Abstract
This chapter argues for the use of ‘unusual’ theories in psychobiographical research through the presentation of a case study. Historically, psychobiographical research has made use of the work of psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, and developmental theorists, while more recent psychobiographical approaches have preferred more modern, empirically based theories. However, over reliance on a few theories within psychobiographical research creates the possibility for narrow explanations of complex lives. Given the proliferation of theoretical models in psychology the current use of theory barely scratches the surface of available explanatory paradigms. This chapter argues for the value of casting the explanatory net wider, and for the inclusion of more psychological theories in psychobiographical work. Using a psychobiographical case study, the chapter illustrates how a ‘forgotten’ psychological theory (Tomkins in Personality structure in the life course. Springer, New York, pp 152–217, 1992) can serve as a useful explanatory paradigm for a complex religious figure. The case study focuses on Gordon Hinckley (b. 1910, d. 2008), the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly referred to as the Mormon Church), who remains a prominent figure in contemporary Mormonism and played a key role in the rapid growth and increasingly positive public profile of the Religion throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Using Tomkins’ script theory in conjunction with a psychobiographical method and the analysis of data gathered from published speeches, this study explores Hinckley’s personality structure and identifies three core psychological scripts.
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Notes
- 1.
A popular Mormon hymn sang in praise of Joseph Smith.
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du Plessis, C., Stones, C.R. (2019). The Use of Unusual Psychological Theories in Psychobiography: A Case Study and Discussion. In: Mayer, CH., Kovary, Z. (eds) New Trends in Psychobiography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16953-4_12
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