Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Functions of personal and vicarious life stories: identity and empathy
Majse Lind1, Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen1
1a Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences , Center on Autobiographical Memory Research (CON AMORE), Aarhus University , Aarhus , Denmark.
Abstract:
The present study investigates functions of personal and vicarious life stories focusing on identity and empathy. Two-hundred-and-forty Danish high school students completed two life story questionnaires: one for their personal life story and one for a close other's life story. In both questionnaires, they identified up to 10 chapters and self-rated the chapters on valence and valence of causal connections. In addition, they completed measures of identity disturbance and empathy. More positive personal life stories were related to lower identity disturbance and higher empathy. Vicarious life stories showed a similar pattern with respect to identity but surprisingly were unrelated to empathy. In addition, we found positive correlations between personal and vicarious life stories for number of chapters, chapter valence, and valence of causal connections. The study indicates that both personal and vicarious life stories may contribute to identity.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Personal Identity
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Role-Based Identity
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Empathy
Self Within Cultural Contexts

