Experienced Life and Narrated Life Story: Gestalt and Structure of Biographical Self-Presentations

The key components of a biographical self-presentation include the individual's experienced life history, memory, and narrative. The experienced life history provides the foundation, while memory organizes and selects relevant experiences. The narrative then presents these experiences in a structured and coherent manner, forming a Gestalt. This Gestalt is shaped by formal factors like thematic similarity, interpretation points, and a consistent biographical overall view. The narrative's structure reflects the individual's internalization of social norms and their personal experiences, influencing how they perceive and present their life story. This process allows individuals to make sense of their past, present, and future, and to navigate the social world.

The healing effect of biographical narration arises from the Gestalt ambiguity of the experienced life history and the possibility of restructuring in the narrative process. The ambiguity allows for multiple interpretations and perspectives, enabling individuals to view their past experiences from different angles. This reorganization can help individuals integrate previously marginalized experiences into their life narrative, fostering a more coherent and autonomous self-concept. The narrative process itself provides a space for reflection and reevaluation, allowing individuals to reinterpret their past and find new meaning in their experiences. This process can be particularly beneficial for survivors of trauma, as it helps them process and integrate their experiences, leading to a more manageable and less distressing past. The possibility of restructuring also allows individuals to create a more positive and hopeful future, contributing to their overall well-being and healing.

Applying a phenomenological conception based on Gestalt theory to biographical research has several methodological implications. Firstly, it emphasizes the interrelation between experiencing, remembering, and narrating, focusing on the structure and organization of life experiences. This approach rejects dualistic views, like the separation of objective and subjective experiences, and instead highlights the mutual constitution of these aspects.

Secondly, it emphasizes the Gestalt nature of experiences, suggesting that events and experiences are not perceivable in isolation but are structured and organized in a way that influences perception. This has implications for data collection and analysis, as researchers must consider the context and structure of experiences when interpreting narratives.

Thirdly, the methodological implications include principles for conducting interviews and analyzing narratives, such as allowing space for Gestalt development, supporting the process of remembering, and encouraging verbalization of sensitive topics. This approach also emphasizes reconstructive case analysis, focusing on the functional significance of sequences within the overall structure of the biography.

Biographical research, social constructivist perspectives, and figurational sociology intersect by focusing on the interplay between individuals and society. Biographical research reconstructs life stories, highlighting the social construction of individual experiences. Social constructivism emphasizes how shared meanings and discourses shape individuals' perspectives. Figurational sociology examines the dynamic networks of interdependencies and power relations within social groups.

Their integration reveals how individuals are shaped by collective experiences and discourses, while also influencing these through their actions and narratives. This approach allows for a nuanced understanding of social processes, power dynamics, and the formation of identities. It underscores the importance of historical context, the role of discourses in shaping social realities, and the agency of individuals within complex social structures. By combining these perspectives, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of social phenomena and the diverse ways individuals navigate and shape their worlds.