The scientific study of wisdom is a contentious field. There is little agreement among dominant research programs concerning how to conceptualize and measure the elusive phenomenon of wisdom. The current study argues for a narrative analysis of this concept given that autobiographical stories offer a contextually rich vista into real-life manifestations of wisdom. Presented here is a qualitative investigation of autobiographical wisdom narratives from 8 individuals distributed across parameters of age, gender, and degree of wisdom. Results point to the possibility that relatively wise persons define wisdom more elaborately, participate in more sophisticated autobiographical reasoning processes, and engage with master narratives in a more evaluative and critical manner than relatively unwise individuals. These features did not appear to differ across levels of age and gender. This study validates a narrative approach to the science of wisdom, and suggests that stories may be central to advancing our understanding of this concept.

The scientific study of wisdom is a contentious field. There is little agreement among dominant research programs concerning how to conceptualize and measure the elusive phenomenon of wisdom. The current study argues for a narrative analysis of this concept given that autobiographical stories offer a contextually rich vista into real-life manifestations of wisdom. Presented here is a qualitative investigation of autobiographical wisdom narratives from 8 individuals distributed across parameters of age, gender, and degree of wisdom. Results point to the possibility that relatively wise persons define wisdom more elaborately, participate in more sophisticated autobiographical reasoning processes, and engage with master narratives in a more evaluative and critical manner than relatively unwise individuals. These features did not appear to differ across levels of age and gender. This study validates a narrative approach to the science of wisdom, and suggests that stories may be central to advancing our understanding of this concept.

本研究利用生命故事中自傳式理解作為媒介，探討個體自我瞭解與心理適應的關係如何於生命故事中展現，由處理層面（認知努力、處理結果）、主題內容（救贖化歷程、汙染化歷程、生發主題、共群主題）切入，探索自傳式理解的不同面向與正/負向心理適應狀態間之關聯性；另一方面，追蹤參與者一年後的心理適應狀態，探討自傳式理解能否預測未來心理適應。本研究採用生命故事訪問法進行訪問，第一年收集48名大學生之生命故事與心理適應狀態量表（希望感/憂鬱）、第二年追蹤42名大學生之心理適應狀態，將訪問內容謄為逐字稿後，針對處理層面及主題內容進行內容分析的計分。研究結果顯示：（一）處理層面中之認知努力程度雖與第一年心理適應狀態無顯著相關或解釋力，但卻對第二年憂鬱程度有顯著解釋力，換言之當個體投入越多的心力在思考自我與過往事件的關聯，則其第二年憂鬱分數越低；處理結果與第一年心理適應有顯著相關，甚至對第一年希望感有顯著解釋力，但無法有效預測第二年希望感與憂鬱分數。（二）主題內容中救贖化/污染化歷程與第一年心理適應狀態皆有顯著相關，與過往研究結果相似，迴歸分析顯示污染化歷程對第一年憂鬱有顯著解釋力，但兩者亦無法顯著預測第二年心理適應狀態；生發、共群主題與第一年心理適應狀態無顯著相關，亦無法有效預測第二年心理適應分數。最後，針對研究結果進行討論並提出臨床上的運用、研究限制與未來研究方向之建議。 / In the present research, autobiographical reasoning (AR) was used to examine the relation between self-understanding and psychological adaptation. This research focused on the process aspect (cognitive effort, process outcome), and the content aspect (redemption/contamination sequences, agency, communal) of AR to explore the relation to psychological adaptation. Also, participants’ psychological adaptation (hope, depression) was followed a year later to test whether AR could predict future psychological adaptation. Life story interview was used to collect 48 college students’ stories in the first year (time 1), and 42 of them were followed in the second year (time 2). Results showed that (1) the relation between cognitive effort and T1 psychological adaptation wasn’t statistically significant. However, cognitive effort could predict T2 depression. The more effort participants put on thinking connections between past events and the inner self, the less depression level they are in the next year. Process outcome was significantly correlated with T1 psychological adaptation, but it could not predict T2 psychological adaptation. (2) Redemption/contamination sequences were significantly correlated with T1 psychological adaptation. Further, contamination sequences could predict T1 depression. But redemption and contamination sequences could not predict T2 psychological adaptation. On the other hand, agency and communal themes neither correlated with T1 psychological adaptation, nor predicted T2 psychological adaptation. Finally, implications and limitations of this study were discussed.

L’objectif de nos travaux de thèse était de mieux comprendre les troubles de l’identité dans la schizophrénie, et en particulier les perturbations du sentiment de continuité de soi dans le temps. Dans ce but, nos recherches ont consisté en une analyse exhaustive de la cohérence narrative de récits de vie recueillis auprès de patients schizophrènes stabilisés. Nos résultats mettent en évidence un défaut de raisonnement autobiographique au sein des récits de patients accompagné de perturbations de la cohérence temporelle. Ces altérations sont liées aux déficits exécutifs des patients d’une part et à la diminution de leur sentiment subjectif de cohérence personnelle d’autre part. Nos résultats vont dans le sens d’une dysconnexion entre le self et la mémoire autobiographique dans la schizophrénie conduisant à une perturbation du sentiment de continuité de soi dans le temps. Nous concluons notre travail en développant des applications cliniques et thérapeutiques en vue d’aider les patients à recréer un récit cohérent de leur vie et tenter de renforcer leur sentiment de continuité de soi. / The purpose of this project was to better understand disorders of the self in schizophrenia, and more particularly impairments of the sense of self-continuity observed in these patients. In order to do so, we deeply investigated narrative coherence of stabilized patients’ life stories. Our analyses showed a lack of autobiographical reasoning within patients’ narratives and a decreased of temporal coherence. Those impairments were related to patients’ executive dysfunction and to their subjective feeling of less coherent life. Our results suggest a disconnection between the self and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia leading to an impoverishment of the sense of self-continuity across time in those patients. To go further, clinical and therapeutic applications could ensue from our work. Indeed, it would be possible to help patients creating new and more coherent life stories through psychotherapy and by this way help them to retrieve a sense of self-continuity.