Psychology Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Disciplines
American Literature | Asian Studies | Chinese Studies | Literature in English, North America | Personality and Social Contexts | Women's Studies
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a psychodiagnostic case study of Nobel laureate Pearl Buck, 1938 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.” Guided by the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon, psychodiagnostically relevant data about Buck were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC). Then, the personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. This study finds Buck’s personality composite to be characterized as an unpretentious, devoted, apprehensive avoidant. More specifically, Buck’s primary personality pattern is Reticent/inhibited, supplemented by secondary Accommodating/cooperative and Aggrieved/unassuming patterns and subsidiary Retiring/reserved, Conscientious/respectful, and Ambitious/confident features. This study of Buck’s personality profile aims to help readers better understand the author and her writing.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2024 by the American Review of China Studies.
Recommended Citation
Geng, S. Z., & Immelman, A. (2024).The personality profile of Nobel laureate Pearl Buck. American Review of China Studies, 25(1), 65–95. https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/148
Poster by research assistant An Phan
Included in
American Literature Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Chinese Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
This is the authors’ version of an article published in the American Review of China Studies. Minor changes resulting from the publishing process may not be reflected in this document.
The research was conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics (USPP), a collaborative faculty–student research program in the psychology of politics at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville and St. Joseph, Minnesota, directed by Aubrey Immelman, PhD, associate professor of psychology, who specializes in the psychological assessment of presidential candidates and world leaders.