Getting a Life Takes Time: The Development of the Life Story in Adolescence, Its Precursors and Consequences

Abstract

The life story is a special cognitive-communicative format which allows understanding persons from a biographical perspective through autobiographical reasoning and life narrating. Reviewing research on the development of the life story from the past 15 years, we clarify the conceptual and developmental specificity of the life story by comparing it to single event stories, and the specificity of autobiographical reasoning by comparing it to other forms of reasoning. To support the claim that the life story emerges only in adolescence, we review the earlier development of self and autobiographical remembering leading up to the life story. We outline the significance of autobiographical reasoning for bridging biographical ruptures, and we discuss the meaning of the cultural context for the development of the life story and its functionality. Finally, we suggest major developmental research questions that remain to be pursued.

Personal, Master, and Alternative Narratives: An Integrative Framework for Understanding Identity Development in Context

“…Perhaps the type of master narrative most obviously aligned with identity development is that of biography, which concerns how a life should unfold. Rubin and colleagues [e.g., Rubin & Berntsen, 2003] have coined the term "cultural life script," and similarly, Habermas [e.g., Habermas, 2007;Habermas & Bluck, 2000;Habermas & Reese, 2015] has proposed the construct of the "cultural concept of biography" 4 [see also Elder, 1998;Neugarten, 1968]. The basic idea is that there are common events that occur at a certain time and in a certain order that we would expect to see in the life story of those in contemporary, industrialized cultures, and which the majority recognizes, and in many ways enforces.…”

“…The first is when and how individual members of a culture become aware of master narratives (if they do at all) and potential deviations. Tilmann Habermas [Habermas, 2007;Habermas & Reese, 2015] has begun some of this work with the cultural concept of biography, or the life course master narrative. It appears that the most rapid period of growth in knowledge about the life course master narrative is between ages 9 and 12 [Habermas & Reese, 2015].…”

“…Tilmann Habermas [Habermas, 2007;Habermas & Reese, 2015] has begun some of this work with the cultural concept of biography, or the life course master narrative. It appears that the most rapid period of growth in knowledge about the life course master narrative is between ages 9 and 12 [Habermas & Reese, 2015]. Why this period is so central is still a question to be examined, as there are a myriad of possibilities, such as cognitive development, exposure to knowledge in school, or a broadening peer group.…”

Research Methods for Studying Narrative Identity: A Primer

“…The theoretical rationale for using narrative methods has been elucidated elsewhere (e.g., Adler et al, 2016;Habermas & Reese, 2015;McAdams & McLean, 2013;McLean & Syed, 2015); here, we address two common critiques of this approach: that the stories people tell about their lives are not necessarily true or accurate, and that narrative methods are merely laborintensive self-report instruments. Both criticisms miss the essential point about narratives.…”

Power and Agency in Conceptualizing Life Stages as Master Narratives

“…Arnett's discussion of life stages as master narratives clearly falls in this biographical type and is mostly consistent with our conceptualization. Indeed, it has long been known that there are biographical markers along the lifespan that people can readily point to when defining a good and normative life [Habermas & Reese, 2015;Neugarten, 1968;Rubin & Berntsen, 2003]. Arnett helps push forward these ideas in a broader context by elaborating on how they can be situated within the master narrative framework.…”