A case study of Kurt Donald Cobain
- Authors: Pieterse, Candice Belinda
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Cobain, Kurt, 1967-1994 , Personality development -- South Africa , Developmental psychology -- South Africa , Rock musicians
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9891 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1157 , Cobain, Kurt, 1967-1994 , Personality development -- South Africa , Developmental psychology -- South Africa , Rock musicians
- Description: Case study research allows for an in depth study of an individual and yields relevant insight and results while examining an individual in their entirety. This approach allows the researcher to capture the uniqueness of a subject and thus provide an interesting understanding of that individual. The study is a case study of Kurt Donald Cobain. Cobain (1967-1994) was an American musician who served as songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for the band, Nirvana. He struggled with drug addiction during the last years of his life, and died on 8 April 1994 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head (Sandford, 1995). The study is a single case research design, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. It aimed to explore and describe Kurt Cobain’s personality according to the Five Factor Model of Personality. He was chosen as the research subject by means of purposive sampling on the basis of the researcher’s interest and on his uniqueness and inspirational influences on the general public. Collected data was analyzed in accordance with Huberman and Miles’s (1994) general approach which consists of data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing and verification. Descriptive tables from the NEO-PI-R personality measure were further interpreted to provide quantitative information regarding the personality traits of the subject. The findings of this study suggest that Kurt Cobain portrayed a complex personality profile as an individual, and it appears that he experienced much distress and emotional instability within his life. However, he was able to provide the youth a means of expressing themselves through his music.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer : a psychobiographical study
- Authors: Chéze, Eldon
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Dahmer, Jeffrey , Personality development -- South Africa , Murderers -- South Africa -- Psychology , Adlerian psychology -- South Africa , Serial murder investigation -- South Africa -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9884 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1221 , Dahmer, Jeffrey , Personality development -- South Africa , Murderers -- South Africa -- Psychology , Adlerian psychology -- South Africa , Serial murder investigation -- South Africa -- Psychological aspects
- Description: Serial crime is an element of society that continues to disturb and fascinate scholars. There is thus a need to understand the uniqueness of serial murderers and their psychological development. The field of psychobiography is a qualitative approach to uncover the story of an individual life through greater understanding of psychological concepts. Psychobiographical research is invaluable in the application of theory to the finished lives of exemplary or enigmatic individuals to develop and test theories of human development. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (1960 – 1994), a cannibalistic serial killer who killed 17 young men, served as the single psychobiographical subject in this study. Dahmer was selected based on interest value, his uniqueness and the lack of a specifically academic and psychologically focused case study on his life. A qualitative psychobiographical research method was utilized in this study. The primary aim of the research was to explore and describe Jeffrey Dahmer’s personality development across his lifespan. This was achieved by applying Erikson’s (1950) psychosocial theory of staged developmental crises to the lifespan developmental process and Adler’s (1929) dynamic individual psychology to provide a more comprehensive idiographic interpretation of Dahmer as an individual. Jeffrey Dahmer’s life history was uncovered in this psychobiographical case study research through the systematic and consistent collection, analysis and interpretation of life history materials, which highlighted five significant historical periods: (a) Childhood of Fantasy, (b) The Quiet Loner, (c) Hiatus – or Build-up, (d) Seeking a Compliant Partner and (e) Arrest, Trial and Death. The two theoretical frameworks were used to discern, transform and reconstruct his life into a coherent and illuminating narrative of his psychological movement through life. Alexander’s (1988) model of identifying salient themes was used to analyze data for analytical generalization (Yin, 1994). A conceptual framework derived from the two theoretical perspectives was constructed to organize and integrate data and to guide the presentation and discussion of the findings of the study in an integrative and comprehensive manner. The findings suggested that both theoretical perspectives considered the biopsychosocial as well as cultural and historical influences of situations and experiences in Dahmer’s personality development throughout the lifespan. Adlerian theory indicated that Dahmer held a socially useless lifestyle whose movement was guided purposively towards a fictional goal xxii of godlikeness through creative, concrete expressions of personal superiority. Eriksonian theory held that Dahmer remained in role confusion, which was viewed as a functional, fragmented identity to survive in society and achieve a fantasy. Thus, both theories indicated, despite their different conceptualizations, that Dahmer’s personality development was ultimately not socially beneficial. The study of Dahmer’s personality development has provided a positive demonstration of the value of both Erikson (1950) and Adler’s (1929) theories to understand the processes of personality development in an individual life. It has further highlighted the uniqueness of individual responses to life tasks and consequently unlocked the possibility of perceiving people and their actions differently. Recommendations were made for future research undertakings that utilize a psychobiographical research design and methodology to uncover, illuminate and reconstruct the lives of enigmatic personalities.
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- Date Issued: 2009