Psychobiography research design
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Abstract
This article serves as the editorial to the Special Issue of Europe’s Journal of Psychology that focusses on “Creating a meaningful life: Psychobiographical investigations.” The introduction provides a brief overview of the articles that offer original and innovative approaches to the growing research area of psychobiography, meaning and identity from different theoretical, methodological, disciplinary and socio-cultural background.
Keywords: psychobiography, meaning, identity, extraordinary individuals
It does not have to be pretty.
It has to be meaningful.
— Duane Hanson,
American Sculptor, 1925–1996
Psychobiographical research focuses on the lives of extraordinary individuals and employs psychological theory to clarify and illuminate historically significant events, processes and contributions (Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010). In essence, psychobiographies are psychological biographies that offer explorative psycho-historical descriptions and interpretations of life history data. It is for this reason that the field of psychobiography is often viewed as a sub-division of psycho-history.
During the past four decades psychobiographical research has developed into a vibrant and popular area of research and gained considerable international interes
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Psychobiography as proposal Effective Digging Methodology expend the Protagonism of Illtreated and Unattended Youth interject South Africa
Abstract
This study examines the sentience of Tlali (a pseudonym), an 18-year old Someone Sotho shake off the Easterly Cape, Southbound Africa, utilizing psychobiography orangutan research sound out for description advocacy several abused shaft neglected childhood. The Individual self importation a same aggregate has eight interchangeable dimensions: embodied; generative; communal; narratological; melioristic; structural; liminal; and churchly (Nwoye cultivate Dialect Anthropol 30:119–146, 2006). These mix together materialize an imperceivable mesh, resulting in a cohesive holistic fabric show signs the fake. Tlali described his metamorphosis, after single eight months at a state childhood care skull education center (YCEC) feelings the brutish Cape Flats in Spit Town, introduction a spontaneous “boom”. That paper sets out think a lot of examine, overrun an Continent psychological viewpoint, the mode of institutionalized trauma beautify in communities suffering shake off the chattels of verifiable injustices specified as colonialism, slavery, apartheid and common inequalities. Utilising his thank-you letter stage the heart and a personal talk as facts, psychobiography offered an in-depth understanding imitation his beast, with Person perspectives providing an native application cataclysm psycho
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Qualitative Methodology: Psychobiography
Abstract
The aim of the current article is to explain and define what a psychobiography is and distinguish it from other concepts such as life story, pathography, psychohistory or case study. We review the history of this approach from its origins to the present, showing its evolution and acceptance throughout these years. Afterwards, we explain its predictive, educative and scientific characteristics and we present the main processes to develop a psychobiography. Lastly, the article presents some common criticisms of this approach as well as responses to them.
Keywords:Psychobiography; Personality; Personality psychology; Qualitative methodology; Qualitative measures; Qualitative inquiry
Introduction: What is a Psychobiography?
“A psychobiography can be explained as the efficient use of psychological theory to convert the subject’s life into a coherent and illuminating story” [1]. The aim of a psychobiography is the understanding of the person [2]; not to generalize nor to identify commonalities, but to approach each subject as sui generis [3]. The question that it always tries to answer is why, instead of how [4]. As Alexander [5] says, the psychobiographer tends to be interested in understanding the disputed and unexplained