New Paths in Trajectory Equifinality Modelling: Unity Through Individuality (Theory and History in the Human and Social Sciences)

This book explores how the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA), which was introduced in Japan two decades ago by Tatsuya Sato, representsa central milestone for cultural psychology. It involves the use of both real (life events that happened) and imagination-based materials (life events that could have happened, but did not) in psychological data analysis. The potential of TEA is still to be found beyond our current understanding. While the origin of the TEA lies in Japan, where it has grown in popularity over time, today, an extraordinary community of researchers from multiple scientific fields recognises this approach and applies it to their research endeavours. Due to its uniqueness and wide range of application possibilities, this volume enhances the Trajectory Equifinality Approach for new pathways, perspectives and applications in the field. An essential aim of this contribution is to encourage individuals to connect themselves and their endeavours to TEA and thus possibly explore new viewpoints for their work.

Marc Antoine Campill currently finalises his Ph.D. in Psychology at the “Università degli Studi di Salerno”. His current field interests are influenced by the cultural psychological understandings of the “individuum”, bonded to the inner identification process and meaning generation –- concerning constructs such as pleromatics, Imagination, and MyCu-cultivation. He is dedicated to generating new psychological perspectives by transdisciplinary, integrating the social construction of common knowledge and the scientific meaning of other Naturwissenschaften into the contemporary psychological field. Main focus in his current works are new ways to approach art as science and the reinterpretation of the phenomenology behind creativity.

Natalie Jancosek is a senior researcher at Fondazione Jaan Valsiner, University for the future. She holds the position of a school psychologist at the Austrian Department of Education and lecturer at Webster University Vienna and University of Sustainability. Her research pathway and current interest are within the field of cultural psychology exploring topics of life course development, identity, sport, art, and everyday psychological phenomena. Her practical work in teaching includes scientific writing, ethics in psychology, and healthcare psychology in her private clinical and healthcare psychology practice, she is devoted to diagnostics, treatment, and consultation to clients and patients of all ages and cultural backgrounds, operating mainly in an international setting. Her scientific contributions are to be found in several volumes and journals. Her most recent editorial work includes The Handbook of Cultural Sports Psychology (2024).

Teppei Tsuchimoto is a lecturer at Chukyo University in Nagoya, Japan. His research interests lie in exploring aesthetic moments within the trajectory of human life. His work particularly focuses on the career development of elementary school students on Ioujima Island (Kagoshima, Japan), the interplay between personal and collective culture in gardening, and the transitions experienced by teachers seconded to Japanese curriculum schools abroad. In addition, he is engaged in bridging autoethnography with developmental-cultural psychology, with an emphasis on the process of deliberation. Tsuchimoto has also served as a supervising translator for the Japanese edition of An Invitation to Cultural Psychology by Jaan Valsiner. His editorial works include The Semiotic Field of the Garden: Personal Culture and Collective Culture (2024).