Synonyms
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 is 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...
References
Elms, A. C. (1994). Uncovering lives: The uneasy alliance of biography and psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Erikson, E. H. (1969). Gandhi’s truth: On the origins of militant nonviolence. New York: Norton.
Fouché, P. (Ed.). (2015). Psychobiography in psychology. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 25(5), 375. [special section].
Freud, S. (1910/1957). Leonardo da Vinci and a memory of his childhood. In J. S. Strachey (Ed., & Trans.) The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 11). Original work published in 1910.
Kasser, T. (2013). Lucy in the mind of Lennon. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kőváry, Z. (2011). Psychobiography as a method. The revival of studying lives: New perspectives in personality and creativity research. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 7, 739–777.
Langer, W. C. (1972). The mind of Adolf Hitler. New York: Basic Books.
Ponterotto, J. G. (2015). Psychobiography in psychology: Past, present, and future. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 25, 379–389.
Ponterotto, J. G., & Reynolds, J. D. (2013). The “genius” and “madness” of Bobby Fischer: His life from three psychobiographical lenses. Review of General Psychology, 17, 384–398.
Ponterotto, J. G., Reynolds, J. D., Morel, S., & Cheung, L. (2015). Psychobiography training in psychology: Mapping the field and charting a course. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 11, 459–474.
Runyan, W. M. (1982). Life histories and psychobiography: Explorations in theory and method. New York: Oxford University Press.
Schultz, W. T. (Ed.). (2005). Handbook of psychobiography. New York: Oxford University Press.
Schultz, W. T. (2014). The psychobiography of genius. In D. K. Simonton (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of genius (pp. 20–32). New York: Wiley.
Simonton, D. K. (1998). Mad King George: The impact of personal and political stress on mental and physical health. Journal of Personality, 66, 443–466.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ponterotto, J.G. (2018). Psychobiography. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_480-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_480-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences