Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 23, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
The development of past and future life stories in adolescence: Overall emotional tone, coherence and life script
Stine B Ramsgaard1, Annette Bohn1
1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Center on Autobiographical Memory Research (CON AMORE), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Abstract:
Research has shown that identity in adolescence takes the shape of a coherent life story that integrates the past with the present self and provides meaning and purpose in the person's life. One stable feature of narrative identity identified in adults is emotional tone. Here, the development of emotional tone in life stories was investigated across childhood and adolescence. A total of 142 adolescents aged 10 to 14 years wrote about their past weekend, their past and future life stories and generated a cultural life script. Across age groups, adolescents told past life stories that were overall mixed (both positive and negative) or moderately positive in emotional tone, and future life stories that were positive or highly positive. In relation to life story development, we replicated findings on age-related development of life story coherence in both past and future life stories in 10-14-year-olds. Lastly, the study highlights the link between life story coherence and cultural life script abilities. Cultural life script typicality was linked to life story coherence for both past and future life stories and across all age groups, and a majority of events mentioned in future life stories overlapped with cultural life script events.
More Related Videos
09:55Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
13:08Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Autobiographical Memory
Social Scripts
Emerging Adulthood
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Childhood
The first four of Erikson's eight...