Possible Selves: Analysis of narratives

Abstract

The article deals with a phenomenon «what might have been» that was operationalized as possible Selves presented in alternative stories (narratives) about a person’s unrealized versions of life and choices that had not been done. The semi-structured interview method with elements of narrative interview was applied. 20 respondents (10 men and 10 women) of different professions participated in the study, mean age was 23. The analysis of the data helped to assess four types of alternative narratives of life: alternative narratives that did not differ from the real narratives; alternative narratives that were more pessimistic than real narratives; alternative narratives that were more optimistic than real narratives; vague alternative narratives. The content of the alternative narratives is discussed in the article, and the attitude of people to their unrealized versions of life is provided. The content of alternative narratives of people with different levels of fully functioning is also examined. It is concluded that optimistic alternative narratives are associated with low levels of fully functioning, whereas pessimistic alternative narratives are prevalent in people with high levels of fully functioning.