Idiodynamics in re Personality Theory and Psychoarchaeology

Author: Rosenzweig S.

Source: Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, Volume 5, Number 4, October 2003 , pp. 385-394(10)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Idiodynamics is the science of the idioverse. The idioverse consists of the population of events experienced by a single unique individual. This conception supersedes that of personality because the idioverse purports to be a more direct and objective formulation. The idioverse is understood, in large measure, by “markers” that are peculiar to the individual and are discovered through a study of the totality of the individual's expressed experience. Three types of norms afford these data for observation: the nomothetic, the demographic, and the idiodynamic. All are essential for an understanding of how the individual participates in the experience of the self and of others. A biogenic medium and a sociogenic medium overlap in the formulation of the idioverse, and these media overlap and converge to constitute a matrix that provides idiodynamic norms. Comprehension of the idioverse reveals the individual as a self-creative and dynamic process. Idiodynamics should be distinguished from the earlier idiographic approach to individuality. Psychoarchaeology is the reconstruction of biographical identities and/or sources. This methodology is well illustrated in Morton Prince's classic case of dissociation (Sally Beauchamp).

Keywords: idiodynamics; norms; personality theory

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO; srosenzw@artsci.wustl.edu

Publication date: 2003-10-01