Last week, the New York Times published a review of two new Charles Dickens biographies. The review mentions "In his younger years, we are reminded, Dickens toyed with a variety of possible careers - in law, theater, journalism - before settling down to be a novelist, a vocation that would eventually enable him to explore all the roads not taken, to imagine the many what-ifs surrounding his precarious childhood."
I proceeded to tweet that Dickens' preoccupation with possible selves suggests he should have considered a career in psychology as well. Why?
Well, not just because of his keen insights into human nature -- and the role that class and environment play in development -- but also because in considering his own possible selves, Dickens was capable of appreciating that we all struggle with who we want to be and who we are afraid to be.
In fact, psychologists who study possible selves, or the selves we hope to become and fear becoming, have found that within a therapeutic context, as we begin changing, we think more and more about our possible selves and try to validate them (Dunkel, Kelts, & Coon, 2006). This is perhaps reflected in how Scrooge's confrontation with his past motivates him to change his behavior, in order to avoid his feared possible selves (Strahan & Wilson, 2006).
And research indicates that after a life transition (e.g., becoming a parent), individuals whose identities reflect their pre-transition hoped-for possible selves show greater emotional well-being than individuals whose identities now reflect more of their pre-transition feared possible selves (Manzi, Vignoles, & Regalia, 2010). Dickens seems to have envisioned such back in 1837 when he described the peace and contentment of Oliver Twist after he flees the Artful Dodger and a general life of crime.
So research studies are to be noted for their empirical results that explain how identity and possible selves function in large groups of people. And Dickens is to be noted for his portrayals of how identity and possible selves function in characters who have guided, and will continue to guide, our understanding of ourselves. Ain't fiction great? It shows us who we are - and who we might be.
And on that note, consider how who you are for Halloween may reflect who you hope to become, and who you fear becoming.
References
Dunkel, C. S., Kelts, D., & Coon, B. (2006). Possible selves as mechanisms of change in therapy. In C. Dunkel, & J. Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 187-204). Hauppage, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Manzi, C., Vignoles, V. L., & Regalia, C. (2010). Accommodating a new identity: Possible selves, identity change and well-being across two life-transitions. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 970-984.
Strahan, E. J., & Wilson, A. E. (2006). Temporal comparisons, identity, and motivation: The relation between past, present, and possible future selves. In: Possible Selves: Theory, research and application. Editors: C. Dunkel and J. Kerpelman, pp. 1 - 15. NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
