A Hermeneutic interpretation of stories about resilient adults images of past adolescent and childhood
stressors
by John Earle Plummer
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in
Health and Human Development
Montana State University
© Copyright by John Earle Plummer (1995)
Abstract:
Stories of severe stress were told by well functioning adults who as children and youth were at-risk.
These stories were organized using a grounded theory approach that examined numerous levels of
social interaction. Participants selected pictures that represented scenes of childhood and/or youth and
then told the story behind the picture. These projective self narratives unearthed the process called
hypothesis formation that creates images. Each narrative was interpreted according to a set of
hermeneutical rules. The findings indicated that the sample population exhibited scripted behaviors that
enabled them to escape from severe stress either physically or emotionally. The power and presence of
images in the formation and sustaining of reality was also affirmed. A therapeutic approach using
images was introduced. A HERMENEUTIC INTERPRETATION OF STORIES
ABOUT RESILIENT ADULTS' IMAGES OF PAST
ADOLESCENT AND CHILDHOOD STRESSORS
by
Jo h n Earle Plum m er
A thesis su b m itted in p a rtia l fulfillm ent
of th e req u irem en ts fo r th e degree
of
M aster of Science
in
H ealth a n d H um an D evelopm ent
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, M ontana
A pril 10, 1995
N37?
? 731,4ii
APPROVAL
of a thesis su b m itted by
John Earle Plum m er
This thesis has been read by each m em b er of the thesis com m ittee an d has
b e en fo u n d to be satisfa c to ry re g a rd in g c o n te n t, English la n g u a g e , fo rm a t,
citations, bibliographic style, an d consistency. It is now re a d y fo r subm ission to
th e College of G raduate Studies.
/ /f 5 "
C hair, G raduate C om m ittee
Date
A pproved for the M ajor D epartm ent
__ZrWs -c
Date
Head, M ajor D epartm ent
A pproved for the College of G raduate Studies
Date
Graduate Dean
ii i
STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE
In p re se n tin g th is th esis in p a rtia l' fu lfillm en t o f th e re q u ire m e n ts fo r a
m aster's degree a t M ontana State U niversity, I agree th a t th e lib ra ry shall m ake it
available to borrow ers u n d e r th e rules of th e library.
If I h a v e in d ic a te d m y in te n tio n to c o p y rig h t th is thesis b y inclu d in g a
copyright notice page, copying is allow able only fo r scholarly purposes, consistent
w ith "fair use" as p re scrib ed in th e U.S. C opyright Law. R equests fo r perm ission
fo r ex ten d ed q u o tatio n from , o r re p ro d u c tio n of, this thesis in w hole o r p arts m ay
be g ran ted only by th e copyright holder.
Signature
Pate
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I w ish to recognize th e individuals w ho sh a re d th e ir insight, encouragem ent, an d
e x p e rtise to th is p ro je c t.
To Jan is Bullock fo r h e r p e rc e p tiv e in sig h ts a n d
in fectio u s a p p re c ia tio n o f e arly c h ild h o o d d ev elo p m en t.
To R am ona M arotz-
B aden w hose know ledge a b o u t stress h e lp e d m e recognize its place in h u m a n
in te ra c tio n s. To C arm en K nudson-M artin w hose c o n tin u a l en co u rag em en t a n d
positive re g a rd fo r each indiv id u al m akes a p e rso n believe in oneself. To Susan
w hose p atien ce a n d p resen ce m ad e this fin al copy a reality. To Bruce an d Micki
w hose h elp was a p p reciated in editing.
r I'
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TTST OF FIGURES
...............................
vii
I
I. INTRODUCTION
2
Purpose o f th e Study
Theoretical Context
..............
3
Theories About Process - Images C reated
.........
T heories About Outcom e - Images
9
12
T herapeutic In terv en tio n
Sum m ary
2
'
...............
15
17
Preview o f the Study a n d D efinition o f Term s
21
? TTTFRATTIRE RTTVTBW
M yths A houfR esiliencv
22
Resiliency as Stress M anagem ent
24
The Child's Ability to C reate Images
......
25
Sum m ary
27
3. STUDY DESIGN
29
The Sam ple Population
.............................
38
Storytelling as M ethodology
The Place o f th e Interview er
30
.............
39
Storytelling
42
TTow the O nf stions a re Linked to T heory
44
Sum m ary
__________________________ =------
47
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS - C ontinued
Page
M ethod o f D ata A nalysis_________
______________________________
48
The G rounded T heory M ethod of D ata Analysis______________________
48
H erm eneutics as a M ethod of In terp retatio n _________________________
52
A New H erm eneutic fo r N arratives_________________________________
53
Integrating G rounded T heory w ith H erm eneutics____________________
54
In te rp retin g N arratives
________ ________________________________ ' 55
In te rp retin g a Single N arrative
__________________________
55
____________________________ ___
57
Sum m ary.................................. .................................. ...................................................
60
4. THE FINDINGS________________I________________ _________________________
61
Findings R elated to H erm eneutics.............. ........................................... ................
62
Images: Expanding th e Findings______ ________ ____________________
62
Nouns: Expanding th e Findings........................ ........................................ ........
64
Story Lines a n d Scripted Behaviors: Expanding th e Findings_________
64
Sum m ary
65
In terp retin g a C luster o f N arratives
R econstructed Images of Severe Stress
G eneral Uses of Images
...... .................................................
66
_____________________ ___;--------------------------
66
In a rtic u la te d Im ages
67
In te rp la y Between Scripted Behaviors a n d Images___________________
69
One Im age A pphed to M any Nouns
7O
_________________________ —
Im ages as Sets___________________________
72
The Affect Severe Stress Has on Images_________________ ________ ___
74
Dual Images o f Stress a n d Competency____ _________________________
75
Scripted Behaviors T h at Create Future Story Lines___________________
75
Patterns o f Safety a n d Escapem________________________________
79
The Raw Resources o f D aydream ing
81
...... .....................................................
Images G enerated from Escape__________________
82
Sum m ary
63
v ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS - C on tin u ed
Page
W isdom Literature____________
83
Sum m ary
86
5. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY________________________
87
A Review of T heoretical A ssum ptions__________________________________
88
Mesh in g T heories w ith Findings_____ __
88
Future Research______________
91
Im plications: T heory D riven Therapy.__________________________________
91
Nouns......................................
92
N arratives________
92
Scripted Behaviors
93
Im ages
93
_____________________
Reality as Subjective In te rp reta tio n
_______________________________
Sum m ary.......................................
93
94
REFERENCES
95
APPENDICES
A ppendix A __ ______________________ _______________________________ - 102
The Storytelling P ro ced u re.................................................................
103
A ppendix B ______________________________________
Inform ational Fher
........................................................
1
A ppendix C -------------------------------------------------------------P resent Profile A ssessm en t....................................................
A ppendix D .............
Release of Inform ation
.................................................................. 113
H
v iii
UST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
1
O bject Stage O rien tatio n ______________
2
H ealth/C om petence A ssessm ent A dapted fro m Beavers a n d H am pson____
3
Stressors P resent in th e Sam ple.Population,,_____________________________ 36
4
Levels of Social Distancing Based U pon G rounded T heory____________ ______ 50
5
A Sum m ary o f H erm eneutical Rules D erived fro m N arratives_____________
54
6
The Assessment of Narratives
55
7
A nalysis of C lustered N arratives_____ _______
4
_______________________________
I'
34
59
ix
ABSTRACT
Stories of severe stress w ere told by well functioning ad u lts w ho as children an d
y o u th w ere at-risk .
T hese sto ries w ere o rg a n iz e d using a g ro u n d e d th e o ry
a p p ro a c h th a t e x am in ed n u m e ro u s levels o f social in te ra c tio n .
P articip an ts
selected pictu res th a t re p re se n te d scenes of ch ildhood a n d /o r y o u th an d th e n told
th e sto ry b e h in d th e p ic tu re .
T hese p ro je c tiv e self n a rra tiv e s u n e a rth e d th e
p ro cess called h y p o th esis fo rm a tio n th a t c re a te s im ages.
Each n a rra tiv e was
in te rp re te d according to a set o f h erm en eu tical rules. The findings indicated th a t
th e sam ple p o p u la tio n ex h ib ited scrip ted b eh av io rs th a t e n a b le d th em to escape
fro m severe stress e ith e r physically o r em otionally. The p o w er a n d p resen ce of
im ages in th e fo rm a tio n a n d su sta in in g o f re a lity w as also a ffirm ed .
th erap eu tic a p p ro a ch using im ages was in tro d u ced .
11'
A
I
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The stress we face in life shapes us like th e w ind m olds th e trees an d rocks o f
o u r n a tu ra l lan d scap e (McCubbin, Thom pson, Thom pson & From er, 1994). Often,
like the w ind, it is th e cum ulative effect o f stress th a t shapes o u r fo rm (Cottrell,
1992; Figley & M cCubbin, 1983).
No gro u p is m o re susceptible to th e forces of
blow ing stress th a n a re c h ild re n a n d y o u th (B renner, 1984; S o ren sen , 1993;
W ern er & Sm ith, 1992).
Still te n d e r, easily m o ld e d a n d in flu en c ed , (Erikson,
1950; Form an, 1993) these em erging entities a re shaped, in p a rt, b y th e pow er of
th e stresses a ro u n d them .
A dult recollections of th e ir childhood a n d y o u th indicate th a t th e storytellers
in this stu d y a re n o t as fo rtu n a te as th e M on terey Pine, w hich o v er tim e slowly
uses the force o f w ind to e n h an ce its b eau ty . T hey are m ore like th e blow-downs
of the fo rested regions w here p ro fo u n d w inds tre a t full-grown trees as if they w ere
m atch sticks (Figley, 1989 ; W ern er & Sm ith, 1992). The q u estio n s o f this stu d y
d eal w ith th e influence o f disruptive, u p rooting stress o n th e im ages h eld b y these
ad ults fro m th e ir c h ild h o o d a n d y o u th (B renner, 1984; S orensen, 1993). W hat
im ages do th e se adults, exposed to noxious stress as ch ild ren , possess (Jaspars,
Flncham & H ewstone, 1983)? W hat processes are involved in th e creatio n o f a n
im age o r response to a n im age involving severe stress (K antor & Lehr, 1985)?
Pum ose of th e Study
The p u rp o se of this stu d y is to allow a d u lts to reco n stru ct th e im ages of th e ir
social in teractio n s w ith o th e rs as ch ild ren o r y o u th w hen living w ith severe stress
(Figley & M cCubbin, 1983; Form an, 1993; Jasp ars, Fincham & H ewstone, 1983;
2
Sorensen, 1993). In the end, a p o in t o f th e ra p eu tic in te rv e n tio n will be suggested
th a t is b ased u p o n th e o ry d eriv ed fro m th e stu d y findings (Pinsof, 1981).
This stu d y exam in es the process b y w hich ad u lts view how th ey as c h ild re n
a n d /o r y o u th create a n d store im ages in a n e n v iro n m en t of severe stress (Nichols,
1984). It also addresses outcom e, th a t is, the creatio n of a n im age th a t evolves ou t
of social in teractio n s a n d directs th e scripting o f b ehaviors (K antor & Lehr 1985).
Finally, a th e ra p e u tic in te rv e n tio n will be d e riv e d fro m o u r u n d e rsta n d in g of
im ages th a t is capable of altering im ages th a t a n in d iv id u al possesses. Thebpoint
o f in te rv e n tio n w o u ld b e th e o ry -d riv e n a n d b a se d u p o n th e th e ra p is t's
u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e pow er of im ages (Hess & H andel, 1959).
T heoretical Context
Before startin g a review o f lite ra tu re , I w a n t to fam iliarize m y re a d e rs w ith
th e theories th a t this stu d y utilized fo r stru c tu ra l integrity. T hese a re th e ideas of
o th e rs w hose re s e a rc h I h a v e b u ilt u p o n a n d th a t h a v e im p a c te d m y stylistic
p re sen ta tio n in term s of how I conceptually p re sen te d m y findings.
T h ree kin d s o f th e o rie s a re u tilized in th is study.
F irst a re th e th e o rie s
d escrib in g th e p ro cess by w hich im ages a re c re a te d (K ruglanski, Baldwin &
Tow son, 1983; N ichols, 1984;
P ittm an & D 'A gostino, 1985).
T hen, once a n
u n d e rs ta n d in g of th e o re tic a l pro cess evolves, a w hole n ew d iscu ssio n a b o u t
theoretical outcome, or th e im ages them selves, n eed s to be explored (Burr & Klein,
1994; K antor & Lehr 1985) in o rd e r to clearly define a n im age. Finally, a th ird
th eo retical d o m ain is n e e d e d in o rd e r to u n d e rsta n d how a know ledge of im ages
can p ro v id e a p o in t of th e ra p e u tic in te rv e n tio n (B roderick & Pulliam -K rager,
1980; B urr & Klein, 1994).
3
T heories A bout Process - Im ages C reated
I a p p re cia te K antor a n d Lehr's (1985) inclusive d efin itio n of a n image. The
d efinition re a d s like this:
Im ages a re in te rn a liz e d re p re se n ta tio n s o f actio n m ad e o r observed.
T he m o st basic fo rm o f a n im age Can exist in th e fo rm o f a kinetic
im p rin t, a k ind o f m em ory w hich is m u scu lar a n d energetic. An image
m ay also be a p ic tu re o f a n event, w h e th e r literal o r sym bolic. It can
exist as a sen tim en t o r feeling a b o u t a n event. An im age m ay exist as a
b elief o r a n id ea a b o u t a n event, (p. 241)
K antor a n d Lehr's (1985) d efin itio n o f a n im age ap p ears to use an y o f the five
senses p lu s o u r th o u g h t processes to in te rn a liz e a re p re se n ta tio n o f a n action
m ade o r observed. T he actions m ad e o r o b serv ed in this stu d y deal w ith social
in te ra c tio n s betw een a n in d iv id u a l a n d p e rso n , places, o r things in th e ir social
settings. T hese in te rn a liz ed re p re se n ta tio n s c an b e recognized in th e context of
social in te ra ctio n a n d th e scripted behaviors th ese images direct.
K antor a n d Lehr's (1985) inclusive u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e com position a n d
origin o f a n im age allows m e to take o th e r th eo rists an d use th e ir w ord to explain
the process b y w hich im ages a re created . Nichols' (1984) th e o ry of Object Stage
O rientation can easily b u ild u p o n K antor a n d Lehr's (1985) id e a th a t "images are
internalized rep resen tatio n s o f action m ad e o r observed" (p. 183). Nichols (1984)
suggests th a t th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f a n in d iv id u a l d e p e n d s u p o n th e ego's
relatio n sh ip w ith objects, a t first w ith th e actu al in teractio n s w ith re a l objects an d
events a n d la te r as a n unconscious resid u e o f th ese first interactions.
The first ego-object relatio n sh ip th a t a n in fa n t experiences is betw een itself
a n d th e m o th e rin g fig u re, o r th e o b je c t (N ichols, 1984).
W ith a n av erag e
en v iro n m e n t a n d a d e q u a te m oth erin g it is fa ir to an ticip ate th a t a child w ould
m ove fro m o b ject-o rien ted d e p en d e n c e to a n o b ject-o rien ted in d ep en d en ce. In
short, th e in fa n t w ould grow u p to tie h is /h e r ow n shoes. According to Nichols the
4
stages of o b je c t-o rie n te d d e p e n d e n c e to o b je ct-o rie n te d in d e p e n d e n c e a re as .
follows:
Figure I. O bject Stage O rientation
S ta g e
R e sp o n se
N eeds
O b je c t
autistic (1-2 mo.)
objectless stage
physical care
reflex
symbiotic (3-6 mo.)
mother figure object
psychic dependency
trust - mistrust
separation
transitional object
reassurance in
delay gratification
mother’s absence
tolerate frustration
individualization
competent ego
(7-36 mo.)
tolerate closeness &
separateness
This p sychoanalytical, object relatio n s th e o ry helps ex p lain th e process b y
w hich in d iv id u als in in fan cy develop im ages concerning th e in te ra c tiv e n a tu re
betw een th em selv es a n d o bjects.
Feelings o f p le asu re o r p a in o rg an ize th e
in te rn a l o b je ct to self-relationsh ip s w hich a re sto re d in w h at Hess a n d H andel
(1959) re fe r to as a n imagistic m em o ry bank, m u ch like th e piggy b a n k into w hich
we place o n e p e n n y a t a tim e. Positive a n d n eg ativ e im ages a re sto re d in a n
im agistic m e m o ry b a n k fo r fu tu re w ith d raw als.
H aving b o th p o sitiv e a n d
negative im ages in th e b a n k balances each type of im age a g ain st th e o th er. This
balance is th e re to p ro v id e a n h o n e st assessm en t o f one's ab ilities along w ith a
basis to assess o th e rs (Nichols, 1984).
N ichols' (1984) th e o ry o f O bject Stage O rien tatio n view s th e c re a tio n o f
im ages as occurring d u rin g th e process of sep aratin g from th e m o th erin g figure.
If th e m o th erin g figure rem ain s openly w arm a n d loving d u rin g th e process of
se p a ra tio n th is in stills in th e ch ild a sen se o f lo v a b le n ess w hile a ch iev in g
individuality a n d stren g th .
It is beh ev ed th a t th e h ealth of th e m o th erin g fig u re
5
(C ritte n d e n , 1985; G oodm an, 1984; L a n caster & A dler, 1989) will stro n g ly
influence th e fate of th e sep a ra tio n a n d w ithdraw al. The child's sense of id e n tity
based u p o n the self to objects a ro u n d h im /h e r is la te r en rich ed a n d revised a t the
fu tu re developm ental p o in t of adolescent p u b e rty (Steinberg, 1985).
Nichols (1984) theoretical in te rp re ta tio n of ego-object relatio n s provides one
c o n stru c t fo r th e c re a tio n of im ages th a t begins first in in fa n c y w ith actu a l
in te ra c tio n s w ith re a l objects a n d events, e.g., m o th erin g objects.
From th ese
e a rly in te ra c tio n s it is p o s tu la te d th a t a n u n co n scio u s re s id u e sto re d in a n
im agistic m em o ry b an k is d raw n u p o n fo r la te r in teractio n s o f th e self to objects
a n d ev en ts.
T h eo rists like K ruglanski, B aldw in a n d T ow son (1 9 8 3 ), w h o se
th eo ries d e al w ith lay-epistem ic process, p ro v id e a co n stru ct fo r how the re sid u e
sto re d in th e im agistic m em ory b an k can be d raw n u p o n in fu tu re in teractio n s of
th e self to th e world.
The te rm lay-epistem ic process is n o t typical, ev ery d ay speech. The w ord
epistem ic m eans know ledge. The fact th a t it is lab eled "lay-epistem ic" m eans th a t
th e lay p e rs o n o r th e com m on p e rso n w o u ld possess th is know ledge.
Lay-
epistem ic p ro cess m ean s th e w ay b y w hich we a rriv e a t co m m o n know ledge
(Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983).
K ruglanski, Baldw in a n d Tow son (1983) co n clu d e th a t p e o p le arriv e a t
com m on know ledge by th e process of g en eratin g h y p o th eses.
An ego-object
in te ra c tio n takes place a n d a n h y p o th esis is g en erated to explain its occurrence.
A lthough th e n u m b e r o f h y p o th eses fo r a n y given in te ra c tio n is infinite, th e re
com es a p o in t w hen a p e rso n stops g enerating hypotheses a n d reach es closure o n
a given belief.
T h at p o in t of closure is d e p e n d e n t u p o n tw o factors:
a) th e
in d ividual's capacity, a n d b) th e ir m otivation to generate m o re hypotheses.
6
T he c a p a c ity to g e n e ra te a n h y p o th e sis is d e p e n d e n t u p o n o n e 's p a st
know ledge (e.g., th e resid u e of im ages sto re d in th e im agistic m em o ry bank) a n d
the p re s e n t availability o f vario u s id eas (K ruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983),
T h ere a re also c e rta in in te rn a l m o tiv a to rs w ithin a n in d iv id u a l fo r c re atin g
hypotheses: a p e rso n 's n e e d fo r structure, validity, an d possessing conclusions
as to w hy interactions occur.
A p e rs o n 's c a p a c ity (K ru g lan sk i, B aldw in & Tow son, 1983) to c re a te
a lte rn a tiv e h y p o th e se s d e p e n d s u p o n h is /h e r sto re o f k n o w led g e a b o u t a
p a rtic u la r subject. For exam ple, a sm all ch ild w ho sees two Santas a t the sam e
tim e h a s to com e u p w ith a n ex p lan atio n as to w hat th e ir eyes ju s t saw. If th e
sm all child know s a b o u t tw ins, th e n this sto re of know ledge c an h e lp create a n
ex p lan atio n o r new h y pothesis; Le., S an ta h a s a twin. But w h at if th is child was
Little A lbert (D avison & Neale, 1978), w ho h a d sto re d in his im agistic m em o ry
b a n k a c o n d itio n e d fe a r a b o u t w hite objects like S anta's b e ard ?
T h at s to re d
know ledge a b o u t w hite objects w ould g reatly affect his h y p o th esis a b o u t Santa.
Instead of en tertain in g th e id ea of twins Little A lbert's know ledge base w ould only
be able to see twice th e white.
C apacity is also d e p e n d e n t u p o n th e availability of in fo rm atio n ; Le., asking
an o ld e r sibling w h a t s /h e th in k s a b o u t seeing two Santas.
Both th e sto re of
know ledge a n d availability of new know ledge affects the n u m b e r o f hypotheses an
in d iv id u a l can create. T he few er th e n u m b e r of hy p o th eses g en erated , th e n the
sooner closure on a given belief will be reach ed .
Some individuals a re m ore m otivated to create altern ativ e hypotheses o n a
given in te ra c tio n th a n o th ers. This in trin sic m otivation to g e n erate a lte rn ativ e
hypotheses is d e p e n d e n t u p o n a p erso n 's b elief system an d how th a t belief system
is affected by th e p ro p e rtie s of know ledge re fe rre d to as structure, conclusions
7
a n d validity. For exam ple, if a sm all ch ild h as a firm belief in Santa, th en th a t
belief will in te rp re t h is /h e r in te ra ctio n w ith two Santas a t one tim e. These th re e
p ro p e rtie s o f know ledge will d e te rm in e w h en closure o n a given belief will be
re a ch e d .
Structure (K ruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983) is th e opposite of confusion
a n d am biguity. S tructure is a guiding know ledge th a t gives one confidence. For
exam ple, w hen th e sm all child sees two S antas a t th e sam e tim e confusion can
re su lt.
An e x p lan a tio n th a t S an ta h a s a n id e n tic a l tw in m ay p ro v id e en o u g h
know ledge fo r a sm all ch ild to accep t th is h y p o th esis w ith a c e rta in d eg ree of
confidence. W hen a child gains m o re know ledge o r possesses m o re stru c tu re ,
th e n a n in co n sisten t hy p o th esis will create discom fort. For exam ple, w hy is o n e
taller th a n th e o th e r if th e Santas are id en tical twins?
Tim e also lim its th e a m o u n t o f k n o w led g e o n e u tiliz e s in g e n e ra tin g
hypotheses. If one has to m ake up one's m in d rig h t now, th e re m ay n o t be enough
tim e to th in k o f all th e possible altern ativ es. Drawing u p o n know ledge from th e
im agisdc m em ory bank m ay be all th e re is tim e to do. One sim ply acts w ithin th a t
tim e c o n s tra in t w ith th e in fo rm a tio n a v a ila b le a t th a t m o m e n t.
T he tw in
h y p o th e sis m ig h t ev en satisfy som e ad u lts w ho d o n 't take tim e to process th e
conclusion's consistency.
C onsistent conclusions (Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983) tap in to th e
fulfillm ent o f o ne's w ishes o r beliefs. If a ch ild has a real n e e d to believe in S anta
th e n the conclusion can accom m odate a second Santa. Usually if n ew inform ation
c reates logical inco n sisten cy in o n e's b elief system (e.g., o n e 's b elief in Santa)
th e n one m u st do som e m ental o r behavioral gym nastics to re d u c e th e discom fort
of inconsistency (Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983).
One w ay a p erson deals
w ith th e d iscom fort of a n in co n sisten t conclusion is to p ro te c t c h erish ed beliefs
8
fro m new in fo rm atio n a n d possible hy p o th esis generation. For exam ple, S anta is
re a l a n d th a t's m o re im p o rta n t th a n th e fact th a t two Santas are now know n to
exist. Behefs th a t a r e n 't as im p o rta n t a re v u ln erab le to change because th ey are
now open to th e scrutiny of altern ativ e hypotheses.
For Little A lbert (D avison & Neale, 1978) th e discom fort g e n erate d by th e
p re s e n c e o f a n a d d itio n a l S a n ta w o u ld n o t be b a se d u p o n in c o n s is te n t
conclusions. T he p re c o n d itio n e d know ledge w ith in his im agisdc m em ory b a n k
w ould have alre ad y c re ate d a belief system a b o u t w hite h a ird o im ages. His belief
system m ay be so e n tre n c h e d th a t new in fo rm atio n w ould n o t be accepted a n d a
new hypothesis w ould n o t be generated.
Validity asks if a conclusion is believable. For exam ple, could Santa have a n
id e n tic a l tw in?
P ersons w ith a stro n g n e e d fo r s tru c tu ra l know ledge fin d
in c o n s is te n c y te r r ib ly d is tu rb in g (K ru g lan sk i, B aldw in & Tow son, 1983).
H ow ever, if th e n e e d fo r s tru c tu re is stro n g e r th a n th e n e e d fo r v alid ity th e n
inco n sisten cy will be ig n o red . One m ig h t th in k , "So w h at if o n e S an ta is a foot
ta lle r th a n th e o th e r Santa." o r 'T m Little A lbert (D avison & N eale, 1978) a n d I
h a v e m y ow n beliefs."
If th e n e e d fo r v a lid ity is g re a te r th a n th e n e e d fo r
structure, th e n the discom fort of inconsistency will be felt. "I ju st c a n 't accept th a t
S anta h as a tw in especially w hen one is a fo o t ta lle r th a n th e other." An in n e r
d e sire fo r v a lid ity w ill le a d a p e rso n to seek o u t a lte rn a tiv e conclusions o r
h y p o th e se s th a t lie with in th e re a lm of th e b elievable (K ruglanski, Baldwin &
Towson, 1983).
An hypothesis is a n explanation given fo r a n ego-object in teractio n . Once a n
h y p o th e sis is re a c h e d , th e n a given b e lie f is h eld .
This sim ple p ro cess o f
g e n e ra tin g a n h y p o th e sis a n d com ing to a co n clu sio n o r b e lie f uses s im p le
ded u ctio n . Lalljee a n d A belson's (1983) process m odel suggests th re e elem ents
9
th a t a re deduced: I) th e goals of th e ch aracters in the scene 2) th e plan th a t the
characters will use to reach th eir goals, a n d 3) th e interaction th a t im plem ents the
p lan (Lalljee & A belson 1983). For exam ple, a small child sees Santa and believes
th a t th e goal of Santa is to bring p resents. The plan is to sit o n Santa's lap to tell
S anta w h at is w anted. AU the child has to do is act by going up a n d talking to
Santa.
If Little A lbert (D avison & Neale, 1978) w ere asked th e goals of the w hiteb e a rd e d figure an d his own goals, one m ig h t discover a d eductive process th a t is
fro ze n
(K ruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983) b y th e know ledge sto re d in his
im agisdc m em o ry bank. The in te ra ctio n is alre ad y a weU-known script (LaUjee &
A belson 1983) th a t governs his social in teractio n s w ith w h ite-b eard ed figures.
Individuals create hypotheses to explain a n in teractio n b etw een th e self a n d
a n o b je c t o r e v en t. Based u p o n know ledge a n d m o tiv a tio n , a n in d iv id u a l
g e n erates one o r m o re h y p o th eses (K ruglanski, Baldwin & Tow son, 1983). An
hypothesis, o r e x p lan atio n fo r an y given ego-object in te ra ctio n , can be re a c h e d
th ro u g h a n u n d e rstan d in g of: a) th e goals of th e m ain ch aracters b) th e ir p lan s
fo r reach in g th e ir goals, a n d c) th e p a tte rn s of in teractio n b etw een th e ego a n d
th e object (LaUjee & A belson 1983). T here comes a p o in t w hen closure is reached.
Individuals settle on a given hypothesis w hich becom es a beUef a b o u t them selves,
th e o b jects th e y in te ra c t w ith, a n d th e in te ra c tio n s th a t th e y c an expect to
en co u n ter. LaUjee a n d A belson (1983) view this as the m ain m ean s by w hich we
"organize o u r u n d e rstan d in g of social life", (p. 79)
Theories A bout O utcom e - Images
T he outcom e of th e deductiv e process b y w hich h y p o th eses are g en erated ,
tested, a n d finaUy a d o p ted results in a beUef, o r w hat I caU in this study, an im age
10
(Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983; Lalljee a n d Abelson, 1983). The outcom e of
possessing a n im age is th a t it is. sto re d in a n im agistic m em o ry b an k an d d raw n
u p o n like one does a d a ta b a n k w hen fu tu re hy p o th eses n e e d to be g e n e ra te d
(Hess & H andel, 1959; Nichols, 1984)..
K antor a n d Lehr's (1985) d efin itio n of a n im age p ro v id es a staging p o in t
from w hich to explore the pow er of a n im agistic m em ory b an k in creating reality.
Im ages a re in te rn a liz e d re p re se n ta tio n s o f action m ad e o r observed.
T he m o st basic fo rm o f a n im age c a n exist in th e fo rm o f a kinetic
im p rin t, a k in d of m em ory w hich is m u scu lar an d en ergetic. An image
m ay also be a p ic tu re o f a n event, w h e th e r literal o r sym bolic. It can
exist as a sen tim en t o r feeling a b o u t a n event. An im age m ay exist as a
belief o r a n id e a a b o u t a n event, (p. 241)
Burr a n d Klein (1994) c re ate d a c o n stru ct of reality th a t explains the ro le of
im ages in creatin g th a t re a lity . These two in d iv id u als re fe r to th is c o n stru ct as
Interpretive Science. To a id us in u n d e rsta n d in g In terp retiv e Science, Burr a n d
Klein p ro v id e twelve questions th a t en h an c e a n d explain th e place of im ages in
creating reality, (p. 12-17)
1 . W hat is th e ultim ate objective in scientific inquiry?
