Life story interview
Life Story Interview Guidelines
Overview
You will interview someone that you know well (e.g., family member, significant other, best friend) using the Life Story Interview technique and then write up your interviewee’s life story, imparting your analysis of the person’s personality based on personality theories that you’ve learned in class.
Part 1: The Life Story Interview
You should set aside at least two hours to complete the interview with your partner (see below for interview guidelines and scripting). In addition to taking notes, consider recording the interview so that you may refer back to it.
Due to the intimate nature of the interview topics, your interviewee may not feel comfortable answering certain questions and should not be pressured to respond. Furthermore, as an interviewer, you should refrain from commenting on the interviewee’s answers except for those responses that require active listening and empathy.
Part 2: Write-Up and Analysis/Interpretation (5 pages max)
After completing your interview, you will compose your interviewee’s life story. You should begin with an introductory paragraph that alerts the reader about how you know your interviewee and what psychological theories you will use to analyze/interpret his/her personality and behavior. You should then move toward relaying key memories or events in your interviewee’s life. You do not have to present every memory or life event, but the reader should get the sense of what the interviewee’s personality is like and the history behind his/her values, behavior, and current life stage.
As you relay key memories or events, you should offer your analysis of your interviewee’s story and personality. To do this, use your knowledge of the personality theories (e.g., psychodynamic, humanistic, trait) that we’ve covered in class (or the book) to comment on your interviewee’s personality. For example, what would Freud say about your interviewee’s early childhood experiences? At what life stage would Erikson categorize your interviewee? Does your interviewee’s behavior support Adler’s Birth Order Theory? IMPORTANT: You should use at least three different theories to interpret/explain your interviewee’s personality/behavior.
Conclude the story by identifying common themes that tie the events together and have shaped your interviewee’s personality. Is the interviewee’s story a simple or complex, interwoven one? What does this simplicity or complexity say about your interviewee’s personality?
Part 3: Reflection (2-3 pages)
The life story technique is one way to learn about a person. Based on your knowledge of current personality methods and research, how does the life story technique compare to other ways in which you could learn about someone? You may incorporate comments/critiques that the interviewee makes in your reflection.
Some questions you may wish to consider:
• How is the life story interview similar to and different from other ways of measuring a person’s personality?
• What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• Did you learn anything about the person from this process that was different from what you could learn using other approaches (or from what you already knew about them)?
• Does the life story technique help explain any of your interviewee’s behavior patterns?
• Do you think you could predict the person’s future behavior? Would it do as good a job, or a better job of predicting future behavior than other techniques?
Formatting
APA Style Instructions:
• The paper should be double spaced with 1” margins. Do not triple or quadruple-space between sections of the paper – double space everything. Use Times New Roman, 12 pt. type. It should be 5-7 pages in length of actual text, with at least 2 pages reflecting on the life story interview process. Be sure to proofread your paper for spelling/grammar/punctuation, orderly presentation of ideas, and clarity.
• Your title page, which is not included in the total required # of pages, should include: (a) the following title centered vertically and horizontally in the top half of the page – Personality Development Life Story Interview; (b) your name (with middle initial), centered, a double spaced line below the title; (c) your institution (Oral Roberts University), centered, a double spaced line below your name; (d) a running head on the top line, flush left, using your last name; (e) page number of “1” on the top line, flush right. Page numbers should be subsequently numbered throughout the paper. Note again that the title page is not included in your required page total.
• You do not have to include a reference page with this assignment.
Grading Criteria
• Length (5-7 pages) and formatting (10 points)
• Depth/conciseness and verbal expression/clarity (15 points)
• Theory #1: correct application and examples (15 points)
• Theory #2: correct application and examples (15 points)
• Theory #3: correct application and examples (15 points)
• Reflection: synthesis of ideas and thoughtful analysis (30 points)
Due Date
Your paper assignment is due by 11:59 pm on November 28th and is worth a total of 100 points. The paper must be uploaded to D2L; no paper copy is turned in. Late papers will not be accepted.
The Life Story Interview (Script)
Introduction
This is an interview about the story of your life. For my class paper in Personality Psychology, I am interested in hearing your story, including parts of the past as you remember them and the future as you imagine it. The story is selective; it does not include everything that has ever happened to you. Instead, I will ask you to focus on a few key things in your life – a few key scenes, characters, and ideas. There are no right or wrong answers to my questions. Instead, your task is simply to tell me about some of the most important things that have happened in your life and how you imagine your life developing in the future. I will guide you through the interview so that we finish it all in about two hours or less.
