Skip to main content
Sé Narrativo

Narrative Self

Written by Andrea Pintimalli - Redazione scientifica on .

Narrative Self

The concept of the Narrative Self is situated within self-theories proposed from various neuro-phenomenological perspectives. This concept was initially introduced by William James in the early 1900s to distinguish the Minimal Self from the Narrative Self.

Origins and Conceptualization

Building on James’s studies, Gallagher was the first, in the early 2000s, to systematically rework the concept, translating it from the phenomenological to the neuroscientific domain. In recent years, research has conceived each of these self-states as specific configurations of self-awareness and mental contents.

Within neuroscientific research, the neuro-phenomenological paradigm initiated by Varela, Thompson, and Rosch aims to integrate:

  • first-person subjective reports related to the experience of self-awareness;
  • third-person objective measurements, including electrophysiological measures;
  • and, in more recent studies, behavioral data related to Executive Functions.

Definition and Characteristics

The Narrative Self – a self-image constructed through autobiographical memories and future projections – involves awareness of a personal identity and continuity over time, as well as conceptual content. The Narrative Self is a more or less coherent self (or self-image) built on a past and future perspective in the various narratives that we and others tell about ourselves. To achieve this, the Narrative Self relies on declarative and episodic memory of the past or projection into the future, and in order for an evaluative and personal perspective to form and persist over time, cognitive and volitional processes must be in place.

In fact, the narrative skills necessary to establish the Narrative Self are associated with core components of executive functions and the higher-order functions that emerge from them, such as working memory and inhibition. However, once the Narrative Self is constructed and established, a person can act more automatically with some premeditation, based on learning processes and experiences accumulated and internalized throughout life. This means that in a Narrative Self state, a person can operate with relatively low self-awareness.

The Narrative Self in the Sphere Model of Consciousness

In the neuro-phenomenological model created by Patrizio Paoletti called the Sphere Model of Consciousness, three types of Self are considered: in addition to the Narrative Self, the Minimal Self, the state of Self-Transcendence is included, in which all sense of self disappears. They are represented as concentric circles around a center, with the Narrative Self (NS) on the outermost, the Minimal Self (MS) in the middle, and Self-Transcendence (ST) at the center.

Each of them is characterized by a state of self-awareness and a particular first-person phenomenology of experience, expressed through components guided by functionality and cognition.

Sphere Model of Consciousness - Electrotopography of the Self
Figure 1 – A. The Sphere Model of Consciousness. B. The different Selves in the SMC and their main suggested electrophysiological correlates. The Narrative Self is linked to gamma and beta, the Minimal Self is linked to a transition toward alpha and theta, and Self-Transcendence is primarily linked to delta activity. [Adapted from Paoletti & Ben-Soussan 2019, 2020]

Electrophysiological Correlates and Connections with Meditation

According to a comprehensive review of the scientific literature published by researchers at RINED, the Research Institute in Neuroscience, Education, and Didactics of the Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, the Narrative Self has been consistently correlated with increased Gamma during self-referential processing and focused attention in various cognitive tasks, while a general decrease of this band has been reported during more relaxed meditation states.

List of terms

Subscribe to the newsletter