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Psychobiographical Illustrations on Meaning and Identity in Sociocultural Contexts

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  • © 2021

Overview

Editors:
  1. Claude-Hélène Mayer

    1. Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

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  2. Paul, J.P. Fouché

    1. Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  3. Roelf Van Niekerk

    1. Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

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  • The first psychobiography book which focuses on meaning and identity development
  • Presents new insights in psychobiography in diverse socio-cultural contexts across the life span
  • Includes original research from diverse, international authors

Part of the book series: Sociocultural Psychology of the Lifecourse (SPL)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxxv
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  2. Editorial: Psychobiographical Illustrations on Meaning and Identity in Sociocultural Contexts

    • Claude-Hélène Mayer, Paul, J. P. Fouché, Roelf Van Niekerk
    Pages 1-19

  3. Discovering the “I” in the “THOU”. The Psychological Effects of Psychobiographical Research on The Personality of The Researcher

    • Zoltán Kőváry, Asztrik Kovács
    Pages 21-54

  4. The Oldest Psychobiography in the World? (Psychobiography of Socrates in the Lvov-Warsaw School)

    • Amadeusz Citlak
    Pages 55-73

  5. Exploring Non-Verbal Communication and Body Language in Creating a Meaningful Life: Angela Merkel in Psychobiography

    • Ulrich Sollmann, Claude-Hélène Mayer
    Pages 75-95

  6. A Comparative Psychobiographical Exploration of the Role of Generativity in Meaning Making for Two Women in the Anti-apartheid Movement

    • Barbara Burnell, Carla Nel
    Pages 97-117

  7. “I as Photographer”: A Visual Narrative Analysis of Vivian Maier’s Self-Portraits

    • Athena Androutsopoulou, Charikleia Tsatsaroni, Georgia Koutsavgousti, Kia Thanopoulou
    Pages 119-141

  8. Variables of a Life’s Equation. Contribution to Zoltan Paul Dienes’ Psychobiography

    • Ágnes Bálint
    Pages 143-163

  9. ‘Aristocrat of the underground’: Karl Lagerfeld’s Romantic Self-fashioning as a Meaningful Transformation of Shame

    • Claude-Hélène Mayer, James L. Kelley
    Pages 165-185

  10. Was British Cold War Spy and Double Agent Kim Philby a Successful Psychopath? A Psychobiographical Analysis

    • Rosalyn H. Shute
    Pages 187-210

  11. The Fanatic of Meaning-Making: The Psychobiographical Case Study of Loránt Hegedüs

    • Virág Rab
    Pages 211-237

  12. “Everything is reparable”: A Psychobiography of Charles Baudelaire

    • James L. Kelley
    Pages 239-261

  13. The Elusiveness of Identity and Meaning: The Lonely Journey of Henri Nouwen

    • Roelf Van Niekerk, Claude-Hélène Mayer, Paul, J. P. Fouché
    Pages 263-284

  14. Broadening the Parameters of the Psychobiography: The Character Motivations of the ‘Ordinary’ Extraordinary

    • Robert F. Mullen
    Pages 285-301

  15. Social Justice in Psychobiography: When That Sky Was Bluest for W.E.B. Du Bois

    • Benjamin Robert Wegner
    Pages 303-325

  16. What We Talk About When We Talk About the Past: Discursive Psychological Analysis of Autobiographical Reminiscence in Older Irish Adults

    • Andrew P. Allen, Caoilainn Doyle, Caragh Marie Doyle, Cormac Monaghan, Noel Fitzpatrick, Richard A. P. Roche
    Pages 327-344

  17. Epilog: Reflections on the Futures of Psychobiography

    • Claude-Hélène Mayer, Paul, J. P. Fouché, Roelf Van Niekerk
    Pages 345-355

  18. Back Matter

    Pages 357-366
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores psychobiography with focus on meaning making and identity development in the life and works of extraordinary individuals. Meaning-making and identity development are existential constructs influencing psychological development, mental health and wellbeing across the lifecourse. The chapters illustrate through the eyes of 25 international psychobiographers various theoretical and methodological approaches to psychobiography. They explore how individuals, such as Angela Merkel, Karl Lagerfeld, Henri Nouwen, Vivian Maier, Charles Baudelaire, W.E.B. du Bois, Loránt Hegedüs, Kim Philby, Zoltan Paul Dienes, Albertina Sisulu, Ruth First, Sokrates, and Jesus construct their lives to make meaning, develop their identities and grow as individuals within their sociocultural contexts. The texts provide deep insight into life’s development.


Reviews

"Even if it’s easy to forget, in a research landscape dominated by statistics, psychology is the science of human beings and, in order to understand humans, we need to understand their life stories. Psychobiographical investigations, with their focus on meaning-making and identity construction, were instrumental for developing some of the discipline’s best known theories. And yet, the qualitative and sociocultural investigation of the lifecourse is rarely visible today. To its credit, the present volume foregrounds this topic and illustrates it with rich and complex cases, reminding us all of the place and value of one of psychology’s oldest methods."

(Vlad P. Glaveanu, Webster University Geneva, Switzerland & University of Bergen, Norway)


Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  • Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Paul, J.P. Fouché

  • Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

    Roelf Van Niekerk

About the editors

Claude-Hélène Mayer is Professor in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research interests are psychobiography, transcultural mental health and salutogenesis, women in leadership, and shame.

Paul, J.P. Fouché is Professor of Counselling Psychology, Department of Psychology at University of the Free State, South Africa. Paul has published numerous articles on psychobiography. He supervises post-graduate scholars undertaking life history research.

Roelf Van Niekerk is a registered Clinical and Industrial Psychologist as well as a Master Human Resource Practitioner.  He is currently Director at the School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resources at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. 

 


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