Levinsonian Seasons in the Life of Steve Jobs: A Psychobiographical Case Study

Abstract

Steve Jobs (1955-2011) was not only a businessman renowned for his legacy of technological innovation and entrepreneurship. His life history indicates eras or seasons as prankster, hippie, family man, and cancer fighter. This psychobiographical case study entailed a psychosocial-historical analysis of Jobs's development interpreted through Levinson's theory of the human life cycle, and was undertaken against the background of Merleau-Ponty's ontological philosophy that elucidates a human science phenomenology where the individual cannot be separated from his/her social world. The primary objective of this study was to uncover the eras and transitions within Jobs's life cycle. The secondary objective was to illustrate and test the relevance of Levinsonian theory as applied to Jobs's life. Jobs's life cycle was uncovered through an analysis of published and publically available materials, which included both primary and secondary data sources. Alexander's psychobiographical model was employed to extract salient evidence for analysis. A conceptual psychosocial-historical matrix guided the analysis. Key findings indicate that the central components of Jobs's life and social world (e.g., his occupation, family, friendships and terminal illness) had a significant influence on his psychosocial development. In conclusion, Jobs's development generally conformed to Levinsonian theory as well as to Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological ontology and illustrated the relevance of these conceptual models for understanding the individual's connectedness to his/her social world.

Chief Mohlomi’s Indigenous Epistemology of a Healing Career: A Psychobiographical Analysis

“…66 The study was conducted within the interpretative qualitative paradigm 67 and a "historical-interpretive psychology" tradition 68 premised on a single case psychobiography research design. 69 The existential philosophical approach of the study was epistemological and exploratory-descriptive of Chief Mohlomi's indigenous epistemology of healing to illuminate current psychological healing practices. 70 This study also followed a Gadamerian-based research method.…”

“…69 The existential philosophical approach of the study was epistemological and exploratory-descriptive of Chief Mohlomi's indigenous epistemology of healing to illuminate current psychological healing practices. 70 This study also followed a Gadamerian-based research method. 71 Hans-Georg Gadamer was a German philosopher who argued against the idea that meaning could only be found through objective methods and advocated philosophical hermeneutics.…”

Affective Factors in Dark Creativity

“…Interestingly, most of the work on dark innovation is in the context of organizational behaviors, relating it to dark personality clusters. A famous prototype of the selfish boss was Apple founder Steve Jobs who, for his own creative ambitions, did not hesitate manipulating other people (Fouché et al, 2017).…”

Careerography: Application of Psychobiography to Career Development

“…Erikson’s (1959/1980) psychosocial identity model is a frequent anchor in psychobiographical study as in the psychological profiles of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen (Fouche, Louw, Naidoo, & van Niekerk, 2018), and President Barack Obama (Sharma, 2011). Daniel Levinson’s (Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, & McKee, 1978) stages of a person’s life anchored the psychobiographical profiles of entrepreneur Steven Jobs (Fouche, du Plessis, & van Niekerk, 2017) and scientist Sir Francis Galton (Fancher, 1998); while Arnett’s (2004) emerging adult model was an important lens through which to study the life of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (JFK Jr.; Ponterotto, 2019).…”