What growth sounds like: Redemption, self‐improvement, and eudaimonic growth across different life narratives in relation to well‐being

Abstract

Thematic motives for eudaimonic growth were more closely tied to well-being than were affective evaluations of either changes from bad to good (redemption) or one's becoming better (self-improvement).

Meaning making, self‐determination theory, and the question of wisdom in personality

“…Despite the aforementioned ties to well‐being, positive changes in narrative tone (e.g., redemption sequences) do not uniformly predict well‐being. For instance, redemption sequences have shown demonstrated ties to well‐being and psychological adjustment during difficult times (e.g., Dunlop & Tracy, ), but in narratives of good or happy events, redemption sequences have been shown to predict lower levels of well‐being (Bauer, Graham, Lauber, & Lynch, ).…”

“…Overall, self‐determined themes in narratives (i.e., stories emphasizing autonomous, internally extrinsic, or intrinsic motives) have a demonstrated tie to well‐being (Bauer & McAdams, , , ; Bauer et al, ; Philippe et al, ; Weinstein et al, ). Notably, intrinsically motivated memories predicted well‐being, but integratively motivated memories did not (Philippe et al, ), replicating past research showing that intrinsic memories correspond to well‐being, whereas integrative memories correspond to a key measure of wisdom (Staudinger & Glück, ), namely, Loevinger's () ego development (Bauer & McAdams, , ; Bauer et al, ).…”

“…We also note that, while narrative and non‐narrative measures can tap into different levels of personality (McAdams, ), narrative and non‐narrative measures can tap into the same features of a good life, such as well‐being and wisdom (which are ultimately measures of personality). The difference there is that narrative measures situate, for example, motives and their fulfillments within the lived context of specific actions in a person's life, whereas non‐narrative measures typically assess motives and their fulfillments in more general, decontextualized forms (Bauer et al, ).…”

Self‐transcendence and life stories of humanistic growth among late‐midlife adults

“…Accordingly, narrative researchers employ methodologies that ask participants to provide detailed descriptions of important scenes and chapters in their lives. These narrative accounts are typically coded for motivational and affective themes such as agency, communion, redemption, contamination, meaning‐making, and personal growth, as well as for structural features such as narrative coherence (Adler et al, 2015; Bauer, Graham, Lauber, & Lynch, 2019; Waters & Fivush, 2015). Eliciting and analyzing participants' narratives provides the unique benefit of capturing a vividness of detail and particularity that makes the stories intelligible as lives lived while also making them amenable to scientifically credible thematic analysis.…”

The Lived Experience of Eudaimonic Well-Being in a Religio-Economical Role: A Phenomenological Study

“…The conceived causal link between WB and psychological health (Fowers, 2017;Friedman et al, 2019;Keyes, 2015;Carol D. Ryff, 2018) the realms of Muslims, suggests that thinking of well-being in the mode of EWB facilitates the design and evaluation of more efficient policies. The conceived causal link between EWB and psychological health (Fowers, 2017;Friedman et al, 2019;Keyes, 2015;Carol D. Ryff, 2018), and creativity, change and personal enhancement (Bauer, Graham, Lauber & Lynch, 2018;Thorsteinsen & Vittersø, 2018;Vittersø, 2018) makes this an ideal research for initiatives aiming to enhance EWB competence of HEs.…”