Dialogic Formations: Investigations into the Origins and Development of the Dialogical Self (Advances in Cultural Psychology: Constructing Human Development)

This volume understands itself as an invitation to follow a fundamental shift in perspective, away from the self-contained 'I' of Western conventions, and towards a relational self, where development and change are contingent on otherness. In the framework of 'Dialogical Self Theory' (Hermans & Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Hermans & Gieser, 2012), it is precisely the forms of interaction and exchange with others and with the world that determine the course of the self's development. The volume hence addresses dialogical processes in human interaction from a psychological perspective, bringing together previously separate theoretical traditions about the 'self' and about 'dialogue' within the innovative framework of Dialogical Self Theory. The book is devoted to developmental questions, and so broaches one of the more difficult and challenging topics for models of a pluralist self: the question of how the dynamics of multiplicity emerge and change over time. This question is explored by addressing ontogenetic questions, directed at the emergence of the dialogical self in early infancy, as well as microgenetic questions, addressed to later developmental dynamics in adulthood. Additionally, development and change in a range of culture-specific settings and practices is also examined, including the practices of mothering, of migration and cross-cultural assimilation, and of 'doing psychotherapy'. CONTENTS 6 Introduction. A Dialogical Paradigm For Psychology 12 Series Editor’s Preface. Voices as Vehicles: How the Mind Can Go Beyond Its Local Context 22 SECTION I: BASIC PHENOMENOLOGY 28 1. The Infant’s Voice Grows In Intimate Dialogue: How Musicality of Expression Inspires Shared Meaning 30 2. Exploring Voice: A Psycholinguist’s Inquiry into the Dynamic Materiality of Language 68 Commentary. Shared Voices: Commentary on Trevarthen and Bertau 96 SECTION II: CONSTRUCTING SELF AND SYMBOL 110 3. Polyphony: A Vivid Source of Self and Symbol 112 4. Self and Symbol Emerging from Dialogical Dynamics 148 Commentary. (Dis-)Continuity, (Inter-)Corporeality and Conventionality in Dialogical Development: Commentary on Gratier & Bertau and Lyra 172 5. Infant’s Early Voice Can Be Found in Their Emotions 182 6. Negotiating Motherhood: A Dialogical Approach 198 Commentary. Mothers, Dialogues, and Support: Commentary on Garvey & Fogel and on Duarte & Gonçalves 224 SECTION III: PERFORMING A SELF 230 7. Rehearsing Renewal of Identity: Reconceptualization on the Move 232 8. Personal Chronotopes in the Dialogical Self: A Developmental Case Study 262 Commentary. Grappling with the Good: Dialogic Process and the Challenge of Human Values A Commentary on Cunha et al. and on Raggatt 278 9. Supervision as a Conversation Among Developing Voices: An Assimilation Model Perspective 286 10. Contextual Infl uences on Acculturation: Psychological Assimilation and Continuing Bonds for Two Immigrants 316 Commentary. When Worlds Collide: Commentary on Osatuke & Stiles and Henry & Stiles 342 About the Authors 352