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Personal narratives as the highest level of cognitive integration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2013

Jacob B. Hirsh
Affiliation:
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada. jacob.hirsh@utoronto.cawww.jacobhirsh.com
Raymond A. Mar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J1P3, Canada. mar@yorku.cawww.yorku.ca/mar
Jordan B. Peterson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada. peterson@psych.utoronto.cawww.psych.utoronto.ca/users/peterson

Abstract

We suggest that the hierarchical predictive processing account detailed by Clark can be usefully integrated with narrative psychology by situating personal narratives at the top of an individual's knowledge hierarchy. Narrative representations function as high-level generative models that direct our attention and structure our expectations about unfolding events. Implications for integrating scientific and humanistic views of human experience are discussed.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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