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Literary arts and the development of the life story
Author(s) -
Mar Raymond A.,
Peskin Joan,
Fong Katrina
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
new directions for child and adolescent development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1534-8687
pISSN - 1520-3247
DOI - 10.1002/cd.290
Subject(s) - narrative , the arts , psychology , poetry , empirical research , empirical examination , aesthetics , sociology , literature , epistemology , visual arts , art , philosophy , classical economics , economics
Throughout adolescence, children begin to develop their life story: a coherent account of their experiences and selfhood. Although the nature of this development is still being uncovered, one promising direction for research is the examination of factors that could encourage life story development. Here the authors explore the idea that exposure to the literary arts (i.e., poetry and fictional literature) might promote the formation of a coherent autobiographical narrative. Taking a critical look at both theoretical proposals along with the current empirical research, they provide a brief survey of this intriguing hypothesis. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.