The use of Personal Narratives derives
Perspectives on Personality: Chapters of My Life
After watching the three videos where Cole, Evelyn, and Taylor discuss the Chapters of Their Lives, answer the following questions.
How did they organize their chapters? What did they use as “meaningful markers” to distinguish the beginnings and endings of their chapters
Were there any particularly salient stories or memories associated with any of their chapters?
Did you see any themes or threads running through their chapters that spoke to core themes or plot lines in their stories?
From listening to their stories, can you say anything about them that might distinguish them from one another?
Chapters of My Life
Now it’s your turn. The use of Personal Narratives derives from multiple sources and can serve multiple purposes.
Erik Erickson’s theory is often described as a “lifespan” personality theory and for that reason is often covered in courses on developmental psychology, as well as personality.
In this exercise you are going to be asked to consider your life as if it were a book, and do the following:
Step 1: Write the chapters of your book and give each chapter titles. You can start any place you would like (For example: with your birth or with a “preface” that precedes you) and organize it any way you might like.
There are no “right” or “wrong” answers; what is important is that the chapters are meaningful to you and that they capture some element or elements of your experience and your life as you have developed.
Step 2: When you have finished, if you haven’t already done so, consider adding a Preface (a chapter that precedes your birth) and a chapter that reflects your “next chapter(s)” if you ended your chapters prior to your death.
In other words, what might the future chapter(s) look like for you, beyond where you are now?
Step 3. Now step back and look at your chapters. How did you organize them? By age? By geographical location? By grade in school or stage of life? By meaningful relationships, milestones, or accomplishments? What does this say about you?
Step 4. If you were to consider the nature of the overall chapters in your book, what kind of book would it be; a comedy, a tragedy, a drama, an adventure? Are there any recurring themes for you in your chapters?
Step 5. Take a look at Erik Erikson’s stages of development. Do you see any of the issues or “crises” that he identifies as intersecting with your chapters in any way?
Step 6. In reflecting on the chapters of your life in this way, have you learned anything about yourself? Is there anything interesting or surprising?
