Hubert J M Hermans

Radboud University | RU · Department of Clinical Psychology

对话自我理论对教育领域的侵入并没有得到应有的重视。在本文中，我们将通过 回顾DST研究在过去十年中对教育心理学的主要贡献，来证实其重要性。为此， 我们将内容分为三个主题：对话式教学过程、处于不同教育水平的专业人员的身 份、以及关于全纳教育的研究，特别是跨文化教育的相关研究。最后，我们根据 最近关于21世纪教育的最新国际报告，讨论了未来的研究方向。通过本综述， 我们可以肯定，DST构成了一种革命性的认识论方法，它渗透了相互心理之间和 内在心理之间的界限，将公共层面和心理层面视为两个不断对话的平行社会，并 回归了心理学在研究心理动力学中的核心作用，前者这一“黑匣子”曾被社会建 构主义潮流部分地忽略

The introduction of the Dialogical Self Theory in the field of education has not received the recognition it deserves. In this article we intend to prove the importance of research in DST, reviewing its main contributions to the psychology of education for the past decade. To this end, we have organized it into three thematic areas: dialogical teac...

In this volume, Dialogical Self Theory is innovatively presented as a guide to help elucidate some of the most pressing problems of our time as they emerge at the interface of self and society. As a bridging framework at the interface of the social sciences and philosophy, Dialogical Self Theory provides a broad view of problem areas that place us...

The experience of uncertainty is outlined at two levels: individual and societal. On the individual level, uncertainty has both positive, constructive implications and negative, maladaptive ones. As a main response on the individual level, the function of promoter positions is delineated, with the Rogerian concept of “organismic valuing” as a proto...

In the history of philosophy, two lines can be distinguished, one represented by Plato, Augustine, and Descartes, emphasizing the centralizing movements in the self, another one embodied by Montaigne, Nietzsche, and Freud, proposing decentralizing movements in the self. As an example of present-day centralizing tendencies, the rise of meritocracy i...

Sartre’s play No Exit is described in order to demonstrate the nature of imprisonment that results from looking at oneself via the mirrors of social judgment. In a similar vein, the “male gaze” is analyzed as the imprisoning reduction of the female body as an it-position in the service of the pleasure of the male viewer. This is followed by a disco...

Weber’s thesis of the disenchantment of the world is interpreted as “we-prison” in Dialogical Self Theory (DST). As a counter-example, the phenomenon of awe is presented as an experience that opens the self to the wider universe. In that context, Martin Buber’s work on spirituality and Rollo May’s work on creativity are compared. The shadow sides o...

Plato’s tripartite theory is used as a lens to increase our understanding of Dialogical Self Theory (DST) and to stimulate the further exploration of its personal, social, and societal possibilities. Plato creates links between (a) body parts (head, chest, belly), (b) faculties of the soul (logos, thymos, eros), and (c) societal groups (philosopher...

In this volume, Dialogical Self Theory is innovatively presented as a guide to help elucidate some of the most pressing problems of our time as they emerge at the interface of self and society. As a bridging framework at the interface of the social sciences and philosophy, Dialogical Self Theory provides a broad view of problem areas that place us...

Two main forms of well-being are outlined: hedonic and eudemonic happiness as viewed from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory and from narrative psychology. Two limitations of these approaches are discussed: the lack of the other in the self and the neglect of reason. Taking these limitations into account, a model of multiple well-being is...

Two imprisoning factors, rumination and loneliness, on the individual level, and two imprisoning factors, social isolation and over-positioning economy, at the collective level are extensively described. Several implications for the organization of the self in contemporary society are outlined: the increasing density and heterogeneity of I-position...

In this volume, Dialogical Self Theory is innovatively presented as a guide to help elucidate some of the most pressing problems of our time as they emerge at the interface of self and society. As a bridging framework at the interface of the social sciences and philosophy, Dialogical Self Theory provides a broad view of problem areas that place us...

