The Science of Stories: An Introduction to Narrative Psychology

by János László

The Science of Stories explores the role narrative plays in human life. Supported by in-depth research, the book demonstrates how the ways in which people tell their stories can be indicative of how they construct their worlds and their own identities.

Based on linguistic analysis and computer technology, Laszlo offers an innovative methodology which aims to uncover underlying psychological processes in narrative texts. The reader is presented with a theoretical framework along with a series of studies which explore the way a systematic linguistic analysis of narrative discourse can lead to a scientific study of identity construction, both individual and group.

The book gives a critical overview of earlier narrative theories and summarizes previous scientific attempts to uncover relationships between language and personality. It also deals with social memory and group various narrative forms of historical representations (history books, folk narratives, historical novels) are analyzed as to how they construct the past of a nation.

The Science of Stories is the first book to build a bridge between scientific and hermeneutic studies of narratives. As such, it will be of great interest to a diverse spectrum of readers in social science and the liberal arts, including those in the fields of cognitive science, social psychology, linguistics, philosophy, literary studies and history.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este livro me foi indicado pelo meu supervisor de pós-doutorado. Ele fala sobre a interação entre o estudo da narrativa e a implicação dos estudos psicológicos sobre essa forma de contar histórias. Principalmente através do ponto de vista autobiográfico, mas não só. É um livro muito legal para se entender mais da ciência da narrativa e da psicologia social, principalmente as representações sociais de Serge Moscovici. Este é um daqueles livros que explicam as coisas bem diretinho para os leitores leigos. Porém, ele promete nos fazer entender da psicologia narrativa, mas não faz. Entendemos bem a narrativa e a psicologia, mas não tão bem a interseção entre as duas coisas. Nisso, o livro deixa bastante a desejar.