The Power of the Stories We Tell Ourselves: An Exploration of Narrative Identity, Gendered Self-Concepts, and Well-Being

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which gender identity impacts the stories people tell about themselves. Past research has discussed gender identity and narrative identity independently, but there is little research on the relationship between the two. There is also substantial research on gender stereotypes of agency and communion, where women are often seen as communal and men as agentic. To better understand this question, this study evaluates how people perceive themselves in gendered ways, how people narrate about themselves broadly, and analyzes the impact of gender identity on well-being. Using a longitudinal experience-sampling approach, this study asks participants to respond to both quantitative and qualitative (open-ended) questions, allowing for further insight into how they define themselves, reflect about themselves, and think about themselves throughout different contexts and in the broader world. Results revealed three main findings: 1) men and women describe themselves in terms of gender or gender roles at similar rates, but men describe themselves as more communal and agentic than women, and women are less likely to describe themselves in agentic ways, 2) for women, alignment between the self and other women and between the self and other men was positively associated with well-being, and 3) elaboration was positively associated with women’s well-being and mentions of agency, but was negatively associated with men’s well-being.