Dialogicality has given rise to fruitful debates and they are fully present in this book: Education, training, communication, and therapy. It is expressed in two forms: “for dialogue”, in the sense of teaching how to dialogue more and better, but also "as dialogue", the very basis that gives meaning to these processes. In short, critical reflection...

This chapter elaborates on the interplay between divergent I -positions in order to create the optimal conditions for learning from others and from oneself. In that context, a distinction is made between rumination, self-reflection, and multi-voicedness, with the latter being the most fertile basis for inner democracy. Much attention is given to th...

Some factors that stimulate inner democracy and some that impede it are extensively described in this chapter. Stimulating factors include the following: the flexibility to change from one perspective to another one, tolerance for uncertainty, the capacity to discern inner contradictions, learning to be empathic, and the sensitivity to see the mult...

The principle of participation in a democratic self is explored in more detail in this chapter. The psychological case of a client is presented who lacked any form of inner democracy at the beginning of the counseling process. Using this case, the processes of positioning and repositioning are elucidated and the argument is presented that the self...

This book investigates the psychological background of contemporary societal problems such as hate speech, authoritarianism, and divisive forms of identity politics. As a response to these phenomena, the book presents the basic premise that a democratic society needs citizens who do more than just express their preference for free elections, freedo...

This chapter explores the connection between inner democracy and inner opposition. Literature shows that human beings function as a vessel of contradictions, but in the context of this book, the claim is made that herein lies exactly the basis for inner opposition and the potential of productive inner dialogue. The acknowledgment that we can hold c...

One of the most daunting problems that inner democracy has to face in the future is the increasing power of algorithms in our everyday lives. Institutional structures have emerged that confront us with largely invisible and even unknown power and truth regimes as the result of technological advances. Such basic democratic values as freedom and equa...

This chapter explores the shaky basis of political tolerance. There exists a contradiction between the broadly shared preference for democracy as a form of national politics and the evident unwillingness to grant democratic rights to disliked groups. This lack of political tolerance suggests that democracy is nothing more than a thin layer of varni...

In this chapter the reader is invited to look in the dark mirror of the power-holder in ourselves as someone who wants to dominate and limit other individuals or groups in the development of their potential. Referring to an obedience experiment, a prison experiment, and autobiographical material, the chapter aims to show that not only in situations...

This chapter starts with the observation that inner democracy faces not only the power-holder as an important obstacle but also the presence of a truth-holder within. One has the inclination to dig oneself into the trenches of one’s own sense of being right, in which alternative or contrary viewpoints are no longer taken into consideration, and a p...

When a society becomes more complex and heterogeneous, the identity of teachers "is also chal-lenged to become more complex and heterogeneous. The school, as a reflection of society, needs flexible educators, capable of adapting to change. From the perspective of Dialogical Self Theory, this flexibility translates into the need to adopt a multiplic...

This introduction clarifies the main reasons for a special issue on radicalization and deradicalization from the perspective of Dialogical Self Theory. After description of the origin and main tenets of the theory, the different contributions to the special issue are summarized.

Most contributions to this issue, but not all of them, are inspired by Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans & Hermans-Konopka, 2010) that conceptualises the self as a dynamic multiplicity of relatively autonomous I-positions in the society of mind. This theory is particularly suited to the study of intentional activities as it considers the variety of v...

There is an embargo on this chapter of 18 months from May 2019, according to the publisher.

Seit ihrer Entstehung zu Beginn der neunziger Jahre hat die dialogische Selbsttheorie in verschiedene Bereiche Eingang gefunden. Heute findet sie Anwendung in der Pädagogik, der Kultur, der Belletristik, der Psychopathologie, im Counseling und in der Psychotherapie. Im vorliegenden Artikel werde ich die Genese dieser Theorie sowie ihre primären Kon...

In this book, Hubert Hermans, internationally known as the creator of the dialogical self theory, launches a new and original theory in which he links society with the most intimate regions of self and identity. The basic assumption is that the self is organized as an inner society that is simultaneously functioning as part of the society at large...

It seems that education in Western countries is in crisis. At the start of the 21st century, the assumption on which the dominant educational discourse rests is still Seneca’s declaration ‘Non scholae sed vitae discimus’ – not for school do we educate, but for life. However by most who participate in the system, school is rarely seen as useful for...

