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Life span development
Analysis of Michael Jackson
Introduction
Within the contents of this piece of work the main emphasis is on Michael Jackson’s life
specifically his childhood and early adulthood then applying two particular theories to help
analysis him
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The first theory under discussion is Bowlby’s (1969)
attachment theory which will be related to Michael’s childhood and his attachments with
his parents
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An evaluation of which theory has shown to be
more superior in relation to the case will conclude and finalize this report
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The main sources drawn upon include: the Moon Walk by Michael Jackson (2009)
and also interviews which Michael has spoken about his experiences
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Michael’s
kindergarten teacher Miss Childress stated that “becoming a star so young meant he missed
out on important developmental stages of his childhood; he simply had no time to be a
child” (Kern, 2009)
Michael was born in Indiana in 1958, he was the seventh of nine children
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At first Joe Jackson Michael’s father
does not approve of the 5 brothers making a band however he ends up managing them
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He stated in his
autobiography “I was so little when we began to work on our music that I really don’t
remember much about it” (Jackson, 1998, p
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He also stated within this interview that he wanted to play he didn’t want to go on
stage
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My
childhood was completely taken away from me, there was no Christmas
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Michael Jackson described himself as the peter pan of pop
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This idea highly reinforced the idea
that childhood is an irreplaceable time and if missed can be a cause for major problems in
adulthood especially with the individuals identity (Dee, 2009)
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Within this stage of his life it becomes apparent that
he had identity issues, morphing into something that was completely different to himself as
a child
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Michael
quoted in his book that “success definitely brings loneliness” (Jackson, 1998, p
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He said
he wanted to meet people who didn’t know who he was
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164)
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If people do not experience good attachments
early on in life their relationships may remain shallow in their adult life
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Attachment theory is a biopsychosocial theory as it encompassed
aspects of biology, psychology and social factors
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Bowlby (1982) emphasises four main
phases in which children develop their attachments to their main care giver
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Phase four is
from 3 years to the end of childhood
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Bowlby argues that if a young child experiences a
warm and continuous relationship with their immediate care giver it will benefit their
mental health through the life stages (Steele, 2002)
Michael makes it very clear that he loved his mother and that they had a very good bond
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It could be argued that due to his relationship with his father this specific quote
could signify Freud’s oedipal complex (Brunner, 2013)
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We never had to look for anyone else when
my mother was around”
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Although Michael may have had a strong attachment figure in his mother it seems he had a
very disorganised and insecure attachment to his father
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However in an interview with Oprah Winfrey he stated that he didn’t
really know his father
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The early child father relationship may have a profound
influence on the child’s functioning within peer relationships and also with self- report,
which could be a cause for identity problems when the child reaches adolescence (Steele,
2002)
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Bowlby (1950) emphasised about the need for a child to
feel loved by their immediate care givers to ensure they feel secure (Beckett, 2006)
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Michael
quotes that “when I reached out to hug my father he didn’t hug me back
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Bowlby proposes that even
if the parent is physically there but not available for emotional support when the child
needs it causes issues within later life
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(Beckett, 2006)
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Michael stated that “there was a park across the
street from the Motown studio and I can remember looking at those kids playing games
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Bowlby (1950)
argues that children that were brought up from an early age in an institution like setting had
no real opportunity to form real attachments of any kind (Beckett, 2006)
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Non-attached children may go on
to develop serious socializing issues and also have difficulty controlling their inner impulses
(Beckett, 2006)
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Children have a sense of identity before they develop into a teenager
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According to Erickson (1959) identity formation takes place
during adolescents, this is where the individual starts to make their own choices and who
the ‘real me’ is
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However
if the individual does not succeed at this stage or comes across various difficulties, they may
enter adulthood with confusion about their personality which could lead to over
identification with other as some identity is better than none (Sugarman, 2000)
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Ericson describes this as a crisis
of identity verses role confusion (Crain, 2005)
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I grew up on stage
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I saw strip tease girls taking off
their clothes”
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According
to Erickson (1959) this quote signifies that Michael’s social surroundings where of a bad
quality therefore he has a higher chance of identity issues later on in his life
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Michael quotes “he, my father was very strict, very hard, very stem, just a look would scare
you” (Winfrey, 1993)
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As could his continued
childlike behaviour for example creating Never Land, with a great amount of reference to
Peter Pan
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He appeared to want to stay young forever which could account
for the amount of plastic surgery he went through
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Which Michael appeared to do (Tartaglia, 2006)
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I found it so difficult to
approach them” (Jackson, 1998, p