Please know that my purpose in doing this interview is not to figure out what is wrong with you or to do some kind of deep clinical analysis! Nor should you think of this interview as a “therapy session” of some kind. The interview is for my class paper and its main goal is simply to hear your story. Personality psychologists collect people’s life stories in order to understand the different ways in which people in our society live their lives and the different ways in which they understand who they are. Everything you say is voluntary, anonymous, and confidential. I think you will enjoy the interview. Do you have any questions?
A. Life Chapters
Please begin by thinking about your life as if it were a book or novel. Imagine that the book has a table of contents containing the titles of the main chapters in the story. To begin here, please describe very briefly what the main chapters in the book might be. Please give each chapter a title, tell me just a little bit about what each chapter is about, and say a word or two about how we get from one chapter to the next. As a storyteller here, what you want to do is to give me an overall plot summary of your story, going chapter by chapter. You may have as many chapters as you want, but I would suggest having between about 2 and 7 of them. We will want to spend no more than about 20 minutes on this first section of the interview, so please keep your descriptions of the chapters relatively brief.
[Note to interviewer: The interviewer should feel free to ask questions of clarification and elaboration throughout the interview, but especially in this first part. This first section of the interview should run between 15 and 30 minutes.]
B. Key Scenes in the Life Story
Now that you have described the overall plot outline for your life, I would like you to focus in on a few key scenes that stand out in the story. A key scene would be an event or specific incident that took place at a particular time and place. Consider a key scene to be a moment in your life story that stands out for a particular reason – perhaps because it was especially good or bad, particularly vivid, important, or memorable. For each of the eight key events we will consider, I ask that you describe in detail what happened, when and where it happened, who was involved, and what you were thinking and feeling in the event. In addition, I ask that you tell me why you think this particular scene is important or significant in your life. What does the scene say about you as a person? Please be specific.
1. High point. Please describe a scene, episode, or moment in your life that stands out as an especially positive experience. This might be the high point scene of your entire life, or else an especially happy, joyous, exciting, or wonderful moment in the story. Please describe this high point scene in detail. What happened, when and where, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, please say a word or two about why you think this particular moment was so good and what the scene may say about who you are as a person.
2. Low point. The second scene is the opposite of the first. Thinking back over your entire life, please identify a scene that stands out as a low point, if not the low point in your life story. Even though this event is unpleasant, I would appreciate your providing as much detail as you can about it. What happened in the event, where and when, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, please say a word or two about why you think this particular moment was so bad and what the scene may say about you or your life.
[Interviewer note: If the participants balks at doing this, tell him or her that the event does not really have to be the lowest point in the story but merely a very bad experience of some kind.]
3. Turning point. In looking back over your life, it may be possible to identify certain key moments that stand out as turning points — episodes that marked an important change in you or your life story. Please identify a particular episode in your life story that you now see as a turning point in your life. If you cannot identify a key turning point that stands out clearly, please describe some event in your life wherein you went through an important change of some kind. Again, for this event please describe what happened, where and when, who was involved, and what you were thinking and feeling. Also, please say a word or two about what you think this event says about you as a person or about your life.
4. Positive childhood memory. The fourth scene is an early memory – from childhood or your teen-aged years – that stands out as especially positive in some way. This would be a very positive, happy memory from your early years. Please describe this good memory in detail. What happened, where and when, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, what does this memory say about you or about your life?
5. Negative childhood memory. The fifth scene is an early memory – from childhood or your teen-aged years – that stands out as especially negative in some way. This would be a very negative, unhappy memory from your early years, perhaps entailing sadness, fear, or some other very negative emotional experience. Please describe this bad memory in detail. What happened, where and when, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, what does this memory say about you or your life?
6. Vivid adult memory. Moving ahead to your adult years, please identify one scene that you have not already described in this section (in other words, do not repeat your high point, low point, or turning point scene) that stands out as especially vivid or meaningful. This would be an especially memorable, vivid, or important scene, positive or negative, from your adult years. Please describe this scene in detail, tell what happened, when and where, who was involved, and what you were thinking and feeling. Also, what does this memory say about you or your life?
7. Wisdom event. Please describe an event in your life in which you displayed wisdom. The episode might be one in which you acted or interacted in an especially wise way or provided wise counsel or advice, made a wise decision, or otherwise behaved in a particularly wise manner. What happened, where and when, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, what does this memory say about you and your life?
