In stories we trust: Studies of the validity of autobiographies.

Abstract

There is a dearth of research addressing the validity of life stories, or autobiographies. In part, this is because it is unclear how such data sources might be validated. This article recommends two different perspectives for obtaining evidence relevant to the validity of autobiographical data. A study is conducted from each of these perspectives, and multiple validity estimates are obtained in each investigation. The construct validity of standard psychological constructs (e.g., assertiveness, trustworthiness) obtained in Study 1 from autobiographies was equal to that of standard instruments designed to assess these constructs. Evidence for the validity of life themes, extracted from autobiographies in Study 2, was also apparent. Because life histories, autobiographies, and case studies are relied on heavily in the practice of counseling psychology and are rapidly regaining popularity in scientific studies, these positive findings suggest the wisdom in this increasing use of life history data.

Multicultural Perspective on Middle‐Class Women's Identity Development

“…The present study was exploratory, the sample was small, the participants were selected for their ability to be reflective about their lives, and the interviews were retrospective. However, in exploring different methods, the data collected using life narratives were not significantly different from data collected using other methods (Howard, 1992). Identity development was not explored with the framework of the womanist (Ossana, Helms, & Leonard, 1992) and racial (Cross, 1971;Helms, 1984) identity development models.…”

Individuality and relatedness of the self: An autophotographic study.

“…In the 2nd wave of the sample, individuality was associated with higher ego development, maturity, and self-directed values; low individuality was associated with restrictive conformity and security values. The authors suggest that the combination of individuality and relatedness is optimal for human development.Autobiographical and self-narrative methods have become increasingly popular in contemporary psychology (e.g., Baumeister & Newman, 1994;Howard, Maerlender, Myers, & Curtin, 1992;McAdams, 1985), and one such method, the autophotographic essay, has considerable promise for revealing new insights about personality and social psychology (Ziller, 1990). Our purpose in the present study is to extend recent work with this method to shed light on the relationship between individuality and social connection or relatedness (Franz…”

Um viver feminino no interior rural português: Descrição analítica do tecer de uma história individual

“…Neste contexto, depois várias décadas de pousio e esquecimento (Howard, Maerlender, Myers, & Curtin, 1992) em que atraíam apenas os mais românticos dos investigadores em psicologia (McAdams, 2001), seguindo as pisadas de homens como Allport e Murray, citados por Atkinson (1998), as HV conhecem novo desenvolvimento. Justificam-no a tentativa de preservação de um passado em diluição pela quebra das correntes de transmissão oral entre gerações (Poirier et al, 1999) e a necessidade de acompanhar e mapear o processo reflexivo e individual de construção do self desenvolvido pelos indivíduos num contínuo de busca de coerência (Giddens, 2000).…”