Michael Jackson: Trapped in a Childlike State of Mind

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Recommended: 2.2 Evaluate theories and models of child development

Michael Jackson declared himself King of Pop in the music world because of his numerous record sales. Michael has always been a very unique individual because of his physical appearance and bizarre lifestyle. On stage, he's an energetic performer but, off stage, he is soft-spoken and shy. Although, he is thought of as a phenomenal artist, his childlike tendencies continue to raise questions about his character and his psychology. The reason I have chosen to write about Michael Jackson is because I have always wondered whether becoming a performer and singer at five years old took away his childhood and affected him psychologically. I think that Michael is trying to relive his childhood now as an adult. The dispositional domain will be used in examining how his traits have influenced his personality. The dispositional domain defines how "individuals differ from one another because of their different traits." (Larsen & Buss, 2005, p.15). " The central goal of personality psychologists working in the dispositional domain is to identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from one another." (Larsen & Buss, 2005, p.15).

Michael Jackson was born on August 29,1958, in Gary, Indiana. Michael was the fifth child of nine siblings (Maureen, Jackie Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Latoya, Janet and Rand) born to his parents, Joseph and Katherine Jackson. "His father, Joseph, was a crane operator and his mother, Katherine, an employee for Sears, Roebuck and Company" (Thompson, 1991, p.466). With his mother and father both having a love for music, Michael and his siblings grew up playing instruments singing and dancing from an early age. "When their kids were

growing up, Katherine would teach them...

... middle of paper ...

...combined with his consistent actions make him different from others. These traits help define him as a psychological unstable man. Michael Jackson show signs of having psychoticism, extraversion-introversion and neuroticism all of which belongs to Eysenck's hiearchial structure of major personality traits. Jackson's up bringing is taken into consideration when defining his traits and actions. His family life and surroundings when he was younger play play a major role in helping to define his psychological state of mind. I think all of us possess same various traits but, how we apply them to our everyday actions is what separate us from others. I do not think we will ever know the true motives to why Jackson acts the way he does. One component we can point out that provokes his actions is his traits he was born with and the ones he developed over time.

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