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Part I. Interdisciplinary Approach to Storytelling Humanity’s experiences and culture are transferred in stories from generation to generation. The German ethnographer Ranke (1967) and the American communication theorist Fisher (1984) labeled our species homo narrans, storytelling humans, because the narrative form of social knowledge transfer has proved to be a highly important factor in human evolution. Storytelling, however, is not only the secret of survival for humanity, but also an opportunity for entertainment and emotional connection. From cave paintings, tribal dances, folk tales, and campfire songs to confessions, gossips, medical anamneses, literary and cinematic narratives, we are surrounded by mimetic, visual and linguistic forms of storytelling every day. The channels of communication have multiplied over time and storytelling remains an adaptive technique. Different disciplines explain the narrative aspect of human cognition and cultural transmission from different perspectives. Psychology focuses on the cognitive and emotional background of storytelling, narratology on the narrative and linguistic structure of narration, historiography and anthropology on its role in cultural transmission, while communication and media theory focuses on the impact of the nature of media on narrative creation. CHAPTER 1. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES The link between psychology and storytelling is mainly seen in its therapeutic applications, especially in the autobiographical dialogues of psychotherapy and in the therapeutic use of stories and literary works. In addition to the practical use of storytelling, many sub-disciplines of psychology address the question of why the narrative form of knowledge transfer is so effective and liberating, and what role storytelling plays in human cognition, memory and communication.
