Visual Methods in Qualitative Psychological Research of Personality

472

Abstract

The article is focused on advantages of using visual methods in qualitative psychological research of personality. The visual turn is not new for the social sciences. Still, this trend is relatively new for psychology. Currently, visual forms of communication have significantly expanded their influence in all areas of culture. This change has led to a rethinking of the strategy of using various visual data in psychological research. In modern qualitative research, visual data is represented by a variety of cultural instruments, from maps, diagrams and matrices, to photographs, videos, collages and drawings. A comprehensive analysis of this problem requires a multimodal approach, representing a combination of different types of communication (audio, visual, textual) and corresponding types of data (spoken words, music, sounds, written words, images, photographs, maps, videos, etc.). This approach lets us set new research tasks and explore new areas, e.g. emotional and bodily components of personal experience and personal changes. The expansion of the scope of visual methods should positively influence the researcher's ethical choices.

General Information

Keywords: visual methods, multimodal approach, personal experience, personality change, cultural means, culture

Journal rubric: Theory and Methodology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2020160405

Funding. The reported study was funded by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), project number 19-313- 90078.

For citation: Shilmanskaya A.E. Visual Methods in Qualitative Psychological Research of Personality. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2020. Vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 49–55. DOI: 10.17759/chp.2020160405. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Asmolov A.G., Shekhter E.D, Chernorizov A.M. Preadaptatsiya k neopredelennosti kak strategiya navigatsii razvivayushchikhsya sistem: marshruty evolyutsii [Preadaptation to uncertainty as a strategy for developing systems navigation: evolutionary paths].Voprosy psikhologii [Psychology issues], 2017, no. 4, pp. 3—26.
  2. Busygina N.P. Kachestvennye i kolichestvennye metody issledovanii v psikhologii: uchebnik dlya bakalavriata i magistratury (FGOS) [Qualitative and quantitative research methods in psychology: a textbook for undergraduate and graduate students]. Moscow: Yurait Publ., 2015. 443 p.
  3. Vygotskii L.S. Psihologiya razvitiya: izbrannye raboty [Developmental Psychology: Selected Works]. Moscow: Yurait Publ., 2018. 281 p.
  4. Leontyev D.A., Miyuzova A.E. Personality Changes as a Result of Life Enhancement Work. Konsul’tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya [ Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy], 2016. Vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 44—63. DOI:10.17759/ cpp.2016240104. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  5. Martsinkovskaya T.D. Art in Modern World: New Forms and New/Old Mechanisms of Influence. Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [ Cultural-Historical Psychology], 2007. Vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 56—61. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  6. Mel’nikova O.T., Khoroshilov D.A. Preface by the editors of the special issue. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo [Social Psychology and Society], 2018. Vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 7—9. DOI:10.17759/sps.2018090301. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  7. Nurkova V.V. Psihologiya fotografii. Kul’turno-istoricheskij analiz: uchebnoe posobie dlya Vuzov. [The psychology of photography. Cultural and historical analysis: a textbook for High school]. Moscow: Yurait Publ., 2019. 473 p.
  8. Bagnoli A. Beyond the standard interview: The use of graphic elicitation and arts-based methods. Qualitative Research, 2009. Vol. 9 (5), pp. 547—570. DOI: 10.1177/1468794109343625
  9. Bagnoli A. Researching Identities with Multi-method Autobiographies’. In B. Harrison B. (eds.) Life Story Research. Sage Benchmarks in Social Research Methods, 2008. Vol. 3, pp. 376—397.
  10. Bleidorn Wiebke, et al. Patterns and sources of adult personality development: Growth curve analyses of the NEO-PI-R scales in a longitudinal twin study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2009. Vol. 97, pp. 142—155. DOI:10.1037/a0015434
  11. Brookfield H., Brown S.D., Reavey P. Vicarious and post-memory practices in adopting families: the re-production of the past through photography and narrative. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 2008. Vol. 18, pp. 474—491.
  12. Burke P.J. Identity change. Social Psychology Quarterly, 2006. Vol. 69, pp. 81—96. DOI:10.1177/019027250606900106
  13. Copeland A.J., Agosto D.E. Diagrams and relational maps: The use of graphic elicitation techniques with interviewing for data collection, analysis, and display. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2012. Vol. 11 (5), pp. 513—533.
  14. De Fruyt Filip, et al. Assessing and interpreting personality change and continuity in patients treated for major depression. Psychological Assessment, 2006. Vol. 18, pp. 71—80. DOI:10.1037/1040-3590.18.1.71
  15. Frith H., Harcourt D. Using photographs to capture women’s experiences of chemotherapy: reflecting on the method. Qualitative Health Research, 2007. Vol. 17, pp. 1340—1350.
  16. Frith Hanah, et al. Imag(in)ing visual methodologies. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2005. Vol. 2 (3), pp. 187— 198. DOI:10.1191/1478088705qp037ed.
  17. Gillies Val, et al. Painting pictures of embodied experience: the use of nonverbal data production for the study of embodiment. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2005, pp. 199—212. DOI:10.1191/1478088705qp038oa
  18. Gleeson K., Frith H. Deconstructing body image. Journal of Health Psychology, 2006. Vol 1 (11), pp. 79—90.
