John F. Kennedy Psychology - Case Study Example

This paper briefly analyses his various developmental stages from infancy to adulthood with the help of various moral and psychological theories and principles. Infancy and childhood  “John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the son of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on 29th May, 1917” (Spartacus Educational, n. d). His father was a prominent businessman, a political personality and he mayor of the city, Brookline. He spent his initial ten years in Brookline itself studying in schools such as Edward Devotion School, Noble and Greenough Lower School, and the Dexter School.

While studying in these lower primary schools, he was an active member of the Scout troop 2. In 1927, his family shifted their residence to New York and Kennedy spent his remaining life in New York. Psychosocial development Psychosocial development of JFK can be better analyzed with the help of Erik Erikson’s psychological theories with respect to child development. According to this theory, the environment, society and culture play most significant role in the development of a child rather than the psyche related things such as ego, id, complexes etc as described by Sigmund Freud.

In short, children within each culture learn different values, different goals, and receive vastly different kinds of nurturing and guidance. These influences powerfully shape how the psyche of the child develops and influences how he/she will navigate the typical challenges presented by psychological and physical development (Erik Erikson, n. d). JFK was born in a royal family and he was brought up in a healthy environment. He never faced much struggles during his childhood and tasted the power of politics during his childhood itself through his father.

In other words, elements of politics were developed in the blood of JFK because of genetic and environmental factors. It should be noted that his father was a politician as well as a businessman. Adolescence Adolescence of JFK can be better analyzed with the help of Kohlberg’s work on moral reasoning. Kohlberg explained that during adolescence, “people see morality as more than simple deals. They believe that people should live up to the expectations of the family and community and behave in "good" ways” (Chapter seven: Kohlberg's stages of moral development, 1985).

In other words, teenagers will focus more on conserving their family values and motives in tact during their adolescence period. This was true in the case of JFK also. JFK’s family had a good reputation in the society and that is why his father became the mayor of his native city. Love, empathy, trust, and concern for others were some of the qualities exhibited by his family. JFK also followed the same path during his teenage period. His teenagers never complained about any bad behaviors from him.

Adulthood JFK entered politics immediately after Second World War. Immediately after his entry into politics, his democratic party started to offer different posts to him because of his clean image in the society. In most of the elections contested, JFK defeated his opponents in huge margins which clearly show his huge popularity. It should be noted that in a protestant community dominated America, he succeeded in defeating a Catholic opponent, Nixon for a narrow margin in the president election.

The fact that no other Catholic person has ever succeeded in becoming