Abstract:

Self-deception in autobiographical narrative is a kind of self-deception in the perspective of intrapersonal, and a strategy that individuals use to maintain self-identity in the process of self-construction under no interpersonal pressure. It occurs in the process of autobiographical narrative, in which individuals widen narrative distance between “new me” and “old me” through narrative language, construct a new goal to seek and achieve, and finally set up a narrative identity. In this process, individuals are motivated to maintain a positive self-concept by using biased information processing, and to meet the need of consistent experience and evaluate of emotion as well. Self-deception in autobiographical narrative can affect individuals’ self-consciousness, and result in self-change. Future research would focus on the occurrence and coping strategies of self-deception in autobiographical narrative in clinical treatment. Meanwhile its cognitive neural mechanism will be investigated, and its characteristics and influencing factors under different socio-cultural backgrounds will be explored.

Key words: autobiographical narratives, self-deception, motivated cognition, self-enhancement, narrative identity