This edited volume offers cross-country and cross-cultural applications of Dialogical Self Theory within the field of education. It combines the work of internationally recognized authors to demonstrate how theoretical and practical innovations emerge at the highly fertile interface of external and internal dialogues. The Theory, developed by Huber...

In their study of the relationship between self and society, scientists have proposed taking society as a metaphor for understanding the dynamics of the self, such as the analogy between the self and the functioning of a totalitarian state or the analogy between the self and the functioning of a bureaucratic organization. In addition to these model...

This book presents 9 theory-based and practice-oriented methods for assessing and stimulating a multi-voiced dialogical self in the context of groups, teams, cultures, and organizations. All of these methods are based on Dialogical Self Theory. The book deals with the practical implications of this theory as applied in the areas of coaching, traini...

The Oxford Handbook of Human Development and Culture: An Interdisciplinary Perspective provides an in-depth and comprehensive synopsis of theory and research on human development, with every chapter drawing together findings from cultures around the world. This includes a focus on cultural change, migration, and globalization. The handbook covers t...

Building on James's (1890) idea of an extended self and Bakhtin's (1929/1973) metaphor of the polyphonic novel, a dialogical theory of counseling is exposed in which the self is considered as a minisociety of relatively autonomous I-positions that simultaneously function as part of the larger society. At the heart of the theoretical framework are t...

Abstract. The dialogical self proposes a far-reaching decentralization of both the concept of self and the concept of culture. At the intersection between the psychology of the self in the tradition of William James and the dialogical school in the tradition of Mikhail Bakhtin, the proposed view challenges both the idea of a core, essential self an...

This is a special section on the dialogical self in education. In this introduction, I summarize the main tenets and concepts of dialogical self theory (DST) as a basis of the different articles of this issue. Then I introduce the different articles in the context of the theory. The contributions give special attention to what happens in the minds...

Objective: To study which adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) benefit from psychological intervention, and what is the best moment for it. Methods: In 3 months, 28 adolescents with JIA and 14 healthy adolescents as a control group received psychological intervention with the Self-confrontation Method (SCM), which combines the pe...

The aim of this study is to gain more insight into basic aspects of identity, in relation to adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In dialogical self theory, identity is regarded as incorporating multiple self-positions, such as 'I as tired', 'I as pessimistic', or 'I as decisive'. Physical and psychosoc...

Dialogical Self Theory is a recent development in the social sciences, based on a conception of the self as a society of mind. In this conception, the self is considered as extended to significant others in the environment, who populate the self as a dynamic multiplicity of I-positions between which dialogical or monological relationships may emerg...

A small-scale intervention study into narrative self-investigation in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The self-confrontation method (SCM) is an instrument to assess and change personal life stories. Forty-two adolescents diagnosed with CFS were included and randomly assigned to either 6 or 12 sessions with the SCM. Twenty-five healthy ad...

In a review of the history of globalization, Scheuerman (2010) notes that although the term globalization has become commonplace only in the last half of the twentieth century, intellectual discourse has been replete with allusions to phenomena akin to globalization since the advent of industrial capitalism. Philosophers and social commentators of...

This article examines the concept of the so-called dialogical self. This theory is based on the pragmatism of George Herbert Mead and the work of Mikhail Bakhtin on dialogicality. This article explains that the dialogical theory view the other not as external to self, but as part of the self and constitutive of it. It also introduces the notion of...

Dialogical Self Theory (DST) refers to the dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the landscape of the mind, intertwined as one’s mind is with the minds of others. That is, it is premised on a view of the self as characterized by multivoicedness and as extended into one’s environment. ‘Multivoicedness’ is inspired by Bakhtin’s dialogism, especially...

It has been suggested recently that the self consists of multifaceted aspects which are not reducible to a singular core or entity. It is unclear whether the degree of multiplicity that individuals with significant pathology experience is linked with health and adaptation. Both an excess and a restricted degree of activity among multiple aspects of...