A nsw er: . T h a t th e s u b je c tiv e
in te rp re ta tio n can be understo o d .
p e r c e p tio n s
of
m e a n in g
and
2 . W hat assum ptions a re h eld ab o u t causal laws?
A nsw er:
T hat people m ay believe in causal laws, b u t it is th e beliefs
th a t are im portant, n o t th e laws.
3 . W hat are th e key beliefs ab o u t th e n a tu re of reality?
A nsw er:
T h a t re a lity is su b jec tiv e a n d flu id a n d th a t as m an y
realities exist as th e re are people.
4 . W hat aspects of re a lity are im portant?
A nsw er:
T he focus is o n p a rts th a t h a v e m e n ta l o r co g n itiv e
in te rp re ta tio n s, m eanings, o r definitions.
11
5 . How is reality known?
A nsw er:
Subjective ideas are sh ared a b o u t a m eaning o f experience
an d th e in te rp re ta tio n s th a t a n in d iv id u al gives to th e ir experience.
6 . W hat kinds of evidence are sought?
A nsw er:
S u b je c tiv e
necessary evidence.
p e r c e p tio n s
and
d e fin itio n s
p ro v id e
all
7. How is objectivity viewed?
A nsw er:
O bjectivity is view ed as e ith e r u n im p o rtan t o r im possible.
8 . How is certain ty viewed?
A nsw er:
M any re a litie s exist a n d c e rta in ty is alw ays subjectively
b ased u p o n a degree o f probability.
9 . W here do values fit?
A nsw er:
Values a re a n in teg ral p a rt of th e h u m an ex p erien ce a n d a
m a in p a r t o f w h a t is s tu d ie d .
B ecause v a lu es a re su b je c tiv e
constructions, th e y do n o t hav e an y absolute value. No g ro u p 's values
are w rong, only different.
10. How im p o rta n t is action? If it is im p o rtan t, w hat is its role?
A nsw er:
A ction is n o t cen tral. The goals are to gain in sig h ts a n d
u n d e rs ta n d in te rp re ta tio n s.
1 1 . W hat role does com m on sense play?
A nsw er:
Powerful, e v ery d ay th eo ries a re u sed b y o rd in a ry people.
Com m on sense is as valid a n d as useful as scientific m ethods.
12. W hat is th e n a tu re o f th e h u m a n condition? How can scholarly
in q u iry im prove it?
A nsw er:
H um ans live in sp o n tan e o u sly evolving in te ra c tio n s w ith
th e ir social a n d ph y sical en v iro n m en ts. As th ey sh are m ean in g s an d
in te rp re ta tio n s, life is m oral, h u m an e, rich, an d m eaningful.
The ro le of p e rc ep tio n s in th e In te rp re tiv e Science (B urr & Klein, 1994)
p a ra d ig m is e v id en t. This view of c re a tin g re a lity is b a se d u p o n subjective
insight, in te rp re ta tio n s a n d beliefs a b o u t life events a n d th e v alid ity of com m on
sense. Im ages are u sed to c re ate a re a lity b ased u p o n a d eg ree o f p ro b ab ility .
T he q u estio n o f degree of p ro b ab ility sim ply asks, to w hat d eg ree a re subjective
12
u n d e rsta n d in g s o f life a n accu rate view of life? This com m on sense ap p ro ach to
life m ay be flaw ed by lim ited in fo rm atio n o r m o tiv atio n (Kruglanski, Baldwin &
Towson, 1983), b u t it explains th e im p o rtan c e o f im ages in sh ap in g a p e rso n 's
view of reality (Lalljee & Abelson, 1983).
T herapeutic In terv en tio n
An h e rm a n e u tic a l e x p la n a tio n (H u ltg ren , 1989) o f In te rp re tiv e Science
analyzes each ego-object in te ra c tio n a t th e co n v ersatio n a n d n a rra tiv e level to
d isco v er specific conclusions, h y p o th e se s, o r im ages h e ld b y th e in d iv id u a l.
H ultgren (1989) views conversatio n as a m ean s b y which one seeks u n d e rstan d in g
th ro u g h th e dialogue of question an d answ er. T here is a c ertain en ergy th a t lies
b e n e a th th e act of conversation, as if th e n a rra tio n reveals th e im ages it contains.
He quotes G adam er's (1975) conceptualization o f n a rra tio n Or conversation:
... it is g enerally m ore co rre ct to say th a t we fall in to co n v ersatio n , or
even th a t we becom e involved in it. The w ay in which o n e w ord follows
a n o th er, w ith th e conversatio n taking its own turnings a n d reaching its
own conclusions, m ay well b e c o n d u cte d in som e way, b u t th e people
conversing a re fa r less th e leads of it th a n th e led. No one knows w hat
will 'com e o u t' in a conversation. U n d erstan d in g o r its failu re is like a
process w hich h a p p en s to us ... a co n v ersatio n has a sp irit o f its own ...
th e la n g u ag e u sed in it b e a rs its ow n tr u th w ith in it ... it reveals
so m e th in g w h ich h e n c e fo rth exists. (G a d am e r, 1975 as cite d in
H ultgren, 1989, p. 345)
As a story is told, th e im ages of reality lead th e conversation. H erm eneutics takes
co n v ersa tio n a n d fro m th a t c o n v ersatio n discovers th e h id d e n im ages of o n e's
re a lity (H ultgren 1989).
T he p sy ch o an aly tical use of pro jectiv e tech n iq u es also rev eals o n e's in n e r
im ages th ro u g h th e p ra c tic e o f n a rra tio n th a t is fu e le d b y a n in d iv id u a l's
u n d e rs ta n d in g o f re a lity .
F re u d (c ite d in Beliak, 1986) s ta te s th a t all
c o n tem p o rary m eaningful p e rc ep tio n is b ased upon, a n d o rg an ized aro u n d , th e
m em ories o f all p re v io u s p e rc ep tio n s.
Beliak re fe rs to th is p h e n o m e n o n as
13
" a p p e rc e p tiv e d isto rtio n ".
F reu d 's (as cite d in Beliak, 1986) full q u o te is as
follows:
Projection is n o t specifically cre ate d fo r th e p u rp o se of d efense, it also
com es in to being w here th e re a re n o conflicts. The p ro je c tio n of th e
in n e r p e rc ep tio n s to th e ou tsid e is a p rim itiv e m ech an ism w hich, for
instance, also influences o u r sense-perceptions, so th a t it n o rm ally has
th e g re a te st sh are, in shaping o u r o u te r w orld. U nder co n d itio n s th a t
have n o t y e t b e e n sufficiently d e te rm in e d even in n e r p e rc ep tio n s o f
id eatio n al an d em otional processes a re p ro je c ted outw ardly, like sense
perceptions, a n d are used to sh ap e o u r o u te r world, w hereas th ey ought
to re m a in in th e in n e r w orld, (p. 16)
W hat F reud is saying is th a t in n e r p ercep tio n s, o r im ages, c an be p ro jected
outw ardly (Beliak, 1986). The im plication o f this, fo r m y study, is th a t a projective
technique can be used to draw o u t a p e rso n 's in n e r perceptions, o r images.
B urr a n d K lein's (1994) w ork w ith stre sse d fam ilies p ro v id e s a th erap eu tic
a p p ro a ch w hich can be in te g ra te d w ith th e know ledge o b ta in e d fro m projective
techniqu es a b o u t im ages of reality.
Burr a n d Klein visualize fam ilies moving in a
progressive m a n n e r th ro u g h th re e levels o f coping . If Level I changes bring ab o u t
a re d u c tio n o f stress, th e fam ily stops th e re . However, if it does n o t, th e n th ey
m ove to Level n a n d if n e ed be to Level III (Burr & Klein, 1994).
Level I draw s u p o n coping strategies th a t a tte m p t to change th e in teractio n s
of th e fam ily th a t a re re g u la te d b y ro les a n d rules. For exam ple, M ary is th e
m o th e r o f fo u r ch ild ren . H er h u sb a n d w orks full-tim e. U nexpectedly M ary finds
herself in th e hospital fo r a week d ue to an accident. Her p resen ce in th e fam ily is
m issed. She tra n sp o rts th e two y o u n g est c h ild re n to school, h elp s h e r h u sb a n d
w ith a scout tro o p in th e ir hom e, a n d does all th e co-attending th a t a spouse does
to ev ery d ay details. In short, she is m issed a n d som eone else h a s to take up th e
slack. A new ru le is created . The o ld est child now drops th e tw o you n g est off a t
school. D ad now cooks as well as does th e dishes. The stress o f h e r absence is
alleviated by shifting rules a n d roles.
14
Level II utilizes th e coping skills th a t go b ey o n d adju stin g to new ru le s o r
roles. At Level II th e shift is in lead ersh ip a n d w ho m akes th e rules. For exam ple,
u p u n til m o m 's h o sp ita liz a tio n sh e h a d a rra n g e d tra n s p o rta tio n fo r th e two
y o ungest ch ild ren . She h a d always a rra n g e d h e r w ork so she could pick th em u p
a fte r school. The oldest, w ho took over th e ro le o f tra n sp o rta tio n person, c an 't get
o u t o f classes early enough to pick u p the two little ones. Right o r wrong the oldest
ch ild decides th a t th e two y o u n g e st will h a v e to p lay o n th e p lay g ro u n d u n til
tra n sp o rta tio n arrives. A t Level II n o t only do th e ru le s/ro le s change, b u t th e re is
also a shift in who m akes th e rules.
Level
in pushes b ey o n d th e coping skills o f new rules o r roles an d even p ast a
n ew m a k er o f rules. At this level th e focus is u p o n th e beliefs, o r im ages, th a t
c reate th e w orld. In o th e r w ords, w ho says th e two youngest ch ild ren have to b e
picked up from school? They only live th ree blocks from school. W hy can't m o th er
le t th e m walk hom e? This was th e questio n th a t th e oldest child asked after th re e
days of re o rie n tin g th e ir a fte rn o o n schedules. W ithin th e eld est ch ild 's m ind,
th e re was no re a so n w hy these two could n o t walk hom e. He h a d to do so w hen h e
was th e ir ages. He believes th e y a re cap ab le o f w alking hom e. M other beheves
th e y are n o t. T heir ow n h istories o f p ercep tio n s a n d p re se n t n eed s created two
d ifferen t w orlds.
At Level I rules a n d roles re q u ire little sh ift in the fam ily's im ages of reality.
R eahty re m a in s in ta c t a n d it's sim ply n ew p e rso n s who now revolve a ro u n d th e
sam e w orld im age. A t Level H, th e in tro d u c tio n of a new w orld ru le r produces a
re o rie n ta tio n o f life a ro u n d th is new ru le m a k er's u n d e rsta n d in g of life b ased
u p o n th a t p e rso n 's p a st a n d p re s e n t im ages. At Level III, it's n o t th e w orld ru le r
w ho changes, it is a new w orld th a t is cre ate d b ased u p o n a new belief ab o u t life.
No w onder people feel strange a n d alien w hen th e y change th e ir beliefs.
15
T h erap eu tic in te rv e n tio n th a t valu es th e use of im agery, n eed s to be th e o ry
b ased (Pinsof, 1981). A p o in t o f in te rv e n tio n could begin w ith B urr a n d K lein's
(1994) th re e levels of coping w here th e core assum ption is th a t rules, roles, a n d
a u th o rity a re a ctu a lly b a se d u p o n b eliefs o r im ages.
This stu d y will use a
p ro je c tiv e te c h n iq u e (Beliak, 1986) th a t u tilizes th e p o w er o f c o n v e r s a tio n
(H u ltg ren , 1989) to re v e a l p a s t a n d p re s e n t beliefs, o r im ages, u p o n w hich
au th o rity , rule, an d roles are based.
Sum m ary
We in te rp re t o u r w orld th ro u g h im ages: capsules of know ledge im p rin ted b y
a h isto ry of in teractio n s betw een ourselves, oth ers, objects, a n d events (K antor &
Lehr, 1985). T hese capsules of know ledge hav e b een seem ingly p u rified a t first
by kinetic im p rin ts, a k in d of m em o ry w hich is m uscular a n d energetic, a n d th e n
la te r te ste d by d e d u ctio n s th a t analyze th e goals, p lan s a n d in te ra c tio n o f each
in te ra ctio n we e n co u n ter. At som e p o in t, d u e to tim e, availability of know ledge,
o r m otivation, we accept o u r know ledge as tru e a n d capsulate it as a belief a b o u t
ourselves, o th e rs, a n d th e w orld. T hese capsules of know ledge, o r beliefs, are
stored a n d draw n u p o n to explain o u r fu tu re interactions w ith life (Hess & H andel,
1959; Nichols, 1984).
A lthough th e beliefs we possess a b o u t ourselves, o th ers, a n d th e w orld a re
subjective in n a tu re , th e y fo rm o u r own u n d e rsta n d in g of re a lity (Burr & Klein,
1994).
T his re a lity m a y re m a in flu id a n d in c o rp o ra te n ew know ledge th a t
re stru c tu re s o u r beliefs, o u r bases of au th o rity , a n d even Our rules a n d roles (Burr
& Klein, 1994). Conversely, o u r beliefs m ay becom e frozen a n d o u r in te ra ctio n s
w ith th e w orld scripted because we have subjugated ourselves to rules, roles, o r a n
16
a u th o rity th a t resists o r lim its o u r freed o m o f critical th o u g h t (Kruglanski, Baldwin
& Towson, 1983; Lalljee & Abelsdn, 1983).
S tressed c h ild re n a n d y o u th c re a te im ages o f re a lity b a se d u p o n th e ir
in te ra c tio n w ith th e w o rld filled w ith n o x io u s stresses.
W ith th e im p rin te d
im ages o f infancy a n d early child h o o d th ey b eg in th eir in teractio n s. Core beliefs,
forged in this early stage a n d la te r su stain ed o r m odified b y th e ir in n ate pow ers
o f deduction, pro v id e th e rules a n d roles th e y will use fo r scripting behavior. This
suggests th a t th erap eu tic in te rv e n tio n fo r p e rso n s w ho w ere stressed as children,
needs to expose th e im ages of reality a ro u n d w hich th e ir w orld revolves a n d th e n
call in to question th e validity, consistency of conclusions, a n d th e confidence th e y
h o ld in th e ir core beliefs. This n e e d exists because the stressed ch ild 's im ages of
re a lity m ay n o t be valid, th e ir conclusions m ay n o t be co n sisten t, a n d th e ir core
beliefs m ay be faulty.
One e n d p ro d u c t o f this p a p e r is to d e lin e ate a th e ra p e u tic a p p ro a ch th a t
w ould p ro v id e a re a lity check fo r a d u lts w ho w ere once stressed ch ild ren . This
a p p ro a c h w ould u tilize a pro jectiv e tool o f n a rra tio n (Beliak, 1986; H ultgren,
1989) th a t w ould expose th e ir p a tte rn s of in teractio n w ithin th e ir childhood w orld
a n d fro m exam ining those in teractio n s expose th e images, o r beliefs, th ey h eld o r
still h o ld. U tilizing th e pow ers of d e d u c tio n a n d the th e ra p ist as a reso u rce of
know ledge a n d m o tiv a tio n , th e ra p e u tic p ro cess w ould ex am in e th e v alid ity ,
consistency o f conclusions, a n d confidence in th e know ledge th e y possess. The
th e ra p eu tic process w ould h elp ad u lts w ho w ere once stressed c h ild re n o r y o u th
re th in k th e ir b elief system s.
17
Preview of the Study an d D efinition of Term s
P rovided is a n overview of th e m a in co m p o n en ts th a t a re critical to this
study. An e x p an d e d dialogue of th e following p oints will follow in th e m ain b o d y
of th e p a p er. This b rie f synopsis is sim ply to aid th e re a d e r's u n d e rsta n d in g of
th e logic b eh in d this study.
Perception. P erception is a n o th e r w o rd fo r im age. An im age is a p ercep tio n
a b o u t w hat a n in d iv id u al thinks is real. This re a lity is totally subjective. T h at is,
reality is solely d e p e n d e n t u p o n w h at th e in d iv id u al can visualize in h is /h e r m in d
as tru e.
Im a g e s . Im ages a re in te rn a liz e d re p re s e n ta tio n s o f a c tio n m a d e o r
o b serv ed . T he m o st basic form o f a n im ag e can exist in th e fo rm o f a k in e tic
im p rin t, a k in d of m em ory w hich is m u scu lar a n d energetic. An im age m ay also
be a picture of a n event, w h eth er literal o r symbolic. It can exist as a sentim ent o r
feeling a b o u t a n event. An im age m ay exist as a belief o r a n id e a a b o u t a n event.
(K antor & Lehr, 1985, p. 241)
D esig n . This s tu d y is q u a litativ e in n a tu re (Kirk & M iller, 1986; Locke,
S pirduso & Silverm an, 1988; M orgaine, 1992; Strauss & C orbin, 1990). It d e als
w ith th e n o n -q u a n tita tiv e e n tity of im ages (Kruglanski, Baldwin, & Towson, 1983;
Lalljee & A belson, 1983).
A n o th e r p e rs o n 's p e rc e p tio n s a re d isco v ered , n o t
m easu red (Beliak, 1986).
V alidity. Im ages c re a te d a re a n in d iv id u a l's view of re a lity (B urr & Klein,
1994). This stu d y does n o t ask if th a t re a lity agrees w ith a n y o n e else's view of
reality. The im ages sh ared fro m the in d iv id u al can only be tak en as valid fo r th a t
indiv id u al (Kirk & Miller, 1986; Strauss & C orbin, 1990).
18
R eliability o f th e Process. T he co n cep t of reliability is d ire c ted tow ards the
process by w hich in fo rm atio n is collected. Specifically, if som eone else re p e a te d
th is p ro cess it w ould be ex p ected th a t s /h e w ould o b ta in th e sam e ty p e o f
in fo rm atio n as this stu d y d id a n d th a t conclusions w ould be sim ilar (Strauss &
C orbin, 1990, Kirk & Miller, 1986).
R eliability o f th e In stru m e n ts. T h ere a re th re e in s tru m e n ts u sed in th is
stu d y .
Two d e a l w ith th e selectio n p ro cess o f th e sam ple p o p u la tio n . . T he
re lia b ility a n d v a lid ity o f th e se two se le c tio n in s tru m e n ts re s id e in th e
o rig in a to r's w ork. One selection in s tru m e n t em erges fro m W e m e r an d Sm ith's
(1992) 30+ y e a r lo n g itu d in a l stu d y o n facto rs th a t place a ch ild at-risk.
The
seco n d selectio n in s tru m e n t com es fro m Beavers a n d H am pson'S (1990) SelfR eport Fam ily In v en to ry (SFI). I chose to use W em er a n d Sm ith's c rite ria as to
w h a t c o n stitu tes a risk fa c to r a n d Beavers a n d H am pson's c rite ria as to w h a t
constitutes H ealth a n d C om petence because b o th of these works co n tain th e ir own
high degree of validity a n d reliability.
T he th ir d in s tru m e n t is m yself, th e in te rv ie w e r (Locke, S p ird u so &
Silverm an, 1988). My train in g as a m arriag e a n d fam ily th e ra p ist, m y analytical
skills, a n d m y use o f in tu itio n a n d g eneral know ledge of th e topics ad d ressed b y
th e stu d y allow m e to in te rp re t th e in fo rm a tio n g a th e re d in th is study.
It is
re a so n a b le to believe th a t a n o th e r p e rso n w ith sim ilar abilities a n d traits could
likew ise in te r p r e t th e in fo rm a tio n g a th e re d a rriv in g a t s im ila r c o n clu sio n s
(Strauss & C orbin, 1990).
O ptim ally F u n ctio n in g A d u lt. This te rm I b o rro w ed fro m Beavers a n d
H am pson's (1990) Self-Report Family In v en to ry to describe a n in d iv id u al's h e alth
a n d com petence. T heir Self-Report Family In v en to ry was a d a p te d by changing th e
w ord "we" to "I".
This a d a p te d v e rsio n m easu res an in d iv id u a l's h e a lth a n d
19
co m p eten ce in re la tio n to o th ers.
The q u alities th a t a n o p tim ally fu n ctio n in g
a d u lt w ould e x h ib it w ould be th e c ap a c ity to n eg o tiate, th e a b ility to m ake
individual choices a n d to have an y am bivalence respected, w arm th, intim acy, an d
h u m o r.
A d e q u a te ly F u n c tio n in g A d u lt. T his te rm is also u s e d in Beavers arid
H am pson's (1990) Self-Report Family In v en to ry to describe a fam ily's h ealth a n d
com petence. Again, th e Self-Report Fam ily In v en to ry was a d a p te d b y changing
th e w ord "we" to "I". This a d a p te d v ersio n m easures a n in d iv id u al's h e alth a n d
com petence. T he q u alities th a t a n a d e q u a te ly fu n ctio n in g a d u lt w ould e x h ib it
w ou ld be: n e g o tia tio n a lth o u g h w ith som e p a in , re la tiv e ly c le a r b o u n d a rie s
a lth o u g h am bivalence is re lu c ta n tly recognized, p erio d s o f w a rm th a n d sh arin g
in te rsp e rse d w ith co n tro l struggles.
S a m p le
characteristics:
P o p u la tio n . T h e
sa m p le
p o p u la tio n
needed
tw o sp ec ific
a) as c h ild ren th ey w ere co n fro n ted by stresses th a t placed th em
at-risk as d e fin e d by W ern er a n d Sm ith (19 9 2 ), a n d b) as a d u lts th e y are, as
d e fin e d by Beavers a n d H am pson's (1990) SFI, co n sid ered e ith e r "optim ally" o r
"adequately" functioning adults. The p rim a ry criteria fo r selection was b ased on
th ese two c rite ria alone. The v ariab les o f g e n d er a n d geographic d iv ersity w ere
p a rt of th e p o p u latio n 's characteristics. The v ariab le of non-C aucasians, although
sought after, was n o t available.
S e le c tio n
M e th o d . T he selectio n m e th o d u tiliz e d is r e f e r r e d to as a
"snow ball" m e th o d (S trauss & C orbin, 1990). W anted p o sters w ere d istrib u te d
a n d people m eeting the descriptions m en tio n ed above sta rte d tu rn in g them selves
in as volunteers. As the snowball rolled dow n th e hill it got bigger a n d bigger.
S a tu ra tio n Point. A p o in t o f satu ratio n , w here new know ledge only re p e a ts
th e in fo rm a tio n a lre a d y collected, was re a c h e d a fte r 10 in d iv id u a ls told th e ir
20
stories. T he in fo rm atio n n e e d e d to c re ate a feasible g ro u n d e d th e o ry re q u ire d
the in p u t of only these 10 individ u als (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
In ten t of the Study. T here are two reaso n s fo r this study. The first reaso n is
sim ply to Ie a m how to do research. This is m y first solo flight. In m an y ways I am
m o re in te re s te d in c re a tin g a d esig n fo r re s e a rc h th a n a ctu a lly ,arriving a t a
p a rtic u la r d e stin atio n . The second re a so n is to exam ine th e ro le o f im ages a n d to
tu r n th a t know ledge in to a th e o ry th a t co u ld becom e a p o in t o f th e ra p e u tic
in te rv e n tio n for adults w ho w ere once stressed children.
T h eo ry Building. The outcom e of this stu d y is a th e o ry a b o u t th e im ages of
stressed ch ild re n . This th e o ry building will utilize a n d re fe re n c e th e w orks o f
o th e r a u th o rs a n d re sea rc h ers. The citations o f o th e r re sea rc h ers w ere selected
b a se d u p o n a h ig h d e g re e o f p ro b a b ility th a t th e ir c o n trib u tio n s w ere b o th
reliable, valid, a n d re le v an t to this study.
21
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This c h a p te r deals w ith m yths sp u n a b o u t resiliency in stressed children. It
will to u ch on how resiliency is actually stress m anagem ent. Finally this c h a p te r
will exam ine th e use o f th e lay-epistem ologist d ed u ctiv e logic to m anage stress
w hich is d irectly re la te d to a child's ability to create perceptions, otherw ise know n
as im ages.
P erceptions em erge from th e h e a d like h ab its flow fro m o u r h a n d s (K antor &
Lehr, 1985). Perceptions are of a seco n d h an d n a tu re y e t th ey d eterm in e m uch of
o u r m o v e m e n t a n d life d e cisio n s (Hess & H an d el, 1959; N ichols, 1984).
Individuals w ho w ere once stressed ch ild ren fo rm ed perceptions th a t h elp ed th em
evolve into well functioning adults (Beliak, 1986).
In th is stu d y a d u lts, w ho w ere once p a r t of th e p o p u la tio n o f stressed
children, a re in v ited to tell th e ir stories ab o u t th e goals, conflicts, scripts, a n d p re ­
conditions p re se n t in th e ir fam ilies of origin (C rittenden, 1985; Lalljee & A belson
1983; L ancaster & A dler, 1989; Olson, 1986). The p ercep tu al pow ers th a t h e lp ed
th e m c re a te re silien cy re s id e d in th e ir cap acity to c re ate new h y p o th e se s, to
free ze o r u n fre e z e specific con clu sio n s, to sto re ideas, a n d to lin k id eas v ia
language a n d im agery (Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983). P erhaps this ability
to re fra m e a n d c reate p ercep tio n s th a t le a d to h ealth a n d com petence in social
in te ra c tio n s m a y be m o re p o te n t th a n th e a ctu a l p e rc e p tio n s to w hich th e y
subscribe. This stu d y in ten d s to listen to th e stories ab o u t social in teractio n s th a t
c re a te d stress a n d to follow a d u lt's recollections of the d ed u ctiv e processes th a t
re su lte d in h is /h e r c h ild h o o d p e rc ep tio n s a b o u t them selves, o th e rs, a n d th e ir
w orld (Lalljee & A belson 1983).
22
The use o f storytelling is p e rh a p s th e b est design available fo r exposing th e
in n e r p e rc e p tio n s, o r im ages, o f a n in d iv id u a l (H ultgren, 1989).
By using a
p ic tu re to stim u late th e scenes o f th e p a st, p erso n s a re in v ite d to re te ll th e ir
stories in a n o n -th r e a te n in g m a n n e r.
T h is p ro je c tiv e a p p ro a c h u n e a rth s
p e rc ep tio n s b y asking a d u lts w h at th e y see to be tru e a b o u t th e ir past. T h e ir
perceptions are theirs alone a n d th ey sh are insights which only th ey can see a b o u t
th e ir p a st (Beliak, 1986).
M yths A bout Resiliency
Recently, sociologists, psychologists, a n d developm entalists have re fe rre d to a
stra in o f th e stressed child as th e "superkid" (Pines, 1979) o r th e "superphrenic"
(Feldm an, Stiffm an, & Jung, 1987) w ho resem b les th e w e ste rn p io n e e r w ith a
s p irit o f n e rv e a n d steel (G arm ezy, 1976).
This ascrib ed , m y stical resilien cy
enables the child to em erge u n scath ed from a life of potential ru in a n d ru b b le a n d
to develop in to a w ell-functioning adult.
T his id e a liz e d
c o n s tr u c t o f th e
" su p e rk id "
(P in es,
1979)
o r th e
"superphrenic" (Feldm an, Stiffm an, & Jung, 1987) crum bled u n d e r th e scru tin y
of re se a rc h e rs such as Feldm an, Stiffm an, & Jung (1987) w ho reco g n ized th a t
resiliency consists o f m ulti-variable factors. T h eir Social In te ra c tio n Model (SIM)
p lo tte d a child's coping skills again st p ro tecto rs a n d stresses fo u n d in th eir fam ily
a n d com m unity. The SIM p resen ts n in e positions fo r a n at-risk o r stressed child
(Feldm an, Stiffm an, & Jung, 1987).
In this m odel, a child m ay m ove fro m th e spectrum o f resilien cy (invincible)
to n o n -resilien t (victim) if a shift occurs e ith e r in th e child's coping skills a n d /o r
in th e n e t effect o f e n v iro n m e n ta l stresso rs ag ain st p ro te c to rs. This m o d el is
actu ally a bell curve. T he fa r rig h t h a n d p o rtio n of th e bell cu rv e re p re se n ts a
23
p o p u la tio n o f stressed ch ild re n w ho because of pro tectiv e en v iro n m en tal factors
a n d strong coping skills a re able to ex h ib it th e to ta l ab sen ce of m en tal illness
(G oodm an, 1984).
T he statistic a l p e rc e n ta g e s of this re s ilie n t p o p u la tio n is
e stim a te d by F eldm an, Stiffm an, a n d Ju n g (1987) to b e a b o u t 10% of th e
po p u latio n .
W ern er a n d S m ith's (1992) lo n g itu d in a l stu d y of h ig h risk ch ild re n fro m
b irth to a d u lth o o d confirm s th a t n u m ero u s factors e ith e r co n trib u te to o r n e g ate
th e possibility of a child feeling th e im p act o f noxious stressors. T hey speak of
"protective factors" th a t b u ffer the stressed child: easy te m p e ram en t, th e ability
to p lan , a ch ie v e m en t u p to g rad e level, re sp o n sib le ch o res in c h ild h o o d a n d
adolescence, a n d successful grad u atio n from h ig h school. These p rotective factors
ap p ly to b o th boys a n d girls. A ccording to W ern er a n d Smith, resiliency d ep en d s
upon
th e c o m p le x in te r a c tio n b e tw e e n c o n s titu tio n a l fa c to rs
and
life
circum stances; th e d an ce betw een p ro tectiv e factors b o th w ith in th e child a n d
h is /h e r socializing com m unity.
Feldm an, Stiffm an, a n d Jung (1987) along w ith W ern er a n d Sm ith (1 992)
dem y stify th e "superkid" scen ario o f th e re silie n t stressed ch ild . In re a lity a
resilient, stressed child falls well w ithin th e definition of a n o rm a l child as defined
by Lillian Schwartz a n d Carol Eagle (1986).
... b y n o rm a l we m e an c h ild re n w ho h av e th e c ap acity to re la te to
o th ers, feel good a b o u t them selves, achieve n o rm al la n d m a rk s a t each
level o f d e v e lo p m e n t, a n d a re fre e fro m u n d u e p a in a n d stress.
