Life Span Development and
Personality: John Lennon
Human beings continually develop throughout their entire lifespan,
basically from the moment of birth until death. Developmental psychology refers
to this as the lifespan developmental perspective. The lifespan developmental
perspective considers constancy and change as well as gains and losses in
functioning that occur at different points over the entire human life cycle (Kowalski
& Westen, 2011). Through these developments, one’s personality forms. Personality
refers to the enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors expressed
by individuals in different circumstances (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Factors
in one’s environment as a child can continually affect one throughout the
individual’s lifespan. John Lennon or John Winston Lennon was born October 9,
1940, in Liverpool, England, during a German air raid during World War II
(Roberts, 2007). John was an artist, writer, and musician, world famous Beatle
idolized and loved by many. However, John never fore filled the need for the
love of his mother and the need for a mother figure throughout his lifespan.
Heredity and Environment
John Lennon, at the age of 4, thought his Merchant Marine father
Alfred abandoned him; however that was a lie told to him by his Aunt Mimi. John
also thought his mother Julia, who lived just a few houses away, abandoned him
as well. However, this was a lie as well. His Aunt Mimi reported Julia to the
authorities because she and George did not have any children of their own and
Mimi was jealous of Julia. Therefore, Uncle George and Aunt Mimi a manipulative,
overbearing, and often critical woman raised him. Mimi often discouraged John
from taking on any creative tasks. When he took up music, she told him
repeatedly "the guitars all right, John, but you'll never make a living at
it" DeCurtis, A. (2012). Feeling abandoned by his parents and
unappreciated and often criticized by his Aunt Mimi, John experienced
behavioral problems as a child. Frequently John caused problems at school and
around his neighborhood. At the age of 17 John had to identify the body of his
mother in the morgue after she was run over by a car and killed. Without an early
childhood and into adulthood
As for heredity and environment, the belief of psychologists is
that both are influencers of one’s psychological development. Not much is known
about John’s heredity, but his environment shaped his personality, and John’s
personality could be a combination of heredity and environment. These events
John experienced early in childhood and into adulthood affected him emotionally
concerning psychological development.
Family Issues or Social Support
At the time John was sent to live with his Uncle
George and Aunt Mimi, his father Alfred, disappeared from his life until the
late 1960s. John’s mother Julia married another man who was not John’s father
and had two daughters from that marriage. Julia gave one daughter up for
adoption. Julia did have a role in John’s life but not as a mother. The role
she played in his life was that more so of an older sister and not a mother. This
may have caused a conflicted relationship with mother-figures in John’s life,
and to John, Aunt Mimi was not a mother figure, and he often rebelled against
her when he was a teenager. Roberts, (2007) “according to John's sister, a
former teacher and educational psychologist, far from being motivated by love
and concern for John, Aunt Mimi's disapproval was born of jealousy and spite,
dating back to childhood rivalries when the attractive Julia, the fourth of
five sisters, was their father's favorite” (para. 9).
John suffered lifelong heartbreak at the cruel, separate living
arrangements from his mother and nearly felt broken when in 1958, she was mown
down by a car and killed when he was just 17 (Roberts, 2007). In 1955, John’s
Uncle George died. After George’s death, Aunt Mimi at age 50 became involved in
an affair with Michael Fishwick, 24-year-old biochemistry student (Roberts,
2007). Aunt Mimi was planning to marry Michael, immigrate to New Zealand, and
once again John would be abandoned by another caregiver. John’s marriage was to
his girlfriend from art school, Cynthia Powell. John and Cynthia had a child
together named Julian, after his mother. Unfortunately, John abandoned Cynthia
and Julian, similar to how he was abandoned as a child.
The reason for this abandonment was John’s unresolved issues of
needing a mother in his life. John needed a mother figure running his life,
John was still lost without Mummy and was unhappy but he knew the answer (Roberts,
2007). The answer was Yoko Ono, and happiness existed within the security Yoko
offered (Roberts, 2007). John was playing the part of a child-man, and Yoko was
more than willing to organize his life, not only with John's consent but also
with his full approval (Roberts, 2007). John referred to Yoko as mother. John
was a little boy lost without his mother Julia until he met Yoko Ono. Yoko
became the support system that John lacked in adolescence and early adulthood.
Humanistic Theories and Cognitive-Social Theories
Humanistic theories, focus on aspects of personality distinctly
human, not shared by other animals, such as how to find meaning in life and how
to be true to oneself (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). John Lennon found his
meaning in life by becoming an artist, musician, and Beatle. John’s Aunt Mimi
bought Lennon a guitar but his incessant playing prompted her to remark, “the
guitar’s all very well as a hobby, John, but you’ll never make a living out of
it” ("Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum," 2012). Therefore,
John formed his first band the Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles ("Rock
And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum," 2012). One limitation of the
humanistic approach is that it does not offer a comprehensive theory of
personality (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Alternatively, cognitive-social theories
argue for the importance of encoding, personal value, expectancies,
competencies, and self-regulation in personality (Kowalski & Westen, 2011).
Humanistic Approach
The humanistic approach explains John Lennon’s
behaviors and achievements. John’s struggle in life was his need for a mother figure
in his life. John had to find his own meaning of life within his turmoil of
longing for a mother. John had to find a means to be true to himself also, and
continue to handle his need for a mother figure. Through the humanistic
approach existentialism is found. Existentialism focuses on each individual’s subjective
existence, or phenomenology, and on the way the individual comes to terms with
basic issues, such as meaning in life and mortality (Kowalski & Westen,
2011). One must form their own identity and form a set of values or morals to
govern one’s life. Therefore, one must self-actualize.
A self-actualized individual is concerned
with solving problems outside oneself, including helping others and finding
solutions to problems in the external world (Cherry, 2012). For instance, John promoted
love, peace, unity, and ending wars throughout the world through songs he wrote
and through peaceful demonstrations. John Lennon’s aspirations for
self-actualization accurately depict his behaviors and achievements.
Conclusion
One’s development
is a continual process throughout one’s entire life. To understand
personalities is to understand the theories that explain personalities. Theories
differ in terms of why personalities occur. Understanding different theories
enables the understand personalities and what affects or helps establish
personalities. Understanding lifespan development is achieved by understanding and
determining all features that factor into personality. John Lennon overcame
some environmental problems as a child but some problems plagued him his entire
life, until his assassination at 10:50 p.m. on December 8, 1980, at the hands
of Mark Chapman. John Lennon was a son, father, husband, and Beatle. “I was the
walrus, but now I am John...and so my friends, you'll just have to carry on.
The dream is over.” – John Lennon
Roberts, G. (2007). Mail Online. Retrieved from
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-430700/All-need-love-The-John-Lennon-story.html
Cherry, K. (2012). About.com, Psychology. Retrieved from
http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds_2.htm
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum. (2012). Retrieved from
http://rockhall.com/inductees/john-lennon/bio/
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