Narrative Psychology

Narrative psychology is a perspective of the science of human behavior which views stories as the principal means in expressing values and meanings. It is the study of how people deal with life experiences by looking into the content and structure of their stories. It focuses on how an individual portrays himself as a main character in a story. Narrative psychologists believe that we have a natural affinity for stories and asking about someone’s “turning points”, “high points”, and “low points” paves way for a rich material to be analyzed regarding his or her behavior. The term “narrative psychology” was coined in 1986 by Theodore Sarbin with his book, “Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct”.