Raggatt, Peter (2002) A plurality of selves? An illustration of polypsychism in a recovered addict. Critical Psychology: The International Journal of Critical Psychology, 6. pp. 123-144.

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Abstract

To meet the challenges of rapid social change and growing cultural hybridisation, psychologists must find new ways to study personality processes unconstrained by older Enlightenment models that promote self-contained individualism. This research aims to contribute to that challenge. In trying to come to terms with issues surrounding the meaning of 'self' and 'identity' in a postmodern landscape, I have developed and refined a method for mapping the multiplicity of the self. The Personality Web protocol combines structured interviewing and qualitative analyses with multidimensional scaling statistical methods. The goal is to map the history and development of an individual's life-world from the viewpoint of alternative narrative voices which constitute a polypsychic self. The method of analysis is described here with reference to the case study of Sean, a former addict. Sean's story provides a powerful illustration of opposing narrative voices in the self. It is argued that dialogical oppositions in the self are defined by moral concerns, and by a matrix of social, political and cultural positioning.

Item ID:	13542
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1471-4167
Copyright Information:	Collection as a whole © Lawrence & Wishart 2002. Individual articles © the individual authors.
Additional Information:	Issue 6: Political Subjects
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2011 04:52
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170109 Personality, Abilities and Assessment @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences @ 100%
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