Empirically maps what “narrative coherence” is by testing its structure and how it functions in personal storytelling.
SummaryAI
Narrative coherence is widely used in personality, developmental, and clinical psychology, but it has been measured with different coding systems that may not tap the same construct. This paper directly compares three widely used coherence coding schemes on adults’ life-story interviews and uses data reduction to reveal a shared empirical structure. Across systems, coherence reliably organizes into three components (Temporal Detail, Psychological Context, and Meaning/Interpretation) rather than aligning neatly with any single existing framework. The result helps researchers choose measures more deliberately and motivates building an integrated coding system that matches these empirically derived dimensions.
Method SnapshotAI
Empirical psychometric analysis of narrative coherence using coded personal narratives and statistical tests of its structure.
BackgroundAI
Basic understanding of narrative identity research under different frameworks (McAdams, Reese, Lysaker) and various fields of psychology
An excellent comparison of how 3 different systems (McAdams-personality, Reese-developmental, Lysaker-clinical) measure supposedly the same construct, but in fact its aspects. Moral: they need to be integrated; one system is not enough.
— ES
Expert Review: The nature of narrative coherence: An empirical approach | Marginalia