Dialogical Self Research Articles

Effectiveness of Internet-based Dialogical Dilemma Solution Technique Compared with Cognitive-Behavioral Technique in Facilitating Problem-Solving: A Randomized Control Trial

The Dialogical Dilemma Solution (DDS) technique is a psychological method based on dialogical self theory which aims to support decision-making processes. In the DDS technique problems are operationalized as intrapersonal decisional struggles – dilemmas between different self-aspects, each having its origin in a relationship with a particular person significant for the individual. Two studies examined the effectiveness of the DDS technique. The first pilot study was a quasi-experimental design with repeated measurements on one research group (N = 15) to which the DDS technique was applied during a 60-minute session with the psychologist. In the second study - a randomized controlled trial experiment (N = 76) performed over the Internet, the effectiveness of the DDS technique was compared with a standard CBT technique. Both studies showed that the technique was effective in facilitating problem-solving. The application of the DDS technique in Study 2 showed a higher degree of problem solution than the CBT technique and according to participants’ subjective appraisal it was more helpful in understanding the problem.

Exploring Self-Talk in Response to Disruptive and Emotional Events

Research on the nature and processes of intrapersonal communication (e.g., self-talk, internal dialogues, etc.) have mainly utilized non-experimental methods. Correlational studies do not permit the examination of possible causal links between self-talk/internal dialogue and other psychological concepts. The present study provides an example of an experimental approach to studying intrapersonal communication. We test the role of self-talk under conditions of cognitive disruption, anxiety, and sadness using a 2 (pre/post) X 4 (condition) mixed methods design (N = 211). Following an initial assessment of self-talk, we randomly assigned participants to one of four recall groups: a recent situation when they experienced cognitive disruption, anxiety, or sadness, or a control condition. The experimental groups recalled their self-talk during the time the event occurred, while the control group reported their current self-talk again. Results indicated participants in the anxiety and sadness conditions reported significantly greater self-talk than the control condition. In addition, typical levels of self-talk frequency (particularly self-critical self-talk) were related to several variables, such as cognitive disruption and intrusive thoughts. The results are consistent with previous findings on the relationship between self-talk/internal dialogues and anxiety and negative emotions. We discuss ways that similar methods might be used to facilitate further experimental studies with Dialogical Self Theory.

Self-Talk Functions in Travelers

This research explored the functions of self-talk in people who hike or travel. The main research questions were: (1) Which functions of self-talk are used more often by travelers in comparison to non-travelers? (2) Which self-talk functions are particularly enhanced in solo travelers? The hypothesis accompanying the second question was that self-management is particularly strong in solo travelers. Participants were travelers who answered the Self-Talk Scale (STS) by Brinthaupt et al. (2009). Their results were compared to the results of non-travelers. Total scores on the STS did not show any differences between the groups. However, the travelers had significantly higher results in self-reinforcement and lower results in self-criticism compared to the control group. Significant differences between and within groups confirmed adaptive patterns of self-talk functions among travelers. Solo travelers had higher total scores on the STS as well as in social assessment and self-management compared to co-travelers. We conclude that adaptive functions of self-talk, such as self-reinforcement, self-management or social assessment in people engaged in an outdoor activity like hiking or traveling can support the functioning of the dialogical self.

The Destiny of Phenomenology: Gadamer on Value, Globalism, and the Growth of Being

The Destiny of Phenomenology: Gadamer on Value, Globalism, and the Growth of Being

