Steps to a convergence of two dialogical theories of the self theories

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to describe the elements that would enable researchers to bring together two different but complementary theories of the self in the dialogical psychology field: the theory of the semiotic self, based on C. S. Peirce's triadic model of meaning generation, and the theory of the dialogical self, based on the work of H. Hermans, which derives from M. Bakhtin's and W. James's reflections on dialogism. The benefit of this theoretical convergence is argued through a discussion of the structural elements of triadic semiotic, including its phenomenological basis and its kinship with key concepts of the Dialogical Self Theory. We also present a case in which the internal dialogue of a person who has an important doubt regarding his life is observed through a psychodramatic method, and the posited theoretical convergence of dialogical theories is illustrated through the manifestation of opposite I-positions. Throughout the dialogue an attempt of synthesis through the emergence of a meta-position was observed.