The autobiographical author through time: Examining the degree of stability and change in redemptive and contaminated personal narratives (Dunlop et al., 2016)
We examined continuity and change in the tendencies to construct a life story (i.e., narrative identity) that was redemptive or
contaminated in nature. In Study 1, college freshmen and seniors wrote accounts of several autobiographical key scenes pertinent
to narrative identity twice over a 3-year period. In Study 2, midlife adults provided, via a semistructured interview, key scenes
twice over a 5-year period and also indicated whether their employment status had changed between assessments. Across
studies, the rank-order consistency of redemptive and contaminated stories was moderate and low to moderate, respectively. In
Study 1, the frequency of redemptive and contaminated stories increased throughout college. Furthermore, the frequency of
contaminated stories decreased following graduation. In Study 2, changes in employment status corresponded with reduced
redemptive imagery. These results suggest a possible narrative acculturation of young adults as well as a correspondence between
changes in life circumstances and narrative identity.
Jen Guo 