NARRATIVE AS THE ROOT OF PSYCHOLOGY Narrative Enables Key Capacities  Memory  Rational thought  Emotion regulation  Cultural development Without narrative skills, humans would lack higher cognition. Narrative provides the structure to interpret events and make sense of experiences. Order from Chaos  Brings order to ever-changing world  Inherently organize experiences into narratives  More fundamental than logic or empiricism Central Framework for Understanding Humans  Reveals how people interpret themselves and world in contexts  Mainstream psychology has ignored narrative  Risks irrelevance regarding human experience Dual Lenses  Study stories people tell  Study underlying narrative processes Individual Differences  Narrative abilities vary  Based on factors like:   Genes  Intelligence  Personality Not everyone has strong skills All Theories are Narrative Explanations Behaviorism  Causal stories relating behaviors Cognitive Psychology  Mechanisms of memory, perception Psychoanalysis  Workings of id, ego, superego Neuroscience  Brain structures and behavior  Scientific narratives subject to testing Science as Narrative  Seeking explanations and meaning  Cosmology narratives reflect human cognition needing causes/endings Differing Perspectives, Overlapping Stories  Schools of psychology tell overlapping stories about mind and behavior  Not radically different paradigms Cognitive Processes Serve Narrative Ones Neuroscience  Key brain structures integrate information  Essential for storytelling abilities Conclusion: No Narrative, No Psychology  Narrative absolutely central, not peripheral