This psychobiography of Frida Kahlo explores the psychology of the famous Mexican artist. Drawing upon Kahlo\'s paintings and diary entries, a rich psychological analysis of the feminist icon is juxtaposed with the zeitgeist of 20th century Mexico. Framed through the theoretical model of feminist psychology, Kahlo\'s role in promoting gender equality and dismantling patriarchal society is discussed. Physical pain resulting from illness and impalement by a metal pole in a trolley accident was matched, if not exceeded, by the psychological pain the artist felt due to resulting issues with fertility and the long-sought but never-realized role of motherhood, infidelity within her marriage, and the eventual loss of her ability to paint. Nevertheless, Kahlo\'s perseverance and strength led to worldwide recognition of her bold and vibrant paintings, vulnerably depicting her rich inner world. The present study utilises perspectives from art therapy and attachment theory to elucidate the factors contributing to Frida Kahlo\'s resilience in the face of lifelong trauma and chronic pain. Ultimately, Kahlo\'s life and work offer valuable insight into the psychological experiences of women in patriarchal societies, emphasising the importance of feminist perspectives in psychological research and highlighting the healing and resilience-promoting role of art.

In Chinese culture, there is a widely circulated phrase, \'A hen crows in the morning\'. This phrase is used to humiliate women who steal power and engage in the political field. It demonstrates the complicated relationship between women and power in the context of Chinese culture. Women are not completely excluded from the politics, but women in power are often stigmatised. This study explores the life of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), the last female dominator in Chinese history, takes psychobiography as the research method, and attempts to understand the complicated relationship between women and power in Chinese culture through analysing Cixi\'s life from the perspective of complex and cultural complex theory which originated with C.G. Jung and analytical theory. The research findings show that humiliating and suppressing women with political talent can trigger their complexes, both personal and cultural. This study attempts to propose the femininity castrated complex to better describe the conscious and unconscious psychological dynamics impacting on women within patriarchal, political Chinese culture. This complex further relates to (1) denying her biological sex in order to avoid accusations of superego and, (2) the relationship with her son who is not only her son, but also her enemy regarding (political) power.

This article presents a psychobiography study of the famous Greek photographer Ellie Sougioultzoglou-Seraidari (Nelly\'s) (1899-1998). Nelly\'s was born in Aidini (Asia Minor), and in her early years she experienced the tragic events of the Greek-Turkish War (1919-1923). She studied photography in Dresden (Germany), and worked in Athens (Greece) and New York (U.S.A.). A narrative and cultural psychology framework was adopted to explore the way that Nelly\'s constructed her life story. An adjusted version of the \'Life-Story Interview\' (McAdams & Bowman, 2001) was used that distinguishes between redemption versus contamination narratives. The narrative analysis of autobiographical materials revealed turning points and a central life theme. The photographer appeared to construct her life story as a process of reinventing herself or managing \'rebirth\'. This construction matches the dominant narrative of Greek refugees of Asia Minor, following what is known in European history as the Asia Minor \'Great Catastrophe\' (1922). Both narratives are surviving and thriving stories of \'rebirth\'. The importance of making meaning of life stories within a specific socio-cultural and historical context is emphasised. Practice and research suggestions are provided.

Psychobiography has become valuable within the context of professional psychology training. A recent psychobiography purposively sampled Joe Slovo to uncover, reconstruct and illustrate significant trajectories of his development. Slovo\'s (1926-1995) lifelong dedication to the struggle against Apartheid has been widely acknowledged, and he held longstanding leadership positions in various South African liberation movements. Levinson\'s theory of lifespan development served as the study\'s psychological lens. Alexander\'s approaches to data identification and extraction were used, followed by a psycho-historical matrix for data categorisation based on the life cycle theory and significant historical periods throughout Slovo\'s life. To fully embrace the Levinsonian understanding that an individual cannot be separated from their social world, consideration was given to significant historical and sociocultural forces and events during the data analysis. Therefore, this study\'s findings extend beyond Slovo\'s individual development to illuminate the complex ways external forces, such as family dynamics, historical events, political movements, community concerns and cultural and language considerations, influence developmental trajectories, life structures and tasks. The authors reflect on the value of sociocultural and contextual sensitivity in psychobiography to help trainee psychologists venture beyond the subject\'s inner psychological life, including understanding their outer worlds.

In recent years the historical subject base in psychobiography has expanded from a traditional focus on White (Caucasian) subjects to a broader more culturally inclusive population of significant personalities throughout history. A critical component of strong multicultural psychobiography is the inclusion of anchoring theories of psychology that are rooted in socio-cultural-political context. To psychologically profile culturally diverse individuals with only traditional Western theories of psychology and psychiatry (e.g. medical models, psychodynamic, existential, cognitive-behavioral) limits the ability of the research to accurately capture the erlebnis (lived experience) of extraordinary individuals in proper cultural context. This article reviews specific psychological theories that have recently set a foundation for more nuanced and culturally contextualised psychological profiles of historic personalities who represent diverse racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds. Among the theories covered are the Integrated African Psychology Perspective (IAPP), an Indigenous (Native American) model of psychobiography, as well as theories and models on Psychological Nigrescence (Black racial identity development), Intersectionality, Politicised Collective Identity (PCI), Queered Black Racial Identity Development (QBRID), and Adultification of Black Children, among others. Examples of applications of these culture-centered theories to psychobiography, drawn from the present authors recently completed psychobiographies, as well as from other researchers internationally, are presented.