Neuroscience and Self in Interdisciplinary Dialogue

Although the role of the DMN in understanding self has not reached scientific consensus, a consideration of the DMN and the results of its dysfunction may stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue in at least two ways related to questions of selves. First, given the ongoing discussion about the proper interpretation of DMN data, this area may benefit from non-empirical, interdisciplinary contributions toward understanding selves. Second, the centrality of the DMN to selves suggests a healthy DMN is necessary (though not sufficient) for a healthy self. Practices for healthy DMN functioning can contribute to and be enriched by philosophical and theological perspectives about telos and Christian practice.*Notes *1Marc Cortez, Theological Anthropology: A Guide for the Perplexed (London, UK: T&T Clark, 2010). *2Erin I. Smith, "A Tale of Two Perspectives: How Psychology and Neuroscience Contribute to Understanding Personhood," Scientia et Fides 9, no. 2 (2021): article 2, https://doi.org/10.12775/SetF.2021.017. *3 Georg Northoff, "Is the Self a Higher-Order or Fundamental Function of the Brain? The 'Basis Model of Self-Specificity' and Its Encoding by the Brain's Spontaneous Activity," Cognitive Neuroscience 7 (2016): 203–22, https://doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2015.1111868.

Defining the Self in Terms of Power, Plurality and Social Embeddedness–The Model of the Agonistic Self

The paper offers an analytical framework for conceptualization and research of the structure and dynamics of the agonistic self, relying on Hermans’ dialogical self theory and Foucault’s analytics of power. In a multiple-case study, 9 teachers participated in a two-phase Agonistic Self Interview. A deductive-inductive thematic analysis of the data yielded an analytical framework comprising 4 categories: Functions of Voices, Power Relations (with two sub-categories: Forms of Exercising Power and Practices for Exercising Power and Resistance), Types of Relations Between Voices, and Institutional Context. The paper offers the analytical concept of a strategic situation along with novel methodological tools for the research and analysis of the self as embedded in interpersonal relationships and sociocultural and institutional context. The psychological relevance of the findings is discussed in terms of relations between dominance and maintaining plurality within the self and relations between the stability and social contextualization of the self.

Narrative modeling and its implications for cultural practices

Abstract Paul Cobley stated that the semiotics of narrative should not be conflated with narratology. This statement becomes a starting point for an inquiry into the semiotics of narrative by looking at the concept of narrative signs and its future as a new theory of narrative. Narrative signs embedding semiotic processes convey the meaning of narrative in the areas of the prelinguistic, the linguistic, and the extralinguistic by way of signs, models, and semiosis. What is more, the concept of narrative modeling for Cobley enables further inquiry into cultural activity through the act of narration for transvaluation. In this regard, a new theory of narrative involves time, emotion, abduction, and the dialogic self, leading to the narrative-related ideas of cognition, identity, and human subjectivity. Based on Peirce’s semiotics and a biosemiotic approach, narrative modeling makes human beings participate in sign activity, that is, cultural activity through dialogic interaction between culture and nature. Consequently, this paper proposes that the study of the mysterious narrative through narrative modeling is geared to seeing how it affects humans and also how they see and make a world through various cultural practices.

A dialogical self approach to understanding identity as negotiated in retirement from elite sport

Every athlete will eventually retire from their career in elite sport. Despite its inevitability, following their encounter with this critical event, many athletes are left vulnerable to diversions from psychological well-being (Park et al., 2013). In their review, Cosh et al. (2021) report that somewhere between 18% to 39% of retired athletes experience mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms, after career termination. While the literature surrounding retirement from sport and well-being cites various factors contributing to the quality of adjustment, a large body of research has focused on the predictive factor of athletic identity, the extent of identification with the athlete role (Brewer et al., 1993) and the negative relationship it tends to have with psychological well-being during retirement (Douglas & Carless, 2009; Kuettel et al., 2017; Warriner & Lavallee, 2008). Although these findings have led to recommendations for a shift away from monologic performance-based narratives (Brewer & Petitpas, 2017; Park et al., 2013) the concept of a diversified identity in high performance sporting careers is relatively underexplored. Therefore, this project aims to expand on existing research demonstrating the possibility of alternative narratives (Douglas & Carless, 2006) and the notion that there is room within the presentation of identity for multiple voices to be represented and heard in negotiation or contradiction with one another (Peterson & Langellier, 2006; Ronkainen & Ryba 2020). To conceptualize how athletes’ evolving self-concepts might be comprised of multiple identities, we introduce Dialogical Self Theory (DST; Hermans & Kempen, 1993) which has been previously applied to research surrounding identity and transitions, such as childhood development and cultural migration (Hermans & Gieser, 2012). According to the theory, one’s inner world is made up of several “I”-positions which are constantly positioned relative to each other (Konopka et al., 2018). These “I-positions” are by nature dynamic and can move depending on changes in time and situation (Hermans & Hermans-Konopka, 2010). Pauha and Ronkainen (2021) applied DST to their recent examination of conflicting positions of an intersectional identity. Their interesting findings demonstrating an athlete in dialogue have inspired our current project which seeks to answer: How are identities negotiated in athletes’ stories during retirement from elite sport? Semi-structured interviews informed by The Life Story Interview (Atkinson,1998), with ten recently retired elite athletes were conducted at one to three months after they officially announced their retirement to Swiss Olympic. Interviews were conducted in person and lasted on average 90 minutes. Preliminary results from the narrative analysis are discussed and provide insights of the various, non-performance related “I”-positions present amongst athletes. A case study is used to illustrate the implicit ways in which elite athletes may or may not engage in “identity work” while transitioning out of their careers, along with the practical implications of these findings.

