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Constructing Stories of Self‐Growth: How Individual Differences in Patterns of Autobiographical Reasoning Relate to Well‐Being in Midlife
Author(s) -
Lilgendahl Jennifer Pals,
McAdams Dan P.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00688.x
Subject(s) - psychology , openness to experience , neuroticism , big five personality traits , valence (chemistry) , developmental psychology , time perspective , adult development , perspective (graphical) , narrative , personality , social psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science , linguistics , philosophy
Although growth has been a central focus in narrative research, few studies have examined growth comprehensively, as a story that emerges across the interpretation of many events. In this study, we examined how individual differences in autobiographical reasoning (AR) about self‐growth relate to traits and well‐being in a national sample of midlife adults ( N = 88) who ranged in age from 34 to 68. Two patterns of growth‐related AR were identified: (1) positive processing, defined as the average tendency to interpret events positively (vs. negatively), and (2) differentiated processing, defined as the extent to which past events are interpreted as causing a variety of forms of self‐growth. Results showed that positive processing was negatively related to neuroticism and predicted well‐being even after controlling for the average valence of past events. Additionally, differentiated processing of negative events but not positive events was positively related to openness and predictive of well‐being. Finally, growth‐related AR patterns independently predicted well‐being beyond the effects of traits and demographic factors.