130 I. THEORETICAL  PERSPECTI vES AND  CONCEPT uAL uNITS
levels of coherence have been shown to be 
especially characteristic of life stories told by 
schizophrenics (Alle et al., 2016) and adults 
exhibiting features of borderline personal -
ity disorder (Adler, Chin, Kolisetty, & Olt -
manns, 2012).
A significant body of research in per -
sonality psychology has examined how di -
mensions of narrative identity relate to dis -
positional personality traits. For example, 
individuals high in dispositional neuroticism 
tend to construct stories about their lives that 
exhibit more negative emotion, less positive 
emotion, less growth, and less emphasis on 
attitudes and perspectives about the outside 
world (e.g., Lodi-Smith, Giese, Robins, & 
Roberts, 2009; Raggatt, 2006). People high 
in neuroticism, like individuals who report 
high levels of depression, are quick to iden -
tify contamination sequences  in their life 
stories, wherein emotionally positive events 
turn suddenly negative (Adler, Kissel, & 
McAdams, 2006; Baddeley & Singer, 2008). 
Contaminated stories undermine hope and 
suggest that the protagonist is doomed to 
repeat failures and mistakes in the future 
(McAdams, 2013). Openness to experience 
is associated with telling especially complex 
stories containing multiple plots and distinc -
tions, and with higher levels of thematic co -
herence (McAdams et al., 2004; McLean & 
Fournier, 2008).
A number of studies have expressly pit -
ted dispositional traits against dimensions 
of narrative identity in the prediction of im -
portant life outcomes (Adler et al., 2016). 
In general, the research literature shows 
that even when the traits of extraversion 
and neuroticism—  both strong predictors 
of well-being—are factored into the predic -
tion model, certain dimensions of narrative 
identity account for additional variance in 
well-being. For example, Bauer, McAdams, 
and Sakaeda (2005b) found that themes 
of growth and intrinsic motivation in life- 
narrative accounts accounted for sizable 
portions of the variance in self-  reported 
well-being after they controlled for the ef -
fects of extraversion and neuroticism. In 
a similar vein, Lilgendahl and McAdams 
(2011) found that narrative indices of posi -
tive event processing and self-  growth, coded 
from extensive interview accounts provided 
by middle-  aged adults, predicted the adults’ psychological well-being above and beyond 
the statistical effects of the Big Five traits 
and demographic factors.
In recent years, life-  narrative researchers 
have shown a strong interest in document -
ing the relations among ethical, religious, 
and political values on the one hand and 
the construction of narrative identity on the 
other (e.g., Frimer, Walker, Dunlop, Lee, & 
Riches, 2011; McAdams, 2013). For exam -
ple, McAdams and colleagues (McAdams 
& Albaugh, 2008; McAdams et al., 2008; 
McAdams, Hanek, & Dadabo, 2013) ex -
plored the full life stories of 128 highly reli -
gious midlife American adults, all Christian, 
who differed substantially on political val -
ues and beliefs. Providing strong empirical 
support for theories of political ideology de -
veloped by Lakoff (2002) and Haidt (2007), 
the findings showed that Christian political 
conservatives in the United States tend to 
emphasize themes of strict-  father moral -
ity in their life stories and prioritize values 
linked to authority, loyalty, and sacredness. 
By contrast, Christian political liberals tend 
to emphasize themes of nurturing-  caregiver 
morality and prioritize values linked to al -
leviating harm and promoting fairness.
The findings from these studies sug -
gest that American conservatives adopt a 
prevention-  focus  perspective on their own 
lives, telling cautionary tales about self- 
discipline, control, and avoiding trouble in 
life. By contrast, liberals tend to adopt a 
promotion-  focus  perspective, privileging 
the discourse of growth, development, and 
approaching rewards. For principled con -
servatives who are devoted to a Christian 
religious tradition, life is a redemptive story 
of overcoming chaos, struggling to keep im -
pulses under control in order to establish 
and maintain authority and social harmony. 
God and government function to protect the 
self, acting as agents of social control, keep -
ers of the peace. For equally religious and 
principled political liberals, by contrast, life 
is a redemptive story of fulfillment, filling 
up the emptiness they sometimes sense, de -
veloping and expanding the self and encour -
aging others to do the same. As the Chris -
tian liberals narrate it, God and government 
provide nourishment for the self, the bread 
of life that enables the self to grow and 
flourish.