International Review of Psychiatry

This psychobiography of Frida Kahlo explores the psychology of the famous Mexican artist. Drawing upon Kahlo's paintings and diary entries, a rich psychological analysis of the feminist icon is juxtaposed with the zeitgeist of 20th century Mexico. Framed through the theoretical model of feminist psychology, Kahlo's role in promoting gender equality and dismantling patriarchal society is discussed. Physical pain resulting from illness and impalement by a metal pole in a trolley accident was matched, if not exceeded, by the psychological pain the artist felt due to resulting issues with fertility and the long-sought but never-realized role of motherhood, infidelity within her marriage, and the eventual loss of her ability to paint...

In Chinese culture, there is a widely circulated phrase, 'A hen crows in the morning'. This phrase is used to humiliate women who steal power and engage in the political field. It demonstrates the complicated relationship between women and power in the context of Chinese culture. Women are not completely excluded from the politics, but women in power are often stigmatised. This study explores the life of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), the last female dominator in Chinese history, takes psychobiography as the research method, and attempts to understand the complicated relationship between women and power in Chinese culture through analysing Cixi's life from the perspective of complex and cultural complex theory which originated with C...

This article presents a psychobiography study of the famous Greek photographer Ellie Sougioultzoglou-Seraidari ( Nelly's ) (1899-1998). Nelly's was born in Aidini (Asia Minor), and in her early years she experienced the tragic events of the Greek-Turkish War (1919-1923). She studied photography in Dresden (Germany), and worked in Athens (Greece) and New York (U.S.A.). A narrative and cultural psychology framework was adopted to explore the way that Nelly's constructed her life story. An adjusted version of the 'Life-Story Interview' (McAdams & Bowman, 2001) was used that distinguishes between redemption versus contamination narratives...

Psychobiography has become valuable within the context of professional psychology training. A recent psychobiography purposively sampled Joe Slovo to uncover, reconstruct and illustrate significant trajectories of his development. Slovo's (1926-1995) lifelong dedication to the struggle against Apartheid has been widely acknowledged, and he held longstanding leadership positions in various South African liberation movements. Levinson's theory of lifespan development served as the study's psychological lens. Alexander's approaches to data identification and extraction were used, followed by a psycho-historical matrix for data categorisation based on the life cycle theory and significant historical periods throughout Slovo's life...

In recent years the historical subject base in psychobiography has expanded from a traditional focus on White (Caucasian) subjects to a broader more culturally inclusive population of significant personalities throughout history. A critical component of strong multicultural psychobiography is the inclusion of anchoring theories of psychology that are rooted in socio-cultural-political context. To psychologically profile culturally diverse individuals with only traditional Western theories of psychology and psychiatry (e...

This article promotes and advocates for the integration of psychobiography into academic training in psychology. While psychobiography has been foundational to the discipline of psychology since Freud's study of Leonardo da Vinci, its procedures and methods have been sorely neglected in academic psychology. Following a brief introduction to psychobiography, the authors provide a historical review of the specialty area, review the current scope of psychobiographical training in psychology, and summarize the benefits of psychobiography to both the training of students and the broader psychology field...

This article explores the life of Viktor von Weizsäcker (VvW, 1886-1957), a German medical doctor, philosopher and founder of the Heidelberg School of Anthropological Medicine, from a psychobiographical and salutogenic perspective. The authors use salutogenesis and sense of coherence (SOC), and take crucial cultural, historical, and socio-structural frameworks into account to explore the life during the 19th and 20th Centuries in Germany. They present the exploration of a strong SOC in the life of VvW and show how SOC is created within the tight family bonds of the family clan, which has produced many extraordinary theologists, philosophers, scientists and politicians over six generations...

Ahmed Kathrada (1929-2017), an anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner, and parliamentary politician had been at the centre of South Africa's liberation struggle for six decades and is remembered as a soft-spoken, strong-willed and incorruptible freedom fighter. This psychobiography uses the career development framework of Jeffrey Greenhaus and the ecological human development systems framework proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner to investigate and illuminate Kathrada's life history. Kathrada was purposively selected as subject due to his extraordinary contributions to the liberation struggle...

