'The Self' in Law, Psychology, and Neurology: Understanding the Communicative Transference of Neurocognitive Impairments

Abstract: The purpose of this paper has been to create a theoretical framework by which one can understand communicative transference within, as well as between, systems. The paper has aimed to make use of how ‘the self’ in relation to neurocognitive impairments is conceptualized, communicated, and understood within the fields of Law, Psychology, and Neurology, in order to provide evidentiary support for such a communicative framework. By making use of a systematic literature review to identify relevant articles (N=31) and semi-structured interviews (N=3), the paper formulated a comprehensive empirical foundation upon which the framework was situated. The paper has found strong inferential support in both primary and secondary data which suggested an intra- and intersystematic gap that could be interpreted via the communicative transference framework. Additional support for the framework was found in the micro-macro interdependent construction of ‘the self’ between the fields of Law, Psychology, and Neurology. The paper reached the conclusion that while the frameworks’ current stage of development only leaves it as a tool by which one can ascertain the relative success of transferring communication between systems – based on the micro-macro interdependent relations of the fields in question – it is in of itself a viable tool, and so, one worth expanding upon.