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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Psychology Assignment 1, Outrageous Celebrity: Salvador Dali

Or, his full name:
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dali i Domenech, Marquis of Dali de Pubol.
You wish your name was that badass.
Just to clear things up: I'm not picking on the spanish, me writing something about two spanish people in different posts is a coincidence. I didn't even notice untill now.
So please, spanish people, I really don't think all of you have mental problems, it's just a coincidence that I happen to have taken psychology in school and have to analyze a celebritys behaviour. And I happened to pick Dali. Why, you ask?
Look at that dashing fellow:


I mean, he's  got flowers on his mustache. How awesome is that?
Also, he's clearly normal.

Okay, now seriously.

Assignment:
Name: Salvador Dali (for full name, see above.)

Behaviours exhibited:
"Love for everything that is glided and excessive, passion for luxury...",unusual and grandiose behaviour (meaning that he acted really flashy),, believed he was the reincarnation and a better version of his dead brother, partly very provocating artwork (just search "Lobster Phone"),


Psychoanalytic:
In his subconciousness, the pressure of being the reincarnation and better version of his dead brother, was huge. Not only did he have to suceed his brother, he also had to be someone he was not. His behaviour was a try to express his own personality, to make others acknowledge him as a person of his own, and not just his brother.
He possibly had inferiority complexes, and to hide them, he dressed and behaved in a flashy way, so that everyone would think he was comfortable with himself (a lot of artists actually seem to have this).
Cognitive:
Dali acted the way he did because he thought that it'd make him stick out from the crowd, and give him the attention he wanted. Possibly, he also thought it'd be good to make himself known, as a sort of advertising.

Biological:
The part of Dali's brain in charge of his selfview was probably damaged or not as developed as other parts, maybe he also had hormonal problems, considering his "love for luxury" never seemed to be at an end.
Humanistic:
His father was very strict and didn't actually support his artistic side, but his mother supported and encouraged him to the fullest. She died when he was sixteen, which he said was "the greatest loss of my life", and his father married her sister, who Dali respected.
As a form of rebellion against his father, and because it is what his mother wanted him to do, he kept on drawing.
Also, it was both of his parents who told him he was the reincarnation of his brother, also named Salvador. The pressure to replace someone and be a better version of it, and the wanting to be acknowledged as a human being on his own, made him shout out for attention with his behaviour.

Behavioral:
Since for his flashy behaviour he got rewarded with attention, even got more attention than his artwork sometimes, he kept on doing flamboyant things and buying expensive things. His drawings, also, are very flashy and draw attention, which he finds rewarding again.


Hmmm, I feel like biological is a little lacking, but I have to admit that I am not a specialist in how the brain works. I was always planning to learn it, but I don't really know what part causes one to want attention, and I didn't feel like he had a big problem with social interactions, seeing as he wanted to be in the limelight.

1 comment:

  1. Nicely done. You touch of psych's perspectives and how they would clearly explain Mr. Dali's behavior. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete