Making meaning out of change: Why change in the self produces third-person memories

Summary: The aim of the study is to assess the construct validity of two different measures of the Big Five, matching two “response modes” (phrase-questionnaire and list of adjectives) and two sources of information or raters (self-report and other ratings). Two-hundred subjects, equally divided in males and females, were administered the self-report versions of the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) and the Big Five Observer (BFO), a list of bipolar pairs of adjectives ( Caprara, Barbaranelli, & Borgogni, 1993 , 1994 ). Every subject was rated by six acquaintances, then aggregated by means of the same instruments used for the self-report, but worded in a third-person format. The multitrait-multimethod matrix derived from these measures was then analyzed via Structural Equation Models according to the criteria proposed by Widaman (1985) , Marsh (1989) , and Bagozzi (1994) . In particular, four different models were compared. While the global fit indexes of the models were only moderate, convergent and discriminant validities were clearly supported, and method and error variance were moderate or low.

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First-Person Experiments in Thinking

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000301 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 189-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Renatus Ziegler ◽

Ulrich Weger

Keyword(s):

Physiological Parameters ◽

The Self ◽

First Person ◽

Psychological Phenomena ◽

Third Person ◽

Current Article ◽

Thinking Process ◽

Mental Contents

Abstract. In psychology, thinking is typically studied in terms of a range of behavioral or physiological parameters, focusing, for instance, on the mental contents or the neuronal correlates of the thinking process proper. In the current article, by contrast, we seek to complement this approach with an exploration into the experiential or inner dimensions of thinking. These are subtle and elusive and hence easily escape a mode of inquiry that focuses on externally measurable outcomes. We illustrate how a sufficiently trained introspective approach can become a radar for facets of thinking that have found hardly any recognition in the literature so far. We consider this an important complement to third-person research because these introspective observations not only allow for new insights into the nature of thinking proper but also cast other psychological phenomena in a new light, for instance, attention and the self. We outline and discuss our findings and also present a roadmap for the reader interested in studying these phenomena in detail.

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How to grow a self: development of the self in a Bayesian brain

10.31234/osf.io/6e3ad ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Mateusz Wozniak

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Development ◽

Human Life ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Body Representation ◽

Developmental Trajectory ◽

The Self ◽

Learning Mechanisms ◽

Bayesian Brain ◽

Third Person ◽

Complex Forms

The last two decades have brought several attempts to explain the self as a part of the Bayesian brain, typically within the framework of predictive coding. However, none of these attempts have looked comprehensively at the developmental aspect of self-representation. The goal of this paper is to argue that looking at the developmental trajectory is crucial for understanding the structure of an adult self-representation. The paper argues that the emergence of the self should be understood as an instance of conceptual development, which in the context of a Bayesian brain can be understood as a process of acquisition of new internal models of hidden causes of sensory input. The paper proposes how such models might emerge and develop over the course of human life by looking at different stages of development of bodily and extra-bodily self-representations. It argues that the self arises gradually in a series of discrete steps: from first-person multisensory representations of one’s body to third-person multisensory body representation, and from basic forms of the extended and social selves to progressively more complex forms of abstract self-representation. It discusses how each of them might emerge based on domain-general learning mechanisms, while also taking into account the potential role of innate representations. Finally it suggests how the conceptual structure of self-representation might inform the debate about the structure of self-consciousness.

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When the World Breaks Down: A 3-Stage Existential Model of Nihilism in Schizophrenia

Psychopathology ◽

10.1159/000516814 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Philipp Klar ◽

Georg Northoff

Keyword(s):

The Self ◽

First Person ◽

Second Stage ◽

Existential Crisis ◽

Third Stage ◽

The World ◽

Third Person ◽

Pathological Development ◽

Sense Of Reality ◽

Intentional Structure

The existential crisis of nihilism in schizophrenia has been reported since the early days of psychiatry. Taking first-person accounts concerning nihilistic experiences of both the self and the world as vantage point, we aim to develop a dynamic existential model of the pathological development of existential nihilism. Since the phenomenology of such a crisis is intrinsically subjective, we especially take the immediate and pre-reflective first-person perspective’s (FPP) experience (instead of objectified symptoms and diagnoses) of schizophrenia into consideration. The hereby developed existential model consists of 3 conceptualized stages that are nested into each other, which defines what we mean by existential. At the same time, the model intrinsically converges with the phenomenological concept of the self-world structure notable inside our existential framework. Regarding the 3 individual stages, we suggest that the onset or first stage of nihilistic pathogenesis is reflected by phenomenological solipsism, that is, a general disruption of the FPP experience. Paradigmatically, this initial disruption contains the well-known crisis of common sense in schizophrenia. The following second stage of epistemological solipsism negatively affects all possible perspectives of experience, that is, the first-, second-, and third-person perspectives of subjectivity. Therefore, within the second stage, solipsism expands from a disruption of immediate and pre-reflective experience (first stage) to a disruption of reflective experience and principal knowledge (second stage), as mirrored in abnormal epistemological limitations of principal knowledge. Finally, the experience of the annihilation of healthy self-consciousness into the ultimate collapse of the individual’s existence defines the third stage. The schizophrenic individual consequently loses her/his vital experience since the intentional structure of consciousness including any sense of reality breaks down. Such a descriptive-interpretative existential model of nihilism in schizophrenia may ultimately serve as input for future psychopathological investigations of nihilism in general, including, for instance, its manifestation in depression.