A n o th e r asp ect of n o rm alcy is resilien cy , w h ereb y c h ild re n faced by
u n fo rtu n a te c irc u m stan c es c re atin g stress a n d p o ssib le te m p o ra ry
regression can quickly re tu rn to ag e-ap p ro p riate functioning. ( p. 8)
24
Resiliency as Stress M anagem ent
A sserting th a t re silie n c y o v erco m es stre ss places re s ilie n c y u n d e r th e
auspices of stress m anagem ent. The usage o f M cCubbin a n d P atterson's (as cited
in Figley & M cCubbin, 1983) D ouble ABC-X m odel on stress m a n ag e m e n t is a
s ta n d a rd c o n stru ct o f viewing how in d iv id u als cope w ith stress. One co m p o n en t
of M cCubbin's double ABC-X m odel is th a t o f perception, th e C co m p o n en t (Figley
& M cCubbin, 1983).
M cC ubbin a n d P a tte rs o n 's p e r c e p tu a l c o m p o n e n t fo c u ses u p o n a n
in d iv id u al's u n d e rsta n d in g of th e stress in h is /h e r life a n d th e realizatio n o f th e
resources available to m eet th a t stresso r (Figley & M cCubbin, 1983). This stu d y
expands M cCubbin a n d P atterso n 's view o f p ercep tio n s by ascrib in g p ercep tio n s
as a n a ctu al reso u rce a n d n o t ju s t th e re a liza tio n o f a reso u rce (K antor & Lehr,
1985).
P erceptions, o r im ages o f reality , becom e a re so u rc e in d ealin g w ith
stressors (B urr & Klein, 1994). This w ay o f thinking lies in d ire c t c o n tra st to th e
com m only h e ld id ea th a t re a lity creates o u r p erceptions. R ather, o u r im ages can
create re a lity (Burr & Klein, 1994; H ultgren, 1989).
Lay-epistem ic th e o rists d e al w ith th e fo rm atio n o f com m on know ledge. In
p a rtic u la r th e y co n cern them selves w ith th e basic processes th a t a re involved in
perceiving th e self, o th e r persons, a n d th e setting in w hich p eo p le function. Two
lay-epistem ic theorists acknow ledge th a t a stressed child o p e ra tes o u t of a stance
o f "control deprivation" (Pittm an & D'Agostino, 1985). Typically w hen a p erso n is
d e p riv e d of c o n tro l, th is sta te of d isc o m fo rt m o tiv ates o n e to engage in a
deductive th o u g h t process th a t resu lts in h y p o th eses fo rm atio n a b o u t the p re se n t
in te ra ctio n . T he re su lt is th a t one form s h y p o th eses w hich, if accepted, becom e
25
im ages, o r beliefs, a b o u t oneself, o th ers, a n d th e w orld (K ruglanski, Baldwin, &
Towson, 1983).
This ded u ctiv e process th a t a ttrib u te s specific goals to social in teractio n s is
"in te n tio n a l a n d re su lts in a n in c re ase d atten tiv en ess a n d in te re s t in obtaining
esse n tial d iagnostic in fo rm atio n " (P ittm an & D'Agostino, 1985, p. 138). This
in fo r m a tio n is p ro c e s s e d in a " c a re fu l, d e lib e ra te fa s h io n th a t c an b e
c h a ra c te riz e d as d a ta -d riv e n , b o tto m -u p , o r system ic pro cessin g " (P ittm an &
D 'A gostino, 1985, p. 138). T he re s u lt o f th is d ed u ctiv e p ro c e ssin g is th a t a
p e rso n 's re sp o n se becom es precise, fin e-tu n ed , a n d accu rate fo r u n d e rsta n d in g
goals in th e social tra n sa c tio n s /h e e n co u n te rs.
For exam ple, a ch ild w ants a
cookie a n d m o th e r says, "No." W hat could a child do to h elp a m om w ant to give
h im /h e r a cookie? Clean h is /h e r room , o r th ro w a tizzy fit, o r ...?
The C hild's A bihty to C reate Images
T he q u estio n o f w h at a child can u n d e rs ta n d reg ard in g social in teractio n is
im p o rta n t w hen we begin talking a b o u t im ages creating a c h ild 's p ercep tio n s o f
reality. Brooks-Gunn a n d Lewis (1978) claim th a t by the age of two m onths a child
is able to s ta rt telling th e difference betw een social an d non-social objects. Piaget
(1929) explains a child's capacity to u n d e rs ta n d reality b y telling us th a t young
ch ild re n first believe th a t anythin g th a t m oves is real, e.g., th e clouds a n d w ind.
Later th e child thinks only those things th a t m ove o n th e ir ow n a re real, e.g., the
Little Red Engine. Finally they restrict a sense of realness only to anim als (Jaspars,
Fincham , & Hewstone, 1983).
Social know ledge is a key facto r in seeing th e difference betw een in an im ate
a n d an im ate objects in social in teractio n s. For exam ple, dogs a re o ften tre a te d
like hum ans an d it will take longer for a child to recognize the non-social n a tu re of
26
in te ra c tin g w ith a dog c o m p ared to a h u m a n (Jaspars, Fincham , & Hewstone,
1983).
As th e c h ild 's social know ledge develops, s /h e le a rn s th a t in a n im a te
objects do n o t act on th e ir own accord a n d th u s do n o t h ave specific goals (Jaspars,
Fincham , & Hewstone, 1983).
- Hood a n d Bloom find th a t a tw o-year-old can tell w hy things h a p p en an d th a t
by age th re e a child can even p re d ic t w h at will occur before an ev en t takes place
(1979). As a child asks th e questio n , "why", ex p lan atio n s, o r hy p o th eses, fro m
o thers m ay include a goal-oriented answ er. For exam ple, "The ra in comes dow n to
w ater th e flowers."
In u n fam iliar events, a child m u st d ra w u p o n th e know ledge s /h e possesses
w hich m ay lead to m agical explanations (Berzonsky, 1971). For exam ple, a sm all
child m ay believe th a t th e ra in in ten tio n ally chooses to fall in o rd e r to w ater th e
flowers.
A know ledge source, o r a n im agistic m em o ry bank, is n e e d e d fo r a child to
d raw u p o n to develop h y potheses (Lalljee, 1981). Nichols' th e o ry o f Object Stage
O rien tatio n (1984) p ro v id es o n e ex p lan atio n as to how this know ledge source is
c re a te d fro m b ir th to age th irty -six m o n th s. At b irth th e r e a re no social
in te ra ctio n s. The new b o rn 's re a ctio n s to th e w orld a re p rim a rily reflexive in
n a tu re .
N ichols (1 9 8 4 ) view s th e firs t c re a tio n o f im ages b a se d u p o n social
in te ra ctio n s as occurring d u rin g th e process of in te ra ctin g w ith th e m o th erin g
figure.
A t a p p ro x im a te ly age two m o n th s th e ch ild is m o tiv a te d b y psychic
d ep en d e n c y to in te ra c t w ith th e m o th erin g figure which results in a child's im age
of e ith e r tru s t o r m istru st (Nichols, 1984). ■
The n ex t p h ase o f social in teractio n com es d u ring th e tim e of separation, age
seven m o n th s to thirty-six m onths. If th e m o th erin g figure rem ain s openly w arm
27
a n d loving d u rin g th is process o f se p a ra tio n th e ch ild acq u ires th e b elief in a
sense of lovableness w hile achieving in d iv id u a lity a n d stre n g th (Nichols, 1984).
The c h ild 's im ages of h im /h e rs e lf a n d th e w orld rev o lv e a ro u n d th e social
in te ra c tio n s w here g ratifica tio n is d e lay e d , fru stra tio n s a re to le ra te d , th e self
b eco m es c o m p e te n t, a n d th e e x tre m es o f s e p a ra te n e s s a n d closeness a r e
ex p erien ced .
Jasp ars, Fincham , a n d H ewstone (1983) p o in t o u t th a t th e fam ily acts as a
p rim a ry source o f in fo rm atio n fo r a child in creating hypotheses. The h istory of
one in te ra c tio n a fte r a n o th e r, in th e co n tex t of th e fam ily, p ro v id es a sense o f
consistency a n d distin ctiv en ess w hich co u ld le a d to closure o f hy p o th eses into
beliefs a n d to a sense o f scripted n ess (Lalljee & Abelson, 1983). For a child, th e
fam ily m ay be the only source o f inform ation available to in te rp re t th e world.
The child's sense o f id e n tity based u p o n th e self to objects a ro u n d h im /h e r is
la te r e n ric h e d a n d re v ise d a t th e fu tu re d e v elo p m en ta l p o in t o f a d o lesc en t
p u b e rty (Kelly, 1973; Steinberg, 1985). T he social life of a ch ild a t school a n d
o th e r groups in society, as well as books a n d television, a re im p o rta n t sources o f
inform ation fo r new hy p o th eses (Jaspars, Fincham , & Hewstone, 1983).
Sum m ary
A child form s a n hypothesis by th e use of h is /h e r deductive abilities (Lalljee,
1981 as c ite d in Ja sp a rs, Fincham , & H ew stone, 1983).
O ut o f a sto re o f
know ledge th e ch ild b o th c o n stru cts a n d c o n tra sts th e goals o f m ain actors,
assesses re s id e n t conflict b etw een those goals, becom es aw are o f know n scripts,
plus c an p re d ic t c o v a ria n t o r existing p re-co n d itio n s (Lalljee & A belson, 1983).
The child's deductive ab ility is d e p e n d e n t u p o n h is /h e r capacity a n d m otivation
to c re ate a n ew hy p o th esis, to freeze o r u n freeze specific conclusions, to sto re
28
ideas, a n d to lin k ideas to one a n o th e r v ia language a n d o th e r form s of im agery
(Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983).
To d a te little stu d y h as been d o n e o n a d u lt's reco n stru cte d im ages o f being
stressed as c h ild re n o r y o u th . To d e te rm in e th e ro le o f p e rc e p tio n in h elp in g
th e m evolve in to th e ir p re s e n t ad u lth o o d , a n a d u lt w ho was a severely stressed
child will tell a b o u t th e ir childho o d process o f deductive thinking. U nderstanding
the im ages c re a te d fro m th e process o f d ed u ctio n will rev eal a re a lity base a b o u t
them selves, others, a n d th e world.
29
CHAPTER 3
STUDY DESIGN
Feldm an, Stiffm an, a n d Jung (1987) co n clu d e th a t o u t o f th e to tal pool of
stressed c h ild ren ten p e rc en t will be n o rm al a n d grow into w ell-functioning adults.
These ten p e rc e n t possess protective factors o r buffering agents th a t help th em to
evolve in to w ell-functioning ad u lts (W erner & Sm ith, 1992). This stu d y focuses
u p o n b u t o n e protective factor, th a t of th e im ages of reality a b o u t self, others, a n d
e a c h in d iv id u a l's
w o rld (Jasp ars, F incham , & H ew stone, 1983; K ruglanski,
Baldwin & Towson, 1983; Lalljee & Abelson, 1983).
W ell-functioning a d u lts, w ho w ere on ce c h ild re n a t risk , w ere ask ed to
re c o n stru c t a m em o ry of th e d ed u ctiv e processes th ey w ent th ro u g h as stressed
c h ild re n a n d s h a re th e se re c o n s tru c te d im ag es th e y b e lie v e d th e y h a d a s
children. T he stu d y em bodied th e following points.
1) It was th e in te n t of this stu d y to allow adults to reco n stru ct images of
th e ir childhood in w hich they e n co u n te re d severe stress. T hese images
w ere re v e a le d a n d a n a ly z e d b y u sin g a h e rm e n e u tic a l to o l th a t
in te rp re te d the n a rra tiv e of each story.
2) It was n o t m y in te n t to c o n tra st th e h e a lth a n d com petence of one
story teller against th e o th er. I felt this w ould be unethical since I asked
e ac h s to ry te lle r fo r p e rm issio n to s h a re th e ir in sig h ts a n d n o t to
com pare th e ir h e a lth a n d com petence against another's.
3) Each p erso n was tre a te d in the sam ple population as an equal. All of
th e storytellers h a d e n co u n te re d severe stress as a child o r y o u th . All
fell w ith in th e ran g e' of being a n o p tim ally to a d eq u ately fu n c tio n in g
adult. I d id n o t m ake distinctions in g e n d e r o r age. The ra tio n a le fo r
30
th is d e cisio n w as b a se d u p o n m y d e sire to m ak e c o m p re h en siv e
statem ents a b o u t a d u lts' re c o n stru cte d m em ories of being a child u n d er
stre ss, n o t a d u lt m a le s' o r fo rty -y e a r-o ld a d u lts '
r e c o n s tr u c te d
m em ories.
It c an be n o te d h e re th a t th e sam ple p o p u la tio n is all
C aucasian.
M ore specifically, th e se w ere o p tim ally a n d a d e q u a te ly
fu n c tio n in g C aucasian a d u lts ' re c o n s tru c te d m em o ries a b o u t th e ir
stressed childhood.
4) It was m y in te n t to p ro v id e a h erm en eu tic tool w hich could b e used
to in te rp re t n a rra tiv e s. This in te rp re tiv e tool w ould allow fo r a full
analy sis a n d re v e al th e m a jo r p a rts o f th e n a rra tiv e in clu d in g th e
percep tio n s c o n tain ed in th e n arrativ e.
5) It was riot th e in te n t of th is stu d y to p ro v id e th e ra p y fo r th e a d u lts
w ho p articip ated , although th erap eu tic benefits m ay have occurred.
6) It was th e in te n t o f this stu d y to glean w isdom fro m th e storytellers.
This w isdom is view ed as a n ex p erien tial know ledge th a t is tru e fo r the
in d iv id u a l a n d w hich m a y b e tru e fo r o th e rs.
T his e x p e rie n tia l
know ledge contrasts these ad u lts' recollections of images o f severe stress
w ith a d re a m of w hat could have been.
7) It w as th e in te rit o f th is stu d y to re ly u p o n a g ro u n d e d th e o ry
a p p ro a c h o f analysis th a t utilized differing levels of social in teractio n .
T he influence of each level of social in te ra ctio n u p o n th e im ages of th e
storyteller p ro v id e d the prim ary fram ew ork for the m eth o d s section.
The Sam ple Population
The sam ple p o p u latio n refers to th e p e rso n s who ag reed to be interview ed
fo r th is stu d y .
T hese p e rso n s first b e ca m e aw are of th e s tu d y th ro u g h a n
31
In fo rm ational Flier (A ppendix II) th a t was d is trib u te d to e le m e n ta ry schools,
university classes, churches, a n d fro m frie n d to frie n d th ro u g h d ire c t contact. In
all, ten persons co n sen ted to be interview ed.
P ersons w ho m e t th e c rite ria o n th e "In fo rm atio n al Flier" o f being b o th a
"well-functioning adult" (optim al o r ad eq u ate level Of functioning as an adult) an d
a stressed child (possessing a "child at-risk" history) could express th e ir in te re st
in p a rtic ip a tin g by contactin g m e b y p h o n e . O ver th e p h o n e, I co nfirm ed th a t
fo u r o f th e a t-risk c rite ria , o r stre sso rs, w e re p re s e n t in e a c h in d iv id u a l's
childhood. I also told each one th a t I w ould b e sending h im /h e r a "Present Profile
Assessment" fo rm (A ppendix HI) along w ith a "Release ,of Inform ation" (A ppendix
IV) form . I w ould give each p erso n a few days to receive th e in fo rm atio n an d th e n
call to m ake a n a p p o in tm en t. D uring this conversation I ask ed each in dividual if
s /h e u n d e rsto o d w hat s /h e was being asked to do. After clarifying an y questions,
I asked each o n e if s /h e still d esired to p a rtic ip a te. If so, I w ould set up a n h o u ra n d -a h a lf ap p o in tm e n t to have th e in dividual tell h is /h e r story.
The n u m b e r of individuals interview ed, a total of ten, was chosen due to tim e
co n straints, th e lack of im m ediate volu n teers, a n d the am o u n t o f info rm atio n ten
interview s g en erate d . A to tal of o v er o n e h u n d re d a n d tw enty pages of single­
spaced n a rra tiv e was ty p e d fo r th e te n p erso n s interview ed.
The n u m b e r o f p erso n s interview ed lim its th e findings in one way, b u t does
n o t lim it th e m in a n o th e r way. Ten p a rtic ip a n ts d id n o t lim it th e findings in th a t
th e analysis rev ealed a com m on them e ru n n in g th ro u g h o u t the n arrativ es (Strauss
& Corbin, 1990). For exam ple, in this stu d y o n e com m on th em e was th a t stressful
social in te ra ctio n s led to a n e e d fo r escape. On th e o th e r h a n d , th ese findings
m ay be lim ited in th a t all th e possible sub-them es w ithin a com m on them e w ere
n o t fully disclosed. For exam ple, two. sub-them es w ere discovered in this stu d y in
32
re g a rd to escape. One sub-them e was a p h y sical escape, such as rem oving o n e 's
self from th e im m ediate geographical area. The second was a m en tal escape, such
as disassociation o r depression. The possibility o f increasing, th e n u m b e r of sub­
them es fo r a given .them e grows w ith a n expansion in the size o f th e population.
The ten perso n s interview ed ra n g e d ,in age from 26 to 65 years. Three w ere
26, 33, a n d 65 years of age, five w ere in th e ir 40's, an d th e rem ain in g two in th e ir
50's. T here w ere fo u r m ales a n d six fem ales. T h eir occupations in clu d ed th a t o f
e lectrician , p lu m b e r, S tate re p re se n ta tiv e , tire salesp erso n , housew ife, sch o o l
a d m in istra to r, sec re ta ry , counselo r, college stu d en t, a n d m in iste r. T hey w e re
ra is e d in sm all towns', cities, s u b u rb a n a re as, farm s, a n d ra n c h e s fro m th e
m idw estern states to California. All w ere o f C aucasian origin.
O riginally it was in te n d e d th a t th e sam p le p o p u la tio n co n sist o f a h ig h ly
selected, p u rified sam ple o f "optim ally" fu n ctio n in g ad u lts (Beavers & H am pson,
1990) w ho h a d a h isto ry of being stressed ch ild re n (W em er & Sm ith, 1992). The
second c rite ria , th a t o f having a ch ild h o o d h isto ry containing stress, was strictly
kept. However, th e first criteria, th a t o f bein g a n "optim ally" fu n ctio n in g ad u lt,
was m odified because a p u re sam ple o f "optim al" adults willing to b e interview ed
was n o t available.
T he fact th a t th e re w ere n o t enough willing, "optim al" ad u lts
to be interview ed is n o t a surp rise since Beavers a n d H am pson in d ic a te th ey also
h a d a h a rd tim e finding optim ally functioning families. Instead, b o th "optimally"
a n d "adequately" fun ctio n in g ad u lts w ere interview ed fo r this stu d y (Beavers &
H am pson, 1990).
The H ealth C om petence score is a n u m erical value w hich describes th e w ay
a n in d iv id u al usually acts in social in teractio n s. This score was u sed as a w ay to
c o n firm th a t th e in d iv id u a ls in th e sam p le p o p u la tio n w ere o p tim a lly o r
a d eq u ately functioning adults.
33
To d e term in e w h e th er o r n o t a can d id a te fell w ithin Beavers a n d H am pson's
(1990) H e alth /C o m p e te n ce co n tin u u m fo r o p tim ally o r a d e q u a te ly fu n ctio n in g
ad u lts, I ask ed each in d iv id u a l two sets o f questions. The first set o f questions
liste d e ig h t c rite ria th a t a re c h ara c te ristic o f a n o p tim ally fu n ctio n in g a d u lt
(D ocum ent II). These eight crite ria w ere th o se given by Beavers a n d H am pson in
th e ir book Successful Fam ihes (1990). T h eir m odel fo r fam ily assessm ent views
h e alth y , c o m p eten t p eo p le as in d iv id u als w ho possess c e rta in re la tio n a l skills.
The first set of eight c rite ria was sim ply a listing of eight g en eral relatio n al skills.
Each p e rso n w ho ag reed to be interview ed m ark ed six o r m o re o f th e criteria a n d
view ed them selves as a w ell-functioning ad u lt.
T he seco n d set o f q uestion s n u m b e re d thirty-six a n d w ere m o d ified fro m
Beavers a n d H am pson's Self-Reporting Fam ily In v en to ry (1990) (A ppendix III).
This second set e x p a n d e d th e in itial eig h t c rite ria b y asking specific q uestions
a b o u t o n e 's re la tio n a l skills. For exam ple, "I p a y a tte n tio n to o th e r p e o p le ’s
feelings", "I com pete a n d tig h t w ith others", a n d "I am p ro u d o f being close to m y
p re s e n t fa m ily /frie n d s" w ere th re e o f th e th irty -six re la tio n a l statem en ts. T h e
re su lt p laced th e can d id ates along a n u m b e r line. This n u m b e r line is re fe rre d to
by Beavers a n d H am pson (1990) as a H ealth/C om petence co n tin u u m . Along this
H ealth/C om petence c o n tin u u m th e re are five Sections. Each section has its own
set o f re la tio n a l abilities. These re la tio n a l ch aracteristics, as liste d in Figure 2
below, v ary from section to section.
The a ctu a l scores fo r indiv id u als in terv iew ed ran g ed fro m 2.4 to 4.9 along
th e H ealth/C om petence c o n tin u u m w ith 1.9 being th e low est possible score a n d
10 th e highest. The in te n t in knowing th e H ealth/C om petence n u m erical value of
th e perso n s interview ed was to confirm th a t p articip an ts fell w ith in th e optim al to
a d e q u a te h e a lth com petence ran g e. Care n eed s to be tak en h e re since Beavers
34
a n d H am pson (1990) them selves in d icate th a t scores th a t lie tow ards the optim al
en d of the scale lose their accuracy of p rediction.
Figure 2. H ealth/C om petence A ssessm ent A dapted from Beavers a n d Hampson
HEALTH COMPETENCE RANGES
Capable of negotiation; individual choice and
ambivalence respected; warmth, intimacy, and/or
humor present
OPTIMAL
(I TO 2)
Relatively clear boundaries; negotiating, but with pain;
ambivalence reluctantly recognized; some periods of
warmth and sharing interspersed with control struggles
ADEQUATE
(3 TO 4)
Relatively clear communication; constant effort at control;
"loving" means controlling; distancing, anger, anxiety, and/
or depression present; ambivalence handled by repression
MIDRANGE
(5 TO 6)
Shifting from chaotic to tyrannical control efforts;
boundaries fluctuate from poor to rigid; distancing,
depression, and/or outbursts of rage present
BORDERLINE
(7 TO 8)
Poor boundaries; confused communication; lack of
shared attentional focus; stereotyped family process;
despair, cynicism, and/or denial of ambivalence present
SEVERELY
DYSFUNCTIONAL
(9 TO 10)
It can be said th a t a ran g e does exist betw een 2.4 a n d 4.9: a ran g e of som e
tw enty-five points on an initial test th a t h a d the po ten tial o f a m inim um score o f
n in e te en a n d a m axim um score of ninety-five. I view this d ifferen ce of tw entyfive points as g re a ter th a n w hat could be a ttrib u te d to a p o ten tial m argin of e rro r
(May, M asson & H unter, 1990).
It can be said th a t a d iffe re n c e does exist
am o n g st th e sam ple p o p u la tio n o n th e H ealth /C o m p eten ce co n tin u u m .
The
question becom es, w hat does th a t difference actually mean?
A h ig h er score of 4+ on the H ealth/C om petence n u m b e r line indicates th e
likelihood th a t these individuals' social in teractio n s o p erate, a t th e p resen t tim e,
on a d ifferen t qualitative level than those w ith a 2+ num erical value. For exam ple,
th o se in th e optim al gro u p a re cap ab le of neg o tiatio n , b u t so a re those in th e
35
a d eq u a te group. It's ju st th a t th o se in th e a d eq u a te group experience m ore p ain
w hen th e y negotiate, it's h a rd e r fo r them , b u t th ey still can n egotiate. Both levels
o f social in te ra c tio n w ere d e em e d accep tab le fo r th e sam ple p o p u la tio n in this
study.
The c rite ria fo r factors th a t d e te rm in e d if a child was at-risk w ere a d a p te d
from W erner a n d Sm ith's (1992) 30-year plus lon g itu d in al stu d y o n th e Hawaiian
Islands.
W ern er a n d Sm ith (1992) clearly in d ic a te d in th e ir b o o k O vercom ing
th e O dds (1992), th a t th e p resen ce of only one risk facto r w ould b e sufficient to
place an y child at risk. To assure th a t a can d id ate in this stu d y was tru ly at-risk as
a child, it w as re q u ire d th a t fo u r risk facto rs b e p re s e n t in h is /h e r ch ild h o o d
h isto ry . All p e rso n s in terv iew ed d id in d ic a te th a t th e y h a d fo u r o r m ore, risk
factors in th e ir childhood history.
In d iv id u a l risk fa c to rs a re c o n sid e re d stresso rs.
T hese stre sso rs can b e
assigned a n u m erical stren g th . T h at Is to say, some stress facto rs have a g re a ter
o r le sse r p o te n tia l fo r placin g a c h ild at-risk .
W ern er a n d S m ith 's (1 9 9 2 )
longitu d in al stu d y fo u n d d ifferen t r values fo r each stress o r risk factor. The risk
factors ta k en fro m W em e r a n d Sm ith's lo n g itu d in al stu d y th a t w ere p re se n t in
o u r sam ple population h a d r = .6 to r = I.
An exam ple of th e im pact of th e r, o r co rrelation, value o f a stress facto r to
p o ten tial risk can be seen in th e exam ple of driving a car (May, M asson, & H unter,
1990). If a n r value is th o u g h t of as th e sp eed of an autom obile, th e n we could
co n sid er th e r value of .6 to m ean th a t o n e is traveling a t sixty m iles-an-hour. If
th e r value o f I equals one h u n d re d m iles-an -h o u r th e n it's easy to u n d e rsta n d
th a t a c ar going th a t speed has a g re a ter p o te n tia l fo r h u rtin g th e occupants th a n
th e one going sixty m iles-an-hour. However, we all know th a t even a t sixty milesa n -h o u r driving can be dangerous. So it is w ith th e risk factors in this study. The
36
speed ran g e o f these risk factors w ere betw een r = .6 a n d r = I a n d a t least fo u r o r
m ore o f th ese h igh-speed risk factors h a d to be p re se n t in each o n e's ch ild h o o d
betw een b irth a n d age 18. All fo u r risk factors w ere betw een r = .6 an d r = I.
It is tru e th a t th e risk factors each p e rso n faced were d ifferen t. One p erso n
lo st h is /h e r p a re n ts to d eath . A n o th er p e rso n was b o m p re m a tu re w hich led to
below n o rm a l physical d ev elopm en t a n d n u m ero u s illnesses. O thers en co u n tered
p ro fo u n d conflict w ith p a re n ts, h a d reco rd s o f delinquency, failed school, o r h a d
m en tal problem s. Regardless o f th e n a tu re o f th e stressors, each was capable o f
placing a ch ild a t risk. W ith th e aw areness th a t n o t one, b u t fo u r o r m ore such
factors w ere re p o rte d in each p e rso n 's life, th e likelihood th a t th ese individuals
w ere tru ly a t risk as c h ild ren dram atically increases.
To h e lp th e re a d e r u n d e rs ta n d th e stress these p erso n s faced I've g ro u p ed
th e m according to th e ir p a rtic u la r risk facto rs. Figure 3 re p re se n ts th e sam ple
population a n d th e stressors they e n co u n te re d as children a n d youth.
Figure 3. Stressors P resent in th e Sam ple Population
Indiv id u al #1
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
Ages 1 7 /1 8
My m o th e r was p re g n a n t w ith a sibling before
I was age 2.
I experienced co n tin u al conflict betw een m y
p a re n ts.
I got m arried .
I h a d conflict w ith m y father.
I h a d a re c o rd o f delinquency.
Ind iv id u al #2
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
I lived in poverty.
I h a d a n u m b e r o f illnesses.
I n eed ed to see a m en tal h ealth counselor.
I h a d conflict w ith m y m other.
I h a d conflict w ith m y father.
I becam e p re g n a n t (ages 11 & 14).
37
In d iv id u al #3
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
I experien ced co n tin u al conflict betw een p arents.
I lived in poverty.
I h a d conflict w ith m y father.
I h a d conflict w ith m y m other.
My fa th e r was p e rm a n en tly a b sen t (divorced).
Ind iv id u al #4
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 1 7 /1 8
I was below n o rm al in social developm ent.
I h a d a sibling leave hom e.
I h a d a sibling w ho was h an d icap p ed .
My m o th er was m entally ill.
I n eed ed to see a m ental h ealth counselor.
I h a d m ental h e alth problem s.
In d iv id u al #5
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
Ages 1 7 /1 8
I lived in poverty.
I lived in poverty.
My m o th er was p erm an en tly ab sen t (death).
My fa th e r was p erm an en tly ab sen t (d eath ).
I lived in poverty.
I was placed in fo ster care.
I h a d a re c o rd o f delinquency.
Indiv id u al #6
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
My m o th er was p re g n a n t w ith a sibling before
I was age 2.
I h a d a sibling leave hom e.
My m o th er was m entally ill.
I experienced co n tin u al conflict betw een m y
p a re n ts.
I h a d conflict w ith m y m other.
Indiv id u al #7
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
I h a d a sibling leave hom e.
I h a d a n u m b e r o f illnesses.
I experienced co n tin u al conflict betw een m y
p a re n ts.
I h a d conflict w ith m y m other.
Ind iv id u al #8
Before age 2
My m o th er was p re g n a n t w ith a sibling before I
was age 2.
I h a d a n u m b e r o f p erso n al illnesses.
38
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
I lived in poverty.
My fa th e r was p e rm a n en tly a b se n t (divorce).
My m o th e r re m a rrie d a n d /o r I h a d conflict
w ith m y step -fath er.
I h a d a sibling leave hom e.
My m o th e r was m entally ill.
I lived in poverty.
In d iv id u al #9
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
Ages 1 7 /1 8 .
I h a d a n u m b e r of illnesses.
I experienced co ntinual conflict betw een m y
p a re n ts.
I n e ed e d to see a m en tal h e alth counselor.
I h a d conflict w ith m y father.
I h a d m en tal h e a lth problem s.
I failed school.
In d iv id u al #10
Before age 2
Age 2 to 10
Ages 11 to 18
Ages 1 7 /1 8 .
I experien ced p ro lo n g e d d isru p tio n
in m y fam ily life a t age I.
I h a d a n u m b e r o f p erso n al illnesses.
I was below n o rm al in physical developm ent.
I h a d a n u m b e r o f illnesses.
I n e e d e d special education, C hapter I, etc.
