Hubert J. M. Hermans

The Dialogical Self: Toward a Theory of Personal and Cultural Positioning:

The dialogical self proposes a far-reaching decentralization of both the concept of self and the concept of culture. At the intersection between the psychology of the self in the tradition of William James and the dialogical school in the tradition of Mikhail Bakhtin, the proposed view challenges both the idea of a core, essential self and the idea of a core, essential culture. In apparent contradiction with such a view, the present viewpoint proposes to conceive self and culture as a multiplicity of positions among which dialogical relationships can be established. Particular attention is paid to collective voices, domination and asymmetry of social relations, and embodied forms of dialogue. Cultures and selves are seen as moving and mixing and as increasingly sensitive to travel and translocality. Three perspectives for future research of self and culture are briefly discussed: the shifting attention from core to contact zones; increasing complexity; and the experience of uncertainty.

MOVING CULTURES : THE PERILOUS PROBLEMS OF CULTURAL DICHOTOMIES IN A GLOBALIZING SOCIETY

The accelerating process of globalization and the increasing interconnections between cultures involve an unprecedented challenge to contemporary psychology. In apparent contrast to these trends, academic mainstream conceptions continue to work in a tradition of cultural dichotomies (e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic, independent vs. interdependent), reflecting a classificatory approach to culture and self Three developments are presented that challenge this approach: (a) cultural connections leading to hybridization, (b) the emergence of a heterogeneous global system, and (c) the increasing cultural complexity. By elaborating on these challenges, a basic assumption of cross-cultural psychology is questioned: culture as geographically localized. Finally, 3 themes are described as examples of an alternative approach: a focus on the contact zones of cultures rather than on their center, the complexities of self and identity, and the experience of uncertainty.

The dialogical self : meaning as movement

Vico versus Descartes the narrative construction of reality the decentralization of the self developments in modern novelistic literature the dialogical self - tension between dominance and exchange dynamics and synthesis of the self self and society - a reexamination of Mead psychologys three separations - division versus cross-fertilization the construction and co-construction of meaning - explorations into a psychology of valuation.

The construction and reconstruction of a dialogical self

Many contemporary conceptions of the self are, often unwittingly, based on Cartesian notions of the mind as individualized, ahistorical, noncultural, disembodied, and centralized. In opposition to these assumptions, the dialogical self is conceived of as socialized, historical, cultural, embodied, and decentralized. Based on these theoretical considerations, a method is sketched for the assessment and change of the organization of the Personal Position Repertoire (PPR). Finally, therapeutic material is discussed around three topics: the innovation of the self, the creation of a dialogical space, and the development of a metaposition.

The Dialogical Self as a Society of Mind Introduction

The dialogical self works as a society with oppositions, conflicts, negotiations, cooperation and coalitions between positions. As society becomes more heterogeneous, more relatively autonomous spatial domains emerge in the self. Like a society, the self is based on two principles: intersubjective exchange and social domination. The article briefly discusses the different contributions in the light of the developing theory.

Self, Identity, and Globalization in Times of Uncertainty: A Dialogical Analysis

Our era is witnessing an increasing impact of globalization on self and identity and at the same time a growing uncertainty. The experience of uncertainty motivates individuals and groups to find local niches for identity construction. This articles central tenet is that the processes of globalization and localization, as globalizations counterforce, require a dialogical conceptualization of self and identity in which global and local voices are involved in continuous interchanges and negotiations. This tenet is elaborated along 2 lines of argument. First, 3 factors are described as crucial to understanding the processes of globalization and localization on the individual level: the increasing number of voices and countervoices, the role of social power, and the role of emotions. Second, the authors argue that the apparent tension between the widening horizons of globalization and the need for local niches requires acknowledgment of the pervasive influence of biologically based needs for stability, safety, and security. Finally, the authors propose studying self and identity on 3 levels—individual, local, and global—and some lines of research at the interface of these levels.

The Construction of a Personal Position Repertoire: Method and Practice

In the light of the preceding article (Hermans, 2001), a new method, the Personal Position Repertoire (PPR), is presented that can be used in research and practice. The method is illustrated with several actual case studies showing the different parts and steps of the method to be followed. Special emphasis is given to the organization and reorganization of the position repertoire, to the implied meaning units and their affective connotations. Three key concepts are elaborated in the method: multivoicedness, dialogical interchange and power. The illustrations show how these concepts can be investigated in their combination. Finally, two case studies are presented from a couple, a Dutch woman and an Algerian man, living on the contact zones of two cultures. The place of cultural positions as part of their position repertoire is discussed.

Opposites in a dialogical self: Constructs as characters

Bakhtins (1973) polyphonic novel serves as a metaphor for a dialogical conception of the self. In line with this metaphor, it is argued that a narrative approach leads to a multivoiced conception of the self, in which the poles of a personal construct are related as opposing characters positioned in an imaginal space. In this space, the I fluctuates among positions in a dialogical fashion. Two main features of the relation between positions are discussed: intersubjective communication and dominance. These features form the basis of a theory and methodology that have led to the discovery of a particular phenomenon: dominance reversal. This phenomenon represents a radical change in the dominance relation of contrasting positions within a limited time period, in an apparent absence of causal factors. The implications of this phenomenon for the organization and reorganization of the self are discussed.

Dialogical Thinking and Self-Innovation:

In the tradition of American pragmatism, theorists like James, Mead and Allport have emphasized the self’s capacity for change and innovation. In the tradition of the Russian dialogical school, Bakhtin and his co-workers have dealt with the relationship between dialogue and innovation. These two traditions are brought together in the concept of the ‘dialogical self’, which is taken as the starting point for an empirical investigation. 103 participants were invited to describe a personal problem and, subsequently, think about this problem through a sequence of dialogical steps. Three types of dialogical movement are distinguished representing increasing, decreasing and stabilizing levels of novelty. Moreover, thinking about a problem from the position of a significant other (other-position) and from one’s own point of view (self-position) are compared. The results were analyzed on the group and individual level. On the group level it was found that a sizeable minority of the participants show increasing levels of novelty, and, contrary to expectations, those who think via the other-position demonstrate more cases of stabilizing and decreasing novelty than increasing novelty. On the individual level a series of idiographic analyses was performed demonstrating an intimate relationship between the dialogical processing of a personal problem and changes in the corresponding experience of novelty. Finally, the relevance of the Bakhtinian notion of polyphony and the collaborative relationship between researcher and subject are discussed.

Telling and Retelling One’s Self-Narrative: A Contextual Approach to Life-Span Development

In the context of a contextual or narrative metamodel of life-span development, a method of self-investigation is described. The method enables a person to tell his or her life story to a psychologist