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MASCULINITY AS AN IDENTITY AND AS A CLUSTER OF TRAITS

Society Register ◽

10.14746/sr.2021.5.1.08 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 147-158

Author(s):

Renata Zieminska

Keyword(s):

Gender Identity ◽

Social Norms ◽

Male Gender ◽

The Self ◽

Simple Idea ◽

Person Perspective ◽

Binary Model ◽

Third Person ◽

First Person Perspective ◽

Third Person Perspective

The paper presents the concept of masculinity within the non-binary and multilayered model of gender/sex traits. Within that model, masculinity is not a simple idea, but rather is fragmented into many traits in diverse clusters. The experience of transgender men and men with intersex traits suggests that self-determined male gender identity is a mega trait that is sufficient for being a man. However, masculinity is not only psychological, as the content of the psychological feeling of being a man refers to social norms about how men should be and behave. And male coded traits are described as traits that frequently occur within the group of people identifying as men. Therefore, I claim that there are two interdependent ideas in the concept of masculinity: the self-determined male gender identity (first-person perspective) and a cluster of traits coded as male (third-person perspective). Within non-binary model the interplay between the two interdependent ideas allows to include borderline masculinities.

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Blind Men Speaking of Colors: Paul's Recollection and the Self-Image of Early Thirteenth-Century Theologians

Harvard Theological Review ◽

10.1017/s0017816014000352 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 107 (4) ◽

pp. 425-446

Author(s):

Ayelet Even-Ezra

Keyword(s):

Thirteenth Century ◽

The Body ◽

The Self ◽

First Person ◽

Knowledge Of God ◽

The Third ◽

Self Image ◽

Third Person ◽

The Subject ◽

The Third Person

In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul writes: It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. (2 Cor 12:1–5 nkiv) This brief and enigmatic account is caught between multiple dialectics of power and infirmity, pride and humility, unveiling and secrecy. At this point in his letter Paul is turning to a new source of power in order to establish his authority against the crowd of boasting false apostles who populate the previous paragraphs. He wishes to divulge his intimate, occult knowledge of God, but at the same time keep his position as antihero that is prevalent throughout the epistle. These dialectics are enhanced by a sophisticated play of first and third person. The third person denotes the subject who experienced rapture fourteen years ago, while the first person denotes the narrator in the present. Only after several verses does the reader realize that these two are in fact the same person. This alienation allows Paul the intricate play of boasting, for “of such a one I will boast, yet of myself I will not boast.”

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Self-Distancing May Be Harmful: Third-Person Writing Increases Levels of Depressive Symptoms Compared to Traditional Expressive Writing and No Writing

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1521/jscp.2019.38.1.50 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 50-69

Author(s):

Annaleis K. Giovanetti ◽

JUlia C. Revord ◽

Maria P. Sasso ◽

Gerald J. Haeffel

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Expressive Writing ◽

Cognitive Vulnerability ◽

The Self ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Cognitive Risk ◽

Third Person ◽

Daily Writing ◽

Mental And Physical Health ◽

Risk For Depression

Introduction: The positive effects of expressive writing on both mental and physical health are well documented. However, expressive writing may have the potential to activate negative schemas and facilitate rumination in those at high cognitive risk for depression (Yasinski, Hayes, & Laurenceau, 2016). The current research tested the hypothesis that writing using self-distancing would be more effective than traditional expressive writing in preventing depressive symptoms for those at high cognitive risk for depression. Method: Two studies using undergraduate samples (n = 104 and n = 80) were conducted to test our hypotheses. Both studies used a two-week daily writing experimental design. Results: Contrary to hypotheses, Study 1 found that individuals randomly assigned to a self-distancing writing condition reported greater levels of depressive symptoms than those assigned to a traditional expressive writing condition. The results of Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1. Participants randomly assigned to the self-distancing writing condition reported significantly greater levels of depressive symptoms than those in the expressive writing and no-writing control conditions. The effect of writing condition in Study 2 was driven by those with high levels of cognitive vulnerability. Discussion: Results suggest that writing using self-distancing should not be used for the prevention of depressive symptoms.

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Theatre and storytelling

10.1093/oso/9780198864875.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 171-218

Author(s):

Steven Brown

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Creative Process ◽

Unique Feature ◽

Role Playing ◽

The Self ◽

The Third ◽

The Arts ◽

Third Person ◽

Presentation Media ◽

The Third Person

The narrative arts deal with the presentation of stories via a variety of narrative processes and presentation media. Fictionality is a unique feature of the arts, one that distinguishes the narrative arts from the storytelling of everyday conversation. The plots of stories are grounded in the experientiality of the story’s protagonist in a storyworld, most especially his/her problem-solving dynamics. Literature describes these behaviours in the third person using narration, whereas theatre re-creates these actions in an embodied manner by having actors portray the characters in performance. While role playing is a central part of the presentation of the self in everyday social interactions, actors portray characters who they themselves are not, a re-creative process of impersonation and pretence that comprises the most art-specific feature of the narrative arts.

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