The purpose of a psychobiography is to describe an individual‟s life while using a psychological theory. James Warren “Jim” Jones was selected through purposive sampling because of his instrumental role in organising the largest mass suicide in recorded USA history. Kernberg‟s (1979; 1985; 2004) object relations theory was used to illuminate his life and personality dynamics, a theory focused on describing the borderline personality organisation. The study employed a qualitative single case study design, and data was analysed according to the principals set out by Yin (1994) as well as Miles and Huberman (1994). Results indicated that Kernberg‟s (1979; 1985; 2004) theory was suitable in shedding light on the life of this infamous historical figure, which resulted in an increased understanding of the application of this psychological theory. Lastly, it contributed towards increasing the limited number of psychobiographical studies conducted in South Africa.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9948 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Baldwin, Garth Adrian |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | 139 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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