I was p laced in fo ster care.
I h a d conflict w ith m y m other.
I h a d a re c o rd of delinquency.
I h a d m en tal h e a lth problem s.
I failed school.
Storytelling as M ethodology
I chose th e m e th o d o f storytelling to o b ta in th e in fo rm atio n I sought in th is
s tu d y (C uba, 1978; Kirk & M iller, 1986; Locke, S pirduso & S ilv erm an , 1988;
M orgaine, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). This m e th o d of storytelling le n d s itself
to th e p e rso n a liz e d n a tu re o f im ages w h ich a re b e st d isc o v e re d th ro u g h a n
in te ra c tiv e
d ia lo g u e (H u ltg re n , 1989) w ith o n e tr a in e d to focus o n th e
h e rm e n e u tic an aly sis o f re la tio n a l in te ra c tio n s (B roderick & Pulliam -K rager,
1 9 8 0 ).
39
T he p e rso n a liz e d n a tu re o f im ages m ean s th a t o n ly th e a d u lts w ho w ere
s tre ss e d c an re c o n s tru c t th e im ages (Jasp ars, F in ch am & Hews to n e, 1983;
K ruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983; Lalljee & A belson, 1983). The v alid ity of
this stu d y is n o t d e p e n d e n t Upon th e a d u lts a cc u ra te ly re c o n stru c tin g p u re ,
u n ta in te d im ages th ey once possessed in th e ir ch ild h o o d .o r y o u th . T hose'im ages
h av e since ch an g e d by th e in creased abilities o f th ese a d u lts to a rtic u la te th e ir
p a st experiences. T hese ad u lts re in te rp re te d th e se p a st im ages b y red efin in g
th em w ith new know ledge a n d some of th e ad u lts fo u n d em otional closure th ro u g h
th e ra p y .
The validity o f this stu d y is based u p o n th e adults accu rately com m unicating
th e ir p re se n t re c o n stru cte d im ages of th e ir p a st childhood a n d y o u th . Since these
adults are th e original source fo r these re c o n stru cte d im ages, th e only breakdow n
in v alid ity w ould Ue w ith th e in te rp re te r. Since I am th e in te rp re te r, it m u st b e
recognized th a t I am a n in te rp re tiv e tool in this study.
The Place o f th e Interview er
I becam e a n assessm ent tool fo r each sto ry (Burr & Klein, 1994; H u ltg ren ,
1989; M orgaine, 1992; Strauss & C orbin, 1990). My th e ra p e u tic b ack g ro u n d in
m arriag e a n d fam ily th e ra p y co n trib u te d to th e rehabiU ty in accu rately reteUing
th e stories of th e a d u lt p o p u latio n (Cuba, 1978). This b ack g ro u n d also p ro v id ed
e th ic a l sa fe g u a rd s to th e in terv iew in g p ro cess.
It d id th is b y p ro v id in g a
sensitivity to com fort lim its in self-disclosure a n d /o r th e n e e d fo r m itigating th e
im p a c t o f aw akening sleeping ghosts th ro u g h active listen in g , re fra m in g , o r
re fe rra l if n e e d existed (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). In a h interview s, th e p rim a ry
p u rp o se re s te d solely in g atherin g in fo rm atio n a n d n o t th e ra p e u tic in te rv e n tio n
(Cuba, 1978; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
40
As s ta te d e arlier, v alid ity itse lf resid es in th e sto ry (Kirk & M iller, 1986;
Strauss & C orbin, 1990). Reliability, on th e o th e r h a n d , is view ed in two ways.
First, reliab ility is defin ed in th e accuracy o f th e storyteller's perceptions. I fo u n d
no evidence to in d icate th a t a sto ry teller's n a rra tiv e was n o t v alid (Burr & Klein,
1994).
The pictures, like w ater u sed to p rim e a pum p, h e lp ed to reco n stru ct p a st
m em ories of childhood a n d youth . W hat was to ld by th e sto ry teller was accu rate
a n d tru e according to th e ir own perceptions (Beliak, 1986; Schwartz & Eagle, 1986;
Sem eonoff, 1976).
A second w ay to view reliab ility is asso ciated w ith th e cap acity to re p e a t a
p a rtic u la r m e th o d (Kirk & Miller, 1986). If o n e takes a D utch chocolate brow nie
re c ip e fro m a g re a t-g ra n d m o th e r's co o kbook a n d follows th e in stru c tio n s as
w ritten, th e n one will be able to m ake sim ilar brow nies. T he realizatio n th a t th e
consistency o f flo u r o r cocoa fro m th e 1930's m ight have ch an g ed over th e y ears
does n o t stop a n y o n e fro m ap p ro x im atin g th e recipe. In th e o ry , if one h a d a
sim ilar p o p u latio n o f storytellers, follow ed th e sam e set o f q u estio n s b ased u p o n
h y pothesis form ation, a n d h a d a sim ilar b ack g ro u n d as I in m a rria g e a n d fam ily
th e ra p y , th e n th e resu lts w ould b e sim ilar. Results w ould n e v e r be exactly th e
sam e, how ever, since storytellers an d in te rp re te r could n o t be cloned.
My ow n in flu en c e u p o n th e s to ry te lle r's a b ility to s h a re a cc u ra te ly a n d
reliab ly c an n o t be m easu red . I fo u n d n o in d icatio n th a t m y p h y sical presence o r
a ttitu d e influ en ced the p articip an ts to th e p o in t w here th ey co u ld n o t share th e ir
im ages accurately. It is tru e th a t one m ale p a rtic ip a n t only chose one p ictu re to
re p re se n t his childhood. All o th e r p articip an ts chose five to fifteen pictures fro m
w hich to tell th e ir stories. I a ttrib u te th e use of only one p ictu re to th e age of th e
p a rtic ip a n t a n d n o t m y presence. The p ic tu re s used w ere scenes typical of th e
1940's to 1960's.
This y o u n g e st p a rtic ip a n t was b o rn in 1969 w hich m ig h t
41
in d ic a te th a t h e was u n ab le to c o rre la te his m em ories w ith m an y of th e d a te d
im ages in th e pictures.
The p ro je c tiv e n a tu re o f th e q u e stio n s I ask ed in v ite d th e sto ry te lle r to
re c o n stru ct th e ir in n e r im ages. Some of these im ages a p p ea re d to c arry the sam e
m uscular o r kinetic resp o n se as th e y d id in th e sto ry teller's childhood. Over th e
years, how ever, th ese im ages h av e b eco m e d e fin e d b y th e usage o f la n g u a g e
(K antor & Lehr, 1985; Nichols, 1984). Take fo r exam ple these two storytellers who
talk a b o u t th e in a rd c u la te d sham e th e y felt as a child. Only a fte r som e tim e w ere
th ey able to articu late w ith w ords th e im ages th e y felt.
S toryteller One. This is so rt o f a, n o t a to tal connection w ith th e im age
of sexuality a n d fertility a n d so on. W asn't som ething I was really aware
of grow ing up. In a lo t o f ways I was ex trem ely naive. I h a d a deep
sense of sham e a n d I d id n 't know w h at it was. There was a p o in t w here
I becam e aw are th a t a neigh b o r's child was m y fath er's child. These two
peo p le h a d b e en involved. W hen th e divorce p a p ers cam e I sneaked
a n d re a d them , b e ca u se n o b o d y show ed th e m to m e. T h e re w as
som ething a b o u t a n illegitim ate child. So, this sense o f n o t looking a t it
directly. T h at it is th e re in th e b ack g ro u n d . I vaguely knew before I
re a d th e divorce papers.
S to ry te lle r two. UJhen you u s e d t h e w o r d s h a m e . That feeling of
s h a m e o r possibly of h e r fe e li n g a s h a m e d of you
UJhen would
you h a u e b e e n a w a r e of t h a t ... h o w old would you h a u e b e e n ?
Well, it's n o t a th in g th a t I co u ld id e n tify th en . I m e a n like this is
sham e th a t I am feeling. But I d o n 't know , m aybe som ew here a ro u n d
th ird or fo u rth grade. It m ay have gone back fa rth e r th a n th at.
The reco n stru cte d im ages o f childhood, told by an adult, w ith a d u lt language
a n d th e a d u lt's ability fo r a b stra c t th o u g h t m ay still cap tu re th e full m eaning of
th e im age in its n a tu ra l, k inetic state.
in tim a c y s h a re d b y a n in fa n t.
T ake fo r exam ple th e ex p erien ce o f
It is b e lie v e d th a t a n in fa n t's ex p erien ce o f
in tim acy e m b e d d e d a n im age of "trust" in to th a t in fa n t o r fo r a young child a
sense of "industry" can be e m b ed d e d as. a n im age as well (Erikson, 1955). The
im ages o f c h ild h o o d a n d y o u th m ay still re m a in in ta c t, o n ly e x p a n d e d in
u n d erstan d in g by th e use of language a n d im agery (Freud, cited in Beliak, 1986)..
42
T h ere is also th e possibility th a t new im ages have biased th e in te rp re ta tio n
of o ld e r im ages. The only w ay to d eterm in e th e accuracy of re c o n stru cte d im ages
in a n a d u lt p o p u la tio n w ho w ere severely stre sse d as ch ild re n w ould be to do a
longitudinal stu d y starting w ith c h ild ren w ho are stressed.
As a liste n e r th e re w ere tim es w hen I n e e d e d to e n te r in to a n in te ra ctiv e
d ialogue w ith th e sto ry te lle r (G uba, 1978; H ultgren, 1989; S trau ss & C orbin,
1990). I h a d to sep arate m y own sto ry fro m th e ir stories a n d g a th er d a ta utilizing
feed b ack tech n iq u es to clarify co n fu sio n o r a p p a re n t in co n g ru ities (G riffith &
Coleman, 1988). The ability to view process, aside from content, m e a n t th a t I was
able to d escrib e th e p a tte rn s o f in te ra c tio n s w ith in th e sto ry a n d assess each
sto ry te lle r's a b ility to th in k a n d a c t fo r h im /h e rs e lf (N ichols, 1984). This is
im p o rta n t in u n d e rstan d in g w h e th er th e ch ild h o o d im ages w ere self-generated o r
scripted from o th ers in th e ir socializing com m unity (Lalljee & A belson, 1983).
S torytellin g
Each individual from th e sam ple p o p u latio n was asked to select from a set of
pictu res scenes th a t "elicited" a resp o n se fro m childhood. One p e rso n chose only
a single p ic tu re w hereas th e re s t chose betw een five a n d fifteen p ictures. These
p ictu res w ere fro m th e T hem atic A ppreciation Test an d w ere u tilized because o f
th e ir projective qualities. A projective p ictu re p resen ts a w ell-defined p erso n in a
not-so-w ell-defined situ atio n in o rd e r to sp ark the im ag in atio n as to the action
th a t is taking place (Beliak, 1986).
Each in d iv id u a l fro m th e sam ple p o p u la tio n was to tak e th e p ic tu re s s /h e
sele c ted a n d tell th e sto rie s th a t re m in d e d h im /h e r o f h i s / h e r c h ild h o o d
(H ultgren, 1989; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Some stories w ere of good an d p leasan t
43
m em ories. O ther stories co n tain ed conflict a n d stress. Each in d iv id u al took one
scene a t a tim e a n d reco n stru cted a sto ry a b o u t h is /h e r childhood.
I w ould ask th e sto ry teller a questio n th a t w ould start th e sto ry rolling; "Who
a re th e m ain c h a ra c te rs a n d w h a t a re th e y doing?" A fter th e sto ry was told, I
w ould ask, if it was n o t y e t evident, a second question; "W hat conflict is present?"
A fter th is I w a n te d to know , "To w h a t co n clu sio n s d id y o u com e a fte r th is
encounter?"
A fter all th e stories w ere told, I su m m arized th e conflicts th a t the individual
h a d e n co u n te re d a n d th e n asked each one to p a in t m e a p ic tu re o f a scene th a t
w ould be in d ire c t c o n tra st.
C o n tra st is u sed in th e a ttrib u tio n p ro cess o f
hyp o th esis fo rm atio n to m otivate a p e rso n to develop fu rth e r h y p o th eses a b o u t
re a lity (Lalljee & A belson, 1983).
I th e n asked a n im agery question th a t I picked up fro m S h aro n Parks (1986),
a u th o r of Faith D evelopm ent a n d Fowler. She to ld me a t a sem in ar in W isconsin
ab o u t w ork th a t she h a d d o n e w ith stressed children. She said th e m ost im p o rtan t
q u estion h e r re se a rc h gro u p asked th e ir sam ple p o p u latio n was, "W hat was y o u r
source o f lig h t in th e m id st o f darkness?" T he answ er to th is q u estio n pro v id es
som e in sig h t in to a p e rso n 's aw areness of co n trasts th a t could p ro v id e know ledge
fo r new h y p o th e se s (Lalljee & A belson, 1983). This q u e stio n also allow ed th e
sto ry te lle rs a n o p p o rtu n ity to sh are th e ir w isdom in term s o f w h at th ey h a d
le a rn e d .
An e le m e n t in th e stories, fo r w hich I h a d n o t p re p a re d m yself, was th e
existence o f w h a t F orm an calls coping skills (1993). In h in d sig h t, I w ould have
a d d e d a q u estio n to h e lp d ra w o u t each in d iv id u a l's a d o p te d coping skills. In
m ost of th e narratives, how ever, the a d o p ted coping skills becam e ap p aren t.
44
T he stories th a t em erg ed flow ed o u t o f th e reco n stru cte d m em ories a n d th e
dialogical p ro m p tin g of th e pictu res. Each sto ry followed th e scrip t of the teller.
For example,
"She w ent to th e w elfare office a n d th e re was this w elfare w om an th a t
w ould com e o u t from Rapid City. Mom said, 'I think I'm going to have to
go a n d see a b o u t w elfare.'. T h a t was ex trem ely h u m ilia tin g to h e r
because a t th a t tim e they p u b lish ed y o u r n am e in th e p a p e r if you took
w elfare. The one tim e she w ent to get w elfare the w om an said th a t h e r
h ouse was too nice. Som etim e b e fo re th e divorce was fin al d a d h a d
b o u g h t this house. He was going to a d d o n to it. As it tu rn e d o u t it was
basically a one-bedroom , ta r p a p e r shack. But a t least m om was m aking
m o n th ly p ay m en ts a n d she was going to own it in 30 y e a r's tim e. The
w elfare w om an told h e r th at, th a t was to o m uch to b e p ay in g —th a t she
n e e d e d to be paying only $50 a m o n th a n d th a t she was going to m ake
us m ove if we took welfare. Finally she gave m om $50. T h en m om came
hom e again crying how awful th a t was a n d th a t she w a sn 't going to be
able to get anym ore unless she m oved us. So no m a tte r w hat, we m ade
do. T h ere w ere tim es w hen th e re was n o th in g in th e frig! Nothing!"
By allow ing th e sto ry to u n fo ld I d isco v ered a unique pow er in h e re n t in th e
sto rytelling process (H ultgren, 1989). "So n o m a tte r w hat, we m ad e do. T here
w ere tim es w hen th e re was n othin g in th e frig! Nothing!"
How th e Q uestions are Linked to Theory
A set of q u estio n s (A ppendix I) a b o u t e ac h p ic tu re was ask ed o f each
sto ry te lle r.
T hese q u e stio n s ev o lv ed o u t o f m y u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e basic
elem en ts o f lay-epistem ology a n d th e a ttrib u tio n th e o ry fo r im age fo rm atio n
(Jaspars, Fincham , & Hewstone, 1983; Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983; Lalljee
& A belson, 1983). Specifically, these q u estio n s focused u p o n th e goals of m ain
actors, assessing re sid e n t conflicts betw een those goals, becom ing aw are of know n
scripts, plus an y p re d ic ted covarian t o r existing pre-conditions (Lalljee & Abelson,
1983).
T hese q u e stio n s w ere also re la te d to th e s to ry te lle r's cap acity a n d
m o tivation to create a new hypothesis, to freeze o r unfreeze specific conclusions,
45
to store ideas, a n d to link ideas to one a n o th e r v ia language a n d o th e r form s of
im agery (Kruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983).
At first, I th o u g h t th a t th e focus o f this, thesis w ould an sw er th e question,
"W hy d id th e se s tre sso rs h a p p e n to me?"
This q u e stio n o f ca u se
is th e
a ttrib u tio n a lis t’s m a in q u e stio n in ex p lo rin g com m on know ledge (H ew stone,
1983). A fter listening to th e sto ries o f th e a d u lts in terv iew ed , I re a lize d th a t
im ages b e h in d th e q u estio n a n d n o t th e answ er to th e q u estio n of "why" h e ld
m ore im portance.
I also th o u g h t th a t I w ould hav e som e c o n tro l over th e storytelling process
th a t w ould com e o u t o f a m in d se t c o n ta in in g q u estio n s th a t n e e d e d to b e
answ ered. T he first interview m ad e it clear to m e th a t stories h av e a pow er all
th e ir own (H ultgren, 1989). Q uestions c a n n o t co n tain stories. At b e st th ey can
only guide th e m .. For th a t reason, I m odified m y approach, h i m y m ind, I gave up
try in g to co n tro l th e process. In stead , I allow ed th e stories to follow th e ir ow n
course w hile a t th e sam e tim e rem aining aw are th a t I w an ted to u n d e rsta n d fo u r
re c o n stru c te d areas in h y pothesis form ation: a) th e goals of th e m ain ch aracters
b) a n y conflicts betw een th e m ain ch arac te rs' goals c) th e p a tte rn s o f in teractio n
betw een th e m ain characters, a n d d) events th a t w ould p reced e th e scene (Lalljee
& A belson, 1983). T he sto ry te lle r's re c o n s tru c te d goals, co n flict, in te ra c tio n
p a tte rn s a n d p re c ed in g events becam e th e in g re d ie n ts in h e re n t in h y p o th esis
fo rm atio n th a t re su lte d in re c o n stru cte d conclusions a n d th e ab ility to c o n tra st
reality .
In a given scene one or m ore p rin cip le ch aracters exist. Each ch aracter h as a
goal th a t s /h e w ants to re a c h (Lalljee & A belson, 1983). If th e goals of the m ain
c h a ra c te rs a re d ifferen t, o r circu m stan ces like p o v erty a re in c o n tra st to o n e's
goals, th e n th e p o te n tia l fo r co n flict is p re s e n t.
W hen two o r m o re m a in
46
c h arac te rs a re p re se n t in a story, th ese m ain ch aracters m ay choose to recognize
th e ir differing goals an d , fo r th e sake of th e ir relatio n sh ip , n e g o tiate a m u tu ally
satisfa c to ry settlem e n t. If, how ever, a p e rso n (s) o r a p a rtic u la r circu m stan ce
hold(s) m ore pow er a n d th a t person(s) w ant(s) h is /h e r /th eir own goals met, th en a
re a l p o ten tial fo r conflict exists (Jaspars, Fincham , & Hewstone, 1983).
Im agine a t age th re e en co u n terin g a fa th e r figure w hose only in te n t a t th a t
m om ent, w hose only goal, is to listen to th e rad io . It's a sm all house. M other is in
th e k itc h e n fixing d in n e r. Your b a b y siste r is beside you o n th e floor. Y ou're
m aking noise as kids do a n d fa th e r is sitting close to you try in g to listen to th e
evening new s. (It's p re - TV days.) A ngered, b y th e c h a tte r o f th e c h ild ren th e
fa th e r yells out, "D am n it, be q u ie t I am listening to th e news." The in te ra ctio n
betw een th is in d iv id u a l's sto ry a n d m y q u e stio n s a b o u t h is /h e r d e d u ctiv e
processes w ent like this:
I re m e m b er th a t h e was, h e was, always a terrify in g figure to m e. I felt
th a t o u r lives w ere th re a ten e d . T h at's m y m ain m em ory o f him . W hen
I was th re e o r so, th e e arliest m em ories I hav e of him a re h im saying,
'D am n it, be q u iet I am listening to th e news.'
LUhat m a s his goal m h e n he said t h a t ?
Umm, I th in k h e w anted us to disappear.
LUhat m a s yo ur goal mh en he said t h a t ?
N ot to. I certainly d id n 't w an t to get sp an k ed a n d so I certain ly learn ed
to be quiet. On th e o th e r h a n d I th in k th e b o tto m line is I am going to
exist.
Did you m a n t his a t t e n t i o n ?
I d o n 't re m e m b er w anting an y th in g fro m h im except n o t w anting to be
a fra id of him . A nd I was always a fra id o f him . I d id n 't w a n t h im to
spank m e o r m y sister. D uring a lo t of th a t tim e I o ften knew th a t he
was an g ry a t m y sister a n d n o t a t m e so I felt like I h a d to keep h e r ou t
of tro u b le. She was m ore d efian t th a n I was, w ay m ore. He could b eat
h e r a n d she w ouldn't cry. I w ould bawl a t a drop of th e h at, 'Please d o n 't
spank me. I'll be good. I'll be good.'
UJhat conclusion did you come t o ?
Oh, th a t I h a d to b e quiet. I am well aw are of w here th a t m u ten ess
comes from th a t m y frien d talked about.
In h e re n t in this n a rra tio n is a re c o n stru c te d aw areness o f goals, conflict,
p a tte rn s o f in te ra c tio n th a t w ere sc rip te d b y p red ic tab ility , a n d existing p re ­
47
c o n d itio n s w h ich , w h e n c o m b in e d to g e th e r, re s u lte d in a re c o n s tru c te d
hypothesis, conclusions,: o r im ages a b o u t h im /h erself, others, a n d h is /h e r w orld.
The fo u r questions concerning re c o n stru cte d hypothesis fo rm atio n p ro v id ed
a m ental coat rack on w hich to hang ideas. These fo u r questions also gave enough
in fo rm atio n to see th e re c o n stru cte d im ages, o r beliefs, a b o u t individuals, o th ers
in th e ir lives, o r th e ir w orld th a t evolved o u t of th e in teractiv e n a rra tiv e of th e ir
stories. In th e sh o rt n a rra tiv e above, th re e re c o n stru c te d p ic tu re s, o r im ages,
a b o u t th is in te ra c tio n em erged: a) "I re m e m b e r th a t h e was, h e was, always a
terrifyin g figure to m e. I felt th a t o u r lives w ere th reaten ed ." b) "She was m o re
d e fia n t th a n I was, w ay m ore.", a n d c) "I am going to exist." Im ages are spaw ned
in th e fires of interaction, be th ey reco n stru cted in teractio n s o r in teractio n s o f th e
p re s e n t day.
Sum m ary
T he sam p le p o p u la tio n c o n siste d o f te n a d u lts w h o se p r e s e n t so cial
in te ra ctio n s o p e ra te a t a n optim ally o r a d eq u a te ly fu n ctio n in g level (Beavers &
H am pson, 1990).
T he m e th o d o f sto ry te llin g was c h o se n to disclose th e
reco n stru cte d im ages of re a lity th a t these ad u lts h o ld a b o u t th e ir childhood w hen
th e y w ere severely stressed (Guba, 1978; Kirk & Miller, 1986; Locke, Spirduso &
Silverm an, 1988; M orgaine, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
It is th e use of ded u ctiv e logic th a t allows a n in d iv id u al to u n d e rsta n d th e
goals, conflicts, interactions, a n d p re-co n d itio n s th a t are p re se n t in h is /h e r social
in te ra c tio n s.
T he use o f d ed u ctiv e logic as a tool to u n d e rsta n d in g is to tally
c o n tin g e n t u p o n th e p e rso n 's cap acity to c re a te new h y p o th eses, to freeze o r
un freeze specific conclusions, to sto re ideas, a n d to link id eas v ia language" a n d
im ag ery (K ruglanski, Baldwin & Towson, 1983; Lalljee & A belson, 1983). As a
48
liste n e r, I b ecam e o n e of th e a ssessm en t to o ls fo r each sto ry as each p e rso n
re c o n stru c te d h is /h e r use of deductive logic (B urr & Klein, 1994; H ultgren, 1989;
M orgaine, 1992; S trauss & C orbin, 1990).
R eliability re sid es in th e ab ility to
re p e a t this process a n d o b tain sim ilar resu lts w hile validity resid es in the teller's
story (Kirk & Miller, 1986; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
M ethod of D ata Analysis
This section deals w ith two m eth o d s by w hich d a ta was collected. The first
m e th o d of analy sis was d e riv e d fro m th e p ractices of g ro u n d e d th e o ry .
The
second m e th o d o f d a ta analysis is actually p a r t of m y findings. I will begin first
w ith th e m eth o d o f d a ta analysis th a t was d eriv ed from th e p ractice of g ro u n d ed
th eo ry .
The G rounded T heory M ethod of D ata Analysis
All te n interview s, includin g m y q u estio n s a n d each p e rso n 's stories, w ere
re c o rd e d o n to a cassette tap e. Each ta p e was th e n ty p ed v e rb a tim into a w ord
processing p ro g ram th a t h a d th e cap ab ility o f highlighting, copying, pasting, a n d
sorting. In total, one h u n d re d a n d tw enty pages of single-spaced n arrativ es w ere
ty p ed .
W hen people speak th e y do n o t use cap ital letters a n d p erio d s as in w ritten
language.
O ften th e y speak in frag m e n te d sentences, m ixing o n e th o u g h t w ith
a n o th er.
This m eans th a t th e reco rd in g s th a t are tran scrib ed in to w ritten form
suffer p o o r gram m atical syntax. To facilitate u n d erstan d in g , th re e dots (...) w ere
u sed to in d icate a n incom plete th o u g h t. O bviously th e sto ry teller w anted to say
m o re a b o u t a p a rtic u la r item , b u t s /h e ju s t re p h ra se d w h at s /h e was thinking o r
shifted, as if in m idair, to a n o th e r line of th o u g h t. An exam ple follows:
49
I used to say y o u 're never alone cause you have yourself. T here's always
this in n e r w orld. T hat I ... w here I always felt rich to me. T h at th ere ...
th a t no one can get there. T here is som ething safe a n d v alu ab le inside.
T h at you d o n 't have to sh are w ith an y o n e if you d o n 't w an t to. It felt
like a w hole o th e r plan et. T h at I co u ld visit. I could be thinking ... I
was big into T horeau.
Before I ty p ed o u t each interview , I assigned each sto ry teller a num ber. The
n u m b e rs assigned sim ply in d ic a ted w h e th e r th e sto ry teller was th e first, second,
o r th ird , etc. p e rso n interview ed. These n u m b e rs go up to te n since te n p erso n s
w ere interview ed.
A fter ty p in g o u t th e e n tire in terv iew , I b e g an to c ate g o riz e each sto ry
according to levels o f social distancing fro m each storyteller.
O rganizing th e d a ta
acc o rd in g to levels o f social d ista n cin g b eco m es th e basis o f an aly sis fo r a
g ro u n d e d th e o rist (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). It helps to visualize o u r solar system.
In th e c e n te r is th e sun. T hen o u t fro m th e su n a re rings of differing diam eters.
The fu rth e st level, o r orbit, o u t from th e c e n te r describes th e com m unity in w hich
a n in d iv id u al lives. Coming in closer to th e c e n te r w ould b e th e n e x t level w hich
a re su b g ro u p s w ith in th e co m m u n ity .
T h ese su b g ro u p s w o u ld h av e m o re
in te ra c tio n w ith th e sto ry teller. A frie n d co u ld b e a n exam ple o f som eone in a
subgroup. The n ext level tow ards th e cen te r describes fam ily. T he cen ter itself is
th e individual w ith th e social in teractio n th a t occurs w ithin oneself.
W ithin th ese fo u r o rb ita l system s exist sub-levels of social in te ra ctio n w ith
c e rta in p e o p le w ho w ere fa m ilia r to th e ch ild o r y o u th .
A fter re a d in g th e
n arrativ es, I discovered th a t th e social in teractio n s on the co m m u n ity level w ere
p rim arily su b g ro u p s o r frien d s. At th e fam ily level a w hole c ast of ch arac te rs
em erged: fath ers, g ran d fath ers, sibling, etc. At th e in d iv id u al level, I drew u p o n
th e th e o rie s o f th e lay -ep istem o lo g ist a n d sim ply p u t dow n th e elem en ts in
deductive th o u g h t processes: goals of th e m ain ch aracter, conflicts, conclusions,
50
etc.
W hat re su lts, a fte r using th e social in te ra c tio n levels a n d sub-levels o f
g ro u n d e d th e o rists, is th e c re a tio n o f a schem atic ag ain st w hich to o rd e r th e
n arratives. The com pleted form follows in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Levels of Social D istancing based U pon G rounded T heory
Al =
D escription of th e com m unity setting
AB =
D escription of sub-groupings in th e com m unity
1 = Friends
2 = O thers
AC =
D escription of th e fam ily
1 = Mom
2 = Dad
3 = Siblings
4 = G randparents
5 = Extended fam ily
AD =
D escription of th e individuals
1 = M ale/fem ale/age
2 = Images of self
3 = Conflict w ith stress factors in each life
4 = Age o f aw areness
5 = Patterns o f interactio n
6 = The scenes of contrast
7 = Source of light
8 = How th e light affected h is /h e r aw areness o f life
9 = Conclusions
I assigned a le tte r o r n u m b e r to each item fro m th e following organizational
schem a.
T his n u m b e rin g w ould la te r allow m e to s o rt o u t item s of sim ilar
re fe re n c e to a p a rtic u la r social in te ra c tio n level.
In a given interview , th e
sto ry teller w ould m ake referen ce to th e v ario u s item s in d ic a ted in Figure 4, e.g.,
h is /h e r m o th er. W hen a storyteller m en tio n ed h is /h e r m o th er, I w ould note th a t
th e w ord m o th e r was one level of social in te ra c tio n th a t w ould be sorted. Each
tim e I fo u n d th e w ord m other, I w ould copy th e quote in w hich th e w ord m o th e r
a p p ea re d , a n d th e n paste th a t quote. Each p a ste d quote w ould be assigned the
51
sto ry te lle r's n u m b e r. T he q u o te w ould also b e assigned th e a p p ro p ria te level
le tte r(s) a n d sub-level n u m b e r. For exam ple, th e w ords th a t d escrib e th e sixth
storyteller's m o th e r w ould first be assigned th e letters AC w hich designates fam ily
level, th e n u m b e r I w hich indicates th a t a t th e fam ily level th e first sub-level is
m om , a n d th e n th e n u m b e r 6 to in d ic a te th a t all this was to ld by sto ry te lle r
n u m b e r 6.
