Synthesizing contemporary integrative interpersonal theory and the narrative identity approach to examine personality dynamics and regulatory processes.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this paper is to promote the integration of two approaches to personality and assessment: Contemporary Integrative Interpersonal Theory (CIIT) and the Narrative Identity Approach (NI).

METHODS

We review CIIT and NI, describe their similarities and differences, and articulate opportunities to integrate the approaches to more fully account for personality dynamics and self-regulation.

RESULTS

We identify several areas within which concepts from CIIT and NI could be synthesized and offer four concrete suggestions for integrating the assessment methods within each approach: (1) using narratives to explicate interpersonal perception, (2) using stories to clarify interpersonal context, (3), using the Interpersonal Situation as a framework for unpacking narrative elements, and (4) coding interpersonal sequences in narrative data.

CONCLUSIONS

CIIT and NI have potential to augment one another both theoretically and methodologically in ways that would be fruitful for conceptualizing and studying personality dynamics and self-regulation.