Life in elite sport

Empirical research which aims to investigate elite sport from a holistic perspective (Magnusson & Stattin, 2006; Wylleman, 2019) is necessary to inform the ethical discussions surrounding issues such as performance and optimization. This symposium, therefore, intends to capture the complex trajectories of athlete’s lived experience from multiple angles and disciplines within the area of sport science. Starting from a psychological understanding, Philip Röthlin will introduce the prevalence of mental health disorders among Swiss elite athletes along with relevant contributing factors such as need satisfaction and organizational support. Colm Hickey will unearth how professional elite athletes are affected by abuse disguised as jokes in their daily lives from a sociological perspective. Helena Hlasová will explore retirement from elite sport through the lens of Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans & Kempen, 1993) and uncover the implicit ways in which elite athletes may or may not engage in “identity work” while transitioning out of their careers. Finally, Violetta Oblinger-Peters will present on how Olympic athletes find and create personal meaning(s) in their sport and discuss how the scientific concept translates into tangible support for athletes. Overall, the symposium intends to generate transferable knowledge of athletes’ lived reality in elite sport.

Exploring experiences of proculturation in international students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study intends to find what are the experiences of international students semiotically adapting to unfamiliar signs in the United Kingdom before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six international university students to learn about their experiences of adapting to a new country. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes were classified as dialogical self in interpersonal adaptation and linguistic elements of semiotic adaptation, each with two subthemes. Participants' experiences of merging self-constructs seem reflective of proculturation theory. The researchers termed 'language bridges' to refer to social representations dependent on language-specific signs. Some of the participants' self-constructs relied on signs not provided by the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, proculturation offers insight into the complex psychological and social processes of adapting to unfamiliar signs.

Framing the tendency to betray one's good intentions. Akrasia as a dialogical dynamic

AbstractAkrasia, otherwise known as ‘weakness of will’, is a state of mind whereby people act deliberately against their better judgment. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework for understanding akrasia from psychosocial perspectives that assume the self is multiple and strongly interconnected with the relational flow of which it is a part. Drawing on key ideas from Dialogical Self Theory, we analyze the main dialogical dynamics that can generate akratic episodes with reference to how individuals organize their personal position repertoire, and to the relational and socio‐cultural setting in which the actions are taken. The discussion enables us to identify some indicators to frame the tendency to betray one's good intentions, and to offer some suggestions on how to reduce the occurrence of the various forms of akrasia analyzed.

The Polyphonic Narrative Voices within an LGB-Identifying International Sojourner: A Dialogical Self Perspective

In this article, we focused on the polyphonic view of one’s narrative identity as dialogical, multiple, and decentralized. We first briefly summarized the major tenets of the dialogical self theory (DST) and discussed limited attention to individuals with intersecting marginalized identities within the DST literature. To illustrate the complexity and interwovenness of such individuals, we employed a composite case study of Lee, an East Asian gay sojourner in the U.S. who is negotiating the process of coming out. We dissected three of Lee’s I-positions (i.e., I-as-Queer, I-as-Moral, I-as-Diasporic) across two different time points and discussed the dialogical relationships between each position both spatially and temporally. Lastly, we discuss DST-oriented clinical strategies and potential directions for future research.