A typical, categorized p h ra se w ould a p p e a r as follows: AC 16 "T hat
w ould be m y mom! She's ju st a real classy lady."
Assigning th e le tte rs a n d n u m b ers to selected quotes fro m a given n a rra tiv e
like AC 16 above, allow ed m e to so rt all th e p h ra ses fro m o n e sto ry te lle r a b o u t
h is /h e r m o th e r o r an y of th e o th e r sub-levels to g eth er. A fter th is first step o f
sorting occurred, I lu m p e d all ten n a rra tiv e s together. The re su lt was th a t all th e
storytellers' quotes a b o u t m o th er o r conflict w ere com piled together. For exam ple,
w h a t follow s is a selected listing o f q u o tes a b o u t conflict fro m sto ry te lle rs 3
th ro u g h 7.
AD 3 3 W hen I see it as th e sort of a gossipy town, th e conflict w ould be
th a t w ay of keeping secrets a n d n o t keeping secrets. It was h e r way o f
m ain tain in g I am a good w om an. I d o n ’t know w hat p u rp o se it serv ed
in th e town. T here w ere so m an y sick things th a t w ent o n in th a t town.
AD3 4 It's in te rn a l in th e sense o f try in g to cope w ith th e e x te rn a l.
The th in g s th a t w e n t o n in m y fam ily w ere so p ain fu l, b u t I re a lly
p e rc eiv e d it as a p a rt o f life. T h at I th o u g h t th a t life h u r t th a t bad.
T hat th a t's th e w ay it was su pposed to feel. I assum ed th a t I was going
to die young. I really h o p ed th a t I was going to die young! I w ould have
> to cope w ith th e level o f pain . I'd go catato n ic a t tim es. In a w ay th a t
was rebuilding. No one could h u rt m e w hen I was th a t way.
AD35 UJas t h e r e a ny co nfl ic t w i t h t h e i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h y o u r
uncle?
Well, I'm saying th a t th e re was always a little b it of conflict betw een he
a n d I because of th e athletics. He was going to m ake m e q u it one time.
It was on a trip w hen I was a b o u t e ig h th grade, I th in k . He said I
c o u ld n 't go. But I did. He d ra n k a little b it a n d so h e was a little b it
overbearing. M ore so w ith boys th a n h e was w ith women.
52
A D 36 LUhat m e r e y o u r f e e l i n g s w h e n you s a w y o u r mom like
this?
Oh, a m ix tu re I guess o f fe a r, a n x iety , h elp lessn ess. A ... fo r a
co m b in atio n o f re a so n s I guess. I suppose y ou see som eone who ... a
m o th e r o r fa th e r ... y o u r p rim a ry c areg iv e r in a sta te o f w eakness.
T hat's tru ly alarm ing ... b u t fe a r also because o f h e r suffering. She was
sh o rt on p atien ce a n d ill-tem pered. A nd w ould lash out. A fter some of
th a t y o u 're fearful for h e r as well as yourself. Fearful of her.
AD 3 7 I am sure th a t th a t w hole situ a tio n was h a rd fo r h e r because
w hen I was a ju n io r in high school, m y ju n io r a n d sen io r y e a r I lived in
town. We h a d a place in tow n a n d th e n we h a d a lake place, a n d in the
spring m y p a re n ts w ould always m ove o u t to th e lake a n d th e y w ould
live th e re until, oh, th e m id d le o f Septem ber. The su m m er b efo re m y
ju n io r a n d sen io r y e a r I ju st lived in tow n b y myself. I h a d m y own car
a n d it was ju s t easier fo r m y m om n o t to h av e m e a ro u n d a t th a t p o in t
because m y d a d w ould really d rin k in th e sum m er ... I th in k it was ju st
easier a n d it was m y choice.... It was easier fo r m y m om because th e n
she d id n 't h av e to deal w ith conflict betw een m e an d m y d a d because I
d id n 't see him d ru n k all th e tim e in th e sum m er.
The o rg an izatio n of th e n a rra tiv e s in to w orkable pieces o n ly p re p a re d the
n a rra tiv e fo r analysis. It was like th e bishop who organized th e Bible according to
c h a p te r a n d verse. W hat was n e e d e d next was a w ay to in te rp re t this o rg an ized
m aterial. This re a liza tio n u s h e re d in th e seco n d level in th e m eth o d s of d a ta
analysis called herm eneutics.
H erm eneutics as a M ethod of In terp reta tio n
T he second m e th o d of d a ta analysis sp ran g fro m m y fin d in g s. I took th e
s o rte d , o rg a n iz e d p ie ce s o f th e n a rra tiv e s re la tin g to e a c h level of social
in te ra c tio n a n d s ta rte d re a d in g each o n e.
For exam ple, I to o k th e clu ster o f
n arrativ es a b o u t conflict as show n above. I sta rte d reading those narrativ es a b o u t
conflict a n d as I d id I recognized th a t a set of rules n eed ed to be used to organize
the elem ents fo u n d in each n arrativ e.
I was fam iliar w ith a field o f stu d y know n as h erm en eu tics w hich is used to
in te rp re t Biblical n a rra tiv e s (Ramm, 1970 a n d M ickelson, 1974). I knew th ese
53
ru le s w ere n o t d ire c tly a p p lic ab le , b u t th a t th e id e a o f a h e rm e n e u tic fo r
n a rra tiv e s m a d e sense.
My choice w as to c re a te m y ow n h e rm e n e u tic fo r
n arrativ es b ased u p o n th e key elem ents fo u n d in th e n arrativ es.
A New H erm eneutic for N arratives
H erm en eu tics is a w o rd th a t so u n d s like som e co n tag io u s disease.
In
actu ality , h e rm e n e u tic s is th e a rt a n d science of in te rp re ta tio n (Ramm, 1970,
M ickelson, 1974). T he a rt a n d science of in te rp re tin g a n a rra tiv e is m uch like
fishing. W hen one com es to a favorite fishing hole one feels fairly co nfident th a t
th e re are fish to be caught. All one n eed s to know is how to catch them . It is one
thing to know th a t im ages exist w ithin a n a rra tiv e . It is a n o th e r thing to actually
catch, o r recognize, an im age in th e context of a n arrative.
H erm en eu tics is th e science a n d a r t o f catch in g im ages in th e p o n d o f
n a rra tiv e s. It is a science in th a t specific ru les are used. H erm eneutics is also a n
a rt in th a t one has to know how to apply th e rules.
The h e rm e n eu tic in te rp re ta tio n o f n a rra tiv e s views th e fo u r levels o f social
in te ra ctio n (com m unity, subgroups in com m unity, family, a n d th e individual) as
b ro a d social aren as m u ch like nu m ero u s b aseb all diam onds a t a little league park.
In a little league p a rk w ith fo u r sep arate playing fields, a n u m b e r of games can be
p la y ed a t th e sam e tim e. On each of the fo u r playing fields, o r in o u r case ,levels
of social in te ra ctio n , th e sam e ru les w ould ap p ly fo r each gam e. T he ru les fo r
in te rp re tin g n a rra tiv e s p la y e d a t th e fo u r d iffe re n t social in te ra c tio n levels
evolved by finding th e m ajo r organizational elem ents in a given n arrativ e. W hat
follows in Figure 5 is a list of rules for n a rra tiv e in terp retatio n .
54
Figure 5. A Sum m ary o f H erm eneutical Rules D erived from N arratives
1)
Nouns are persons, places, an d things which m ay take o n m ore
th a n th e ir original m eaning.
2)
The story line, o r n arrativ e, tells w hat social interactions are
occurring in th e context o f a person, place, o r thing.
3)
W ords th a t actually describe the person, place, o r thing a re images
of reality th a t the storyteller ascribes to these nouns.
4)
Scripted behaviors create new sto ry lines based u p o n th e actor's
im ages of reality.
Integrating G rounded T heory w ith H erm eneutics
W hat I have d o n e so fa r is to take th e levels of social in te ra ctio n s w hich are
organized along th e thinking of g ro u n d e d th eo rists a n d in te rp re t th ese levels o f
social in te ra c tio n acco rd in g to a set of h e rm a n u tic a l ru les.
P erh ap s a sim ple
pictu re w ould be helpful.
Figure 4 re p re se n ts th e levels a n d sub-levels w here th e social in teractio n s of
th e n a rra tiv e actually occurred. It's as if Figure 4 is a stre e t m ap . Figure 4 tells
w here, o r w ith whom, o r p erh ap s th e topic of a given social in teractio n w ith one of
th e sto ry tellers. W hat Figure 4 does n o t tell is w h at h a p p e n e d .
For exam ple,
g ro u n d e d th e o ry tells a police officer th a t a n accid en t o ccu rred a t th e c o rn e r of
N inth a n d T racy betw een Joe Sm ith a n d Jan e Doe. H erm eneutics tells how th e
accident h ap p en e d a t th e c o m e r of N inth a n d Tracy.
Figure 6 com bines Figure 4 a n d Figure 5 to p rovide a n o rg an izatio n al a n d
in te rp re tiv e m atrix. This figure re p re se n ts th e th eo retical c o n fig u ratio n o f th e
four levels of social in teraction in which we could expect to fin d o u r storyteller: A)
th e co m m u n ity setting, AB) th e sub-groups in th e co m m u n ity setting, AC) th e
family, a n d AD) th e individual. It also lists, across th e top, th e fo u r basic elem ents
55
fo u n d in th e stories: a) nouns, b) n a rra tiv e (action), c) descriptive w ords, a n d d)
scrip ted behaviors.
Figure 6. The A ssessm ent of N arratives
NOUNS
A)
comm unity
AB)
community
sub-groups
AC)
family
STORY LINE
DESCRIPTIVE WORDS
SCRIPTED BEHAVIORS
AD) individual
In te rp retin g N arratives
A n a rra tiv e can occur as a string o f n a rra tiv e s from a single sto ry teller o r as
clusters. T he a b o v e-m en tio n ed n a rra tiv e s a b o u t conflict fo r sto ry te lle rs th re e
th ro u g h six is a n exam ple o f clu stere d n a rra tiv e s a b o u t o n e subject, b u t fro m
d iffe re n t sources. T he in te rp re ta tio n o f a .sin g le sto ry te lle r's n a rra tiv e s is th e
sim plest to u n d e rs ta n d a n d so I describe th a t process first. T he com parison o f a
cluster of n a rra tiv e s from d ifferen t sources is m ore com plicated. I begin w ith th e
in te rp re ta tio n of a single storyteller's string o f n arrativ es using Figure 8.
In terp retin g a Single N arrative
T here a re now actually fo u r points w here one can begin th e in te rp re ta tio n of
a single n a rra tiv e : w ith th e nouns, th e sto ry line, th e im ages, o r behaviors. One
can list n o u n s th a t th e sto ry teller m ig h t use o r re p e a t in h is /h e r n a rra tiv e . The
p e rso n m ay m en tio n h is /h e r fath er, the Popo Agie River, o r h is /h e r car. T here is
a good possibility th a t b eh in d each n o u n is a story. One can ask th e storyteller to
sh are a few m ore n a rra tiv e s b eh in d th e p ersons, places, a n d th in g s to w hich s /h e
56
first m ade reference in h is /h e r conversation.
Take, fo r exam ple, this storyteller's
reference to h is /h e r fa th e r w hen talking as a n a d u lt w ith h is /h e r best friend.
AS Did you know th a t Billy's d a d was m y fa th e r?
And she said, "Oh, yes."
W hen Billy grew up to be a b o u t 15 it was obvious h e was beginning to
look a n d talk a n d sou n d m o re like m y d a d th a n an y kids from both
fam ilies. T hat fam ily m oved aw ay. Finding o u t w hen I was 30 o r so
th a t th e whole tow n knew th e secret th a t I h a d been keeping fo r years.
Almost the whole town. I th o u g h t it was a secret I h a d to keep.
Figure 6 allows one to slowly break dow n all of this storyteller's narrative into
sim ple p a rts. I began w ith th e social in te ra c tio n level o f com m unity an d th e n
w o rk ed d o w n w ard .
At e a c h level o f so cial in te ra c tio n I u sed th e sam e
h erm eneutical rules w hile in te rp re tin g th e n arrativ es.
N ou n s
Na rrative
I m ag e s
Beh a vi o r
The Community
Level of Social
Interaction
Town
The whole
town knew
the secret
They really
knew
Somehow
they all knew
the secret
The Sub-groups
of Community
Level of Social
Interaction
She =
the
friend
o f the
teller
I said, "Did
you know?"
She said,
"0, yes."
She really
knew
Somehow
she knew
the secret
The Sub-groups
of Community
Level of Social
Interaction
Billy’s
family
The family
moved out
of town
They moved
The family
left
The Family
Level of Social
Interaction
Billy
Grew up
Billy looked
and sounded
like dad
Billy had
to go
The Family
Level of Social
Interaction
Dad
My dad
was Billy's
father
Dad is
Billy's
father
Dad fathered
other children.
The Individual
Level of Social
Interaction
the
narrator
I had kept
the secret
The keeper
of secrets.
for 30 years
Don't tell
anyone.
57
O nce th e sto ry line, o r n a rra tiv e , is to ld a w hole new w o rld opens.
n a rra tiv e fa c ilita te s in te r p r e ta tio n o f a v a s t a m o u n t o f in fo rm a tio n .
T he
T he
d escrip tiv e w ords, o r im ages, begin to b re a th e life in to th e p e rso n , places, a n d
things co n tain ed in th e n arrativ e.
O ur sto ry teller u n til s /h e was th irty y ears old h eld specific im ages a b o u t a)
h is /h e r tow n a n d h is /h e r frie n d who w asn 't suppose to know b) Billy's fam ily th a t
h a d to m ove becau se of Billy looking a n d so u n d in g like d a d c) Billy who was
h is /h e r b ro th e r d) d a d w ho h a d a n e x tra-m arital affair, a n d e) h im /h e rs e lf w ho
was supposed to keep th e tru th a secret. Based o n th e storyteller's knowledge s /h e
form s a n hypothesis th a t concludes th a t s /h e was to guard th e fam ily secret.
In terp retin g A C luster of N arratives
T he n e x t level o f analysis inv o lv es exam ining c lu sters o f n a rra tiv e s.
A
clu ster o f n a rra tiv e s is com posed o f a n u m b e r o f storytellers sh arin g th e ir sto ry
lin e a b o u t w h at h a p p e n e d to th em a t a p a rtic u la r social in te ra c tio n level o r sublevel. E.g. I w ould pool to g e th e r a n u m b e r o f p erso n s sto ries a b o u t w h at th e y
experienced w ith m o th e r o r p erh ap s the com m unity.
A clu ster of n a rra tiv e s begins w ith th e sam e p ro c e d u re as above. However,
since it is a cluster, it is a lre a d y assigned a level of in te ra ctio n . W hat is being
analyzed is n o t how levels of social in te ra ctio n build upon o n e a n o th er. In stead ,
th e d ifferen ce being assessed is betw een th e d ifferen t sto ry te lle rs' im ages o f a
p a rtic u la r level of social in te ra ctio n . Take, fo r exam ple, th e n a rra tiv e s s h a re d
earlier a b o u t conflict.
AD 3 3 W hen I see it as the sort of a gossipy town, th e conflict would be
th a t w ay of keeping secrets a n d n o t keeping secrets. It was h e r way of
m aintaining I am a good w om an. I d o n 't know w hat p u rp o se it s e rv e d .
in th e town. T here w ere so m any sick things th a t w ent o n in th a t town.
58
AD3 4 It's in te rn a l in th e sense o f try in g to cope w ith th e e x te rn a l.
T he th in g s th a t w e n t on in m y fam ily w ere so p ain fu l, b u t I re a lly
p e rc e iv e d it as a p a rt o f life. T h a t I th o u g h t th a t life h u r t th a t bad.
T hat th a t's th e w ay it was su p p o sed to feel. I assum ed th a t I was going
to die young. I really h o p ed th a t I was going to die young! I w ould have
to cope w ith th e level of pain. I'd go catato n ic a t tim es. In a w ay th a t
was rebuilding. No one could h u rt m e w hen I was th a t way.
AD35 IBas t h e r e any c on fl ic t w i t h t h e i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h y o u r
uncle?
Well, I'm saying th a t th e re was always a little b it of conflict betw een he
an d I because o f the athletics. He was going to m ake m e q u it one time.
It was o n a trip w hen I was a b o u t e ig h th grade, I th in k . He said I
c o u ld n 't go. But I did. He d ra n k a little b it a n d so h e was a little b it
overbearing. M ore so w ith boys th a n h e was w ith women.
A D 36 LUhat w e r e y o u r f e e l i n g s w h e n you s a w y o u r mom like
this?
Oh, a m ix tu re I guess o f fe a r, a n x iety , h elp lessn ess. A ... fo r a
c o m b in a tio n o f reaso n s I guess. I suppose y ou see so m eo n e w ho...a
m o th e r o r fa th e r ... y o u r p rim a ry c areg iv e r in a sta te o f w eakness.
T hat's tru ly a la rm in g ,... b u t fear also because of h e r suffering. She was
sh o rt o n patien ce a n d ill-tem pered. A nd w ould lash out. A fter some of
th a t y o u 're fearful fo r h e r as well as yourself. Fearful of her.
AD 3 7 I am su re th a t th a t w hole situ a tio n was h a rd fo r h e r because
w hen I was a ju n io r in h igh school, m y ju n io r an d sen io r y e a r I lived in
town. We h a d a place in tow n a n d th e n we h a d a lake place, a n d in the
spring m y p a re n ts w ould always m ove o u t to th e lake a n d th e y w ould
live th e re until, oh, th e m iddle o f S eptem ber. The su m m er b efo re m y
ju n io r a n d sen io r y e a r I ju st lived in tow n b y myself. I h a d m y own car
a n d it was ju s t easier fo r m y m om n o t to have m e a ro u n d a t th a t p o in t
because m y d a d w ould really d rin k in th e sum m er... I th in k it was ju st
easier a n d it was m y choice.... It was easier fo r m y m om b ecau se th e n
she d id n 't h av e to d eal w ith conflict betw een m e a n d m y d a d because I
d id n 't see him d ru n k all th e tim e in th e sum m er.
A com parison of th e nouns, n arrativ es, im ages an d scrip ted b eh av io r in this
c lu ster of n a rra tiv e s reveals th e following schem atic o f Figure 7. In Figure 7 I
d issected o u t th e n o u n s, n a rra tiv e , im ages a n d scrip ted b eh av io rs. From th a t
p o in t tre n d s a n d p a tte rn s will n e ed to be exam ined.
It n e ed s to b e recognized th a t d ifferen ces will exist w h en com paring o n e
n a rra tiv e to a n o th er. The difference betw een each n a rra tiv e can be describ ed in
b o th a q u a lita tiv e a n d /o r q u a n tita tiv e w ay.
Take, fo r exam ple, th e d iffe re n t
59
n o u n s listed. The m ajo rity of n o u n s listed d e a lt w ith people. Specifically, th ey
d e alt w ith fam ily figures.
Q uantitativ ely , fo u r o u t of five tim es a fam ily m em ber, in this clu ster of
n arrativ es, is placed in a negative role. Q uahtatively this m eans th a t in four o u t
o f five hom es im ages like painfu l, o v e rb e arin g , weak, a n d d ru n k p a in t a clear
picture ab o u t the quality of fam ily life these fo u r storytellers rem em ber.
T hese a re th e k ind o f o b serv atio n a l q u e stio n s ask ed w h en one looks at
clusters of n a rra tiv e s. O bserving w hat is th ere, b u t also looking fo r w hat is n o t
there. None o f these n arrativ es m ention g ran d p aren ts. W ould g ra n d p a ren ts ever
cause stress? W ith m y findings rig h t now I could propose th a t g ra n d p a ren ts m ay
n o t create conflict for o u r storytellers. I can e n tertain th a t possibility only until I
find a co n tradiction. In this case, it w ould have b een sto ry teller n u m b e r two w ho
view ed h is /h e r g ra n d fa th e r as spreading a web of darkness.
Figure 7. Analysis of C lustered N arratives
N o u ns
Narrative
I ma ge s
Behavior
gossipy
keep secrets
AD3 3
town
mom
about secrecy
maintain a repu­
tation
sick
good woman
AD34
family
I
life
no one
things went on
tried to cope
supposed to
could hurt me
painful
death
hurt
safety
uncle
make me quit
drink/overbear
I
athletics
couldn't go
AD36
mom
I
state of weakness
feeling alarm
weak
fear, anxious,
helpless
suffering
fearful of her
AD3 7
mom
dad
I
living away from I
separate from I
living in town
hard/easy
drinking
easier
conflict dad & I
drinking/ summer
no conflict
AD3 5
coping
overbearing
on child
conflict
60
W hen one finds a com m on o ccurrence in all th e clusters o f n arrativ es, th e n it
can be assu m ed th a t a sa tu ra tio n p o in t h as b e e n reach ed . A satu ratio n p o in t
occurs w hen th e n arrativ es begin to re p e a t th e sam e finding. A ny knowledge
a d d e d to th e fin d in g s w ould re p e a t w h a t h a d a lre a d y b e e n d iscovered.
One
com m on finding am ongst the five storytellers fisted below is th a t each one of th em
h a d im ages of p a in concerning th e ir conflict. If m ore sto ry tellers sh ared th e ir
narrativ es, it m ay be th a t sub-them es concerning th a t p ain m ay b e identified. For
exam ple, p a in th a t p ro m p te d decisions o r a state o f being o r existed because o f a
place.
Sum m ary
I fo u n d it n ecessary to develop m y ow n ru les fo r a n a rra tiv e h erm en eu tic.
These ru les w ere b ased u p o n a n ex am in atio n o f the text. This h e rm e n eu tic was
m esh ed w ith th e g ro u n d ed th e o rist levels of social distancing. In th e end, a m esh
u sed to analyze a sto ry teller's n a rra tiv e a n d clusters of n a rra tiv e s was p ro d u ced .
In te rp re ta tio n o f th e n a rra tiv e s was d o n e b ased u p o n th e h e rm e n eu tica l rules o f
nouns, n a rra tiv e s, im ages, a n d scrip ted b eh av io rs w hich occur a t differing levels
of social in teractio n .
61
CHAPTER 4
THE FINDINGS
T he p u rp o se o f this stu d y was to allow adults, w ho experienced severe stress
as c h ild re n o r y o u th , to re c o n stru c t a n d s h a re th e ir im ages en cap su latin g th e
so cial in te ra c tio n s th a t to o k p la c e in th e ir c h ild h o o d o r y o u th .
T h ese
re c o n stru c te d im ages h av e p ro b a b ly u n d e rg o n e a process o f m a tu ra tio n . A dult
language a n d levels of a b strac tio n h av e n o d o u b t re in te rp re te d th ese ch ild h o o d
in teractio n s. The outcom e, therefo re, is a n a d u lt im age o f w h at is rem em b ered to
h av e ta k e n p lace b a se d u p o n re sid u a l im ages fro m c h ild h o o d a n d /o r y o u th .
T hese re c o n stru cte d a d u lt im ages a re re g a rd e d as reliab le a n d a re considered a
valid p a rt of each a d u lt's p re se n t view of reality.
T h ree specific objectives th a t fall u n d e r th e m ain p u rp o s e a re item ized
below.
1)
The use o f herm eneutics as a tool fo r in terp retin g n arrativ es.
2)
Findings th a t will exam ine th e re c o n stitu ted im ages of w ell-functioning
adults who in childhood o r y o u th experienced severe stress.
3)
A gleaning of w isdom fro m th e p a rtic ip a n t w hose h isto ry m ade
h im /h e r wise.
This c h ap te r will ad d ress th e findings re la te d to each of th e above objectives
o f th is stu d y .
T he firs t se t o f fin d in g s w ill a d d re s s th e im p lic a tio n s o f
h e rm e n e u tic s.
The seco n d se t will talk a b o u t re c o n stru c te d im ages o f well­
fun ctio n in g adults. R econstructed im ages will b e a re c o u n t o f th e severe stress
p re s e n t in c h ild h o o d a n d /o r y o u th .
gleam ed from o u r a d u lt population.
T he th ir d set o f fin d in g s re p o rt w isdom
62
Findings Related to H erm eneutics
In c h a p te r th re e h e rm e n eu tica l ru le s w ere p re s e n te d as tools to in te rp re t
n a rra tiv e s . T hese fo u r h e rm e n eu tic ru le s e m erg ed o u t o f m y findings.
W hat
follows is th e context fo r those h erm en eu tic rules. These findings a d d validity to
th e h e rm e n eu tic ru les a n d th e ir usage a n d th e e n tire in te rp re ta tio n of this study.
A set of illu stratio n s will follow th e listing o f th ese fo u r sub-sections o f findings.
H erm eneutic Finding O ne: Im ages live in stories. Im ages can be id en tified
b y fin d in g n o u n s: persons, places, o r things. Locating descriptive w ords com es
next. These descriptive w ords are im ages concerning th e nouns.
H e rm e n e u tic F inding Two: A n o u n m ay take o n m o re th a n its o rig in al
m e an in g .
S tories re v e a l m ean in g s a tta c h e d to n o u n s.
N a rra tiv e s d e sc rib e
in te ra c tio n s th a t take place w ith a p erso n , o r in a place, o r w ith a thing. Im ages
b re a th e life in to nouns b y ascribing to th e m a sense o f essence, o r quality.
H e rm e n eu tic F inding T h re e : The sto ry lin e tells w h a t social in teractio n s
o ccu rred . T hese n a rra tiv e s describe th e actio n going o n a t th a t time.
H erm eneutic Finding Four: Scripted b eh av io rs are actions a d o p ted a fte r an
im age was b eliev ed to be tru e . Scripted b ehaviors re c u r as long as a n im age is
c o n sid e re d tru e . W hen scrip ted b ehaviors d o recu r, th e y can actually create th e
sto ry line in th e new n a rra tiv e . T hro u g h o u t th e stories th e scrip ted behaviors act
o u t th e sto ry teller's im ages of reality.
Images: Expanding th e Findings
I p rin te d o u t a copy of each n arrativ e. This was done after th e phrases of th e
n a rra tiv e s h a d b e en labeled. The n a rra tiv e s w ere lab eled a n d so rted (Figure 5)
acco rd in g to th e n u m e ro u s levels a n d sub-levels of social in teractio n . My first
re a d in g o f th e tex t re a c q u a in te d m e w ith th e m aterial. It was relativ ely easy to
63
re m e m b e r th e stories. D uring th e second re a d in g , I b eg an asking m yself w h at
c o n stitu tes a n im age. I d re w u p o n K an to r a n d Lehr's (1985) d e sc rip tio n o f a n
im age:
Im ages a re in te rn a liz e d re p re se n ta tio n s o f actio n m a d e o r observed.
T he m o st basic fo rm o f a n im age c an ex ist in th e fo rm o f a kinetic
im p rin t, a k in d o f m em ory w hich is m u scu lar a n d energetic. An im age
m a y also b e a p ic tu re o f a n event, w h e th e r literal o r sym bolic. It can
exist as a sen tim en t o r feeling a b o u t a n event. An im age m ay exist as a
b elief o r a n id e a a b o u t a n event, (p. 241)
I re a d th e n a rra tiv e s a n d th o u g h t a b o u t th is d efin itio n . I d iscovered th a t
d e sc rip tiv e w o rd s a n d p h ra s e s c a p tu re d th e essence o f a n im age.
I s ta rte d
circling w ords a n d p h rases th a t describ ed th e n arrativ e. I d id this fo r each o f the
fo u r social d istance levels a n d th e ir sub-levels.
I re a lize d th a t th e descriptive w ords a n d p h rases w ere im ages a b o u t persons,
places, a n d things. C onsequently, a n im age describes a n o u n . The im age o f th a t
n o u n is re v e a le d in th e story. If n u m e ro u s sto ries exist a b o u t a specific n o u n ,
th e n th e im ages a ro u n d th a t n o u n expand.
Take, fo r exam ple, th e Pow der River. T he n am e w ould n o t b e significant
unless a sto ry is re la te d to this riv er. If a story, o r a series of stories w ith specific
im ages, develops a ro u n d th e Pow der River, th e n this n am e tak es o n a life o f its
own. In th e following n a rra tiv e , a n u m b e r o f stories w ith accom panying im ages
d escribe th e Pow der River.
I re m e m b e r th e sm ell of cottonw oods w alking along th e Pow der River.
T h ere w ere a lo t o f n e a t things th a t h a p p e n e d along th e Pow der River.
We h a d a V acation Bible School th e re once, a n o u td o o r V acation Bible
School. I h a d a frie n d w ho h a d a little ra n c h outside o f tow n a n d it was
alw ays g re a t to go to som ebody else's place. We u se d to go a n d we
w o u ld h a v e to g et th e m ilk cow a n d we w o u ld w alk th ro u g h th e
cottonw oods a n d b rin g in th e m ilk cow. The Powder River is a big p a rt
o f grow ing up.
64
Noxms: Expanding th e Findings
I u n d e rlin e d th e n o u n s on th e p rin te d co p y of th e n a rra tiv e . I highlighted
story line, o r the action in th e n arrativ e. D escriptive w ords a n d p h rases I circled.
The following Pow der River n a rra tiv e was m a rk e d accordingly: circled descriptive
w ords (in th is exam ple italicized ), h ig h lig h te d sto ry lines (in this exam ple in
b o ld letters, a n d u n d e rlin e d nou n s). This is a sim ple way to classify a n arrativ e.
I re m e m b er the smell o f cottonw oods walking along th e Pow der River.
T here w ere a lo t o f n ea t things th a t h a p p e n e d along th e Pow der River. '
We h a d a V acation Bible School th e re once, a n outdoor V acation Bible
School. I h a d a frien d w ho h a d a tittle ra n c h outside o f tow n a n d it was
always great to go to so m eb o d y else's p la c e . We u se d to go a n d w e
w o u ld h a v e to g e t th e m ilk cow a n d w e w o u ld w alk th ro u g h th e
c o tto n w o o d s a n d b rin g in th e m ilk cow. The Pow der R iver is a big
p a rt o f growing up.
