Narrative Language as an Expression of Individual and Group Identity

Abstract

Scientific Narrative Psychology integrates quantitative methodologies into the study of identity. Its methodology, Narrative Categorical Analysis, and its toolkit, NarrCat, were both originally developed by the Hungarian Narrative Psychology Group. NarrCat is for machine-made transformation of sentences in self-narratives into psychologically relevant, statistically processable narrative categories. The main body of this flexible and comprehensive system is formed by Psycho-Thematic modules, such as Agency, Evaluation, Emotion, Cognition, Spatiality, and Temporality. The Relational Modules include Social References, Semantic Role Labeling (SRL), and Negation. Certain elements can be combined into Hypermodules, such as Psychological Perspective and Spatio-Temporal Perspective, which allow for even more complex, higher level exploration of composite psychological processes. Using up-to-date developments of corpus linguistics and Natural Language Processing (NLP), a unique feature of NarrCat is its capacity of SRL. The structure of NarrCat, as well as the empirical results in group identity research, is discussed.

Negotiating the past, imagining the future: Israeli and Palestinian narratives in intergroup dialog

“…Our interpretive lens was informed by discursive analytical frameworks (Hammack & Pilecki, 2014;Potter & Wetherell, 1995) that views text and talk as forms of social action employed for the purpose of constructing social categories and framing the nature of the relations among them (Edwards, 1991). This interpretive, constructivist analytical framework contrasts with more positivistic approaches to narrative research (e.g., László et al, 2013) and seeks to describe the discourse that emerges via intergroup dialog rather than make claims on emotional or cognitive processes on the individual level (e.g., László, Ehmann, Pólya, & Peley, 2007).…”

Automated Analysis of Narrative: NarrCat and the Identification of Infrahumanization Bias Within Text

“…Recent decades have witnessed an explosive advance in both theories and technology for the quantitative analysis of texts (for reviews, see Popping, 1997; Smith, Atkinson, McClelland, & Veroff, 1992; West, 2001). Relatively new among these, the NarrCat program is a computerized methodology that enables researchers to quantitatively analyze narrative composition, in relation to psychological processes within texts (László et al, 2013). In the present study, NarrCat was employed to analyze patterns of psychological perspective attributed to various groups in speeches delivered by New Zealand Governors during the height of colonization (1854-1913).…”

“…Each psychothematic module of NarrCat identifies linguistic markers of a specific narrative category , which each relate to distinct psychological processes involved in identity–construction (László & Ehmann, 2014). These categories include cognition, emotion, and intention, among others (for a comprehensive review, see László et al, 2013). Output data of the narrative categories (obtained through NarrCat’s modules) enable researchers to assess which individual or group actors are presented as more or less agentic than other actors, more positively or more negatively evaluated than other actors and whose psychological perspective is presented more in a text (among other features).…”

National History Contributes to the Definition of National Identity

“…Accordingly, two types of perspectives (character and narrator perspective) will be analysed. Inclusion of either of them makes the narrative more complex (e.g., László et al, 2013).…”