  19. Guillemin M. Understanding Illness: Using Drawings as a Research Method. Qual Health Res, 2004. Vol.14 (2), pp. 272—289. DOI: 10.1177/1049732303260445
  20. Harper D. Talking about pictures: a case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 2002. Vol. 17 (1), pp.13—26. DOI: 10.1080/14725860220137345
  21. Hudson N.W., Roberts B.W., Lodi-Smith J. Personality trait development and social investment in work. Journal of Research in Personality, 2012. Vol. 46, pp. 334—344. DOI:10.1016/j.jrp.2012.03.002
  22. Jackson Joshua J., et al. Can an old dog learn (and want to experience) new tricks? Cognitive training increases openness to experience in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 2012. Vol. 27, pp. 286—292. DOI:10.1037/ a0025918
  23. Kunimoto N. Intimate Archives: Japanese-Canadian family photography, 1939—1949. Art History, 2004. Vol. 27 (1), pp. 129—155.
  24. Lehnart J., Neyer F. J., Eccles J. Long-term effects of social investment: The case of partnering in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 2010. Vol. 78, pp. 639—670. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010 .00629.x
  25. Lodi-Smith J., Roberts B.W. Social investment and personality: A meta-analysis of the relationship of personality traits to investment in work, family, religion, and volunteerism. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2007. Vol. 11, pp. 68—86. DOI:10.1177/10888 68306294590
  26. Lucas R.E., Donnellan M.B. Personality development across the life span: Longitudinal analyses with a national sample from Germany. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011. Vol. 101, pp. 847—861. DOI:10.1037/a0024298
  27. Meo A.I. Picturing students’ habitus: The advantages and limitations of photo-elicitation interviewing in a qualitative study in the city of Buenos Aires. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2010. Vol. 9 (2), pp. 149—171.
  28. Middleton D., Brown S.D. The social psychology of experience: studies in remembering and forgetting. London: Sage, 2005.
  29. Pain H. A Literature Review to Evaluate the Choice and Use of Visual Methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2012. Vol. 11, pp. 303—319. DOI:10.1177/160940691201100401
  30. Pink S. Advances in visual methodology. London: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2012. 288 p. DOI:10.4135/9781446250921
  31. Radley A. What people do with pictures. Visual Studies, 2010. Vol. 25 (3), pp. 268—279. DOI:10.1080/1472586X.2010.523279
  32. Radley A., Hodgetts D., Cullen A. Visualizing homelessness: A study in photography and estrangement. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 2005. Vol. 15, pp. 273—295. DOI:10.1002/casp.825
  33. Radley A., Taylor D. Images of Recovery: A Photo-Elicitation Study on the Hospital. Qualitative Health Research SAGE Publications/ Ward, 2003. Vol. 13, pp. 77—99 DOI:10.1177/1049732302239412
  34. Radley A., Taylor D. Remembering one’s stay in hospital: A study in photography, recovery and forgetting. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 2003. Vol. 7 (2), pp. 129—159. DOI: 10.1177/1363459303007002872
  35. Reavey P., Johnson K. Visual approaches: using and interpreting images. In Willing C., Staiton-Rogers W. (eds.). The Sage handbook of qualitative research, 2008, pp. 296—314.
  36. Roberts B.W., Mroczek D. Personality trait change in adulthood. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2008. Vol. 17, pp. 31—35. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00543.x
  37. Roberts B.W., Wood D., Caspi A. The development of personality traits in adulthood. In John O.P., Robins R.W., Pervin L.A. (eds.). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research, Third edition, 2008. pp. 375—398.
  38. Rose G. On the relation between “visual research methods” and contemporary visual culture. Sociol Rev, 2014. Vol. 62, pp. 24—46. DOI:10.1111/1467-954X.1210942
  39. Ross Nicola J., et al. Moving stories: using mobile methods to explore the everyday lives of young people in public care. Qualitative Research, 2009. Vol. 9 (5), pp. 605—623. DOI: 10.1177/1468794109343629.
  40. SAGE Visual Methods. In Hughes J. (eds). London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012. 1672 p. DOI:10.4135/9781473963719
  41. Silver J., Reavey P. “He’s a good-looking chap aint he?”: Narrative and visualisations of self in bodydysmorphic disorder. Social Science and Medicine, 2010. Vol. 70 (10), pp. 1641—1647. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.11.042
  42. Soto Christopher J., et al. Age differences in personality traits from 10 to 65: Big Five domains and facets in a large cross-sectional sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011. Vol. 100, pp. 330—348. DOI:10.1037/a0021717
  43. Tang Tony Z., et al. Personality change during depression treatment: A placebo-controlled trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2009. Vol. 66, pp. 1322—1330. DOI:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.166
  44. The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods. In Margolis E., Pauwels L. (eds.). London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011. 760 p. DOI: 10.4135/978144626827848.
  45. Visual Methods in Psychology: Using and Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research. In Reavey P. (eds). London: Routledge, 2010. 416 p.
  46. Wengraf T., Chamberlayne P., Bornat J. A Biographical Turn in the Social Sciences? A British-European View. Cultural Studies — Critical Methodologies (CSCM), 2002. Vol. 2 (2), pp. 245—269. DOI:10.1177/153270860200200215

Information About the Authors

Alesya E. Shilmanskaya, PhD Student, School of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Senior Researcher, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9395-3086, e-mail: amiyuzova@yahoo.com

Metrics

Views

Total: 870
Previous month: 21
Current month: 6

Downloads

Total: 472
Previous month: 18
Current month: 3