Abstract
This is the epilog of the book “Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts”. This Volume is part of the Palgrave Series on Sociocultural Psychology of the Lifecourse, and it aimed at providing new insights, original research, empirical findings and theoretical and conceptual discourses on meaning and identity during extraordinary individuals’ lives. The epilog sheds light on the future of psychobiography, the development of identity and meaning-making in research and practice and the value of indulging in the life of extraordinary individuals as resources for the life of contemporary individuals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
WEIRED stands for Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic and has been coined by Joseph Heinrich (2020). The Harvard scholar presents insights in a new worldview and its interpretation why the West became as powerful as it is, emphasizing that the West should aspire rather humility than pride. He criticizes that most psychological research conducted in the world until today is conducted with WEIRED people, transferring the gained knowledge onto all other groups relatively biased and unreflected. His theory, anchored in macro-cultural relativism, presents a critical view on ethno- and Western-centrism and asks for the widening of the field of vision beyond WEIRED approaches.
References
Allen, A. P., Doyle, C., Doyle, C. M., Monaghan, C., Fitzpatrick, N., & Roche, R. A. P. (2021). What we talk about when we talk about the past: Discursive psychological analysis of autobiographical reminiscence in older Irish adults In C.-H. Mayer, J.P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (eds.). Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (xxx-xxx). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Androutsopoulou, A., Tsatsaroni, C., Koutsavgousti, G., & Thanopoulou, K. (2021). “I as photographer”: Major theme development and meaning making in the self-portraits of Vivian Maier. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Balint, A. (2021). Life as an equation. A contribution to Zoltan Paul Dienes’ psychobiography. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Burnell, B., & Nel, C. (2021). A comparative psychobiographical exploration of meaning-making in the development of generativity in the lives of women in the anti-apartheid movement. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Bushkin, H., van Niekerk, R., & Stroud, L. (2021). Searching for meaning in chaos—Viktor Frankl's story. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Carlson, R. (1971). Where is the person in personality research? Psychological Bulletin, 75(3), 203–219.
Elms, A. C. (1994). Uncovering lives: The uneasy alliance of biography and psychology. Oxford University Press.
Heinrich, J. (2020). The WEIRDest people in the world. How the West became psychologically peculiar and particularly prosperous. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Jung, C. G. (1973). Letters. Vol. 1, 1906–1950. Princeton University Press.
Kovary, Z., & Kovacs, A. (2021). The psychological effects of psychobiographical research on the researcher’s personality. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Mayer, C.-H. (2017). The life and creative works of Paulo Coelho. A Psychobiography from a Positive Psychology Perspective. Springer.
Mayer, C.-H. (2021). Albert Camus—A psychobiographical approach in times of Covid-19. Frontiers in Psychology https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644579
Mayer, C.-H., & Fouché, J.P. (2021). Lessons Learned From Baruch Spinoza: Shame And Faith Development In The Light Of Challenges In Contemporary Society. In C.-H. Mayer, E. Vanderheiden, & P.T. Wong, (2021). Shame 4.0. Investigating an Emotion in Digital Worlds and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (xx-xx). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Mayer, C.-H., & Kelley, J. L. (2021). The Heroine Archetype and Design Leadership in Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu—A psychobiological global leadership investigation. In S. K. Dhiman, J. F. Marques, J. Schmieder-Ramires, & P. G. Malakyan (Eds.), Handbook of Global Leadership and Followership (pp. xx–xx). Springer.
Mayer, C.-H., & Kovary, Z. (2019). New Trends in Psychobiography. Springer.
Mayer, C.-H., Krasovska, N. & Fouché, J.P. (2021). The Meaning of Life and Death across Frankl’s Life: Archetypal and Terror Management Perspectives. In C.H. Mayer, J.P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (eds): Creating a meaningful life: Psychobiographical investigations. Special Issue in Europe’s Journal of Psychology, xx(x), xx-xx. In press.
Mullen, R. (2021). Broadening the Psychobiography of the Eminent Extraordinary. The Extraordinariness of the ‘Ordinary’ Individual in Recovery-Remission from a Mental Illness. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Ponterotto, J. G. (2013). Case study in psychobiographical ethics: Bobby Fischer, world chess champion. Journal of Empirical Research in Human Research Ethics, 8, 19–27.
Ponterotto, J. G. (2014). Best practices in psychobiographical research. Ethical considerations and publishing. Qualitative Psychology, 1(1), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000005
Ponterotto, J. G., & Moncayo, K. (2018). A Cautious Alliance: The Psychobiographer’s Relationship with Her/His Subject. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 18(sup1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/20797222.2018.1511311
Ponterotto, J. G., Reynolds, J. D., Morel, S., & Cheung, L. (2015). Psychobiography training in psychology in North America: Mapping the field and charting a course. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 11(3), 459–475.
Schultz, W. T. (2005). Handbook of psychobiography. Oxford University Press.
Wegner, B. R. (2020). Psychobiography is trending among psychologists. Review of Claude-Hélène Mayer & Zoltan Kovary, eds., New Trends in Psychobiography (Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Springer International Publishing, 2019), Clio’s Psyche, 140-143.
Wegner, B. (2021). Wake Up, Psychobiography! Above and Beyond the Veil with W.E.B. Du Bois. In C.-H. Mayer, J. P. Fouché, & R. van Niekerk (Eds.), Psychobiographical illustrations on meaning and identity in sociocultural contexts (pp. xxx–xxx). Palgrave Macmillan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mayer, CH., Fouché, P.J.P., Van Niekerk, R. (2021). Epilog: Reflections on the Futures of Psychobiography. In: Mayer, CH., Fouché, P.J., Van Niekerk, R. (eds) Psychobiographical Illustrations on Meaning and Identity in Sociocultural Contexts . Sociocultural Psychology of the Lifecourse . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81238-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81238-6_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-81237-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81238-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)