Explores the use of psychobiographical methods as a means of understanding Jesus of Nazareth.

Capps, Donald. "A Psychobiography of Jesus." In Ellens, J. Harold (Ed), Rollins, Wayne G. (Ed) (2004). Psychology and the Bible: A New Way to Read the Scriptures, Vol 4, From Jesus to Christ. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers (pp. 59-70).

Summarizes the key conclusions put forth in an earlier book, Jesus: A Psychological Biography.

Borchers, Scott. "Revamping Sartre's Original Project: Freedom's Narcissistic Wound." Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 36.1 (2005): 1-19

Analyzes what combination of factors in Sartre's developmental history led to his original projects.

Alfonso, Cesar A. & Eckardt, Marianne Horney. "Epilogue: Creativity and Polysemy: On the Limits of Pathography, Psychobiography, and Art Criticism." Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry 33.1 (2005): 235-237.

Recommends that analysts appreciate the degree to which meaningfulness is fluid and infinite, and also that works of art do acquire autonomous meaningfulness separate from the life and experience of the artist.

Chipman, Abram. "Loneliness and Liberation if the Life and Stage Works of Bela Bartok." Psychoanalytic Review 91.5 (2004): 663-682

Scrutinizes Bartok's personality in relation to the texts he picked out for his major stage and dramatic works.

Sperber, Michael. "Thoreau's Hallucinated Mountain." Psychoanalytic Review 91.5 (2004): 699-704.

Looks at how Thoreau used a recurrent hallucination of an enormous mountain not only recreationally but therapeutically.

Goldsmith, Marlene. "Frida Kahlo: Abjection, Psychic Deadness, and the Creative Impulse." Psychoanalytic Review 91.6 (2004): 723-758.

Sheds light on Kahlo's journey through tragedy and creation, making use of Kristeva's concept of abjection as it applies to Kahlo's psychic traumas.

Charles, Marilyn. "'The Waves": Tensions Between Creativity and Containment in the Life and Writing of Virginia Woolf." Psychoanalytic Review 91.1 (2004): 71-98.

Views "The Waves" as an attempt to descend into the unconscious and to "bring forth its riches" through the use of metaphor.

Garcia, Emanuel. "Rachmaninoff's Emotional Collapse and Recovery." Psychoanalytic Review 91.2 (2004): 221-238.

Explores the groundbreaking character of the First Symphony and how it left in its wake various compromise solutions that together amount to a "failure of nerve."

Stevens, Victoria. "Nothingness, No-Thing, and Nothing in the Work of Wilfred Bion and in Samuel Beckett's 'Murphy.'" Psychoanalytic Review 92.4 (2005): 607-635.

Discusses Beckett's apparent ability to experience nothingness and meaninglessness, as well as how his writings dovetailed with the psychoanalytic theories of Wilfred Bion.

Smith, M. Brewster. "The Case of Brew." Journal of Personality 73.5 (2005): 1111-1140.

A remarkably candid and compelling short autobiography by one of the world's leading personologists. (Psychobiographer Alan C. Elms writes a brief introduction to the piece that touches on Smith's humility).

Bauer, Jack, McAdams, Dan, & Sakaeda, April. "Interpreting the Good Life: Growth Memories in the Lives of Mature, Happy People." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88.1 (2005): 203-217.

The authors examine autobiographical memories for the presence of two growth orientations expected to correspond differentially to maturity and well-being.

Smith, Allison G., Stewart, Abigail, Winter, David G. "Close Encounters with the Midwest: Forming Identity in a Bicultural Context." Political Psychology 25.4 (2004): 611-641.

Uses semi-structured interviews to explore how 16 people of Latvian heritage negotiated their cultural identities in high school (retrospectively) and at midlife (concurrently).

Winter, David G. "Motivation and Escalation of Conflict: Case Studies of Individual Leaders." Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 10.4 (2004): 381-398.

High levels of power imagery tend to be associated with conflict escalation whereas affiliation imagery seems to be associated with peaceful conflict resolution. This article extends such research to case studies of individual leaders: James Polk, Robert Rhett, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and John F. Kennedy.

Winter, David G. "Things I've Learned About Personality From Studying Political Leaders at a Distance." Journal of Personality 73.3 (2005): 557-584.

Illuminating, thoughtful review of the author's research on achievement, affiliation, and power motives of US Presidents and other leaders. Draws assorted conclusions, such as: "motivation and personality can be objectively and reliably measured at a distance."

Leibin, Valerii. "The Interpretation of Dreams as Part of Freud's Psychobiography." Psychoanalytic Review 90.6 (2003): 811-828.

