A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF STEVEN PAUL JOBS N. MOORE 2014 A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF STEVEN PAUL JOBS By Noëlle Moore Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister Artium in Counselling Psychology to be awarded at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University March 2014 Supervisor: Professor Greg Howcroft i DECLARATION I, Noëlle Moore (205003435), hereby declare that the treatise for Magister Artium in Counselling Psychology is my own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment or completion of any postgraduate qualification. Noelle Moore Official use: In accordance with Rule G4.6.3, 4.6.3 A treatise/dissertation/thesis must be accompanied by a written declaration on the part of the candidate to the effect that it is his/her own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another University or for another qualification. However, material from publications by the candidate may be embodied in a treatise/dissertation/thesis. ii Here‘s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes...the ones who see things differently – they‘re not fond of rules...You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but one thing you can‘t do is ignore them because they change things...they change things...they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do (Steven Paul Jobs, 1955 – 2011). iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this study was made possible by the support and assistance received from numerous sources. Herewith, I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to: God for granting me the not only the opportunity to undertake and complete postgraduate studies but also the capability and strength of character to fulfil my life purpose as He reveals it to me. Professor Gregory Howcroft, my supervisor, for his insights, guidance and the high standards according to which he measured the present study. My parents for instilling in me the drive to succeed and granting me the opportunity to undertake tertiary studies. This journey would not be possible without their emotional and financial support as they encouraged me in my striving toward my final goal in discovery of my life purpose. And finally, my friends - in particular Melissa de Lange and Gregory Mitchell - for their continued support and words of encouragement throughout the duration of this undertaking. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i PHOTOGRAPH OF STEVEN PAUL JOBS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES x LIST OF APPENDICES xii ABSTRACT xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT 1 Chapter Preview 1 Context of the Research 1 The study of the individual 1 The psychobiographical approach 1 An overview of the theoretical frameworks for this study 2 Primary aim of the research 4 The researcher‘s personal passage 5 A brief introduction to Steven Paul Jobs (1955 – 2011) 5 Overview of the structure of the study 7 Conclusion 7 v CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOBIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH 9 Chapter Preview 9 Psychobiography and Related Concepts 9 Biography 10 Life histories 11 Life narratives and life stories 11 Psychohistories, historical psychology and historiographies 12 Case studies 12 Criticism of the Psychobiographical Case Study Method 13 The Value and Benefits of Psychobiographical Case Study 15 Uniqueness of the individual case 15 Socio-historical context 15 Process and pattern over time 15 Subjective reality 16 Theory testing and development 16 A Concise History of the Development of Psychobiography 17 Conclusion 19 vi CHAPTER 3: A THEORETICAL OVERVIEW OF ADLER’S INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ANTONOVSKY’S SENSE OF COHERENCE 20 Chapter Preview 20 Overview of Adler‘s Individual Psychology 21 View of the person 21 Structure of personality 24 Constitutional attributes 24 Inferiority and compensation 24 Complexes 26 Social environment 26 Birth order 27 Faulty lifestyles 29 Creative self 30 The lifestyle 31 Development of lifestyle 31 Lifestyle types 34 Ruling type 34 Getting or leaning type 35 Avoiding type 35 Socially useful type 35 Striving for superiority 36 Striving for power 36 Social interest 37 Optimal development 39 Critique of Adler‘s Individual Psychology 40 vii Conclusion of Adler‘s Individual Psychology 43 Overview of Antonovsky‘s Sense of Coherence 43 The continuum of health 44 Salutogenesis 44 Sense of Coherence 45 Critique of Antonovsky‘s salutogenesis 46 Conclusion 47 CHAPTER 4: THE LIFE OF STEVEN PAUL JOBS 48 Chapter Preview 48 The Lived Life of Steven Paul Jobs 48 Childhood 48 Adopted. Chosen. Special. 