New Narrative for Psychology

How can a narrative perspective help us advance our understanding of the fundamental problems of human psychology and better appreciate persons in diverse social and cultural contexts? In A New Narrative for Psychology, author Brian Schiff offers researchers and scholars a new way to study and think about people and the goals of psychological understanding today. By providing a challenging critique of contemporary methods and addressing what these approaches to psychological research leave unexplored, Schiff presents readers with a cutting-edge approach for getting at the thorny problem of meaning making in human lives. While serving as a helpful guide for psychology scholars, this volume is also an excellent place to start for readers who might be unfamiliar with narrative psychology. Here, Schiff carefully considers the history of the field and its place within contemporary psychology by offering a fresh and innovative theoretical perspective on narrative as an active interpretative process present in most aspects of our everyday lives. Further, Schiff expertly grounds this research for readers in clear, vivid illustrations of what can be learned from the intensive study of how people narrate their experiences, selves, social relationships, and the world today. A New Narrative for Psychology is an invitation to a fascinating conversation about the critical questions of the discipline, the most effective strategies for approaching them, and an exciting glimpse into the future of narrative psychology.

Brian Schiff is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Director of the George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention at the American University of Paris. A graduate of The University of Chicago's Committee on Human Development, Schiff's research uses narrative in order to examine the meeting place between person, social relationships and culture. He is editor of Rereading Personal Narrative and Life Course, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, and co-editor of Life and Narrative: The Risks and Responsibilities of Storying Experience.

- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- PART ONE
- Introduction: What's the Problem?
- Chapter 1: Out of Context
- Chapter 2: Out of the Head
- PART TWO
- Chapter 3: Turning to Narrative
- Chapter 4: How Narrating Functions
- Chapter 5: Making It So...
- PART THREE
- Chapter 6: Interpreting Interpretations
- Chapter 7: Interpreting Ben's Survival
- Chapter 8: Interpretation in Practice
- Chapter 9: Reasoned Interpretations
- Conclusion: Unity in Psychology?
- References