Presenting narratives about accidents may improve the effectiveness of safety education programs (Rae, 2016).
For example, writing personal narratives may provide mental and physical health benefits (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999). In addition, narratives can underpin behavioral and educational interventions. Indeed, narrative seems to underlie our very sense of who we are as humans-our “self,” “self-concept,” “life story,” and similar verbal constructs (Barnes-Holmes, Hayes, & Dymond, 2001a Bruner, 1997 Fivush, Booker, & Graci, 2017 Habermas & Bluck, 2000 McLean, Pasupathi, & Pals, 2007 Polkinghorne, 1991 Reese, Yan, Jack, & Hayne, 2010).
As Hineline noted, narrative plays an important role in many areas of life, including entertainment, religion, culture, politics, and science. Hineline (in this issue) thoughtfully explored the amenability of narrative to a behavioral analysis.