48 School 52 Lost but not found 57 Adulthood 59 Disillusioned enlightenment 59 The beginning of a revolution 61 Reality distortion field 68 What is NeXT? 74 The final chapter 83 Return of the lost son 83 Fulfilment and mortality 86 Conclusion 88 viii CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 89 Chapter Preview 89 Primary Aim of the Research 90 Preliminary Methodological Considerations 91 Analysing an absent subject 91 Researcher bias 91 Reconstruction 92 Reductionism 92 Pathography 93 Cross-cultural differences 93 Inflated expectations 94 Elitism and easy genre 94 Research Design 95 The Psychobiographical Subject 95 Data Collection and Analysis 96 Irving Alexander‘s nine principle identifiers of data salience 97 Ensuring Trustworthiness 98 Validity and reliability criticism 98 Ethical Considerations 99 Conclusions 100 CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 101 Chapter Preview 101 Research Findings and Discussion 101 Adopted. Chosen. Special. 101 The curious prankster 106 ix Lost but not found 111 Disillusioned enlightenment 116 Reality distortion field 120 What‘s NeXT? 125 Return of the prodigal son 130 Connecting the dots backwards 132 Conclusion 140 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 142 Chapter Preview 142 The Aims of the Study Revisited 142 Summary of the Research Findings 142 Possible Limitations Related to the Psychobiographical Research Method 145 The Value of the Research 149 The theoretical frameworks 149 The psychobiographical subject 150 Psychobiographical case research 150 Limitations of the Research 151 The theoretical frameworks 151 The psychobiographical subject 151 Psychobiographical case research 152 Recommendations for Future Research 152 Conclusion 153 REFERENCES 154 x LIST OF FIGURES FRONT PAGE Figure 1.1. Steven Paul Jobs (1955 – 2011) ii CHAPTER 4 Figure 4.1. Paul Jobs and his son (n.d.) 50 Figure 4.2. Steve Jobs’ Childhood Home (2011) 51 Figure 4.3. Heathkit AA40 stereo amp (n.d.) 52 Figure 4.4. Steve Jobs, aged 14 years as part of the school electronics 56 club (1969) Figure 4.5. Woz using a ‘blue box’ to make a free long-distance phone 56 call (1971) Figure 4.6. Reed College (n.d.) 58 Figure 4.7. Arcade Game that Jobs and Woz developed for Atari (2010) 60 Figure 4.8. Apple I as designed by Jobs and Woz (1976) 64 Figure 4.9. First Apple logo under which Jobs and Woz sold their 66 products (1976) Figure 4.10. Apple II as designed by Jobs and Woz (2010) 66 Figure 4.11. Jobs and Woz at the launch of the Apple II (1970) 67 Figure 4.12. Woz working in an unconventional and creative 68 workspace (2010) Figure 4.13. Jobs in his barely furnished house in Los Gatos (1982) 70 Figure 4.14. Apple point-and-click user interface (2010) 71 Figure 4.15. Jobs, Sculley and Woz launching the Apple Mac 72 computer (2010) Figure 4.16. Folk singer Joan Baez (1961) 74 Figure 4.17. Jobs launching NeXT computers (1985) 75 xi Figure 4.18. Jobs and his biological sister Mona Jandali 77 Simpson (2011) Figure 4.19. Jobs and his firstborn daughter Lisa Brennan Jobs (n.d.) 77 Figure 4.20. Jennifer Egan (n.d.) 78 Figure 4.21. Tina Redse (n.d.) 78 Figure 4.22. Jobs and Laurene Powell (1997) 80 Figure 4.23. Laurene and Jobs on their wedding day (1991) 80 Figure 4.24. Lisa Brennan Jobs as a teenager (n.d.) 81 Figure 4.25. Jobs pictured with his firstborn son, Reed (n.d.) 81 Figure 4.26. Jobs with his second born daughter, Erin (2010) 82 Figure 4.27. Jobs with his youngest daughter, Eve (n.d.) 82 Figure 4.28. Yoko Ono and John Lennon as featured in 85 ‘Think Different’ campaign (1997) Figure 4.29. The iMac, iBook, iPod Nan, iPhone and iPad as released 86 by Apple (2013) Figure 4.30. Jobs and Laurene at a public event shortly before 88 his death (2011) Figure 4.31. Jobs’ decline in health was physically noticeable 88 from 2004 – 2011 (2011) xii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Detailed List of Figures 162 Appendix B Data Analysis Grid 166 Appendix C Timeline of Steven Paul Jobs (1955 – 2011) 167 xiii ABSTRACT The study consists of a psychobiography of the American entrepreneur and innovative co- founder of Apple Computers, Steven Paul Jobs (1955 – 2011). The psychobiographical research method qualitatively considers the lived life of an individual in an attempt to understand the psychological development in the context of applied psychological theory. A theoretical integration of Adler‘s Individual Psychology and Antonovsky‘s Sense of Coherence was utilized in the present study. This integrative approach facilitated a dynamic and holistic picture of the individual‘s functioning in illuminating not only personality but also the individual‘s social context, choice making capacity, general resistance resources and the individual‘s ‗meaning making‘ capacity in the strive towards health and superiority. Steven Paul Jobs revolutionised personal computing. Ranked as Forbes‘ seventeenth most powerful person and Man of the Year by The Financial Times in 2010, Jobs‘ contribution to modern technology is widely acknowledged and revered.