Reveals how Freud's masterpiece "The Interpretation of Dreams" remains one of the most important sources for understanding Freud personally. Zeroes in on one of Freud's dreams, and the feelings provoked by the death of Freud's brother Julius.

Loewenberg, Peter. "Lucian and Sigmund Freud." American Imago 61.1 (2004): 89-99.

Suggests that certain stylistic themes tie the artistic grandson to the analytic grandfather.

Chasseguet-Smirgel, Janine. "Body and Cosmos: Pasolini, Mishima, Foucault." American Imago 61.2 (2004): 201-221.

Explores examples of writers in whom the "anthropophagous fantasy" is clearly described.

Zimmerman, Lee. "The Weirdest Scale on Earth: Elizabeth Bishop and Containment." American Imago 61.4 (2004): 495-518.

Examines one of Bishop's crucial tropes: the destabilizing threat of "weird scale."

De La Durantaye, Leland. "Vladimir Nabokov and Sigmund Freud, or a Particular Problem." American Imago 62.1 (2005): 59-73.

As did Alan Elms in his book Uncovering Lives, this essay takes up the question of why Nabokov so disliked Freudian theory, which he lampooned hilariously as a "daily application of Greek myths to one's private parts."

Avolos, Julio. "An Agony of Pleasurable Suffering: Masochism and Maternal Deprivation in Mark Twain." American Imago 62.1 (2005): 35-58.

This essay aims to show the pervasiveness of masochistic scenes and themes in Twain's writing, and to reduce such content to Twain's relationship with his mother, Jane Clemens.

Talley, Sharon. "Following Thoreau's Tracks in the Sand: Tactile Impressions in 'Cape Cod.'" American Imago 62.1 (2005): 7-34.

Argues that Thoreau's use of the sense of touch helps one to understand him and his life experiences.

O'Donoghue, Diane. "Lingua Flora: Deciphering the Dream of the Botanical Monograph." American Imago 62.2 (2005): 157-177.

Focuses on one dream of Freud's because of the way in which it exemplifies two markedly different realms of psychic functioning.

Hammond, Wizdom Powell & Mattis, Jacqueline S. "Being a Man About It: Manhood-Meaning Among African American Men." Psychology of Men and Masculinity 6.2 (2005): 114-126.

A qualitative examination of manhood among African American men.

Books:

Tripp, C.A (2005). The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Free Press.

Slightly scandalous book that itemizes in detail three homosexual liasons from different stages of Lincoln's life.

McAdams, Dan P (2005). The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By. New York: Oxford University Press.

A tour de force by one of the nation's leading personality psychologists, this book explores the narrative theme of redemption in American life. McAdams's magnum opus.

Yancy, George (Ed), Hadley, Susan (Ed) (2005). Narrative Identities: Psychologists Engaged in Self-Construction. New York; Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Notable psychologists reflect autobiographically on their lives.

Schultz, William Todd (Ed) (2005). Handbook of Psychobiography. New York: Oxford University Press.

The first major reference work devoted to the subject of psychobiography. Section One, How to Write a Psychobiography, provides sound methodological guidelines, while Sections Two, Three, and Four present case studies of artists, psychologists, and political figures. Individual sections and chapters as follows:

Part I: How to Write a Psychobiography

Schultz, William Todd. “Introducing Psychobiography,” 3-18

Defines characteristics of good and of bad psychobiography, proposes one possible structure for a psychobiographical essay, and concludes with several pages on the present (2005) state of the field of psychobiography.

Runyan, William M. “Evolving Conceptions of Psychobiographers and the Study of Lives: Encounters with Psychoanalysis, Personality Psychology, and Historical Science,” 19-41.

Traces how the study of psychobiography has evolved in relation to psychoanalysis and personality psychology. Identifies several landmark events in the development of the field. Applies Gould's idea of historical science to the practice of psychobiography.

Schultz, William Todd. “How to Strike Psychological Pay Dirt in Biographical Data,” 42-63.

Proposes various ways of homing in on the most psychologically revealing data contained in autobiographical writing, with special emphasis on Irving Alexander’s idea of “saliency cues” and William Todd Schultz’s concept of the “prototypical scene.” Subjects used as illustration include Kathryn Harrison, Truman Capote, Jack Keroauc, Sylvia Plath, Diane Arbus, Frank Lloyd Wright, and others.

McAdams, Dan P. “What Psychobiographers Might Learn from Personality Psychology,” 64-83.

Reviews findings from personality research that possess special relevance for the field of psychobiography, including domain specificity, the “Big Five” personality traits, and narrative psychology.

