Definition
Narrative identity is the evolving internal story that integrates reconstructed past and imagined future into a sense of self.
Origin
McAdams and McLean (2013) define narrative identity as a life story — themes like redemption and agency correlate with well-being in the literature they review.
Mechanism
Story features and adaptation may correlate without established causal direction — Club Storytelling doctrine uses narrative for belief calibration after logged wins, not fiction for an audience. Personality — repeated acts and traits — is the slow behavioural layer that feeds narrative identity over years (see Temperament, attitude and personality).
Applications
When harvesting victories, ask whether the story integrates evidence into identity — or performs for an imagined jury.
Sources
Cite
- McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238.