A common challenge people face in today's cross-cultural world is how to solve a series of adaptation problems caused by cultural conflict. Exploring Bruce Lee's successful cross-cultural experiences through psychobiography offers some inspiration and thoughts. How did Bruce Lee successfully integrate martial arts, symbolising the Eastern culture, with films representing the Western culture, finally propelling kung fu films onto the international stage? Numerous publicly available materials about Bruce Lee were collected for this study, and the research data were evaluated using thematic analysis...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

This psychobiographical study utilises Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory to explore the impact of diverse cultural experiences on the intellectual growth of Zoltán Paul Dienes, a prominent mathematician and theorist of mathematical education. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory is particularly relevant for understanding the impact of culture on intellectual development. According to Vygotsky, cognitive development is shaped by social and cultural interactions, and the tools and practices of a given culture...

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was a moral development specialist and moral teacher. He is considered an exceptional individual due to the success he obtained from developing his Theory of Moral Development . Throughout Kohlberg's life, there was a reciprocal influence between Kohlberg's development and the sociocultural influences of his time, guiding his life story. This psychobiography used a longitudinal, single-case research design from the qualitative paradigm, utilising the descriptive-interpretive approach to explore the influences which shaped major life events in Kohlberg's life...

Siyamthanda (Siya) Kolisi OIG (1992-) is the first black captain of the South African rugby team (Springboks) in its 128 years of existence. The Springboks have long been associated with Afrikaner people and a history of racism. Siya had to navigate a tumultuous upbringing in an environment characterised by various issues such as socioeconomic inequalities, high unemployment among Black people, and lack of resources. Siya was purposively selected for this study as he has become one of the most influential individuals in South Africa...

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) led an extraordinary life as a journalist, educator, and activist while navigating the intersecting social realities of race, gender, and class. She embodied courage, advocating for the civil rights of Black Americans in an uncompromising fashion.Building on decades of research in social psychology, sociologist Cecilia L. Ridgeway presents (2019) a cultural schema theory of status. She contends that issues of status in interpersonal contexts are an unavoidable aspect of the human condition...

The article presents two theoretical perspectives that provide a helpful framework in psychobiographical research, especially when psychobiographies concern religious suicide. The first is typical in contemporary psychology, a subjective analysis focused on the individual, looking at life course/lifetime in the light of personality psychology. The second one is represented by anthropological research on the concept of honour-shame and the sociological works of E. Durkheim. Contemporary psychobiography should consider sociocultural context and refer to social sciences (anthropology, sociology)...

Like most historical leaders, Israel's fourth prime minister, Golda Meir, is a controversial figure. Some consider her the worst prime minister in Israel's history, who was responsible for Israel's lack of preparedness for the Yom Kippur War, and others perceive her to be the only 'man' who stood in the way of Arabs' countries victory over Israel. Some view her to be conservative, not brilliant, dogmatic, masculine, and racist, and some others, as a simple, modest, warm, and empathetic woman. The authors bridge between these two conflicting views by employing theories of identity, culture, and gender role bias to investigate how Golda Meir's early age trauma caused by pogroms against Jews, cultural transition between Russia, the USA, and Mandatory Palestine, and serving as a powerful woman leader in an all-men political system, influenced her personal and political behaviour and her public image...

Judgments of physical attractiveness are based on appearance but are influenced by and influence more than just physical features of the face and body (e.g. clothing and personality traits). This is explored in a selective review of previous research, plus new analyses of data from three previously published studies: the Boston Couples Study, the Multiple Identities Questionnaire, and the Intimate Relationships Across Cultures Study, with implications for mental health. Self-ratings of attractiveness are inflated by self-esteem and confidence in self-halo effects...

Love is the core of human experience and central to our meaning in life and wellbeing, yet it is also a complex concept full of ambiguity and contradiction. The main purpose of this paper is fourfold: Firstly, we want to clarify questions such as 'What is the meaning of love?' and 'Why is meaning of love so important to us?' Secondly, we want to explain why love is both suffering and essential for our happiness and mental health. Thirdly, we identify the major types of love and clarify which types are constructive and which are destructive...

This chapter analyses the concept of jealousy (as different from envy ) in romantic and sexual relationships. It demonstrates that jealousy is both logically and empirically untenable, as it is: (1) a self-contradictory emotion; (2) a self-destructive activity. As to (1) feelings of jealousy are incompatible with true care for the well-being and satisfaction of the loved partner. Logically, the notion of jealousy is self-defeating: it professes to be an expression of love while at the same time forbidding the loved one the freedom to act autonomously, thus killing the very notion of love...

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the role of love as a constituent of pedagogical professionalism, here called pedagogical love, in andragogical contexts. A study was conducted in Germany with this specific aim in mind. The results are presented, and relevant scientific literature on pedagogical love in andragogical contexts is discussed. Likewise, critical implications of pedagogical love are highlighted and conceivable foci for future research projects are outlined.