A place called th e Pow der River contains stories ab o u t "I" a n d a "friend" (th a t
com posed "we"), "V acation Bible School", a "ra n ch o u tsid e o f town" (w hich is
som ebody else's place), a "m ilk cow", a n d "cottonw oods". O ur sto ry teller sees th e
Pow der R iver as m o re th a n a b o d y of w ater. T he Pow der R iver was m ade u p o f
p e rso n s, p la ce s, a n d th in g s, th e essen ce o f w hich w as c a p tu re d in im ages
d escrib ed as sm ells a n d "n ea t things", "o u td o o r VBS", a n d "g reat places". These
im ages w ere c re ate d by going to som eone else's place w here th ey w ould go o u t to
get th e m ilk cow as th e y w alked along th e riv e r a n d sm elled th e cottonw ood trees.
This is w hy o u r sto ry teller can conclude th a t th e Pow der River was "a big p a rt o f
growing up".
Storv Tines a n d Scripted Behaviors: Expanding th e Findings
From th e n a rra tiv e s of o u r sto ry te lle rs, I also d isco v e re d th a t sc rip te d
b eh av io rs d o exist.
S cripted b eh av io rs a re actions th a t com e a fte r th e fact o r
re s u lt fro m th e closure o f h y p o th esis fo rm atio n . In th e pro cess of form ing a n
65
h y p o th e sis th e re com es a tim e w h en a n in d iv id u a l e ith e r ru n s o u t o f tim e,
m otivation, o r in fo rm atio n . W hen this o ccurs a p o in t o f closure is reach ed . At
th e p o in t o f closure, a n im age is a d o p te d as a b e lie f a b o u t re a lity .
S crip ted
b e h a v io rs a re actio n s th a t com e a fte r a n im age is acc e p ted as a b elief a b o u t
re a lity . S crip ted m ean s th e b e h a v io r is a c te d o u t like a scrip t o n e follows in a
play. W hen I fo u n d evidence o f scrip ted b eh av io rs, I in d ic a te d th ese b ehaviors
b y placing th e m in brackets.
C larification is n e e d e d betw een th e actio n th a t occurs d u rin g a story, w hich
is th e n a rra tiv e of th e story, a n d th e action th a t occurs a fte r a story, w hich I re fe r
to as scrip ted b ehavior. T he following is a com plete story th a t ties to g eth er th e
aw areness o f th e p resen ce of n o u n s (u n d e rlin e d ), descriptive w ords {italicized),
sto ry lines (bold p rin t) a n d scrip ted b eh av io rs (in {brackets} ).
O ne f r ie n d , w hose m o th e r h a d gone th ro u g h a d iv o rc e , sh e d id th e
sam e th in g . W e w ere extrem ely in tim a te in som e w ays, {but these
th in g s a b o u t o u r fa th e rs, we d id n o t ta lk to each o th e r about}. One
tim e m y m o m called a n d said, "I ju s t g o t b e a t u p ." A nd th is fr ie n d
w as going to co m e h o m e fro m sch o o l w ith m e. S h e said , " I'v e
g o t som e b ru ise s o n m v fa c e ." A nd I s ta r te d c ry in g a n d I h a d to
te ll m y f r i e n d w h a t h a p p e n e d . A nd s h e sa id s o m e th in g like, "I
w e n t th ro u g h th a t too." {That w as th e o n ly th in g w e e v e r said to
each o th e r a b o u t it}
As I becam e accustom ed to distinguishing scripted b eh av io rs fro m th e sto ry
lin e o f th e n a rra tiv e , I d isco v e re d th a t s c rip te d b e h a v io rs b a se d u p o n th e
s to ry te lle r's im ages o f re a lity w ere c re a tin g th e sto ry lines o f th e fu tu re .
In
essence, im ag es a b o u t re a lity spaw n s c rip te d b e h a v io rs a n d th e se s c rip te d
behaviors sh ap e th e fu tu re social in teractio n s o f th e storyteller.
Sum m ary
A p ro cess o f h e rm e n eu tics evolved o u t o f th e fin d in g s o f th is study. T he
n a tu ra l re sp o n se to in te rp re tin g a n a rra tiv e is to d efin e elem en ts th a t com pose
66
th a t n a rra tiv e . In this case it becam e ev id en t from th e findings th a t nouns, story­
lines, d escriptive w ords, a n d scripted behaviors w ere such m ajo r elem ents. These
m ajo r elem ents also h a d distin ct ch aracteristics o r qualities w hich w ere discussed
above. From these d istin ct characteristics, evolved th e fo u r ru les of herm eneutics
discussed in c h a p te r three.
1) Nouns a re persons, places, a n d things w hich m ay take o n m ore
th a n th e ir original m eaning.
2) T he story line, o r narrativ e, tells w h at social interactions are
occurring in th e context o f a person, place, o r thing.
3) W ords th a t actually describe th e person, place, o r thing are
im ages of re a lity th a t th e sto ry teller ascribes to these nouns.
4) Scripted behaviors create new sto ry lines b ased u p o n th e actor's
im ages o f reality.
R econstructed Images o f Severe Stress
T his sec tio n ta k es th e sto ries o f o u r a d u lts a n d , b y using th e ru le s o f
h erm en eu tics and, w hen n eed ed , th e social in te ra ctio n levels o f g ro u n d ed theory,
describes th e. im ages of th e story tellers. T h ere a re two sub-sections. One su b ­
section deals w ith th e findings o f im ages in general. I believe th a t these insights
m ay be ap p licab le to th e g en eral use o f im ages. The second sub-section d e a ls
specifically w ith im ages w hen a n in d iv id u al is u n d e r severe stress. The first su b ­
section lays th e fo u n d atio n fo r u n d e rstan d in g th e second.
G eneral Uses of Images
My analysis of th e im ages in this stu d y suggest fo u r g en eral principles a b o u t
im ages. T he first explores w hat I call th e "in articu lated " im age, e.g., a possible
link betw een im ages o f childhood a n d adulth o o d . The second defines a n in terp lay
b etw een sc rip te d b e h av io rs a n d im ages, e.g., scrip ted b e h av io rs th a t g en erate
67
new im ages. T he th ird discloses how one im age can b e sh ared w ith a n u m b e r o f
nouns. The fo u rth expands o u r u n d e rstan d in g o f im ages in to im age sets.
In a rtic u la te d Im ages
A ccording to K antor a n d Lehr (1985) im ages can b e k inetic o r reflexive in
n a tu re .
An im age w hich is of a kinetic o r reflexive n a tu re m ay b e o ne th a t is felt,
b u t c a n n o t b e articu lated . At tim es, a ch ild m ay know som ething, b u t be u n ab le
to describe o r p u t to w ords w hat s /h e know s to b e true.
A m a jo r q u a n d a ry in this stu d y was th e q u estio n o f a u th en ticity . W ere th e
im ages w hich th e a d u lts sh ared , th e a u th e n tic im ages th e y h e ld as a ch ild o r
youth? As explained earlier, th e re is n o re a l w ay to know th e difference betw een
a u th e n tic im ages of c h ild h o o d o r y o u th a n d w h at a d u lt la n g u ag e a n d a b stra c t
th o u g h t h a s d o n e to th e se e a rlie r im ages. This finding p o in ts to th e id ea th a t
im ages m a y b eg in as in a rtic u la te d en titie s th a t la te r a re d e fin e d b y language.
The change th a t language has u p o n th e in itial im age if an y is unknow n.
T he follow ing n a rra tiv e s p o in t to a tim e w hen, as a child, o u r sto ry tellers
w ere u n ab le to articu late w hat im age was inside of them . They sim ply knew th a t a
feeling o r a sense existed inside. One sto ry teller calls h im /h e rs e lf "naive" a n d th e
o th e r considers h e r/h im s e lf as "unaw are."
In a lo t of ways I was extrem ely naive. I h a d a deep sense o f sham e an d
I d id n 't know w h at it was. T here was a p o in t w here I becam e aw are th a t
a n e ig h b o r's child was m y fa th e r's child. These two p e o p le h a d b een
involved.
lik e th e abuse ... I d id n 't tell h e r a b o u t th a t because I d o n 't th in k she
w ould do an y th in g a b o u t it. A nd I ... rig h t. I th o u g h t I w ould k in d of
m ake h e r feel ash am ed of me.
So inside t h e littl e girl m a s s o m e i n n e r conflict?
H um
IUhen you u s e d t h e m o r d s h a m e ; t h a t f e e l i n g o f s h a m e , or
po s si bl y o f h e r fe e li n g a s h a m e d of you. UJhen mou ld you h a u e
b e e n a m a r e of t h a t ... horn old mould you hau e b e e n ?
W ell, it's n o t a th in g th a t I co u ld id e n tify th en . I m e a n like this is
sham e th a t I am feeling.
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In following th e full n a rra tiv e s o f th ese two sto ry tellers it a p p ea rs th a t th e ir
u n a rtic u la te d im ages o f sh am e d ire c te d th e ir fu tu re sc rip te d b eh av io rs.
One
child becam e th e g u a rd ia n o f th e fam ily secrets. The o th e r ch ild tu rn e d tow ard
w ithdraw al fro m an y social interactio n s w hen th e stress escalated in severity.
P erhaps th e p u rity o f th e au th en ticity o f ch ild h o o d a n d ad o lescen t im ages is
n o t re v e a le d b y th e cognitive ab ilities o f a n in d iv id u a l w hich ch an g e o v er th e
y ears w ith language usage a n d levels o f a b strac tio n . Instead, th e au th en ticity of
a n early im age can be ju d g e d b y th e co n sisten cy of o n e's scrip ted b eh av io rs as
seen ov er th e years.
Take, fo r exam ple, th e scrip ted b e h av io r o f "m uteness" th a t this in d iv id u al
lin k s to e arly im ages of a fa th e r s /h e feared , a m uteness she exhibits to this day.
One o f m y frien d s said, "W hen I first knew you, you w ere m ute." T hat
is still m y n a tu ra l state, m uteness. A lo t o f m y responses, I d o n 't have
v erb al ways of expressing w h at was going on.
T hose incidents w ith m y d a d I can co n ju re u p awful sick feelings ...
I re m e m b er th a t h e was ... h e was always a terrifying figure to m e. I felt
th a t o u r lives w ere th re a ten e d . T h at's m y m ain m em o ry o f him . W hen
I was th re e o r so, th e earliest m em ories I h av e of h im a re h im saying,
"D am n it be q u iet I am listening to th e news".
LUhat m a s his goal mh en he said t h a t ?
Umm, I th in k h e w anted us to d isap p ear.
UJhat m a s you r goal mh en he said t h a t ?
Not to. I certain ly d id n 't w an t to g et sp an k ed a n d so I certain ly learn ed
to be quiet. On th e o th e r h a n d I th in k th e b o tto m line is I am going to
exist.
Did you m a n t his a t t e n t i o n ?
I d o n 't re m e m b er w anting an y th in g fro m h im except n o t w anting to be
a fra id o f him . A nd I was always a fra id o f him . I d id n 't w a n t him to
sp an k m e o r m y sister. D uring a lo t o f th a t tim e I often knew th a t he
was a n g ry a t m y sister a n d n o t a t m e so I felt like I h a d to keep h e r ou t
o f tro u b le. She was m o re d e fia n t th a n I was, way m ore. He could b eat
h e r a n d she w o u ld n 't cry. I w ould baw l a t a d ro p of th e h a t, "Please
d o n 't spank me. I'll be good. I'll b e good."
UJhat conclusion did you come t o ?
Oh, th a t I h a d to b e quiet. I am well aw are of w here th a t m u ten ess
com es from th a t m y frien d talked about.
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In te rp la y Between S cripted Behaviors a n d Im ages
T he lay -ep istem o lo g ists Lalljee a n d A belson (1983) v isu alize th a t in th e
process of h y p o th esis fo rm a tio n conclusions a re re a c h e d th a t re s u lt in sc rip te d
behavior. T hey believe th a t this process o f form ing possible h ypotheses, reaching
a conclusion, a n d th e n developing scrip ted b eh av io r form s th e basis o f o u r social
in te ra ctio n s.
The findings re p o rte d in th is sub-section show scrip ted b e h a v io r feeding a
n ew im age b ack in to th e h y p o th esis fo rm a tio n loop. This n ew im age m ay b e
view ed as know ledge o f new stress o r as know ledge o f w h at is to b e done if ev er
o n e e n co u n ters a sim ilar situation. Im ages m ay b e seen as d irectin g th e scripting
o f b e h a v io rs a n d th e im ages o f th e sc rip te d b e h a v io rs th em selv es re tu rn to
rein fo rce th e im ages. T he exam ple th a t follows illustrates this p o in t.
T he scrip ted behaviors o f th e following sev en th g rad er in clu d es "running th e
house", "cooking", a n d "being a spouse in a lo t of ways". These scripted behaviors
actually becom e g e n erato rs of stress as this sev en th g ra d e r trie d to assum e th ese
m assive resp o n sib ilities. This assum ed, sc rip te d b eh av io r in itia lly b eg an w ith
th e d esire of "being n eed ed ". T he a fte rm a th of, o r fallout from , th e stress of th e
sc rip te d b e h a v io r was a n ew im age o f b ein g "trap p ed ".
In th is w ay scrip ted
b eh av io rs can becom e like fo rest fires th a t create th e ir ow n w e ath e r p a tte rn in a
second im age.
It's alm ost like I w oke up in seventh g rad e. A nd th a t was m y w orst y ear
sev en th grade. My p a re n ts a t th e tim e d id n 't get along v e ry well. My
d a d re se n te d h e r illness. D ad was in th e m inistry. He was in a phase of
his life w here h e was too success o rien ted . He has re p e n te d a n d tu rn e d
from his evil w ays. Back th e n h e took this little tin y c h u rch a n d m ade it
a m eg a ch u rch . So th a t's w h ere h e was a n d I re se n te d h im fo r th a t.
{Because h e w asn 't th e re fo r me}.
It u sed to ...both of th e m ... a lo t o f talking to m e like I was a grown
u p . {They ta lk e d a b o u t th e ir m a rita l p ro b le m s. T h ey ta lk e d a b o u t
p ro b lem s w ith o th e r kids. D ad talk ed a b o u t problem s a t work}. I got
this sense th a t w ithout m e they couldn't survive. So I felt needed. T hat
TO
was good. T h ere was self-esteem . {I could ru n a house. I could cook. I
could ... re a lly I was a spouse in a lo t o f ways o th e r th a n sexual.} I was
{anorexic d u rin g th a t tim e as well}. But it w o rk ed fo r m e. It was
som ething I do well. {There was a lo t to c a n y around.} ...
S eventh g ra d e was th e y e a r {I was d ep ressed all th e tim e. I d id n ’t
sleep. I was v e ry suicidal}, b u t I h a d a n a u n t th a t h a d killed h e rself two
y ears e arlier a n d so I saw all th e d am ag e it did. So I really fe lt trapped.
{I c o u ld n 't even kill myself.} A nd I knew m y fam ily needed me.
A new w e ath e r p a tte rn o r im age h a d b e e n c reated . The th o u g h t of suicide
o n ly a c c e n tu a te d th a t re a lity . O ur sev e n th g ra d e r a d o p te d a seco n d scrip ted
b e h a v io r o f d e p re ssio n w hich m ay h a v e b e e n p a rtly d ire c te d b y h is /h e r n ew
aw areness o f being tra p p e d .
One Im age A nnhed to M any Nouns
One im age c an b e a sc rib e d to a n u m b e r o f no u n s.
T his m e an s th a t th e
conclusions, o r im age, o f o n e social in te ra c tio n m ay in te rp re t a fu tu re social
in te ra c tio n .
A sto ry te lle r m ay d ra w u p o n p rev io u s im ages o b ta in e d fro m a n
e a rlie r social in te ra c tio n w h en m aking conclusions a b o u t a p re s e n t situ atio n .
Take, fo r exam ple, little A lbert (Davison & Neale, 1978) w hose p a st "conditioned"
him to re a c t negatively to fu tu re en co u n ters w ith w hite objects.
A single p ic tu re w as show n to o n e sto ry te lle r a n d th is o n e v isu al im age
re m in d e d h im /h e r o f th re e nouns; th e devil, h is /h e r b ro th e r, a n d d eath . Each
o n e o f th e se n o u n s (devil, b ro th e r, d e a th ) h a s a to ta lly s e p a ra te d ictio n ary .
m eaning. However, to o u r storyteller each of th ese nouns h a d stories b eh in d th em
th a t created th e com m on im ages of pow er a n d /o r evil.
T h ere a re th re e . T he first one is th e d ev il a n d th e n it was m y b ro th e r
a n d th e n d e a th . T hese w ere th re e pow erful figures in m y life. T h e
sense o f sin was re a l strong growing up. T he sexual stuff. T h ere w ere
som e d rinking a n d dru g s o n m y p a rt. I knew th a t th e w ay we tre a te d
each o th e r was w rong. I ... really b a d self-image. T h at's w h at I th o u g h t
of m yself as bad, b u t I also knew th a t m o st o f m y sins d id n 't stack u p to
... I knew I w asn't that bad o f a kid. I was a curious kid. I ju s t th in k
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th a t h o m e fe lt k in d o f evil to m e. I th in k th e re was a lo t o f evil in m y
hom e.
S a ta n is ju s t th e m o st frig h te n in g , d a rk e st th in g th a t I can
im agine. It's only b een in th e last y e a r th a t som e of th a t p o w e r has ju st
b e e n lost. W hen you live w ith p eo p le w ho a re n 't in co n tro l. It d o e sn 't
seem like G od is in charge. It seem s like S atan is in ch arg e. I th in k
S a ta n was v e ry m u ch in ch arg e o f m y b r o th e r . A nd ju s t a terrifying
figure fo r m e. I d o n 't believe it's o n ly S atan th a t's m aking people do
stuff. I ev en som etim es see h im as a m etaphorical figure. It's m ore of
a n im age in m y m ind, a nightmare.
W ith m v b ro th e r ... th e re was a lo t o f ways th a t h e was a bad seed.
B ecause th is fig u re looks rea l p o w e rfu l to m e. T h e re 's a w ay h e
s p re a d s th e d a rk n e s s . A n d G eo rg e h a d th a t a ffe c t o n m y life
o f a n y th in g I h a d , h e c o u ld ta k e aw ay . A n y th in g I c o u ld d o I
felt, I fe lt lik e h e co u ld d o b e tte r. He was ju s t p o w e rfu l. A nd th e
d e a th thing. T he g rim reaper. It was ju s t such a th em e o f ... w h e th e r
I w as ju s t th in k in g o f m y ow n d e a th .
O r, ju s t th e o b se ssio n
o f w h o is going to d ie n ex t? E v ery p h o n e c all is go in g to b e
a n o th e r d e a th . I t r e a lly h a u n te d th in g s . It also p ro v id e d m e .
h o p e . T h a t o n e d a y I w o u ld d ie.
T he im p licatio n s o f th is fin d in g fo r p ro je c tio n is p ro fo u n d .
This fin d in g
conveys th e id e a th a t one m ay b e able to scrip t one n o u n to a p a rtic u la r b eh av io r
o f a second n o u n . By loosely associating th e first n o u n w ith sim ilar descriptive
qualities of th e second n o u n a linkage of scrip ted behaviors m a y occur w here b y
social in te ra c tio n w ith th e first n o u n w o u ld b e g e n e ra te d fro m th e sc rip te d
b eh av io r of th e second.
T he n a rra tiv e above th a t d e a lt w ith "m uteness" m ay serve as a n illustration.
T he s c rip te d b e h a v io r o f m u te n e ss em erg es fro m th e social in te ra c tio n w ith
h is /h e r fa th e r. The im age o f te rro r q u ie te d th e child. The scrip ted b eh av io r of
m u te n e ss b e ca m e h is /h e r w ay o f c o n tin u in g to exist.
S /h e states th a t this,
scrip ted b e h av io r c o n tin u e d to b e h is /h e r n a tu ra l state. T he q uestions th a t still
re m a in a re , "W hat im ages in h e re n t in h is /h e r p re s e n t social in te ra ctio n s still
elicits th e resp o n se fo r m uteness? Does a scrip ted b eh av io r re m a in in tact w ith o u t
th e n e e d fo r a n im age to sustain th a t behavior?"
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Im ages as Sets
T he fin d in g s r e p o rte d in th is su b -se c tio n suggest th a t im ages co m b in e
to g e th e r to d ire c t sc rip te d b eh av io rs.
It w ould b e a cc u ra te to a n tic ip ate th e
possibility th a t all scrip ted behav io rs do n o t r u n in a lin e a r fash io n from a single
im age to a single b eh av io r. In actuality, it is fa ir to assum e th a t sets of im ages
b le n d e d to g e th e r re s u lt in each p e rso n 's ow n u n iq u e re sp o n se to a given social
in te ra c tio n .
In th e p re v io u s su b -se c tio n , "I n a rtic u la te d Im ages", tw o
n a r r a tiv e s
c o n cern in g sham e w ere u sed as exam ples. T hese two n a rra tiv e s illu stra te d th a t
th e im age of sh am e sh a re d b y two se p a ra te p eo p le does n o t re s u lt in th e sam e
scrip ted b eh av io r. O ne p e rso n chose to becom e a g u a rd ia n o f th e fam ily secret
a n d th e o th e r p e rso n chose to close h im /h e rs e lf off from th e re s t o f th e w orld b y
w ithdraw ing.
I can o n ly speculate as to w hy child A chose p a th A a n d w hy child B chose
p a th B. It m ay b e possible th a t th e store o f know ledge th a t ch ild A possessed was
quan titativ ely a n d qualitatively d ifferen t fro m child B's. It m ay also b e an issue of
m o tiv a tio n w hich is tie d to th e c o m fo rt level o n e possesses a fte r reach in g a
conclusion.
I c an n o t address th e m otivational factors, b u t I can ad d ress in a small w ay th e
difference in th e store o f know ledge th ese p erso n s possessed. P erson A h a d th re e
o th e r siblings a n d was h is /h e rs e lf th e o ld e st child. S /h e liv ed in a com m unity
w here gossiping was th e n a tio n a l pastim e. In th a t com m unity setting, one's p rid e ,
w h a t little o n e co u ld m u s te r w hile b ein g p o o r, n e e d e d to b e p ro te c te d fro m
in tru s io n b y th e n e ig h b o rs.
P erson A e x p e rie n c e d firs th a n d th e h u m ilia tio n
h is /h e r m o th e r felt w hen th e fam ily n am e was p rin te d in th e p a p e r because th ey
received w elfare a t one tim e. The sham e p e rso n A felt h a d to b e w eighed ag ain st
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th e social b a c k d ro p o f h is /h e r tow n.
Sham e o v er h is /h e r fa th e r's affair w as
tre a te d like a n y of th e o th e r fam ily n eed s, like th e ir p o verty, it was n e v er to b e
talk ed a b o u t. Im ages a re a fo rm of know ledge. Child A takes th e know ledge o f
h is /h e r fam ily's n e e d fo r privacy a n d chooses to exercise th e scrip ted b eh av io r of
guarding th e fam ily secrets.
C hild B, o n th e o th e r h a n d , w as a single ch ild w hose p a tte r n of social
in te ra ctio n was one of seclusion. As s /h e said,
I ju s t re m e m b e r feeling like I was n o t a p a rt o f the rest o f the world or
the rest o f the people. A nd ju s t like feeling like, 'W hat are we doing
here?'.
A lo t o f tim es I ju s t liked being alone. I so rt o f lik ed to w atch ...
like b ein g h e re I w ould feel safe. If I w ere w ith o th e r k id s I w ould
n o t feel very safe. I'm v e ry k in d o f hypersensitive to things. Unless m y
e n v iro n m e n t is ju s t so rt of ... seem ed overw helm ing to m e.
The sham e o f child B d re w u p o n a k n o w led g e/ex p erien tial b ase o f "feeling like I
was n o t a p a r t of th e re s t o f th e w o rld o r th e re s t of th e peo p le". T his.im age,
com bined w ith sham e, re su lte d in a scrip ted b eh av io r m uch d ifferen t from th a t of
child A. Child B drew u p o n isolation a n d sham e a n d b le n d e d th e two to arriv e a t
a scrip ted b e h a v io r o f d ro p p in g o u t of school a n d finally re tre a tin g into h is /h e r
b ed ro o m fo r two years.
To say th a t th e b len d in g of sham e a n d secrecy fo r child A a n d th e n sham e
a n d iso la tio n fo r c h ild B w ere th e o n ly c o n trib u to rs to e a c h c h ild 's sc rip te d
b eh av io rs is probably, n o t accu rate. These exam ples a re u se d o n ly to illu stra te
th a t n u m e ro u s im ages m a y co m b in e as a se t o f im ages to d ire c t a sc rip te d
beh av io r. T he use of Figure 6 w hich looks a t th e fo u r levels o f social in teractio n
a n d th e accom panying no u n s, n a rra tiv e s, im ages, a n d scrip ted b eh av io rs w ould
aid in a m o re com plete analysis of sets o f im ages.
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The Affect Severe Stress Has o n Images
All to g e th e r I discovered five findings fro m this sam ple p o p u la tio n in re g a rd
to im ages asso ciated w ith severe stress.
T he first finding explores th e a re a of
w hat I call th e "dual n atu re" of a n im age. For exam ple, w ithin a p e rso n are im ages
th a t h o ld re m e m b ra n ce s of stress a n d th o se th a t a re o f a n o n -stre ssfu l n a tu re .
T he seco n d fin d in g d efin es a n in te rp la y b etw ee n im ages, stress, a n d scrip ted
behaviors. For exam ple, w hen a n in d iv id u al's im age of a reso u rce is w eaker th a n
th e stress th e y a re e n c o u n te rin g , th e n th is co u ld re s u lt in sc rip te d b eh av io rs
o rie n te d to w a rd escape.
T he th ir d fin d in g sh ares how s c rip te d b eh av io rs o f
escape le d aw ay fro m stress a n d tow ard safety. T he fo u rth fin d in g expands o u r
u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e ra w re so u rc e s th a t in d iv id u a ls d ra w u p o n to fuel th e ir
im a g in a tio n s fo r d a y d re am in g .
For exam ple, d a y d re am in g c an b e a sc rip te d
b e h av io r u sed fo r escape fro m stress. The fifth finding sh ares th e im ages o f th e
sto ry te lle rs as th e y spoke a b o u t th e ir ex p erien ces o f escap e a n d th e h ealin g
p u rp o se th e y see in its usage.
Each o f o u r sto ry te lle rs e n c o u n te re d social in te ra ctio n s w hich re su lte d in
sev ere stress. Each h e ld sets o f im ages a sso c iate d w ith th is sev ere stress th a t
d ire c t scrip ted behaviors. The one th em e th a t ap p ears to u n ite th e n a rra tiv e s of
c h ild ren en co u n terin g severe stress is th a t o f scrip ted b eh av io rs o rie n te d tow ards
escape.
Each sto ry te lle r d e v elo p e d a scrip ted b e h a v io r(s) th a t allow ed h im /h e r to
fin d a w ay o f escaping. W hat is in te re stin g is th a t m an y o f th e se in d iv id u a ls
to d a y , as a d u lts, fin d it easy to slip b a ck in to th is sc rip te d b e h a v io r w h ich
p rovides fo r th e m a m eans of escape. T he following sub-sections, a) d u al im ages
o f stress a n d com petency b) scrip ted b eh av io rs th a t c re ate fu tu re sto ry lines c)
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p a tte rn s o f safety a n d escape d) th e raw resources o f daydream ing, a n d e) images
g e n e ra te d from escape, build u p o n o n e a n o th e r to expand this findings re la ted to
escap e.
D ual Images of Stress a n d C om petency
T he n a rra tiv e s o f o u r sto ry te lle rs re v e a l two s e p a ra te sets o f im ages co,--j
existing. One set revolves a ro u n d im ages asso ciated w ith stress a n d th e o th e r
a r o u n d social in te ra c tio n s th a t r a d ia te h e a lth a n d co m p eten cy .
From th e
n a rra tiv e s th e re is a n aw areness th a t certain n o u n s c arry specific im ages w hich h e
in d ire c t co n trast to a n o th e r set o f images.
T he exam ple o f this n a rra tiv e cap tu res th e co-existence of two sep arate sets
o f im ages. This sto ry teller sh ares a b o u t two w orlds. Im ages associated w ith one
w orld is th a t o f "light" a n d "norm alcy".
Im ages o f th e o th e r w o rld are ones of
"w re tc h e d th in g s, d a rk n e ss a n d sin".
T his s to ry te lle r s h a re s th a t h i s / h e r
re c o n stru cte d im ages placed h im /h e r rig h t in betw een these two sets of images.
T h a t's m e. I guess I fe lt like th is is ... th is being in two w orlds of ...
T h ere is this w orld of lightness a n d norm alcy w here y o u 're w ith friends
a t school o r w ork o r w h erev er. T h e n th is so rt o f u n d erw o rld . Of
w retched things th a t a re hap p en in g . Darkness and sin a n d all kinds of
th in g s ... th a t I often felt ju s t rig h t in betw een th e two. A fo o t in both
w orlds. Kind of obsessed w ith th is one. S /h e is looking dow n a t the
d a rk one ... th a t was still th ere, even if it was ju s t o th e r p eople th a t h a d
it.
Scripted Behaviors T hat C reate F uture Storv Tines
T he findings in this sub-section d efin e a n in te rp la y b etw een im ages, stress,
a n d scrip ted behaviors. W hen a n in d iv id u al's im age of a reso u rce is w eaker th a n
th e stre ss s /h e is e n co u n te rin g , th e n th is co u ld re s u lt in s c rip te d b eh av io rs
o rie n te d tow ard escape. The n arrativ es th a t follow illustrate th a t w hen an im age of
a re so u rce , in this case a p a re n ta l o r a d u lt figure, is view ed as in e p t in helping
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solve a stressful e v en t th a t th e a d o p te d scrip ted b eh av io r can escalate a n a tte m p t
to escape.
The follow ing th re e sets o f n a rra tiv e s illu stra te how im ages develop in to
scrip ted b eh av io rs. T he first set o f n a rra tiv e s illu stra te s th e social interaction
betw een child a n d m o th er. This social in te ra c tio n leaves th e ch ild w ith a n im age
th a t s /h e is all alone to solve h is /h e r ow n problem s. The second set o f narrativ es
in th is series ad d s a stressful situ a tio n to th e im age o f being le ft alo n e to solve
h is /h e r ow n problem s. T he story lin e o f a d u lts n o t being o f a n y h elp follows th e
sto ry Iinp o f m o th e r n o t being o f a n y h e lp w ith p ro b lem s. T he conclusion, o r
im age c re a te d b y th e sto ry te lle r, is th a t s /h e is iso la ted .