8. Religious, spiritual, or mystical experience. Whether you are religious or not, many people report that they have had experiences in their lives where they felt a sense of the transcendent or sacred, a sense of God or some almighty or ultimate force, or a feeling of oneness with nature, the world, or the universe. Thinking back on your entire life, please identify an episode or moment in which you felt something like this. This might be an experience that occurred within the context of your own religious tradition, if you have one, or it may be a spiritual or mystical experience of any kind. Please describe this transcendent experience in detail. What happened, where and when, who was involved, and what were you thinking and feeling? Also, what does this memory say about you or your life? Now, we’re going to talk about the future.
C. Future Script
1. The next chapter. Your life story includes key chapters and scenes from your past, as you have described them, and it also includes how you see or imagine your future. Please describe what you see to be the next chapter in your life. What is going to come next in your life story?
2. Dreams, hopes, and plans for the future. Please describe your plans, dreams, or hopes for the future. What do you hope to accomplish in the future in your life story?
3. Life project. Do you have a project in life? A life project is something that you have been working on and plan to work on in the future chapters of your life story. The project might involve your family or your work life, or it might be a hobby, a vocation, or pastime. Please describe any project that you are currently working on or plan to work on in the future. Tell me what the project is, how you got involved in the project or will get involved in the project, how the project might develop, and why you think this project is important for you and/or for other people.
D. Challenges
This next section considers the various challenges, struggles, and problems you have encountered in your life. I will begin with a general challenge, and then I will focus in on three particular areas or issues where many people experience challenges, problems, or crises.
1. Life challenge. Looking back over your entire life, please identify and describe what you now consider to be the greatest single challenge you have faced in your life. What is or was the challenge or problem? How did the challenge or problem develop? How did you address or deal with this challenge or problem? What is the significance of this challenge or problem in your own life story?
2. Health. Looking back over your entire life, please identify and describe a scene or period in your life, including the present time, wherein you or a close family member confronted a major health problem, challenge, or crisis. Please describe in detail what the health problem is or was and how it developed. If relevant, please discuss any experience you had with the health-care system regarding this crisis or problem. In addition, please talk about how you coped with the problem and what impact this health crisis, problem, or challenge has had on you and your overall life story.
3. Loss. As people get older, they invariably suffer losses of one kind or another. By loss I am referring here to the loss of important people in your life, perhaps through death or separation. These are interpersonal losses – the loss of a person. Looking back over your entire life, please identify and describe the greatest interpersonal loss you have experienced. This could be a loss you experienced at any time in your life, going back to childhood and up to the present day. Please describe this loss and the process of the loss. How have you coped with the loss? What effect has this loss had on you and your life story?
4. Failure, regret. Everybody experiences failure and regrets in life, even for the happiest and luckiest lives. Looking back over your entire life, please identify and describe the greatest failure or regret you have experienced. The failure or regret can occur in any area of your life – work, family, friendships, or any other area. Please describe the failure or regret and the way in which the failure or regret came to be. How have you coped with this failure or regret? What effect has this failure or regret had on you and your life story?
E. Personal Ideology
Now, I would like to ask a few questions about your fundamental beliefs and values and about questions of meaning and morality in your life. Please give some thought to each of these questions.
1. Religious/ethical values. Consider for a moment the religious or spiritual aspects of your life. Please describe in a nutshell your religious beliefs and values, if indeed these are important to you. Whether you are religious or not, please describe your overall ethical or moral approach to life.
2. Political/social values. How do you approach political or social issues? Do you have a particular political point of view? Are there particular social issues or causes about which you feel strongly? Please explain.
3. Change, development of religious and political views. Please tell the story of how your religious, moral, and/or political views and values have developed over time. Have they changed in any important ways? Please explain.
4. Single value. What is the most important value in human living? Please explain.
5. Other. What else can you tell me that would help me understand your most fundamental beliefs and values about life and the world? What else can you tell me that would help me understand your overall philosophy of life?
F. Life Theme
Looking back over your entire life story with all its chapters, scenes, and challenges, and extending back into the past and ahead into the future, do you discern a central theme, message, or idea that runs throughout the story? What is the major theme in your life story? Please explain.
G. Reflection
Thank you for this interview. I have just one more question for you. Many of the stories you have told me are about experiences that stand out from the day-to-day. For example, we talked about a high point, a turning point, a scene about your health, etc. Given that most people don’t share their life stories in this way on a regular basis, I’m wondering if you might reflect for one last moment about what this interview, here today, has been like for you. What were your thoughts and feelings during the interview? How do you think this interview has affected you? Do you have any other comments about the interview process?
