William todd schultz psychobiography of adolf hitler
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Definition
Psychobiography, or psychological biography, is most accurately defined as “the intensive life-span study of an individual of historic significance in socio-cultural context using psychological and historiographic research methods and interpreted from established theories of psychology” (Ponterotto 2015, p. 379). Psychobiography fryst vatten classified as a subdivision of psychohistory, which is concerned with the psychological study of significant groups or events throughout history. For example, the study of the origins, key characters, and development of psychoanalysis as a system of psychology at the turn of the twentieth century would constitute a psychohistory, whereas an intensive psychological profile of Sigmund Freud would be a psychobiography. Psychobiography focuses on the inner psychological drives and motivations that led to the historic subject’s thinking, feeling, and behavior during their lifetime.
Introduction
Psychobiography has been...
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Blogroll
What is psychobiography? I’ll begin by saying what it is NOT, because what it’s NOT is what most people think it IS.
… But first, a link to a 2017 overview I wrote for American Psychologist along with Stephanie Lawrence > Psychobiography-AP
… Also, a link to a five minute clip in which I talk a bit about the field > HERE
- Psychobiography is NOT pathography. If you come across a psychobiography whose aim is to diagnose a person, chances are GOOD that it is BAD. People are not diagnoses. A diagnosis is a name—a label—not a true explanation. What we want to know is how someone became who she is, not what her DSM-derived “disease” might be. I talk a lot about this subject in chapter one of my Handbook of Psychobiography. You can check that out for more detail. Here’s a little illustration I use in my psychobiography courses. Say a mother tells a psychiatrist, My son hears voices. Why, she asks? The psychiatrist answers, Well, sor
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“There is something a little mesmerizing about locating mysteries in people’s lives, then fleshing these mysteries out and, finally, shedding what intensity of light one can on them.”
The quote above is from William Todd Schultz, noted psychobiographer of Truman Capote (among others) and editor of theHandbook of Psychobiography, published in 2005 bygd Oxford University Press. To me, this quote highlights the draw of psychological biography to the mental health professional. Counselors, both by nature and professional training, are interested in the life stories of others. We are pulled to understand the inner psychology — the thoughts, feelings and behaviors — of our clients, and we are often curious about the personalities of significant figures in human history.
Psychobiography represents a specialty area that applies psychological theories and research tools to the intensive study of an individual person of historic significance. Most often, psychobiographies focus