T he th ir d se t ,of
n a rra tiv e s in d icates h ow a scripted behavior o f withdrawal becom es th e solution
to a n im age th a t s /h e is isolated a n d left alone to solve h is /h e r ow n problem s.
I b e g in w ith o u r s to ry te lle r sh arin g a b o u t h is /h e r re c o n s tru c te d social
in tera ctio n s w ith h is /h e r m o th er. A ccom panying th is is th e im age of h is /h e r
m o th e r a n d h is /h e r self-image.
AC 1 8 This o n e ju s t re m in d s m e o f m y m o th e r a n d m y s e lf. It's a
m o th e r a n d a d a u g h te r. S he is re a d in g a book. My m o m alw ays
re a d a lot. I guess this w ould b e a doll. I'm in th e ra p y rig h t now a n d I
ta lk a lo t a b o u t m y m o m a n d so rt o f h o w I was kin d o f alone with m y
problem s b ecause she d id n 't kn o w what to do. She ju st so rt o f avoided
things. She likes to th in k re a l positively a b o u t things. So sh e ap p ears
outw ardly to be happy. She looks k in d o f forlorn. Lwas k in d o f like
th a t. W ell, m y m o m w o u ld d o th in g s w ith m e lik e p la y gam es
w ith m e a n d th in g s lik e th a t, b u t w h e n i t cam e to p ro b le m s,
I h a d to .. i t w as s o r t o f lik e th is . S h e l o o k e d ju s t k in d o f ...
r e a d o r so m e th in g lik e th a t.
AD58 (Q uestions o f c larificatio n a sk e d o f th e s to ry te lle r a b o u t th e
n a rra tiv e above.)
Vour m o m mou ld kind of i n t e r a c t m i t h you, b u t if you had a
p ro b le m , t h a t i n t e r a c t i o n mould b r e a k domn and you mould feel
a lo n e ? Horn mould t h a t p r o c e s s m o rk ?
She w ould ju s t b e really engrossed in h e r book a n d sh e w ould ... sh e
m ig h t if I s a id so m eth in g she m ig h t ju s t say, "Uh H uh". O r ju s t sort
o f p rete n d she is th e re w hen sh e's n o t really there.
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So s h e rea lly w a s n ' t c onn e c ti n g w i t h you t h e n ?
Yah!
This im age of being "left alo n e w ith m y problem s" p la y ed havoc w hen th is
ch ild was faced w ith severe stress. This sev ere stress was cau sed b y some boys
w ho in th e sixth g rad e h a ra ssed h im /h e r. O ur sto ry teller's im age of adults begins
to take o n th e sam e d escrip tiv e q u alities as th e im age o f h is /h e r m o th er. The
a d u lts w e re n 't re a lly th e re , as if th e a d u lts w ere n o t real, o r o f m u ch h elp to
h im /h e r.
T he re c o n stru c te d conclusion o u r sto ry te lle r re a ch e s is th a t s /h e is
isolated. O ur sto ry teller felt th a t if s /h e to ld h is /h e r m o th er, th e n m o th e r w ould
b e ash am ed of h im /h e r.
A D 38 UJas it s ix th g r a d e w h e n you s t a r t e d g e t t i n g b e a t up by
the boys?
Yah, sixth grade. W hen I was 12.
UJhy did t h e y pick on you?
I was overw eight a n d I d id n 't do an y th in g . I was this quiet, shy p erso n
a n d was overw eight a n d I guess th e y fe lt like th e y n e e d e d to feel like
th e y h a d som e co n tro l in th e ir life o r som ething. So th e y k in d o f used
m e as a ... It was ju s t constant. A nd an y tim e like class got o u t a n d you
w ere in th e hallw ays. T hey w ould b e th e re a n d w ould trip m e o r knock
m y n o tebooks o u t o f m y arm s a n d all th e p ap ers w ould go all aro u n d .
T hen I w ould b e la te fo r class. A nd th e y w ould call m e n am es. T here
w ere so m a n y o f th e m th a t I could n e v e r get aw ay fro m th em . They
w ere a group. So w herever I w ent a t school, inside the school o r outside,
I w ould alw ays b e ru n n in g in to o n e o r m o re of them . A nd th e y w ould
k in d o f stalk me.
I get r e a lly u p set th in k ing a b o u t n o n e of th e g ro w n u p s d id
a n y t h i n g a b o u t it. It's lik e I w as g o in g th r o u g h a ll th e s e
p e rs o n a lity c h a n g e s a n d a ll th is d e p re ss io n . T h e y ju s t ... it was
ju st like th ey really w eren't there. Sort o f like how a lo t o f m v childhood
was, so isolated a n d alm ost like th e grow n u p s a ro u n d m e n o t really
being real. Just, n o t really helping m e m uch.
A D 48 It's h ig g p r th in g s th a t w ere going o n b e ca u se I w o u ld s to p
te llin g h e r th in g s a fte r a w hile. Like th e a b u s e ... I d i d n 't te ll h e r
a b o u t th a t because I d o n 't think she w ould d o anything a b o u t it. A nd I
was right. I th o u g h t I w ould k in d o f m ak e h e r feel asham ed of me.
W hen th is c h ild e n c o u n te rs sev e re stre ss, th e re c o n s tru c te d s c r ip te d
behavior is one o f withdrawal. Also, this ch ild 's im age o f ad u lts is th a t ad u lts a re
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n o t involved. This ch ild is afra id to ask fo r h e lp because s /h e is afra id th a t th e
a d u lt's reactio n w ould m ake th e ad u lts feel ash am ed of h im /h e r.
This re c o n s tru c te d scripted behavior o f withdrawal b u ild s u p o n itself. At
first, w ithdraw al was "acting strange" a n d "faking being sick to g et o u t of school".
This escalated to th e p o in t of "dropping o u t o f school" com pletely. It continued to
gain m o m en tu m a n d soon s /h e w ould "no lo n g e r go out". O ur sto ry teller sh ares
th a t s /h e s ta rte d sleeping d u rin g th e d a y a n d staying aw ake a t night. Life in
h is /h e r ro o m rev o lv ed a ro u n d th e scrip ted b e h av io r of th e p a re n ts who w en t to
w ork o r stay e d hom e.
T he u ltim a te fo rm o f w ith d raw al was th ro u g h suicide.
Suicide b ecam e a scrip ted o p tio n to th e ch ild 's self-im age o f b ein g "total, to tally
hopeless".
T he n a rra tiv e o f o u r s to ry te lle r re v e als th a t th e re c o n s tru c te d scrip te d
behavior o f withdrawal gets m o re severe o v e r tim e. O nce a scrip ted b eh av io r
begins, it starts shaping fu tu re stories.
AD 3 8 It so rt of m akes m e th in k o f w h en I was in school. I w ould, this
is w h e n I w as g e ttin g b e a te n u p a n d stu ff. It's re a lly k in d o f
stra n g e b ecau se th e te a c h e rs n e v e r really did anything a b o u t it an d
th ey ha d to kn o w a b o u t i t I {was acting strange} an d m v p a re n ts really
d id n 't really do anything a b o u t it. So, I w ould s t a r t ... {fake being sick
to get o u t of going to school}.
A D 68 I was ... th o se bovs. th e te a c h e rs , a n d m v p a re n ts fo r taking
th a t, m y e d u c a tio n aw ay I guess, y o u know . You ju st ca n 't Ieam if
v o u d o n ’t feel safe. I {dropped o u t o f school before I h a d fin ish ed m y
first sem ester o f h ig h school} a n d I was only 14. IVe n ever regretted it
a t all. {Dropping out.} IV e always fe lt like I did the rig h t thing. That
there was n o other choice. Mv p a re n ts w ere really upset a b o u t it. They
though t i t was the end o f the world. But i t wasn 't.
A D 48 Well, I th in k I fe lt Uke that there were a lo t o f things as a kid
y o u d o n 't have very m uch power... {I was so afraid to go out} because I
always th o u g h t I w as alw ays going to r u n in to th o s e guys.
AD5 8 W ell, also I {stopped going o u t o f th e h o u se fo r a few years}.
Like I was a n agoraphobic. A nd I w as {afraid to go outside}. {I was
a fra id to go anyw here.} To b e a ro u n d p e o p le ... I { sta rte d sleeping
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d u rin g th e d a y a n d being aw ake a t night} a n d m v p a re n ts {would w ork
durin g th e day}. So I {would b e aw ake a n d com e o u t of m y ro o m then}.
But w hen th e y {were home} I {would stay in m y bedroom }. It was really
weird.
AD 3 8 I h a d a n extrem ely low self-esteem. I h a d a lo t o f fear o f people.
Including m v p a re n ts a n d I fe lt like th e y w ere really asham ed o f me,
. T h a t I was ju s t a total, totally hopeless. I'v e also h a d {a n u m b e r of
suicide attem pts}.
T he re c o n stru c te d n a rra tiv e p o in ts o u t th e escalation o f sc rip te d b ehaviors a n d
th e w ay sham e a n d fe a r affected th e w ay s /h e chose to w ithdraw . These scrip ted
behaviors h e lp e d to create th e fu tu re story line o f th e individual.
Patterns of Safety a n d Escape
This sub -sectio n re p o rts th a t re c o n stru c te d , scrip ted b e h a v io rs th a t le a d
to w ard escape can be categorized in to th re e areas. T here a re scrip ted behaviors
th a t lead to physical escape, scrip ted b eh av io rs th a t lead to em otional distancing,
a n d scrip ted behaviors th a t re su lt in to tal em otional shutdow n.
T he sc rip te d b e h av io rs th a t utilize p h y sical space in c lu d e su ch b eh av io rs
th a t le a d o u r sto ry teller to a perso n , place, o r th in g o r aw ay fro m a person, place,
o r thing. For exam ple, m an y of o u r storytellers fo u n d escape w ith "friends", o r in
h is /h e r "m usic", "reading", by "living alone", o r "staying in th is /h e r room ". One
s to ry te lle r in d ic a te d s /h e u sed m a rria g e as a n escape fro m h is /h e r fam ily o f
origin. This sto ry te lle r uses th e im age of san c tu a ry to d escrib e th e safe physical
spaces in h is /h e r hom e.
One o f th e sanctuaries in o u r hom e was a ro u n d m usic. We h a d a piano
a n d w e each p la y ed a n in stru m e n t in b a n d . Reading was th e sam e way
fo r all o f us. Things like read in g a n d m usic w ere places w h ere we were
safe. It was som ething th a t we ag reed u p o n ... m aybe it was genetic o r
som ething.
The id e a of m oving in to safe physical spaces a n d away fro m severely stressful
ph y sical spaces m akes sense. A n u m b e r o f o u r sto ry tellers sp eak o f p h y sica lly
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d istancing them selves fro m th e ir fath ers, g ra n d fa th e rs, a n d b ro th e rs w ith w hom
social in te ra c tio n c re a te d sev e re stress.
e m o tio n a l d e ta c h m e n t as well.
T his p h y sica l d ista n c in g in v o lv e d
In o th e r w o rd s, a n a ttitu d e d e v e lo p e d th a t
p re v e n te d th e m fro m gettin g e m o tio n a lly close to th e se m ale figures.
This
sto ry te lle r lived in tow n w hile h is /h e r p a re n ts stay ed a t th e lak e sh o re p ro p e rty .
The two n a rra tiv e s th a t follow a re h is /h e rs . This set of n a rra tiv e s cap tu res b o th
th e physical a n d em otional distancing s /h e w en t th ro u g h as a youth.
The summer b e fo re m y ju n io r a n d sen io r y e a r I ju s t liv ed in tow n b y
m yself. I h a d m y ow n car a n d it was ju st easier fo r m y m om n o t to have
m e a ro u n d a t th a t p o in t b ecau se m y d a d w ould re a lly d rin k in th e
su m m er... I th in k it was ju s t e asie r a n d it was m y choice. ... It was
easier fo r m y m om b ecause th e n she d id n 't have to d e a l w ith conflict
b etw een m e a n d m y d a d because I d id n 't see h im d ru n k all th e tim e in
th e sum m er.
I c ared a b o u t m y m om a n d I d id n 't like the w ay h e was treating h e r
a n d I ju s t c o u ld n 't keep m y m o u th shut. Plus I was so an g ry a lo t o f th e
tim e it m ad e m e feel b e tte r ju st to tell h im w h at I thought. I tru ly d id n 't
care fo r him . I d id n 't like him . I d o n 't th in k I ever tru ly loved h im like
m y kids love George a n d I. It was ru in e d a long tim e ago. T here really
w a sn 't a lo t th a t m y d a d co u ld d o to h u r t m e, because a fte r a w hile I
d id n 't care a b o u t him .
T he em otional distancing of n o lo n g er caring fo r a n o th e r fam ily m em ber has
b e e n a d d re sse d . T h ere w ere, how ever, a n u m b e r of o th e r w ays th a t scrip ted
b e h a v io rs c re a te d em o tio n a l d istan cin g w h en sev ere stress was p re sen t.
The
n a rra tiv e s spoke of "depression", "anorexia", a n d of "rem oving m y spirit" because
s /h e could n o t rem ove h is /h e r body. T he scrip ted b eh av io r o f d isasso ciad o n is
n a rra te d b y th is storyteller.
I sp e n t y ears disassociating. A nd th a t w as one o f m y m a jo r survival
m echanism s. W hen I was rem em b erin g a n d talking a b o u t th e things
th a t h a p p e n e d , um m , I u su ally use th e th ir d p erso n . It h a p p e n e d to
h er. She is feeling this. U ntil I was able to own, own th a t. It's only been
12 y ears since I've b e en dealing w ith this. It was only in th e la st y e ar I
sto p p ed disassociating. It was only in th e last y e ar th a t I re a lly stopped
disassociating, b ecause I d id n 't w an t to. I liked it. But th e n I realized I
w a sn 't living m y life either. I was ab so rb in g m y life in a lo t o f incidence
a n d th a t is n 't w h at I w ant.
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T he final area o f scripted behaviors th a t lead tow ards escape has to deal w ith
total em otional shutdow n. The storytellers spoke o f "going catatonic", o r "shutting
down", o r being "blanked o u t all th e tim e". This storyteller sheds a different light
on w hat it m e an t fo r h im /h e r to sh u t down.
T he th ings th a t w e n t o n in m y fam ily w ere so p ain fu l, b u t I re a lly
p e rc eiv e d it as a p a rt o f life. T h a t I th o u g h t th a t life h u r t th a t bad.
T h at th a t's th e w ay it was su p p o sed to feel. I assum ed th a t I was going
to die young. I really h o p ed th a t I was going to die young! I would have
to cope w ith th e level o f pain . I'd go catato n ic a t tim es. In a w ay th a t
was rebuilding. No one could h u r t m e w hen I was th a t way.
The Raw Resources of D aydream ing
T he findings re p o rte d in th is su b sectio n ex p an d o u r u n d e rstan d in g o f th e
ra w re s o u rc e s th a t in d iv id u a ls d ra w u p o n to fu e l th e ir im a g in a tio n s fo r
d ay d ream in g . The use o f d ay d ream in g was a p re v a len t, reco n stru cte d scrip ted
b eh av io r u sed by o u r storytellers to escape. O ur storytellers tell of draw ing u p o n
existing im ages to fo rm a n d fashion th e ir d aydream s.
W hat I call h e re "ra w m a te ria ls fo r d a y d re a m in g " cam e fro m d ire c t
experiences such as n e a r d e a th ex p erien ces, farm in g , re la tio n sh ip s w ith girls,
carnivals, a n d o th e r such m a terial re la te d to d aily life. A t o th e r times, th e raw
m aterials cam e from read in g books o r seeing a m ovie. These ra w m aterials even
em erg ed o u t o f th e fe lt n eed s, o r im ages, th a t th e sto ry te lle r h a d concerning
h im /h e rse lf. For exam ple, w hen I asked th ese two storytellers th e them es of th e ir
d ay d ream s th e y replied:
My biggest one was being tak en care of. T h at some o ne w ould see w hat
a h a rd tim e I was having. Or th a t I w ould even becom e sick. I even ...
d e ath ly ill a n d h av e people take care o f me. I felt like such a m issing of
th a t, a n a b sen ce o f th a t. T h a t e v en th e fa n ta sie s w ith th e cam p
counselors, th ey w ere a b o u t th em com ing to m y rescue. I w an ted that.
Being im p o rta n t enough. M attering en o u g h to som ebody. For them to
notice, th e b a re ly te ary eyes, o r th e stiffness, o r m aybe if y o u r kid isn 't
sleeping la st n ig h t telling y o u a b o u t th a t, o r telling y o u a b o u t h e r
b ro th e r com ing in to h e r ro o m a t n ig h t. That, th a t sh o u ld a larm you.
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T h at th a t is a problem . Rescuing was big. It still is. I have to struggle
getting lost in th e fantasies now.
Probably the basic them e of m y daydream s at one p o in t o r an o th er
was ... Oh, th e h e ro stepp in g in to reso lv e th e crisis som ehow . Of
course, it was alw ays th e h e ro a n d so m eb o d y else was in crisis. Big
heart)x]big som ething ... G enerally th a t was a good p o rtio n o f the them e,
a t le a st in d ay d ream s la te r on. As I becam e o ld e r it becam e p ro b ab ly
the p rim a ry them e.
The u n iq u e fe a tu re of this reality c reated b y th e im ages of daydream s is th a t
no m a tte r w h a t really h ap p en ed , to th e sto ry teller it is real. This is best sum m ed
up by a sto ry teller w ho h a d a n NDE as a child. The d ay d ream in g drew u p o n th e
im ages o f angels en co u n tered in h is /h e r NDE.
I h a d angels w ith m e. A nd th a t was p ro b a b ly th e m o st pow erful light.
A nd I h a v e often w o n d ered if I m ad e th e m up. A nd th e n I realized it
d o e sn 't m a tte r. I d o n 't beheve th a t I d id m ake th e m up. T h at is m y
reality. As an a d u lt now a n d certainly v ery pow erful fo r m e as a child.
Images G enerated from Escape
The findings re p o rte d in this subsection sh are th e im ages o f th e storytellers
as th e y speak a b o u t th e ir experiences of escape a n d th e healing p u rp o se th ey see
in its usage. The im ages g en erated fro m th e scrip ted b eh av io rs th a t led to escape
v a rie d fro m sto ry teller to storyteller. Some sto ry tellers d e sc rib e d these tim es of
escape as "pow erful", "very healin g ", "a co n n ec tio n to life", "v ery hopeful",
"possessing a sense o f w holeness", "rich", "safe", "valuable", a tim e w hen s /h e was
"never alone", "a tim e ju st to th in k a b o u t things".
The n a rra tiv e th a t follows is a sam ple o f th e im ages th a t o u r s to ry te lle r
sh ared . My fav o rite p h ra s e is, "I th in k th e re silie n t ones som ehow create th e ir
own w indow even if it is in th e ir m ind. Yah." This w indow is one of h o p e th a t is
n o t realized in social interactio n s th a t g en erate severe stress. For this storyteller,
a n d p e rh a p s for m any, it was only a w indow , ju s t as this sto ry te lle r rem in d s us,
"the d arkness in m y childhood was bigger th a n th e light".
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I see th is one as, a, a m eans o f escaping ... One of th e things I loved to
do a n d I still love to do is to look a t th e sky. Either in th e d a y o r I love a
full m oon. It's a w ay o f escaping. Ju st k in d of, a way o f leaving. A nd I
u sed to go to th e clouds. I sp en t a lo t o f th e tim e in th e clouds, o n th e
clouds, w ith th e clouds. O r a t n ig h t I'd b e w ith th e stars. It was v ery
w onderful. It was one of th e m o st w onderful m em ories of m y childhood
actually. The stars w ere v e ry pow erful a n d v ery inviting. T h ere is a lo t
o f d ark n ess h e re , b u t th e re is a n escape. T he escape is v e ry pow erful
and very healing a n d som ehow fo r m e as a child it was v e ry hopeful. I
h a d m o m en ts o f hopelessness as a child. A nd I still h av e to deal w ith
those occasionally as a n a d u lt. U n d e rn e a th all of th a t th e re h a d to be
som e h o p e o r I w ould be d ead . I'm v e ry convinced of th a t. I th in k th a t
is o n e o f th e places th a t I got it.
From t h e s t a r s c a m e t h a t c o n n e c t e d n e s s ... a c o n n e c t e d n e s s . U h
h u h . A nd th e d arkness in m y ch ild h o o d was bigger th a n th e light.
Can you im a gin e a child w i t h o u t any h o p e ?
No! I th in k th e resilien t ones som ehow create their own window even i f
it is in their m ind. Yah.
Sum m ary
Im ages h a v e g en eral ch aracteristics th a t exist reg ard less o f w h e th er o r n o t
stress is p re s e n t.
T hese g e n e ra l c h a ra c te ristic s in clu d e: a) th e in a rtic u la te d
n a tu re of im ages b) th e w ay scrip ted b eh av io rs g en erate new im ages c) th e fact
th a t one im age m ay be ap p licab le to m a n y n o u n s, a n d d) th e co m b in atio n o f
im ages in to sets o f images. Im ages also h a v e c ertain qualities th a t a re a p p a re n t
w h en stress is p re s e n t.
Im ages o f lig h t a n d d a rk n e ss c an co-exist w ithin a n
in d iv id u al. W hen stress exists a n d th e im age of th e reso u rces is c o n sid ered as
b ein g less th a n a d e q u a te th e n escap e b eco m es a n a tu ra l re sp o n se .
E sc ap e
expresses itse lf th ro u g h p h y sical a n d em o tio n a l m eans. T he ra w reso u rces of
e sc a p e th ro u g h d a y d re a m in g a re p re -e x istin g im ag es th a t a n in d iv id u a l
possesses. Finally, escape is view ed as a place of hope.
W isdom lite ra tu re
Som eone once said, "the only w ay y ou can know w hat y o u w an t is by knowing
w h a t yo u d o n o t w ant". This section o f th e fin d in g s b u ild s u p o n th e se a d u lt
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re c o n s tru c te d im ages o f w h a t th e y d o n o t w a n t b y asking th e re sp o n d e n ts to
rec o n stru ct a c o n tra st to th e ir p a st scenes o f severe stress as a child o r youth. The
following a re excerpts o f w hat S haron Parks (1991) refers to as w isdom —knowledge
th a t is tru e b e ca u se people h av e lived it a n d ex p erien ced it a n d fo u n d it to be
tru e .
The co n trasts w hich th ese sto ry tellers sh are a re filled w ith w h at th ey h o p e
for, w h at th e y w ant, b o th now a n d in th e fu tu re . T hey speak o f "loving" w here
th e re is n o "desire to h u r t each other". T hey talk o f "parties" th a t express th a t th e
"kingdom o f God h a s com e". T hey speak o f "concern" a n d "connectedness" w ith
p a re n ts, a p lace of "harm ony" a n d "affection".
They speak o f a p lace w here a
ch ild co u ld le a rn "how to p la y a n in stru m e n t" a n d take "b allet lessons". These
niceties m ay a p p e a r sm all ,b u t a re th e precious things o f life.
S to ry teller one sh ares a d re a m o f w h at s /h e w ould h av e w a n ted in h is /h e r
fam ily.
"We w o u ld b e talk in g , p ro b le m solving, le a rn in g fro m e a c h o th e r,
accepting each o th e r, loving each o th e r. W ithout a d esire to h u r t each
other."
S toryteller two explains w h at th e ex p erien ce of w holeness w ould m ean
fo r h im /h e r.
To b e to g e th e r a t a big p a rty . It's ju s t so in te re stin g a n d fu n a n d
exciting!
UJhy is th is so g r e a t ?
Because th e k in gdom w ould hav e com e. People w ould stop w orking so
m u ch to accum ulate. T h at th e riv ers w ould ru n free. T h a t th e y w ould
n o t m ake an y m o re Buttes. T h at God-awful hole upsets me! I ju st d o n 't
th in k th e w orld h a s to b e screw ed u p . If we all d id th a t (ju st got
together) it w o u ld n 't be.
S toryteller th re e speaks of w h at co u ld h a v e b een a n d p ro jects forw ard w h at
can now be in h is /h e r ow n life as a p aren t.
This is m y m o th e r a n d th is is how I w ould have liked it to h av e been .
It's h e r looking in o n m e in m y b e d ro o m ... She lo o k s tire d , b u t
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co n cern ed . T h at sense o f confidence th a t she could d o som ething, th a t
she could m ake a difference. Or even knew to look.
Storyteller fo u r holds on to a childhood feeling an d creates a life th e way s /h e
h a d always envisioned.
I c an re m e m b e r so m a n y th in g s u p till th e tim e o f m y d a d 's d e ath .
T h ere w as such a closeness th e re , y o u know . I th in k if I co u ld m ake it
th e w ay th a t I re m e m b e re d h im w h a t h e ... h e loved to farm . He ju st
lo v ed farm ing. A nd a ... I w ould h av e lik ed to h av e seen a life w here,
you k n o w ... I th in k if I could draw back th e things th a t I really desire to
have b e e n able to sp en d m o re tim e w ith h im o n a ra n c h . If I could set
things u p th e w ay I w anted to I'm su re it w ould b e o n a little ra n c h some
place.
S toryteller five p a in ts a p ic tu re o u t o f a d eep know ledge o f w h at it feels like
to go w ith o u t. H is /h e r g ra titu d e fo r h e r spouses fam ily is c a p tu re d in th e se
w ords.
A p ic tu re I w ould look fo r w ould p ro b a b ly b e one w ith a big fam ily ...
th e re w o u ld n 't b e th e drinking. T h e y 're really close, b u t th e y a re also
v e ry p riv a te w ith th e ir ow n fam ilies. T h ey n e v er gossip. T hey get
to g e th e r a lo t a n d th e y have a g re a t tim e. It is som eone to d e p e n d on.
T hey a re n o t intrusive, b u t if y ou w an t help, th ey will b e th e re . I guess
it's ju st som eone to d e p en d on.
S to ry teller six b le n d s im ages w ith in te ra ctio n s in d escrib in g h is /h e r d esire
o f th e ir p re s e n t fam ily.
Peaceful, h arm o n y , affection, touching, positive touching, lau g h ter, lots
o f la u g h te r. H usband, p re s e n t child, a n d I now. A re la tio n sh ip w ith
God. To becom e clo ser to g e th e r a n d know one a n o th e r a n d f in d
h a rm o n y in th at.
S to ry teller seven d o e s n 't ask fo r a lot. H is/h e r w ords a re sim ple a n d th u s
pow erful creato rs o f im ages fo r others.
I'd h a v e p a re n ts w ho w ould ... w ell-ad ju sted ones a n d I th in k I w ould
p ro b a b ly m ay b e h a v e a b ro th e r a n d a sister. It w ould feel safe a n d
p ro te c te d a n d loving a n d a ... feel a co n n ec tio n to th o se p eo p le. A
c o n n ectio n o f being a fam ily. The o p p o site o f isolated ... to b e myself,
w ho I w as supposed to be. I w ould b e able to co n cen trate o n school an d
le a r n th in g s a n d d o in g a r t a n d m a y b e le a rn in g h o w to p la y a n
in stru m e n t a n d take b allet lessons.
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Sum m ary
The findings o f th is stu d y b u ilt u p o n th e n a rra tiv e s o f th e a d u lt p o p u la tio n
w ho re c o n stru c te d n a rra tiv e s a b o u t th e ir c h ild h o o d o r y o u th . As a p erso n I hav e
b e en deeply to u ch ed b y th e m oving accounts o f th e ir reco n stru cted m em ories th a t
h a v e re s u lte d in th is p a p e r's h e rm e n e u tic sch em a, u n d e rs ta n d in g o f im ages,
scripting of w isdom , a n d th e ra p eu tic e n try b a se d u p o n im ages. T he confirm ation
th a t th e se fin d in g s h e ld v a lid ity cam e as sele c ted sto ry te lle rs c ritiq u e d th is
findings section.
A gain, I am in d e b te d to th e s to ry te lle rs w ho s h a re d th e ir n a rra tiv e s.
W ithout th e ir courage to sh are th e ir w isdom th is section o f th e p a p e r could n o t
h av e b e e n w ritten . T h e ir n a rra tiv e s h av e to u c h e d m y h e a r t a n d e x p an d ed m y
vision of th e im pact o f severe stress u p o n a child o r youth.
87
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY
This c h a p te r is d iv id ed in to th re e sections. T he first section discusses th e
study's findings in re la tio n to th e theories covered in ch ap ter one to show how th e
c u rre n t fin d in g s s u p p o rt o r ex p an d existing th e o ry .
The im plications section
id en tifies a n u m b e r o f e n try p o in ts fo r th e ra p y w hich en ab les o n e to have th e
skills n ecessary to do th e ra p eu tic assessm ent a n d in terv en tio n . Such assessm ent
a n d in te rv e n tio n rely, n o t on ly u p o n th e ru les o f herm en eu tics, b u t also u p o n a n
u n d e rs ta n d in g of th e levels o f social in te ra c tio n a n d a g en eral know ledge o f
im ages. T he th ird section o f th is c h a p te r re-ad d resses th e subjective n a tu re o f
reality. ReaUty is fram ed in th e context o f degrees of p ro b ab ih ty . The degree o f
p ro b a b ility is equal to th e predictabiU ty of a given social in teractio n . If a given
social in te ra c tio n is c o n siste n t, th e n th e d e g re e o f p ro b a b ility th a t a social
in te ra ctio n will reo ccu r as p re d ic ted increases.
One lim itation of this stu d y stem s fro m th e size a n d com position of th e sam ple
p o p u la tio n .
T he sam ple p o p u la tio n size m a y h av e lim ited th e scope of th e
findings. If th e sam ple p o p u la tio n h a d b e e n la rg e r th e n p e rh a p s m ore diverse
findings m ay have b e e n possible. The n a rra tiv e s also com e fro m a C aucasian
perspective a n d m ay n o t re p re se n t th e findings of o th e r nadonaU ties.
A no th er lim itation o f this stu d y is its design. This study was conducted w ith a
select g roups of p e rso n s b y a specific in te rp re te r. These findings re p re se n t m y
analysis o f this specific group of people, a t this given time.
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A Review of T heoretical A ssum ptions
T h eo ry a n d findings m esh in th is section. The th e o re tic al co n stru cts u p o n
w hich th is stu d y was b u ilt a re also c o n firm ed , in p a rt, b y th e fin d in g s o f th e
stu d y .
