‘Models of possible selves: teachers’ reflections on childhood memories of parents’

This chapter explores the ways individuals account for cognitive migrations—significant changes of mind and consciousness that are often expressed as powerful discoveries, transformative experiences, and newly embraced worldviews. It outlines three ideal typical forms of cognitive migration: awakenings, self-actualizations, and ongoing quests. Building on prior approaches to such personal transformations, it develops the notion of cognitive migration to argue the following set of interrelated points. First, cognitive migrations take autobiographical form, which is to say they manifest as the narrative identity work of individuals who undergo them. Second, such narrative identity work provides a reflexive foundation for an individual’s understanding of self and identity in relation to other possible selves and identities—for seeing oneself as a relationally situated character. Third, individuals who articulate cognitive migrations use the plot structure and cultural coding at the root of their narratives to express their allegiance to a new sociomental community. They thereby take on new cognitive norms and identity-defining conventions while rejecting potential alternatives, locating themselves within a broader sociomental field. The spatial metaphor of cognitive migrations draws explicit attention to the broader sociomental field in which such radical changes of mind take place. Finally, such narrative identity work links self-understandings to the often-contested meanings of broadly relevant issues, events, and experiences; when individuals account for their cognitive migrations, they also advance claims that reach well-beyond their personal lives.

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Adult Immigrant Journeys: Occupational Downgrading and Continuously Evolving Selves

Adult Learning ◽

10.1177/1045159520952562 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 5-16

Author(s):

Jan Adversario

Keyword(s):

Adult Learning ◽

Phenomenological Study ◽

Possible Selves ◽

Professional Experiences ◽

Future Selves ◽

Research Questions ◽

Qualitative Phenomenological ◽

Adult Immigrants ◽

Possible Selves Theory ◽

Qualitative Phenomenological Study

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the occupational downgrading experiences of six adult immigrants. Occupational downgrading happens when an individual’s occupation post immigration does not match his or her education credentials and previous professional experiences. The goal is to make sense of the participants’ narratives through the lens of possible selves theory. Therefore, the research questions guiding this study were (1) How do occupational downgrading experiences of immigrants shape their integration to the U.S. workforce? and (2) How can we make sense of the participants’ narratives through the lens of possible selves theory? Phenomenological interviews served as the main source for data collection. In addition, artifacts allowed the participants to enrich their stories. Themes that emerged from the participants’ occupational downgrading experiences include underemployment, shift in status, language barrier, feeling of discrimination, and lack of inspiration at the new job. Looking at past, present, and future selves, the participants’ narratives were examined first through identity transition processes: separation, transition, and reincorporation. The study adds to a developing body of literature focusing on the possible selves of adult immigrants experiencing occupational downgrading. In particular, they inform who is participating in adult education. Likewise, this study centralizes the immigrant as participant to adult learning; it provides new narratives of adults in transition.

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Chapter 2: Earliest Childhood Memories

The Autobiography of Solomon Maimon ◽

10.1515/9781400890446-007 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 11-12

Keyword(s):

Childhood Memories

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Possible Selves Across the Lifespan

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1454 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 449-449

Author(s):

Victoria Chen ◽

Alysson Light

Keyword(s):

Possible Selves ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Concept ◽

Life Stages ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Midlife Adults ◽

Age Range ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Possible selves are defined as “personalized representations of one’s self in future states” (Cross & Markus, 1991). Research has also found that thinking frequently about possible selves predicts lower well-being, whereas thinking clearly about possible selves is associated with higher well-being (McElwee & Haugh, 2010). However, possible selves differ across the lifespan (Hooker & Kaus, 1994; Cross & Markus, 1991) and life stages can impact exploration of possible identities (Arnett, 2000). Thus we hypothesize that the relationship between thought about possible selves and well-being differs across the lifespan. In a cross-sectional survey, 240 participants (age range: 18-92) reported on frequency and clarity of possible selves, as well as general self-clarity (Campbell et al., 1996). Results indicate curvilinear moderation by age of the link between possible self-clarity and well-being, with the association being stronger among midlife adults than among younger adults and older adults. Also, as clarity of feared possible selves increases, self-concept clarity decreases. Similarly, frequency of thinking about feared possible selves was negatively correlated with self-concept clarity. However, clarity and frequency of thought about hoped-for positive possible selves had no correlation with self-concept clarity.

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Today in Light of Yesterday: An Exploration of Workers’ Childhood Memories in the Context of Child Protection Practice

The British Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1093/bjsw/bcab011 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sean A R St. Jean ◽

Brian Rasmussen ◽

Judy Gillespie ◽

Daniel Salhani

Keyword(s):

Child Protection ◽

Research Question ◽

Childhood Adversity ◽

Well Being ◽

Childhood Memories ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Child Protection Workers ◽

Professional Experiences ◽

Explorative Study ◽

Parents And Children

Abstract Child protection workers are routinely faced with emotionally intense work, both personally and vicariously through the traumatic narratives and experiences of parents and children. What remains largely unknown is how child protection workers’ own childhood memories might influence the manner in which they experience and are affected by those narratives. The aim of this explorative study was to use Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as a research methodology to answer the research question, ‘In what ways do social workers experience, and make sense of, their own childhood memories in the context of their child protection practice?’ Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight child protection workers, aiming to understand their personal and professional experiences with regard to this question. The study found a relationship between various forms of childhood adversity and the presence of negative present-day triggers when participants were faced with practice scenarios that bore similarity to those experiences. Implications with regard to child protection worker well-being, countertransference and risk decision-making are discussed.

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Possible Selves in Adolescence: Development and Validation of a Scale for their Assessment

The Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1080/00223980.2017.1372347 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 151 (7) ◽

pp. 646-668 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

María Fernanda Molina ◽

Vanina Schmidt ◽

María Julia Raimundi

Keyword(s):

Possible Selves ◽

Development And Validation

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