Multimethod Validation of the Cinematic Self Scale as a Measure of Narrative Identity by Convergent Self and Informant Ratings

Abstract

According to narrative identity people understand themselves through story. However, evidence suggests people vary dispositionally in how strongly they experience narrative identity. Recently, a self-report scale called the Cinematic Self scale was constructed and validated to measure this trait variation in narrative identity. In that article, evidence across five studies supported the validity of the cinematic self scale as measuring narrative identity. A limitation of that evidence was its exclusive reliance on self-reports; this can be problematic because associations may be inflated by shared method biases. The present research builds on that limitation by using data from multiple methods: self-reports and informant reports. Do self-reported cinematic self scores correspond with informant-reported narrative behaviors? University students (N = 127) completed the cinematic self scale and informants reported on their narrative behaviors (N = 395). Positive, medium-sized correlations between self-reports and informant reports were found across multiple analytical approaches, controlling for personality variables. The results extend validation evidence of the cinematic self scale as a measure of narrative identity.