T he fin d in g s also e x p a n d th e th e o re tic a l c o n stru c ts a n d c re a te o p e n
questions fo r fu rth e r study. W hat follows is a n overview of th e th eo ries in ch ap te r
o n e along w ith a review a n d im plications o f th e findings in terw o v en . Q uestions
fo r fu rth e r stu d y are in te rsp erse d as well.
M eshing T heories w ith Findings
K antor a n d Lehr (1985) u n d e rs ta n d im ages as in te rn a liz e d re p re se n ta tio n s
o f action m a d e o r observed" (p. 241). This p laces im ages sq u arely in th e context
of social tran sactio n s. This stu d y affirm s th a t o b serv atio n a n d a ctu al in teractio n
in social tra n sa c tio n s does c re ate im ages. Im ages w ere d isco v ered to b e w ords
th a t describe th e persons, places, o r things in each storyteller's n arrativ e.
N ichols' ego-object re la tio n sh ip p a ra d ig m (1984) p laces a h eav y em phasis
u p o n th e first thirty-six m o n th s of life fo r th e creatio n o f im ages. O ther th eo rists
su p p o rt th a t m a te rn a l-ty p e figures d o h a v e a tre m e n d o u s in flu en c e u p o n th e
d e v e lo p m e n t o f a n in fa n t's im ages a b o u t re a lity (C ritten d e n , 1985; Feldm an,
Stiffm an, & Jung, 1987; L ancaster & A dler, 1989).
The stu d y 's findings do n o t d e n y th e in fluence in th e first thirty-six m o n th s
o f ego-object in te ra ctio n s. Some sto ry tellers to ld o f v ery e a rly experiences th a t
s h a p e d th e ir views o f life. For one sto ry te lle r it was a n e a r d e a th experience
a ro u n d age fo u r a n d fo r a n o th er, a n experience in "Kiros" tim e a t age three.
T h ere is evidence fro m th e stu d y th a t th e in flu en ce o f social in te ra c tio n s
u p o n ego-object in te ra ctio n s goes fa r b e y o n d th e first th irty -six m o n th s o f life.
This stu d y su p p o rts a n HegeUan dialectic (B urr & Klein, 1994) ap p re cia tio n fo r
89
social in te ra c tio n s th a t b u ilds u p o n a lay-epistec view o f know ledge th a t is ev er
expanding, challenging, a n d changing o u r im ages of re a lity (K ruglanski, Baldwin,
& Tow son, 1983; Lalljee & A belson, 1983).
It w ould b e fa ir to say th a t first
im pressions m ad e d u rin g th e in fa n t a n d to d d le r y ears are pow erful co n trib u to rs,
b u t th a t as we grow, new know ledge, o r p e rh a p s th e ex pansion o f o u r cognitive
abilities, re sh ap e s a n d refines o u r im ages of reality.
T he findings su p p o rt th a t su b seq u en t ego-object in teractio n s, th a t o ccu rred
b e y o n d th e first th irty-six m o n th s, do h a v e a tre m e n d o u s im p a c t u p o n im ages.
The pow ers of articulation o r symbolic re p re se n ta tio n of events th ro u g h th e use of
language also e x p an d ed earlier im ages h e ld b y a n individual.
H ypothesis form ation fo r a lay-epistem ologist is actually a n explanation of a n
ego-object in teractio n . H ypotheses a re c reated to explain, a) th e goals of th e m ain
characters, b) th e plans fo r reaching those goals, a n d c) th e p a tte rn s of in teractio n
betw een th e ego a n d th e o b ject (Lalljee & A belson, 1983). Lalljee a n d A belson
view th is p ro cess as th e w ay we o rg an ize a n u n d e rsta n d in g o f o u r social lives.
Lalljee a n d A belson also view ed sc rip te d b eh av io rs, th a t a re th e outcom es o f
synthesized social in teractio n s, as in d icato rs th a t have re a c h e d a p o in t of closure
(Lalljee & A belson, 1983). This closure m ay b e d u e to tim e restraints o r a lack of
capacity o r m otivation (Kruglanski, Baldwin, & Towson, 1983).
T his s tu d y v iew ed s c rip te d b e h a v io rs as ju s t th a t, in d ic a to rs .
T h ese
indicators signaled th a t closure o n a given hypothesis h a d o ccurred. There was no
m e asu re m e n t available to determ in e tim e re stra in ts, capacity, o r m otivation. The
o nly in d ic a tio n th a t m o tiv ato rs existed was th ro u g h th e p re sen c e o f co n trastin g
views o f re a lity po sed b y a gran d m o th er, frien d , o r a life experience.
T he in te rp re ta tio n s th ro u g h o u t th is stu d y drew u p o n th e basic process of
a ttrib u tio n a l th e o rists like K ruglanski, Baldwin, a n d Towson (1983). These th re e
90
a u th o rs in d ic a te th a t in d iv id u a ls c re a te a n d te s t h y p o th e se s a cco rd in g to a
p e rs o n 's ca pacity a n d m o tiva tio n . T he capacity to g e n erate a n h y p o th esis is
d e p e n d e n t u p o n o ne's p a st knowledge (e.g., th e resid u e of sto re d images) a n d th e
p resen t availability o f new know ledge. O ne pow erful source o f new know ledge
th a t was ev id en t in th e n a rra tiv e s w ere experiences th a t w ere in d ire c t co n trast to
th e norm .
M o tiva to rs, acc o rd in g to K ruglanski, Baldwin, a n d T ow son (1983), a re
in te rn a liz e d factors th a t d raw u p o n a p e rso n 's n e e d fo r structure (th e know ledge
th a t gives o n e confidence), va lidity (th e b eliev ab ility o f o n e's know ledge), a n d
conclusions (w hich su p p o rt o n e 's b elief system ). W hen th e sam ple p o p u la tio n
re c o n stru c te d im ages a b o u t th e ir ch ild h o o d a n d y o u th , th e re was a n aw areness
th a t th e ir ch ild h o o d re a litie s w ere a n ex ten sio n of a re a lity h e ld b y a n a d u lt in
th e ir lives. This a re a n eed s fu rth e r study.
In d iv id u als sto re im ages o f living e v en ts w ith in a d a ta b ase, o r im agistic
m e m o ry b a n k , fo r fu tu re use (Hess & H an d el, 1959; N ichols, 1984).
T hese
c o n ce p tu a liz atio n s o f actions m ad e o r o b se rv e d y ield a view of re a lity th a t is
subjective, flu id , p e rc e p tu a l, a n d in te rp re tiv e in n a tu re (B urr & Klein, 1994).
This re a lity is v a lid a te d b y its p rag m atic usefulness a n d its n e e d to su p p o rt a
given b elief system (B urr & Klein, 1994; K ruglanski, Baldwin, & Towson, 1983).
T he a d u lts of th is p o p u la tio n h a d div erse views of re a lity as was ev id en t in
th e ir own u n iq u e expressions of scrip ted behaviors. R eahty fo r a h was subjective
a n d b a se d u p o n p e rc ep tu a l abilities. T hey survived. M any c h ild re n subjected to
such stressors do not. T h eir n a rra tiv e s su p p o rt th e fluid, p rag m atic em brace of
reality .
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Future R esearch
T h re e q u e stio n s fo r fu tu re s tu d y em erg e fro m th e fin d in g s.
The first
q u estion focuses on fam ily process. How d o fam ilies use th e social in teractio n s of
h isto ry to c re ate re a lity th a t shapes su b seq u en t generations.
A seco n d q u e stio n is a n o p e n e n d e d e th ic al q u estio n .
It sim ply asks if a
n e e d exists fo r c lien ts to know p r io r to th e r a p y th a t c e r ta in th e ra p e u tic
techniques actually a tte m p t to reco n stru ct im ages o f th e past.
A th ir d a re a th a t n eed s fu rth e r re s e a rc h is in th e a re a o f escape. W hen a
p e rs o n w ho is s u b je c te d to sev ere stre ss a tte m p ts to esc a p es p h y sica lly o r
m en tally , a re th e y fleeing fro m th e re sid u a l im age o f th e e v en t, o r fro m th e
p erso n s th a t p la ce d th e m at-risk, o r fro m th e possibility th a t th e severe stresso r
m ay reoccur?
Trrmlications: T heory D riven T herapy
T h e ra p y th a t is th e o ry d riv e n n e e d n o t b e com plex. O ne o f th e sim plest
form s o f counseling com es in th e fo rm o f storytelling. Stories p ro v id e a pow erful
to o l fo r th e ra p e u tic an aly sis.
T h e ra p y b a se d u p o n a k n o w led g e of im ages
directing b eh av io rs a n d beh av io rs creatin g new im ages can p ro v id e a m ean s fo r
b o th th e ra p e u tic a n aly sis a n d in te rv e n tio n .
Figure 6, w h ich w as u sed as a
h erm en eu tical fram ew ork in c h ap te r th re e , provides a conceptualization fo r th ese
fo u r p o in ts o f th e ra p e u tic e n try in counseling. These fo u r p o in ts o f th e ra p eu tic
a ss e ss m e n t a n d in te rv e n tio n ta k e p la c e w h e re n o u n s, n a rra tiv e , s c rip te d
b ehaviors, a n d im ages ap p ear.
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Nouns
A th e ra p is t can suggest th a t a p e rso n list th e p e rso n s, places, a n d th in gs
w hich a re m ost p ro m in en t. I w ould suggest two lists o f nouns, one list containing
n o u n s th a t h av e positive im ages a tta ch e d a n d a n o th e r list containing nou n s th a t
h a v e n e g ativ e im ages a tta c h e d . A fter th e lists a re co m p leted , to w hich m o re
nou n s c an be a d d e d later, th e p erso n should describe each p erso n , place, o r thing.
A n o th e r a p p ro a c h w ould b e to h av e th e p e rso n re la te a sto ry a b o u t each n o u n
w ith descriptive w ords picked o u t as s /h e tells th e story.
N arratives
A th e ra p ist m a y e n c o u n te r a p erso n w ho sim ply w ants to tell h is /h e r story.
As th e th e ra p ist listens to th e story. Figure 6 can b e u sed to in te rp re t the story as
it unfolds. T he th e ra p ist looks fo r positive im ages th a t fo ste r scrip ted behaviors
th a t p o in t th e in d iv id u a l tow ards h e a lth a n d com petence. A t th e sam e tim e th e
th e ra p ist looks fo r negative im ages th a t d ire c t scrip ted b eh av io rs tow ards escape.
At this p o in t, a n u m b e r o f directions are possible:
1) T he th e ra p ist m a y call fo rth a cognitive re a liza tio n a b o u t nouns.
N ouns c a n e lic it tw o im a g isd c p a th s .
c o n tra stin g b e h a v io rs.
T hese tw o p a th s le a d to
One set o f b e h a v io rs le a d s to h e a lth a n d
com petence a n d a n o th e r set leads to escape.
2) T he goal o f th e ra p y could be to develop a b eh av io r p lan . This plan
w o u ld re d ire c t s c rip te d b eh av io rs aw ay fro m n e g ativ e im ages a n d
tow ards positive im ages.
3) A n o th e r d ire c tio n m ig h t b e to d esen sitize im ages. This w ould be
d o n e b y going back a n d re in te rp re tin g th e stressful social in teractio n s
o f th e past. New im ages of h ealth a n d com petence w ould be interjected.
93
S cripted Behaviors
A th e ra p is t m ay w a n t to tackle p re sen tin g b eh av io rs th a t n e e d co rrectio n ,
like alcoholism . W hen a b eh av io r is reco g n ized as a resp o n se to fo rm ed im ages,
th e n a n a tte m p t can be m ad e to discover w h at set o f im ages d irects th a t behavior.
If th e b e h av io r entails shutting dow n, th e n this fo rm of escapism m ay b e a m eans
of avoiding th e im ages them selves. In cases o f shutdow n, th e th e ra p ist sh o u ld
tak e tim e a n d slowly call fo rth im ages b y re tu rn in g to listing n o u n s o r telling
sto ries.
Im ages
Im ages d escrib e th e n o u n s o f a given social in teractio n . An im age is b iased
b y th e know ledge o n e possesses fro m p re v io u s scrip ted b eh av io rs. The social
in te ra c tio n w ith a given n o u n m ay follow p a st scripts. If th e n a tu re of th e social
in te ra c tio n is to tally new, a process of h y p o th esis fo rm atio n will begin to create a
new im age. T he social in te ra ctio n w ith n o u n s n o t only defines th a t noun, b u t also
th e in d iv id u al w ho creates th e im ages.
Reality as Subjective In terp reta tio n
The conceptualization of reality em bodying only th e tangible, o r concrete, is
p o p u la r in th e h a rd sciences. T angible en tities like a tree, a bicycle, o r a m arb le
can b e m e a s u re d a n d w eighed.
The social in te ra c tio n b e tw ee n a tre e a n d a
bicyclist, w ho u n fo rtu n a te ly h its th e tre e a t th irty m iles p e r h o u r, is f a ir ly
p re d ic tab le a n d co n stan t. The p ro b lem arises w hen th e en tities being stu d ied in
a social in te ra ctio n a re n o longer predictable.
In th e a re n a o f social in te ra c tio n s , it is th e p re d ic ta b ility of sc rip te d
b eh av io rs th a t m akes som ething real. In a ctu ality scrip ted b e h av io rs can o n ly
94
possess a d e g re e o f p ro b a b ility .
T he h ig h e r th e d e g re e o f p ro b a b ility th a t a
scrip ted b eh av io r will b e followed, th e n th e h ig h e r th e degree o f p ro b ab ility th a t a
given social in te ra c tio n w ill occur.
For exam ple, th e la s t tim e I v isited m y
n e ig h b o r his Blue H eeler b it m y ankles. My experiences w ith Blue H eelers tells m e
th a t I if go back to m y n eig h b o r's house, I'd b e tte r w atch m y b ack side. However,
if I go to a m ovie w ith m y frie n d I do n o t know if s /h e w ill e n jo y th e m ovie.
P robabihty is m ore c ertain in som e social in teractio n s th a n it is in others.
This a sp e c t o f su b jec tiv e re a lity d o es n o t n e g a te th e a b ility to c re a te
p ro p o s itio n a l tru th s a b o u t life.
It sim p ly p laces p re p o s itio n a l tru th s o n a
c o n tin u u m of degrees o f p ro b ab ility . R eahty is m erely a n im age we create a fte r
socially in teracting w ith a person , place, o r thing.
Sum m ary
I h a v e fo u n d th e co n ce p tu a liz atio n o f im ages as a w indow in to a n o th e r's
re a lity to b e re fre sh in g .
It sets a sid e th e n e e d to ju d g e a n o th e r p e rs o n in
exchange fo r a position th a t invites m e to see w h at a n o th e r sees, w h at is co ntained
in a n o th e r's re a lity base.
I fin d th e id ea of im ages, scrip ted b eh av io rs, nouns, a n d n a rra tiv e s a sim ple
w ay to w o rk w ith in d iv id u a ls in th e c o n te x t o f th e ra p y .
a n aly zin g in fo rm a tio n .
By n a tu re I en jo y
This stu d y e n a b le d m e to follow a sim ple guide fo r
analysis a n d in te rv e n tio n . I h o p e th a t th e re a d e r has g lean ed a p o rtio n o f th e
significance a n d p racticality th a t I hav e o b ta in e d from this project.
95
References
96
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100
Appendices
101
C ontained in this section a re th e fo u r m a jo r d o cu m en ts o f this stu d y a n d th e ir
su b se q u e n t subsections.
I.
The Story Telling Procedure
A . The creation of hypothesis
B . The contrasting o f hypothesis
II.
Selecting Participants
A . Initial c riteria u sed to select w ell-functioning adults
(Beavers & Ham pson)
B. C riteria u sed to determ in e if a p erso n was a n at-risk child
(W erner & Smith)
III.
Screening Tool fo r th e Selection o f W ell-functioning Adults.
(Beavers & H am pson)
IV.
Release of Inform ation
102
A p p en d ix A
The Story Telling Procedure
>-
103
The Story Telling Procedure
I . The C onstruction o f a Hypothesis
In h y p o th esis co n struction in d iv id u al's logically deduces th e goals of m ain actors,
an y re s id e n t conflict betw een th o se goals, p lu s an y know n scripts fo r th e m ain
a c to rs, a n d th e p re s e n c e o f a n y c o v a ria n c e o r ex istin g p re -c o n d itio n s. An
in d iv id u a l's p ow er to utilize deductive logic is d e p e n d e n t u p o n th e ir capacity to
freeze o r u n fre e z e specific conclusions, to sto re ideas, a n d to lin k ideas to one
a n o th e r v ia language a n d o th e r form s o f im agery.
Scene O ne. From th e TAT p ictu res choose a set o f p ictu res th a t w ould re p re se n t
y o u r life as a child a n d /o r youth.
A . In th is first set of pictures identify th e m ain ch aracters . (Even if the
interview ed p e rso n does n o t id en tify them selves as a m ain character,
tr e a t them as one d u rin g th e questioning process.)
1 . W hat is th e goal fo r each m ain characters?
2 . W here th e re a n y conflicts betw een th e goals o f th e m ain characters?
3 . W hat p a tte rn o f behaviors d id each ch aracter follow?
4 . W hat im m ediately p re c ed e d this scene?
5 . W hat specific conclusion d id you re a c h after experiencing this
scene?
Scene Two. From th e TAT p ictu res choose a set of p ic tu re s th a t re p re se n ts th e
d ire c t o p posite to w hat yo u experienced as a child a n d /o r youth.
B.
In th is second set o f pictures id en tify th e m ain ch aracters . (Even if the
interview ed p erso n does n o t identify them selves as a m a in character,
tre a t th em as one d u rin g th e questioning process.)
1 . W hat is th e goal fo r each m ain characters?
2 . W here th e re a n y conflicts betw een th e goals of th e m ain characters?
3 . W hat p a tte rn of behaviors d id each ch aracter follow?
4 . W hat im m ediately p re c ed e d this scene?
5 . W hat specific conclusion w ould y ou have reach ed after
experiencing this scene?
104
II. C ontrasting th e H ypothesis
Individuals c o n stru c t c o n trastin g h y p o th esis to p ro v id e a c o n g ru e n t a n d v alid
organizational fram ew ork of re a lity w hich will su p p o rt specific conclusions. The
deductive a b ility o f a n in d iv id u a l enables th e m to c o n stru ct a n ew c o n tra stin g
hypothesis. A gain, th is a b ility is d e p e n d e n t u p o n th e ir c ap a c ity to freeze o r
unfreeze specific conclusions, to store ideas, a n d to link ideas to o n e a n o th e r v ia
language a n d o th e r form s of im agery.
A . C ontrast th e first set o f pictures w ith th e second set.
"W hat c o n tra st can you see
1 . betw een th e goals fo r each set of th e m ain characters?
2. betw een th e conflict over goals fo r each set of th e m ain characters?
3 . betw een th e p a tte rn o f behaviors fo r each set of th e m ain
characters?
4 . betw een w hat im m ediately p reced ed each of these scene?
5. betw een th e specific conclusion y ou w ould reach a fte r experiencing
each o f these scenes.
B. A fter c o n trastin g th e two sets of p ictu res ....
1 . Was th e re ev er a tim e in y o u r life w hen y ou w ere u n ab le/u n w illin g
to see th e c o n tra st betw een these two sets of pictures?
a . if so w hat k ept y o u r eyes closed?
b . if so w hat o p en ed y o u r eyes?
2 . In a v e ry sim plistic w ay these two sets o f pictures suggest th e
p resence o f a source of light in life. For you
a . w hat was th a t source of light in th e m idst of darkness?
b . w hat w ords d escrib e this light?
c. w h at im ages su rro u n d e d it's presence?
(Explore b o th external an d in te rn a l sources of light)
3 . Was th e re ever a tim e w hen th e light got dim, or a t tim e w h en you
fo rg et th a t th e light existed?
4 . W hat k e p t th e tight alive?
105
5 . W hen the light was p re se n t how d id it m ake you
a . feel?
b . w hat w ere some of y o u r thoughts?
c. how d id it affect y o u r behaviors?
6 . How did y o u r encoun ter w ith th e light effect
a . the goals for each of the m ain characters?
b . the conflict over goals fo r each o f th e m ain characters?
c. the p a tte rn o f behaviors fo r each o f th e m ain characters?
d . w h at im m ediately p re c ed e d this scene?
e . th e specific conclusion you w ould reach after experiencing
this scenes.
I
106
A ppendix B
Selecting P articipants
I'
107
Inform ational Flier
I am w orking o n a M aster's Thesis th a t review s th e m eanings a n at-risk child gives
to stressful life events. The m eaning a ttrib u te d to a n ev en t, by a n at-risk child,
m a y h e lp h im /h e r o v erco m e th e o d d s a n d e n ab le th e m to becom e a w ell
functioning adult.
My n e e d is to in terv iew w ell-functioning a d u lts w ho w ere on ce ch ild ren at-risk.
T hat is, adults whose childhood h a d stress p re se n t th a t could hav e k ep t them from
developing in to well functioning adults.
Two sets o f c riteria n e ed to be m e t to qualify fo r this study.
T he firs t s e t o f c rite ria d e fin e s y o u r p r e s e n t sty le o f re la tin g to o th e rs .
Please circle th e item (s) th a t a re g e n erally c h arac te ristic o f y o u as a n a d u l t
(lis t a d a p te d from Successful Families. Beavers & Ham pson, 1990)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
I seek a fte r an d usually fin d a sense o f em otional closeness to others.
I resp ect others who a re d ifferen t from m e; ethnically, g e n d er socially, etc.
I allow o thers persons to have d ifferen t po in ts of view fro m m y own.
I am able to negotiate w ith others so th e re is a clear u n d erstan d in g of both
w hat I believe a n d w hat th ey believe a n d w h at to g eth er we will do.
Because I value m y own thoughts a n d feelings an d ability to act, I am able to
h a n d le conflict o r am bivalence as it arises th ro u g h d irect dialogue a n d open
n eg o tiatio n .
I am able to acknow ledge others a u th o rity a n d respect th e ir position a n d /o r
w isdom .
I am flexible an d able to a d a p t to m y own developm ental changes o r life
stresses.
I am able to lovingly respect others as equals o r in the case o f children and
y o u th as em erging equals.
If m ost o f th e above m en tio n ed characteristics a re p re sen t in y o u r life, th en please
continue w ith the second set of criteria.
P lease c h ec k th e ite m s th a t a p p lie d to y o u r life a t th e ag es so in d ic a te d
b e lo w .
(List a d a p te d from O vercom ing th e Odds. W em e r & Smith, 1992)
Before age 2
I lived in poverty.
My m other was n ot m arried when I w as b o m .
I exp erienced prolonged disruption in m y fam ily life at age I.
My m other was pregnant with a sibling before I was age 2.
I had a num ber o f personal illnesses.
I was b elow norm al in p h ysical d evelop m en t or I was handicapped.
I was b elow norm al in in tellectu a lly d evelop m en t.
I was b elow norm al in social develop m ent.
108
Between Age 2 through 10
I liv ed in poverty.
My m other was perm anently ab sen t ( divorce, separation, death).
My father was perm an en tly ab sen t ( d ivorce, separation, death).
I had a sibling leave hom e.
I had a num ber o f illnesses.
I had a sibling w ho was handicapped.
My m other was alcoh olic, m en tally ill, or d evelop m en tal disabled.
My m other rem arried a n d /o r I had con flict w ith m y step father.
I exp erien ced con tin u al con flict betw een m y parents.
I n eed ed sp ecial education. Chapter I etc.
I n eed ed to see a m ental health counselor.
Between Ages 11 through 18
I lived in poverty.
My m other w as perm an en tly a b sen t(d ivorced , sep arated, death).
My fath er was p erm an en tly ab sen t (d ivorced , separated, death).
I was placed in a foster care.
I go t m arriage.
I had conflict w ith m y m other.
I had con flict w ith m y father.
During th e Ages 1 7 /1 8
I
I
I
I
had a record o f delinquency.
had m ental health problem s.
fa iled sch ool.
becam e pregnant.
If fo u r of these c h ild h o o d /y o u th characteristics w ere p re sen t in y o u r history th e n
y o u r insights w ould b e o f v alu e to re sea rc h ers stu d y in g ch ild re n a n d youth who
a re p re sen tly at-risk. Please co n sid er y o u r insights as a c o n trib u tio n to a pool o f
know ledge th a t attem pts to u n d e rsta n d how p ercep tio n s of life events can help an
at-risk child over come th e odds.
I ask th a t those desiring to sh a re th e ir in sig h ts tak e a n h o u r-an d -a -h a lf to b e
in te rv ie w e d b y m e co n ce rn in g re c o llec tio n s o f c h ild h o o d . C o n fid en tiality is
m a in ta in e d th ro u g h o u t th e study. Please co n tac t m e if y ou c an .h e lp , or please
pass this sheet on to som eone else who you know w hose w isdom could be of value.
T hank You.
John Plum m er
763-4109 (hm) / 586-6743 (wk, leave message)
A ppendix C
P resent Profile A ssessm ent
no
P resent Profile A ssessm ent
For each question, m ark the answ er th a t b est fits how you see y o u r in teractio ns
w ith o th e rs now. If you feel th a t y o u r an sw er is betw een two o f the lab eled
n um bers (th e o d d num bers), th en choose the even n u m b er th a t is betw een them .
Yes:
Fits
me
very
well
1.
2.
3.
4.
I pay attention to other people's
feelings.
I enjoy doing things together with
my present family/friends?
I have and also give other people a
say in making plans?
When I make decisions with others
I am able to understand and agree
on those decisions?
5.
I com pete and fight with others.
6.
I sense a closeness with my present
family/friends and yet allow them
to be special and unique.
I can accept the friends of my
present family/friends.
There is confusion in my life
because there is no le a d e r..
I am able to touch and hug others.
Put downs are normal interactions
between me and others.
I speak my mind, no m atter what.
Amongst my present family/friends
I feel loved.
My present family/friends and I
may feel close, but we are
embarrassed to admit it.
I argue a lot and never solve
problems with others.
My happiest times are witn those
closest to me.
When I am responsible for
something then I am a strong
leader.
The future looks good for me.
When things don't go right I
usually find someone to blame.
My present family/friends and I
usually go our own way most of the
time.
I am proud of being close to my
present family/friends
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
No:
Does
not
fit
me
Some
Fits
me
some
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
Ill
No:
Yex
Fits
me
very
well
21. I am good a t solving problem s w ith
others.
22. I am able to easily express w arm th
an d care tow ards others.
23. It's OK to fight a n d yell a t my
p resen t fam ily/friends
24. A m ongst those I care for I have m y
favorites.
25. W hen things go w rong I blam e
another.
26. I say w hat I think an d feel.
27. My p resen t family an d friends
w ould ra th e r do things w ith o th e r
people th a n with me.
28. I pay atte n tio n to o th e r people an d
listen to w hat they say.
29. I w orry ab o u t hurting o th e r's
feelings.
30. My m ood is usually sad a n d blue.
31. I argue a lot.
32. A m ongst m y p resen t fam ily/frien d s
I o r a n o th er will control o r lead.
33. I am h ap p y m ost of th e time.
34. I allow o th ers to take responsibility
for th e ir own actions.
35. I function well w ith others.
36. I rely upon m y present
fam ily/friends and they rely upon
m e for satisfaction ra th e r th an
seeking it elsew here.
Some:
Fits
me
some
D tK S
not
fit
me
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
2
3
4
5
I
I
I
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
I
I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
112
A ppenix D
Release o f Inform ation
113
R elea se o f In fo rm a tio n
T he in te n t o f this stu d y is to gain insights in to how you as a n a d u lt p erceiv ed
yourself, o th e r persons, a n d the setting in w hich people functioned w hen you w ere
a child. Your insights will be collated w ith o th ers' insights a n d to g eth er will create
a pool o f w isdom th a t can h elp developm entally at-risk children create resiliency.
You will b e a sk e d to sh a re y o u r in sig h ts in two areas. A lto g eth er it will take
approxim ately a n h o u r a n d a h a lf o f y o u r tim e.
T he first a re a will utilize TAT (T hem atic A p p reciatio n Test) p ictu res. The TAT
c an b e u s e d specifically as a te s t in s tru m e n t. In o u r case we will n o t b e
a d m in iste rin g th e TAT. We w ill sim ply u se th e TAT as a source fo r o b tain in g
som e classic p ictu res th a t will h elp recall y o u r childhood. You will be shown a set
o f p ictures a n d asked to select one o r m ore th a t b e st describes y o u r childhood an d
a second set o f p ictures th a t is in d ire c t c o n tra st to the first set. In these sets of
p ic tu re s y o u w ill be asked to id e n tify th e m a in ch arac te rs, th e ir b eh av io r a n d
goals, w h at p re c e d e d th e scene in th e p ictu re, a n d specific conclusions th a t can be
m ad e a b o u t each picture.
The second a re a of questioning will focus u p o n th e co n trasts th a t exist w ithin th e
sets o f p ic tu re s a n d we w ill ex p lo re h o w y o u sto re id e a a n d lin k new id eas
to g eth er.
The in terv iew should be of ben efit to y o u rself as well as to th e study. The areas of
questioning a re n o t in te n d e d to b e th erap eu tic, alth o u g h it m ay allow individuals
a n o p p o rtu n ity to organize th e ir th o u g h ts a n d gain new insights. It needs to be
clear th a t if y o u desire to w ithdraw from th e interview a t an y tim e you m ay do so
w ith o u t a n y obligation to co n tin u e. C onfidentiahty is g u a ra n tee d , w ith access o f
ra w in fo rm a tio n being o p e n o n ly to m y p ro fesso rs w ho over-sees this thesis.
Response will b e tap ed in o rd e r to assure th a t a h answ ers are accurately p o rtray ed
in th e study.
A sig n atu re o f consent is re q u ire d in o rd e r to allow m e to in terv iew an d to share
y o u r insights in a p u b h sh ed form . If a t a n y tim e you have a co n cern an d feel th e
n e e d to ta lk to m y im m ed iate su p erv iso r a t MSU, th e n please call Dr. C arm en
K n u d sen -M artin a t 994-3299. It n e ed s to b e rec o g n ize d th a t th is in terv iew
process is e n te re d in to w ith c ertain in h e re n t risk; th a t it m ay create feelings th a t
a re discom forting. Signing th is fo rm in d icates a w illingness to assum e th a t risk
a n d to w ith d raw oneself fro m th e interview if n e e d arises.
y o u r signature
in te rv ie w e r's s ig n a tu re
d ate
d a te
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