Queer Theory and Dialogical Self Theory: Considerations on Human Development

RESUMO Este trabalho apresenta um exercício de diálogo entre a Teoria Queer e a Teoria do Self Dialógico (TSD) como sustentação teórica para investigação sobre os impactos do posicionamento de gênero de sujeitos LGBTI+ no desenvolvimento do self. A Teoria Queer inspira a psicologia dialógica a incluir em sua noção de self a sociabilidade radical do sujeito juntamente com a individualidade que ela torna possível, além de apontar para a importância das particularidades do desenvolvimento de sujeitos considerados desviantes. Em trabalhos recentes, a TSD caminha nessa direção, ao propor uma metáfora do self como uma sociedade democrática, levando em conta os obstáculos impostos pelas diferenças no contexto social. Essa perspectiva oferece ferramentas para investigações sobre a microgênese da subversão.

The “Edible Identity” in Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart: A Memoir

Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart is an evocative memoir of an Asian- American woman who struggled to accept her mixed heritage. A major turning point in her life was having to deal with grief over the loss of a loved one through the help of food. While food has frequently been studied in relation to grief and identity, the ways in which these intersect is less common and warrants further exploration. Given the multiplicity of identities embodied by the protagonist and their often-conflicting nature, the researchers employed Herman’s dialogical self theory (DST) as a framework to better understand her journey towards self-discovery and acceptance. With each identity being given a voice of their own, the constant negotiation among them became apparent and the role played by food in the process was also highlighted. Findings indicate that food as a primary marker for Michelle to reclaim her own heritage and identity was emphasised repeatedly in the memoir. It reinforces the notion that food is affective in nature because it is capable of evoking emotions and memories that could (re)shape one’s identity. While Michelle initially rejected her Korean (Asian) heritage, she begins to reclaim and embrace it while reconnecting with her ailing mother through their shared affection for Korean food. It is through her love of Korean food that Michelle is able to gradually embrace one of the major changes in her life and subsequently overcome the identity crisis that has been troubling her.

Teoria Queer e Teoria do Self Dialógico: Considerações sobre Desenvolvimento Humano

ABSTRACT The present study presents an exercise in a dialogue between queer theory and Dialogical Self Theory (DST) as theoretical support for research on the impacts of the gender positioning of LGBTI+ subjects on the development of the self. Queer theory inspires dialogical psychology to include in its notion of self the radical sociability of the subject together with the individuality that it makes possible, in addition to pointing to the importance of the particularities of the development of subjects considered deviant. In recent studies, DST moves in this direction by proposing a metaphor of the self as a democratic society, considering the obstacles imposed by differences in the social context. This perspective offers tools for investigations into the microgenesis of subversion.

Dialogical self on the slope: An analysis of family dynamics on skis

Cultural organization of action leads to dialogical resolutions to situated activity contexts. Teaching children to descend Alpine skiing slopes is the context selected to analyze such dialogicality. Dialogical Self Theory is a fitting framework for investigation of the meaningful actions in the teaching-learning settings. The skiing context brings a unique scenery and extreme conditions, where I-positions can be observed in a setting, where humans are in motion. The outdoor and activity context is a novelty for DST. Dynamic aspects of I-Positions and their interchange will become evident. As a result, there should be a focus on moving humans in future research. A family consisting of the parents, two daughters and paternal grandparents is accompanied over the course of two years while teaching the children how to ski. The parents and grandparents share many key aspects of their I-positions, which leads to a harmonic family dynamic. Ambivalences were found in the mother’s I-positions which mainly focus about the topic of being a good parent.