This article promotes and advocates for the integration of psychobiography into academic training in psychology. While psychobiography has been foundational to the discipline of psychology since Freud\'s study of Leonardo da Vinci, its procedures and methods have been sorely neglected in academic psychology. Following a brief introduction to psychobiography, the authors provide a historical review of the specialty area, review the current scope of psychobiographical training in psychology, and summarize the benefits of psychobiography to both the training of students and the broader psychology field. Next, models and examples of psychobiography integration across three continents and five countries are provided. The article concludes with specific recommendations for advancing psychobiography in academic psychology.

This article explores the life of Viktor von Weizsäcker (VvW, 1886-1957), a German medical doctor, philosopher and founder of the Heidelberg School of Anthropological Medicine, from a psychobiographical and salutogenic perspective. The authors use salutogenesis and sense of coherence (SOC), and take crucial cultural, historical, and socio-structural frameworks into account to explore the life during the 19th and 20th Centuries in Germany. They present the exploration of a strong SOC in the life of VvW and show how SOC is created within the tight family bonds of the family clan, which has produced many extraordinary theologists, philosophers, scientists and politicians over six generations. In a complex, interconnected and holistic way, SOC is evident in von VvW\'s individual life, and is also shown to be a family resource. This article contributes to psychobiography in three ways: it develops the salutogenetic perspective in psychobiography, explores the life of VvW within a specific sociocultural context, and investigates the life from a salutogenetic and socio-cultural perspective. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for theory and practice are given.

Ahmed Kathrada (1929-2017), an anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner, and parliamentary politician had been at the centre of South Africa\'s liberation struggle for six decades and is remembered as a soft-spoken, strong-willed and incorruptible freedom fighter. This psychobiography uses the career development framework of Jeffrey Greenhaus and the ecological human development systems framework proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner to investigate and illuminate Kathrada\'s life history. Kathrada was purposively selected as subject due to his extraordinary contributions to the liberation struggle. The study used primary and secondary documentary data. The findings indicate poor alignment between the age categories proposed by the Greenhaus framework and Kathrada\'s career development stages due to him joining the liberation movement at a very young age, his rapid career development during the early career stage and the impact of imprisonment on his career development. The findings relating to Bronfenbrenner\'s theoretical framework illustrate the interaction between individual and environmental factors that influenced Kathrada\'s life and career. Ultimately, employing two theoretical frameworks assisted in formulating a pragmatic, holistic and comprehensive psychobiography that illuminates Kathrada\'s life and career. The study contributes to the legacy of Kathrada and underscores the importance of longitudinal studies in the career development of extraordinary individuals.

A common challenge people face in today\'s cross-cultural world is how to solve a series of adaptation problems caused by cultural conflict. Exploring Bruce Lee\'s successful cross-cultural experiences through psychobiography offers some inspiration and thoughts. How did Bruce Lee successfully integrate martial arts, symbolising the Eastern culture, with films representing the Western culture, finally propelling kung fu films onto the international stage? Numerous publicly available materials about Bruce Lee were collected for this study, and the research data were evaluated using thematic analysis. Bruce Lee\'s success benefitted from reconstructing cultural environment information and exercising his initiative to shape a new cultural environment. His life experiences reflect individual cognition behaviour and social and cultural environments as two aspects of a dynamic circulation system and show that the two have reached internal and spiralling harmony through mutual integration. In the context of the Oriental collectivism culture\'s family narrative, Chinese adults\' personality development features the unique theme of \'inheritance and innovation\'. Dealing with the relationship between self-actualisation and familism is another important and challenging task in developing the Chinese personality.

This psychobiographical study utilises Lev Vygotsky\'s sociocultural theory to explore the impact of diverse cultural experiences on the intellectual growth of Zoltán Paul Dienes, a prominent mathematician and theorist of mathematical education. Vygotsky\'s sociocultural theory is particularly relevant for understanding the impact of culture on intellectual development. According to Vygotsky, cognitive development is shaped by social and cultural interactions, and the tools and practices of a given culture. The study employs a taxonomy of cognitive tools to categorise the influences young Dienes encountered in Hungary, Austria, France, United Kingdom and elsewhere. By examining the presence and frequency of these tools in his formative years, the research sheds light on the origins of Dienes\'s principles in mathematical education. The research enriches psychobiography by integrating sociocultural theory, providing valuable insights into the relationship between culture, cognitive tools, and intellectual growth in knowledgeable individuals. Ultimately, this study contributes to a better comprehension of the origins and principles behind Dienes\'s theory of mathematical education.