Positioning in the dialogical self: recent advances in theory construction

Raggatt, Peter T.F. (2012) Positioning in the dialogical self: recent advances in theory construction. In: Hermans, Hubert J.M., and Gieser, Thorsten, (eds.) Handbook of Dialogical Self Theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 29-45.

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Abstract

[Extract] The literature on the dialogical self has grown significantly over the past two decades. The two guiding metaphors of a dialogical approach, namely that the self takes the form of both a 'conversation' and a 'mini-society', have been inspirational for researchers working across many topics in social, cultural and clinical psychology, and in neighbouring social sciences (e.g. Barresi 2002; Bhatia and Ram 2001; Chandler 2004; Fogel et al 2002; Gieser 2006; Hermans 2001; Hermans and Dimaggio 2004; Hermans and Hermans-Konopka 2010; Hermans and Kempen 1 993; Hevern 2004; Josephs 2002; Lewis. 2002; Lysaker 2006; Raggatt 2000, 2006; Sampson 1993; Stiles 1999; Tappan 2005). Fundamental to dialogical self theory (DST) is the proposition that the self has extension in both space and time through processes of positioning. Inspired particularly by William James (1890), Mikhail Bakhtin (1981, 1984) and George Herbert Mead (1934), Hermans (2001) has conceptualized the dialogical self as an extended 'position repertoire'. The repertoire contains a variety of interacting 'internal positions' (e.g. I as adventurer, I as pessimist), 'external positions' (e.g. the imagined voice of my father), and 'outside' positions (e.g. interlocutors, significant others, groups). In this dynamic arrangement, positioning processes are at play on multiple levels: in our 'self-talk', in our relationships, in the social order we inhabit, and in our cultural activities. As the engine of DST, therefore, the concept of positioning has a broad range of convenience with applications at different levels of engagement. Because of this breadth, an integrated, nuanced and comprehensive theory of positioning is needed.

Item ID: 15153
Item Type: Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN: 978-1-107-00651-5
Date Deposited: 06 Mar 2012 02:35
FoR Codes: 17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170109 Personality, Abilities and Assessment @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9299 Other Health > 929999 Health not elsewhere classified @ 50%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences @ 50%
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