Shifting frames: Two doctoral students’ identity construction as music teacher educators

The purpose of this study was to examine our music teacher educator (MTE) identity construction. Our research questions were: (a) How did we describe our MTE identity construction during our doctoral education? and (b) What experiences were most salient in our MTE identity construction during our doctoral education? We used basic qualitative methods to conduct a self-study of our transition from music educators to teacher educators. Hermans and Hermans-Konopka’s dialogical self theory was our theoretical framework. Through analysis, our findings coalesced around three themes: (a) experiences of uncertainty and tension related to who we were as people; (b) wrestling with uncertainty through internal conflict, open-ended mentorship, gradually adopting nuance, fearing rejection, and seeking acceptance; and (c) an expanded sense of self as we incorporated parts of being an MTE into our whole selves, embraced agency in meaning-making, accepted tension, and began offering transformative experiences to our students. Implications for music teacher education are discussed.

The Netherlands-Indies; Rethinking post-colonial recognition from a multi-voiced perspective

In the communication of pain, language matters. Telling someone to feel pain is not just a description of one’s pain, it is – as philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein informs us – also asking for recognition of that pain. This requires a shared language which communicates it. Do we need a new language which can communicate and recognize the pain of the colonial past more effectively? Commencing with the recent apology for waging “a colonial war” in Indonesia by the Dutch prime minister, this article suggests an intervention in post-colonial recognition politics by exploring the idea of the multi-voicedness. Multi-voicedness (Meerstemmigheid) has become a catchword in current public and scholarly debates about the Dutch colonial past and its legacy, in which decades of recognition politics have tended to privilege clear-cut binary identities favouring certain voices above others. There is little conceptual clarity around what the term multi-voicedness entails and even less about its utility in post-colonial discourse. Although commonly associated with juxtaposing different perspectives, this article argues that introducing the lens of multi-voicedness – more specifically the idea of the dialogical self (Hubert J.M. Hermans 2004) – into the recognition discourse, contributes to a better understanding of transnational recognition politics. Capturing the diaspora’s multi-voicedness permits wider scrutiny of what is otherwise a too simplified identity and generation question implicated in post-colonial recognition politics. It will be argued that recognition claims, although supposedly part of an emancipatory struggle, are silencing the multi-voicedness of entangled Indonesian-Dutch family history, the driver for the fight for justice in the first place.

The affective-discursive ‘pruning’ of neoliberal selves: introducing the notion of self-othering

In this article, I develop the notion of self-othering defined as the affective orchestration of different voices-of-the-self as an important self-constitutive practice of neoliberal subjectivity. I posit that neoliberal subjectification relies on othering those facets—skills, attributes, bodily properties—that do not conform to idealised notions of the self. By applying this conceptual lens to empirical material drawn from a qualitative research project on women’s identity negotiations, my aim is to show that affect, notably what feels right/wrong, plays a crucial role in aligning the body with neoliberal culture. The affective-discursive approach to analysing the dialogical self I propose is based on a problematisation of neoliberal logic and thus draws attention to the normativity of affect. The analysis of practices of self-othering lays bare how certain voices and ways of being become unsayable. However, their presence in people’s self-constructions also suggests that they could be re-articulated to formulate a counter ideal.

Identity Conflicts and Negotiations: Narratives of Asian International Students’ Experiences in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This study draws on a narrative-based multiple case study approach to investigating three Asian international students’ experiences in a Hong Kong university, with a focus on their identity conflicts and negotiations. Informed by a poststructuralist perspective on identity and the Bakhtinian notion of dialogical self, the study found that the international students’ identity conflicts appear to be complex and varied and relate to different aspects of their identities, including their national, ethnic, academic and ‘non-local student’ identities. The findings suggest that their identity conflicts seem to arise primarily from a mismatch between their desired identities and the identities imposed by others. The findings also reveal that when dealing with identity conflicts, these students exercise their agency through (i) entering into an internal dialogue in response to others’ positioning of themselves in order to (re)interpret the self–other relations and (ii) taking strategic actions to contest the other-imposed identities and construct new and alternative identities. Taken together, the findings suggest that international students’ identity conflicts can be a potential avenue for identity transformation and (re)construction. The findings also call for the need to attend to the dialogical nature of identity and the role of agency in understanding international students’ identity conflicts and negotiations.