Abstract
In examining the problems of psychobiography and providing a guide for executing psychobiography, we begin by looking at its purpose: to gain a greater understanding of the biographical subject, to get access to the subject’s inner world, to learn why the subject thinks and behaves as she or he does. Theoretical concepts are useful because they alert the psychobiographer to possible patterns in the subject’s life. But the greatest danger is foisting theory onto the subject. Instead theory should open up, not close down; provide new questions, not easy answers; complicate, not simplify; produce possibilities, not reductions. Thorough research is the basis of psychobiography; the psychobiographer relies on material that brings one closest to the subjects, such as diaries, letters, and autobiographical writings. The subject’s dreams, fantasies, and fiction also have a special value. Psychobiographers have the challenge of using their empathy and identification with subjects in order to understand subjects deeply while also being aware of how they themselves may slant their interpretations because of their feelings about the subjects. Knowledge of the subject’s culture is necessary, especially when it differs markedly from that of the psychobiographer. The cultural factor is especially sensitive in psychobiographical writing because psychological concepts, developed for one society, may not apply well to another society.
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Anderson, J.W., Dunlop, W.L. (2019). Executing Psychobiography. In: Mayer, CH., Kovary, Z. (eds) New Trends in Psychobiography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16953-4_2
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