The Narrative Construction of Reality – Jerome Bruner

Details

Photo

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Name

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Field

Cognitive psychology / narrative theory

Year

1991

One-line gist

Argues that stories aren’t just how we tell what happened; they’re part of how we decide what counts as “real” in the first place.

Best when

You’re planning a presentation and trying to explain a messy project without putting everyone to sleep.

My take

This one quietly rewired how I write status reports. Once you see that you’re always choosing a plot, you start asking whose version of the story you’re telling—and who’s missing from the cast.