The Developmental Psychology of Personal Identity - by Massimo Marraffa & Cristina Meini

Book Synopsis

Massimo Marraffa and Cristina Meini re-connect the psychology of identity with its philosophical roots in this study. They trace the contemporary problem of the self to John Locke and William James' foundational theories on personal identity. By integrating the philosophy of identity with empirical and neuropsychological research, Marraffa and Meini provide an original synthesis of multidisciplinary conceptions of the self.

The Developmental Psychology of Personal Identity builds on Chomsky-inspired developmental psychology, Jean Piaget's constructivism, Lev Vygotskij's sociocultural perspective on development and John Bowlby's attachment theory. In this theoretical framework, the book draws on the data of the psychological sciences to reconstruct the trajectory of the self as a 'Lockean person' (i.e., as morally responsible agent). The authors link the birth of self-consciousness through the body and emotions to the construction of a narrative self. Their combination of philosophy and cognitive sciences makes an important contribution to multiple disciplines concerned with personal identity. It provokes new routes to understanding identity and self, autobiographical memory, and personality.

Review Quotes

A systematic critical exposition of a form of individual constructivism on the nature and development of personal identity as narration, with an original approach of the ways to the formation of the human 'sense of the self 'through bodily self-awareness, emotional introspection, attachment phenomena and defensive constructions . A useful introduction to the philosophical history of the question and to the status of contemporary research in cognitive sciences.
Eugenio Lecaldano, Department of Philosophy, University of Rome Sapienza, Italy

Marraffa and Meini virtuously integrate the psychology of identity with its philosophical roots and substantiate both with empirical (neuro-)psychological research. This beautiful journey through the developmental history underscores that personal identity is a necessity of personhood, making it a must-read for those intrigued by self, personality, and autobiographical memory.
Christin Camia, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates

About the Author

Massimo Marraffa is Professor, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, is Professor, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, Roma Tre University, Italy.

Cristina Meini is Professor, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy.