Narrative as Cultural Mediator in Personality Development: Looking through the Lens of Cultural-Historical Psychology

Abstract

The article considers the features of the narrative approach as a new methodology for the study of personality and its development mechanisms. The article discusses the basic settings of social constructionism, in which most of the narrative research are carried out to date, and discloses the basic approaches and concepts of the narrative approach. The article also shows the ability of the narrative approach in the in the research process of socialization and the formation of human identity in the context of the cultural-historical approach, and analyzes some specific narrative function, such as the ability to structure the experience and give it meaning; create a basic system of values; build and rebuild our own identity and influence others; install time order and semantic links between the past, present and future; broadcast the cultural experience and influence in the community. All these functions — structuring, value-orienting, performative, temporal, translates — are invited to consider from the perspective of cultural-historical psychology, assuming a cul- tural narrative means, mediating personal development.

Keywords

• narrative
• the narrative approach
• socialization
• identity
• social constructionism