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FACULTY OF HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY Coco Chanel: A psychobiographical research study Leandi Verwey Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Artium in Clinical Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg Supervisor: Prof Z. G. Knight January 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This achievement is not merely mine, but also of all of those who have ceaselessly supported me throughout this process and the accompanying delays, discouragements and doubts. For this reason, I would like to extend my gratitude to the following persons: § To my supervisor, Prof Zelda Knight. Thank you for your endless help, guidance and patience. Your commitment to this study, and expertise was both comforting and inspiring. I also have to especially thank Dr. Carol Saccaggi, for all your guidance and support too. § To my father, Dr. Anton Verwey, and mother, Prof. Sonja Verwey, for always encouraging and supporting my curiosity and inquisitiveness. You are the best examples of excellence I have, and I appreciate your complete selflessness in support of my dreams and hopes. § To my sister, Marike van Zyl, and brother-in-law, Garet van Zyl, thank you for taking an active interest in the progress of this study. You have always believed in me and the value of what I do, even when I, myself, had doubts. § To my friends, thank you for listening to my frustrations, ideas and opinions. You have inadvertently kept me light-hearted and optimistic throughout this process. § To my fellow interns and students. You are the most authentic, courageous and remarkable group of people I know. • To all the minds that shaped my thinking along the way – whether it was my lecturers, mentors, or supervisors. You have all contributed to my success. I also have to especially thank Belinda Karpelowsky for allowing me to be my authentic self as a therapist, and the importance of being ‘an object to be used’. I always felt held by you, and you have been my own Winnicottian ‘mother’ in some ways. • Finally, for the funding so generously provided by the University of Johannesburg. It was an honour and privilege to be the recipient of a Global Excellence Scholarship, and I would not have been able to complete this without the financial support. ii A digital photograph of Coco Chanel, 1920. From Melby, L. (2012) DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH OF COCO CHANEL iii people so tired mutilated either by love or no love Excerpt from The Crunch, C. Bukowski (1977) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. x ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Chapter preview ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Background to the research study ............................................................................... 1 1.2.1. The context of psychobiographical research ............................................................ 2 1.2.2. The purpose of the research study ........................................................................... 3 1.2.3. A general introduction to the research study............................................................ 4 1.2.3.1. An introduction to the method of psychobiographical research ......................... 4 1.2.3.2. An introduction to the selected subject ............................................................. 5 1.2.3.3. An introduction to the selected theory .............................................................. 6 1.3. Personal reflections and thoughts................................................................................ 7 1.4. An overview of the structure of the study ................................................................... 8 1.5. Chapter summary ....................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOBIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH.................................................. 9 2.1. Chapter preview ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2. Defining and describing psychobiographical research ................................................. 9 2.2.1. The methodological principles of psychobiographical and qualitative research ...... 11 2.2.2. Biography, narrative, and psychology: An approach to case-history research ........ 12 2.2.2.1. Assessing the personally significant and statistically significant ..................... 13 2.2.2.2. Analyzing a case comparatively, and collecting data that is available in the domain of the public ............................................................................................................ 13 2.2.2.3. Developing and testing theory ........................................................................ 13 2.3. Psychobiographical research: Contributions to the discipline of psychology.............. 14 iv 2.3.1. The acknowledgement of a case’s context and definite setting .............................. 14 2.3.2. The critical development and evaluation of psychological theory .......................... 14 2.3.3. The emphasis of a case’s individuality and uniqueness within the whole ............... 15 2.3.4. The exploration of personal reality........................................................................ 16 2.3.5. The identification of pattern and process over time ............................................... 16 2.4. Limitations of methodological rigor in psychobiographical research studies.............. 16 2.4.1. The amount of biographical data is infinite ........................................................... 16 2.4.1.1. Measures of quality: Addressing the amount of biographical data in this psychobiographical research study ....................................................................................... 17 2.4.2. The analysis of an absent subject .......................................................................... 18 2.4.2.1. Measures of quality: Addressing the analysis of an absent subject in this psychobiographical research study ....................................................................................... 19 2.4.3. Bias of the psychobiographical researcher ............................................................ 19 2.4.3.1. Measures of quality: Addressing bias in this psychobiographical research study ………………………………………………………………………………….20 2.4.3.1.1. The analysis of the researcher’s emotions, feelings, and/or responses to the selected subject. ................................................................................................................... 20 2.4.3.1.2. The development of empathy for the selected subject – especially to abate, and account for the disparagement and/or vilification of the selected subject. .............................. 21 2.4.3.1.3. The documentation and inclusion of the researcher’s emotions, feelings, and/or responses to the selected subject as an appendix to the psychobiographical research. ............ 21 v 2.4.3.1.4. The exploration of the researcher’s approach to the selected subject with biographical experts. ............................................................................................................ 21 2.4.3.1.5. The external, or objective review of the study................................................. 21 2.4.4. Cross-cultural differences ..................................................................................... 21 2.4.4.1. Measures of quality: Addressing cross-cultural differences in this psychobiographical research study ....................................................................................... 22 2.4.5. Easy genre and elitism .......................................................................................... 23 2.4.5.1. Measures of quality: Addressing concerns of easy genre and elitism in this psychobiographical research study ......................................................................................