Elms, Alan C. “If the Glove Fits: The Art of Theoretical Choice in Psychobiography,” 84-95.

Explores the tricky question of how one goes about choosing a psychological theory to use when doing psychobiography.

Runyan, William M. “How to Critically Evaluate Alternative Explanations of Life Events: The Case of Van Gogh’s Ear,” 96-103.

Classic essay that proposes criteria for judging the success of psychobiographical interpretations.

Isaacson, Kate. “Divide and Multiply: Comparative Theory and Methodology in Multiple Case Psychobiography,” 104-111.

Suggests methods for engaging in multiple case psychobiography.

Schultz, William Todd. “Diane Arbus’s Photographic Autobiography: Theory and Method Revisited,” 112-134.

Part method primer, part psychobiographical interpretation of some of the most striking themes in Arbus’s photography.

Part II: Psychobiographies of Artists

Schultz, William Todd. “Nothing Alive Can Be Calculated: The Psychobiographical Study of Artists,” 135-141.

Discusses several approaches that can be used when studying artists psychobiographically.

Elms, Alan C; Heller, Bruce. “Twelve Ways to Say ‘Lonesome’: Assessing Error and Control in the Music of Elvis Presley,” 142-157.

Shows why the singing of the song “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” proved to be such a psychological hurdle for Presley.

Schultz, William Todd. “Mourning, Melancholia, and Sylvia Plath,” 158-174.

Investigates to what degree Plath was correct when she wrote in her journal that Freud’s essay on mourning and melancholia was an “exact description” of her reasons for suicide.

Ogilive, Daniel M. “Margaret’s Smile,” 175-187.

An analysis of psychological factors that went into J.M. Barrie’s invention of Peter Pan, with particular focus on the death of Barrie’s brother.

Anderson, James William. “Edith Wharton and ‘Ethan Frome’: A Psychobiographical Exploration,” 188-202.

Reveals how Wharton’s writing allowed her to process conflicts in her life, many related to relationship difficulties and marital dissatisfaction.

Part III: Psychobiographies of Psychologists

Anderson, James William. “The Psychobiographical Study of Psychologists,” 203-209.

Discusses reasons why psychobiographical writing on psychologists can be particularly valuable.

Elms, Alan C. “Freud as Leonardo: Why the First Psychobiography Went Wrong,” 210-222.

Adduces personal reasons for why Freud became so obsessed with Leonardo and why this obsession led Freud to violate many of his own guidelines for how to do a psychoanalytic biography.

Barenbaum, Nicole B. “Four, Two, or One? Gordon Allport and the Unique Personality,” 223-239.

Looks at Allport’s need for uniqueness and how this need influenced his theorizing. Also examines the impact of Allport’s meeting with Freud—the way in which it repeated a pattern that can be seen in other relationships in Allport’s life.

Arnold, Kyle; Atwood, George. “Nietzsche’s Madness,” 240-264.

Centers on loss of the father as a partial explanation for Nietzsche’s madness.

Alexander, Irving. “Erikson and Psychobiography, Psychobiography and Erikson,” 265-284.

Psychobiographical analysis of psychobiographer Erik Erikson.

Nicholson, Ian. “From the Book of Mormon to the Opertational Definition: The Existential Project of S.S. Stevens,” 285-300.

Explores how Stevens’s championing of operationism was to some degree rooted in his spurning of the subjective and his conflicts with Mormonism.

Part IV: Psychobiographies of Political Figures

Elms, Alan C.; Song, Anna V. “Alive and Kicking: The Problematics of Political Psychobiography,” 301-310.

Surveys the field of political psychobiography and explores various ways in which it is done.

Dennis, Anthony J. “Osama Bin Laden: The Sum of All Fears,” 311-322.

Explores the development of Bin Laden’s radicalism in particular.

Renshon, Stanley A. “In His Father’s Shadow: George W. Bush and the Politics of Personal Transformation,” 323-343.

Traces how Bush slowly managed to develop his own distinct identity apart from his father’s.

Song, Anna V. “Hunting the Snark: Methodological Considerations of Studying Elusive Politicians,” 344-356.

Zeroes in on the case of Kim Jong Il in North Korea.

Glad, Betty. “Psychobiography in Context: Predicting the Behavior of Tyrants,” 357-368.

Discusses the lessons learned from psychobiographical study of a number of tyrants.

Dissertations:

Erickson, Barclay James. "A Psychobiography of Richard Price: Co-Founder of Esalen Institute." DAI 64 (9-B) (2004): 4665.

A psychobiographical study of Richard Price, student of Fritz Perls and a major contributor to the popularization of gestalt therapy in the 1970s and 1980s.