Mentalizing oneself: detecting reflective functioning in life narratives

Abstract

Reflective functioning (RF) is defined as the ability to infer mental states of others and oneself. While RF has been predominantly studied in attachment research, it might also occur in other autobiographical narratives because of its strong connection to self-organization and self-understanding. Therefore, this study took a first step combining research on RF with developmental narrative research. In a longitudinal lifespan study covering up to three measurements across 8 years and six age groups (N = 172), we aimed to detect RF in entire life narratives to explore its development with age and its contribution to causal-motivational coherence of life narratives. Although scores were initially low, RF could be identified in life narratives, and was found to develop throughout adolescence and to predict life narrative coherence above and beyond age. Results confirm RF as significantly contributing to narrative self-organization, indicating promising new paths in research on autobiographical narratives and self.

Life Narrative Reflection as a Resource For Self-Regulation in Higher Education Students

“…Together with authors (Köber et al, 2019;Sapogova, 2019), we believe that a high level of life narrative reflection makes it possible for a person to shape a clear idea of the standard milestones. For students, these are the milestones connected with the higher education studies.…”

“…According to the authors (Köber et al, 2019;McAdams, 2013;Sapogova, 2019), life narrative reflection helps not only build one's life path, but also develop spontaneous self-regulation based on identification patterns, overcome alienation and loneliness, maintain social attachments and ensure the succession and connectedness of one's life with the lives of other people.…”

The Narrative of Persons with Gambling Problems and Substance Use: A Multidimensional Analysis of the Language of Addiction

“…As mentioned in Introduction, narrative has been claimed to reveal aspects of the processes involved in the integration of events of the personal experiences in a coherent representation (Habermas & Bluck, 2000;Habermas & de Silveira, 2008;Herman, 2013;Köber & Habermas, 2017;Köber et al, 2019). From this point of view, narrative difficulties may result from problems in the cognitive organization of experience, as highlighted by psychopathological literature on clinical populations such as autism spectrum disorders (e.g., Ferretti et al, 2018;Jolliffe & Baron-Cohen, 2000) and schizophrenia (e.g., Adornetti & Ferretti, 2021).…”

“…That narrative may play a role in the processes of integrating the different aspects of personal experiences is linked to the subject's ability to organize his or her events in a coherent story (Habermas & de Silveira, 2008;Herman, 2013;Köber & Habermas, 2017;Köber et al, 2019). To this extent, narrative global coherence becomes a crucial property able to reveal important aspects of the structure of the self.…”

Correlation Between Biographical Reflection And Tolerance Of Ambiguity

“…Thanks to biographical reflection, connections are established between life events and the life journey appears to become a new integrity (Klementyeva, 2020). According to Sapogova, (2019) and Köber et al (2019), the reflexive function of the autobiographical self-ensures the individual's self-efficacy in following his or her life path and achieving good results on the way. Relying on the identification patterns as set in the cultural concept of biography, one overcomes alienation and loneliness, as well as maintains the continuity and cohesion of one's life with the lives of other people.…”