adaption, self-development and self-renewal. “To be an agent is to intentionally make things happen by one’s actions” (Bandura, 2001, p.2). The core features he identifies are intentionality, forethought, self- reactiveness and self-reflectiveness. Overall, what is of importance in a practical sense is that actions rooted in agency are potentially more sustainable as they are well-grounded. “Goals, rooted in a value system and sense of personal identity, invest activities with meaning and purpose” (Bandura, 2001, p.8). Bandura (2001) also stresses the importance of efficacy beliefs, a sense of control, as a
foundation to personal agency and a major influence on personal development and choice behaviour.
It is these features that are intertwined with the storytelling – coherence, sense of control and
meaning. As agency among individuals and groups may build on different strengths or an interaction of different strengths, it is considered important to look towards a wider, more encompassing
definition of agency when measuring outcomes in relation to the value of storytelling. In exploring these transformative effects and a widely defined “positive” agency that encompasses particularly the importance placed on self-efficacy and self-belief by Bandura (2001), it is relevant to consider this in terms of positive psychological capital. Psychological capital had been defined as a person’s
“positive psychological state of development” and includes considerations of confidence (self- efficacy); optimism, hope and resilience (Luthan, Avolio, Avey & Norman, 2007, p. 542). A mix of these factors can lead to a better sense of self, which augments agency.
1.5.4.4 Collective storytelling: From social support to social change
Life stories do not happen and are not told in a vacuum. This is important in a number of respects.
First, personal stories about our lives are not necessarily self-centred and can and do extend to other people and communities, with the importance of events not only being determined by personal effects but also on the impact of others (Polkinghorne, 1991). Second, when life stories are told within a group or ‘witnessing community’ through dialogue and experience, meaning is created that adds to the common body of knowledge of the group (Sliep, 2010). Third, listening to different stories is essential for the functioning of democracy in a society where there is respect for others and a need to recognise and embrace difference (Plummer, 1995, cited in Graham, 2017, p. 65). Fourth, stories can bring about processes for social change and justice, especially when stories from marginalised groups
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are heard (Graham, 2017). However, as Graham (2017) warns campaigns that stimulate public support can have both positive and negative impacts depending on the stories that are put forward.
Further, the experience of life story work that is done in groups is focused not just on the individual growth but also on the collective support that results from not just telling your own story but also from the witnessing of the stories of others. Social support is believed to play a valuable role in psychological well-being (Cohen & Wills, 1985); as a protection against the negative health
consequences of life stress (Cobb, 1976); and positively towards healing (Graham, Powell & Karam, 2011). It has been defined in various ways but broadly involves “the emotional and physical comfort given by friends, family and others” (Graham et al., 2011, p. 7). More specifically it has also been defined as “information leading the subject to believe that he is cared for and loved, esteemed and a member of a network of mutual obligations” (Cobb, 1976). Various features of social support have also been explored including: communication, uncertainty reduction, enhanced control, networks, various forms of help, coping, interaction, esteem, belonging, competence and exchange (Mattson &
Hall, 2011). The beneficial effects of social support can occur through different processes, including the “buffering” or protective effect of social support and an overall positive effect that is experienced because of stable and socially rewarded roles (Cohen & Wills, 1985). Further, a lack of social support may also result in the opposite effect and result in depression or anxiety (Cohen & Wills, 1985).
Support groups are seen as a way of giving and receiving social support and have been defined as groups of “individuals who share a common life stressor and come together to provide mutual support and information” with various benefits including increased sense of belonging and self-esteem, reducing isolation and validation (Mattson & Hall, 2011, p. 204). Being part of a group in the story telling process, with the possibility of forming continuing relationships and support groups, is explored as an integral part of the experience. That involvement in groups can have positive consequences has long been asserted and is now recaptured by social capital theory, and is
specifically relevant in terms of Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptualisation that focuses on the benefits that individuals gain by participating in groups and purposefully constructing social networks as a resource (Portes, 1998). Social capital has various definitions but can be viewed in terms of connectedness and the quality and number of social relationships within specific groups or
populations (Harpham, Grant & Thomas, 2002). There are various ways to consider social capital, both structurally and cognitively. However, of relevance here is a focus on the cognitive part of social capital that takes into consideration trust, reciprocity, sharing and support (Harpham et al, 2002), and how these factors can positively (and in some cases negatively) impact on a person’s personal and social development through sharing stories in a group context.
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