In a boundary-crossing and globalizing world, the personal and social positions in self and identity become increasingly dense, heterogeneous and even conflicting. In this handbook scholars of different disciplines, nations and cultures (East and West) bring together their views and applications of dialogical self theory in such a way that deeper c...

In its original formulation, the dialogical self is conceived of as a dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the landscape of the mind. These I-positions are involved in processes of mutual dialogical relationships that are intensely interwoven with external dialogical relationships. In this conception, the I is always bound to particular positions...

The Allport-Vernon Study of Values (SOV) is one of the earliest, theoretically well-grounded questionnaires measuring personal values on the basis of declared behavioral preferences. The SOV was first published in 1931 by G. W. Allport and P. E. Vernon (1931) and later revised in 1970 by Allport, Vernon, and G. Lindzey (1970). It is a psychological...

To gain insight into the personal experience and feelings of an adolescent with a chronic disease. We report on the application of the self-confrontation method (SCM), illustrated by a case-example of an adolescent with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Although taken at face value she was not impeded by the arthritis, through self-assessment with the...

Four features, central in dialogical self theory, are briefly discussed: (a) the-other-in-the-self, (b) multiplicity-in-unity, (c) dominance and social power, and (d) innovation. On the basis of these theoretical features, the different contributions of this special issue are introduced. The purpose of the contributions is to show how dialogical se...

Among clinical psychologists, consulting physicians, scientific researchers and society in general an image has emerged of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as perfectionist, conscientious, hardworking, somewhat neurotic and introverted individuals with high personal standards, a great desire to be socially accepted and with a history of...

Our era is witnessing an increasing impact of globalization on self and identity and at the same time a growing uncertainty. The experience of uncertainty motivates individuals and groups to find local niches for identity construction. This article's central tenet is that the processes of globalization and localization, as globalization's counterfo...

Schizophrenia often involves a profound experience of one's identity as diminished, which complicates adaptation to the demands of daily life. Within a backdrop of dialogical self-theory, we provide a report of an individual psychotherapy over the course of 4 years that assisted a patient suffering from schizophrenia to move from a state in which f...

This book brings to social scientists a new look at how human beings are striving towards understanding others-- and through that effort--making sense of themselves. It brings together researchers from all over the World who have suggested a set of new approaches to the basic research issue of how human beings are social beings, while being unique...

Wat brengt een vredelievende vrouw van in de dertig ertoe 3000 km te rijden om een daad te stellen die, op het eerste oog, een vorm van ordinair vandalisme lijkt? En waarom neemt ze haar dochter mee? In zijn analyse van dit incident komt McAdams (1993) tot de conclusie dat Margaret met deze daad op symbolische wijze een hoofdstuk in haar leven afsl...

ABSTRACT The story a person tells about his or her life is viewed as a polyphonic novel. This metaphor implies that the self is multivoiced; that is, there is no single “I” as an agent of self-organization but several, relatively independent “I” positions that complement and contradict each other in dialogical relationships. From this perspective t...

The theater metaphor provides therapist and client with an imaginative, dialogical procedure for the exploration and change of clients' self-narratives with a focus on both their spatial and temporal characteristics. The potentials of the theater metaphor for psychotherapy was illustrated with the case of a client with a monological self-narrative,...

In this Special Issue, recent developments in dialogical psychology are described with particular attention to their implications for counselling practice and research. The varied contributions all share a) a view of self as multidimensional, relational and embedded in social, political, and cultural contexts and b) a view of psychological disorder...

In recent years, the Self Confrontation Method has garnered significant attention as both a method of assessment and change in counseling. In this paper, the authors provide a review of the utility of the Self Confrontation Method as a practical tool for counselors. Toward this end, the conceptual and empirical foundations of the Self Confrontation...

The author reflects on his scientific and professional career as it developed over 40 years. Partly as an autobiographical sketch, he describes three phases, each guided by a specific paradigm: individual differences, narrative, and dialogical. Looking back at the different phases, the author emphasizes the non-linear nature of his development, in...