Psychobiography: Theory and Method Schultz, William Todd; Lawrence, Stephanie
The American psychologist,
07/2017, Letnik:
72, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Psychobiography is best understood as a branch of applied personality science in which experimental findings are used to explore the lives and personalities of public figures, from artists to ...politicians. This article introduces the field, addresses questions commonly raised about it, and explores, among other subjects, what psychobiographical research might offer to the field of psychology. Two recent model psychobiographies are described in detail-McAdams's (2010) profile of George W. Bush and Kasser's (2013) analysis of John Lennon-both of which are oriented scientifically and rooted in experimentally derived concepts. Lastly, criteria for evaluating psychobiographical studies are summarized, as well as attributes of effective psychobiography that tend to include the components of fact, fit, and function.
Truman Capote was one of the most gifted and flamboyant writers of his generation. What has received little attention, however, is Capote's last, unfinished book, Answered Prayers, a merciless ...skewering of cafe society and the high-class women Capote called his “swans.” When excerpts appeared he was immediately blacklisted, ruined socially, labeled a pariah. Capote recoiled—disgraced, depressed, and all but friendless. In this book, the book sheds light on the life and works of Capote and answers the perplexing mystery—why did Capote write a book that would destroy him? Drawing on an arsenal of psychological techniques, the book illuminates Capote's early years in the South—a time that Capote himself described as a “snake's nest of No's”—no parents to speak of, no friends but books, no hope, no future. Out of this dark childhood emerged Capote's prominent dual life-scripts: neurotic Capote, anxious, vulnerable, hypersensitive, expecting to be hurt; and Capote the disagreeable destroyer, emotionally bulletproof, nasty, and bent on revenge. The book shows how Capote would strike out when he felt hurt or taken for granted, engaging in caustic feuds with Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams, and many other writers. And the book reveals how this tendency fed into Answered Prayers, an exceedingly corrosive and thinly disguised roman à clef that trashed his high-society friends.
This exceptionally readable and down-to-earth handbook is destined to become the definitive guide to psychobiological research, the application of psychological theory and research to individual ...lives of historical importance. It brings together for the first time the world’s leading psychobiographers, writing lucidly on many of the major figures of our age - from Osama Bin Laden to Elvis Presley. The first section of the book addresses the subject of how to construct an effective psychobiography. Editor William Todd Schultz introduces the field, provides valuable definitions of good and bad psychobiography, discusses an optimal structure for psychobiographical essays, and offers a blueprint for striking psychological paydirt in biographical data. Dan McAdams explores the question of what psychobiographers might learn from current research in personality psychology. Alan Elms delivers wise advice on the tricky subject of theory choice in psychobiography. William Runyan asks why Van Gogh cut off his ear, and in the process explains how one evaluates competing interpretations of the same event in a subject’s life. And Kate Isaacson describes a template for use in multiple-case psychobiography. Never before has method in psychobiography been so clearly and explicitly addressed. Those just getting started in the field will find in Section One a detailed roadmap for success. The remaining sections of the book are composed of richly engaging case studies of famous artists, psychologists and politicians. They address compelling questions such as: What are the subjective origins of photographer Diane Arbus’s obsession with freaks? In what ways did the early loss of Sylvia Plath’s father affect her poetry and presage her suicide? Why did Elvis experience such difficulty singing the song "Are You Lonesome Tonight"? What accounts for Bin Laden’ radicalism, Kim Jong II’s paranoia, George W Bush’s conflict with identity? Why did Freud go disasterously astray in his analysis of Leonardo? What made psychologist Gordon Allport’s meeting with Freud so pungently significant? How did the loss of his father determine major elements of Nietzsche’s philosophy? These questions and many more get answered, often in surprising and incisive fashion. Additional chapters take up the lives of Harvard operationist S.S. Stevens, Erik Erikson, Edith Wharton, Saddam Hussein, Truman Capote, Kathryn Harrison, Jack Kerouac, and others. Within each case study, tips are proffered along the way as to how psychobiography can be done more cogently, more intelligently, and more valuably. With its combination of telling about and showing how to practice psychobiography wisely, its inclusion of most of the field’s leading practitioners, and its diversity of subjects, the Handbook of Psychobiography represents the best the field has to offer. It will define the discipline, set a course for effective future developments, and quickly emerge as a must-read for any beginning or serious psychobiographer, narrative psychologist, personologist or personality researcher.
One way to explore genius is to examine its products – what the genius creates – and to root these, partially, in biography and life history. Specifically, psychobiography works to identify the ...subjective origins (emotional, personality‐based, need‐based) of artistic, scientific, and political achievements. Over the years, there have been various attempts to articulate principles encouraging sound psychobiographical research. In this chapter, Schultz engages the question empirically by describing the approaches taken in three new book‐length psychobiograpies, of George W. Bush, John Lennon, and Truman Capote. Assorted methodological guidelines are proposed in conclusion.
