Culture, Memory, and Narrative Self-Making. (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Qi; Song, Qingfang; Kim Koh, Jessie Bee
• Other Names: Grysman Azriel guest-editor.; Mansfield Cade D. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Imagination, cognition and personality. Volume 37:Number 2(2017:Dec.)
• Page Start: 199
• Page End: 223
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: cultural dynamic model -- culture -- memory -- narrative -- meaning-making -- self; Consciousness -- Periodicals; Imagination -- Periodicals; Personality -- Periodicals; 153
• DOI: 10.1177/0276236617733827
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-2366

Abstract

Narrative entails an active act of sense making through which individuals discern meaning from their experiences in line with their cultural expectations. In this article, we outline a theoretical model to demonstrate that narrative can be simultaneously used to examine cognitive processes underlying remembering on the one hand and to study the process of meaning-making that holds implications for self and well-being on the other. We argue that these two approaches, oftentimes overlapping and inseparable, provide critical means to understand the central role of culture in shaping memory and self-identity. We further demonstrate that the integration of culture in narrative research can, in turn, greatly enrich our understanding of the cognitive and social underpinnings of narrative.