The personal meaning of symbols: A method of investigation

In light of the inherent significance of symbols and their nevertheless manifold variety of meanings, we present a method for investigation. In the theory behind this method, the person is viewed as an organized process of self-reflection, always oriented from a particular point in time and space toward the past, present, and future. As this orientation varies, different valuations emerge, with avaluation being a unit of meaning seen by the person as particularly relevant in his or her own life. A distinction is made between "symbolic" valuations, which usually have a pictorial character (for example, "I am impressed by the roots of a tree"), and "ordinary" valuations, which typically have a conceptual character (for example, "I have a strong bond with my family"). These types of experiences are combined and organized in a system of valuations, from where the symbol receives its personal meaning. We present a method of self-investigation for studying the interrelation between the valuation of symbols and the valuation of daily life, the affective properties of these valuations, their motivational implications, and their long-term development. We illustrate the proposed methodology with the case study of a woman who incorporated the "tree" as a symbol of purification into her valuation system and show how this allowed her to reintegrate certain negative experiences out of her past in her actual self.