The Challenges in Using Psychology in Biography: With Special Attention to the Study of Woodrow Wilson

Quality biography requires the use of psychology, because we want to know about the relationships and conflicts and motivations of the subjects.  Anderson looks at what it takes to use psychology soundly and what can go wrong.  His focus is on one of the most celebrated and most controversial Princetonians, Woodrow Wilson.  Both as Princeton President and as American President, Wilson got involved in bitter fights that he lost.  But that same personality that lost battles also was central to many of his signal achievements.

James William Anderson ’70, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, where he teaches courses on The Psychology of Film and Personality Psychology.  A licensed clinical psychologist, he has a private practice as a psychotherapist.  His book, Psychobiography: In Search of the Inner Life, was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press.