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Erikson (1959) argues that young adults need to
form intimate relationships with another significant other, failure to do this Erikson (1959)
states will result in loneliness and isolation (Schwartz, 2001)
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He quotes
“one hungers for the basic stuff (Jackson, 1998, p
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I believe I am one of the loneliest
people in the world (Jackson, 1998, p
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Erickson argues that without guidance the

individual will almost certainly experience failures in relation to future relationships
(Sugarman, 2000)
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Even some of his
closest friends believed he had a lost identity (Tartaglia, 2006)
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His father and
brothers use to call him ‘big nose’ which could have had a lasting effect on the way he
perceived himself
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Erikson (1959) suggests that dramatic changes in appearance could
signify that an individual will never move on from this stage and that they would carry a
great deal of baggage through their life (Schwartz, 2001)
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Michael was unable to find out his true identity due to other
telling him what to be, for example fans contactors and agents (Friedman, 2008)
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Bowlby (1950) was one of the main people to change this
and encourage parent contact (Beckett, 2006)
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Feminists such as Burman (1994) have argued that Bowlby’s
view is very old fashioned in that the mothers are the main caregivers, they propose that it
ties women to the home putting pressure on mothers not to leave their children in fear of
psychologically harming them (Beckett, 2006)
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For example within this
modern society many more men are the main care givers whilst the woman works to
provide
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Bowlby’s attachment theory has been seen
to undervalue a child’s relationships with their grandparents and also siblings
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For example the mother could even
become resentful of the child due to spending too much time together
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Later experiences
in people’s lives are also vital
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Therefore a more in depth understanding of specific
attachments require observation of more natural and on-stressful environments (Field,
1996)
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Lee (2003) argues that
this theory puts increased pressure on parents and makes parents responsible for the
development of the child without considering alternative reasons (Lee, 2003)
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Attachment theory has been updated and modified
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Rutter (1972) research and work confirms the work of Bowlby (1968) on the importance of
particular experiences in children’s lives on their psychological development
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Rutter (1972) also states
that the terms maternal and deprivation are misleading to the reader
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Gottschalch (1985) proposed that Eriksons overall interest
in the formation of identity is very much related to his own life this could generate research
bias (Hamilton, 1996)
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Gottschalch (1985) suggested that there is not enough
research due to aspects such as: being too costly and difficulties undertaking longitudinal
studies (Hamilton, 1996)
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It has been suggested that
this theory is too broad and must be narrowed down in order to be applicable to specific
individuals like Michael Jackson
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Weeber (2000) proposed that Erikson (1959) describes European male
cultural value to be the overall norm
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It has also been argued that this particular theory is too vague
and very difficult to test; it does not explain how development occurs (Witt, 2001)
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It could be argued that as a result of some of the attachment issues whilst Michael was
growing up caused him to develop severe identity problems as an adult
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For example Erikson
showed that teenagers are not just having to control their own impulses but also working
out where they fit in the wider social world (Crain, 2005)
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However for the case of world famous
Michael Jackson the wider psychosocial factors appear to have had a bigger impact on his
life that simply his attachment to his main care giver
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(2009)
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NPR
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(2006)
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Cromwell: Sage Publication
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(2013)
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Was he the man in the mirror, 14(1)
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(1998)
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Sussex: Psychology press
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(2005)
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London: Pearson education
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(2009)
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Retrieved Febuary 13, 2015, from www
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Newyork: world press
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Canada:
Brunner Routledge
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(1998)
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London: Heinemann
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(2009)
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Retrieved Febuary 12, 2015, from www
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org
Lee, E
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Attachment systems throughout the life course: reveiw and critisisms of
attachment theory
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personalityresearch
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(2001)
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Western University
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(2001)
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International journal of theory and research, 7-58
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(2002)
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chnaging family attachment theory, 15(10), 518-521
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(2000)
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Devon: Psychology Press
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(2006, March 11)
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Retrieved from Where the love is:
www
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org
Weeber, J
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Identity development and disability
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Witt, D
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Emotional development, self and identity
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