Case Study: Michelle Obama

Jalen Smith

Chestnut Hill College

PSYG 801: Personality/Individual Differences

Dr. Kevin McCarthy

04/12/2022
Brief Overview of Two Theories

Existentialist Theory, which owes an abundant amount of credit to Rollo May, is an

approach that focuses on an individual’s present experiences and personal responsibility for who

that person may become (Feist et al., 2018, p. 347). Furthermore, May asserted that individuals

who are healthy live authentically, cherish freedom, challenge their destiny, and often have the

courage to live life in the present (Feist et al., p. 347). Other existentialists, like Kierkegaard,

highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance between freedom and responsibility in an

individual’s life. Furthermore, existentialists believe that, “As people realize that, ultimately,

they are in charge of their own destiny, they experience the burden of freedom and the pain of

responsibility” (Feist et al., 2018, p. 350). Hence, the cost of freedom and responsibility can

weigh greatly on people’s shoulders, however, the benefits vastly make up for the strife.

Existentialism has a number of common elements that are worth noting. For example,

“existence takes precedence over essence”, which is based on the notion that existence means

emerging which is a process that may be associated with growth and change. In contrast, essence

is static and indicates a finality of sorts (Feist et al., 2018, p. 351). Hence, existence is more

important than essence because the former concept is more active. An additional element of

existentialism that should be highlighted is that, “people search for meaning in their lives”,

posing questions such as: “Who am I?, Is life worth living?, Does it have meaning?, etc.” (Feist

et al., 2018, p. 351). Finally, responsibility is an important element in existentialism that has

been repeatedly noted as existentialists believe, “we can choose to become what we can be or we

can choose to avoid commitment and choice, but ultimately, it is our choice” (Feist et al., 2018,

p. 351). Therefore, these common elements, as well as others, represent conflicts present in a

person’s life that they must face at some point in time as agreed upon by existentialists.
 Anxiety, specifically normal anxiety, is a basic concept of importance for the purposes of

this paper. Normal anxiety occurs as people grow and change with May stating, “All growth

consists of the anxiety-creating surrender of past values” (May, 1967, p. 80). Intentionality is

another concept that makes up existentialism as it is, “the structure that gives meaning to

experience and allows people to make decisions about the future” (May, 1969b). Lastly to note,

freedom and destiny are basic concepts that make up existentialism. Two forms of freedom,

existential and essential freedom, are important because the first represents a freedom of action

and the second represents a freedom of being which are both vital components of living (Feist et

al., 2018, p. 361). Destiny, as a concept for existentialist thought, is a goal or destination that

cannot be erased but, “we can choose how we shall respond, how we shall live out our talents

which confront us” (May, 1981, p. 89). Overall, existentialism is an approach that centers around

one’s experience of being such that a person has the ability to exercise freedom and

responsibility with the hopes of the end goal being reached which is to meaningfully interact

with oneself and others.

Post-Freudian Theory, as created by Erik Erikson, extended Freud’s developmental

stages and suggested that each stage happens upon a psychosocial struggle that therefore

contributes to the formation of an individual’s personality (Feist et al., 2018, p. 208).

Furthermore, Erikson’s theory places greater emphasis on social and historical influences with

regard to personality development (Feist et al., 2018, p. 208). Erikson’s theory, like other

personality theories, is a reflection of his own personal search for identity (Feist et al., 2018,

p.208). As with existential theory, Post-Freudian Theory also has key concepts that need to be

reviewed. For example, Erikson disagreed with Freud’s interpretation of the ego asserting that

the ego is, “a positive force that creates a self-identity, a sense of “I”, in addition to being a force
that helps humans navigate life crises that could potentially make us lose our individuality in

society (Feist et al., 2018, p. 210). Furthermore, Erikson defined the ego as, “a person’s ability to

unify experiences and actions in an adaptive manner” (Feist et al., 2018, p. 210). Likewise,

according to Erikson, the ego is comprised of three aspects which are: the body ego (i.e.

experiences with our body), the ego ideal (i.e. our self image in comparison with an established

ideal), and the ego identity (i.e. “the image we have of ourselves in the variety of social roles we

play”) (Feist et al., 2018, p. 211).

An additional key point in Erikson’s Post-Freudian Theory is that society has influence

on personality development (Feist et al., 2018, p. 211). Unlike Freud’s biological basis for

personality, Erikson believed that the ego emerges from a cultural environment and that society

shapes a person’s personality to be conducive with that specific society’s structure (Feist et al.,

2018, p. 211). Furthermore, as a sort of protective/survival factor within specific populations of

human species, Erikson argued that nations created a pseudospecies in which a particular society

believes that it was chosen to be the human species (Feist et al., 2018, p. 211). Hence, society’s

influence on personality can be seen in characteristics that assist humans survival and overall

acceptance within a culture (Feist et al., 2018, p.211).

Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development have several basic points that should be

highlighted. For instance, every stage of life has a conflict between a syntonic and dystonic

element (Feist et al., 2018, p. 213). Erikson also endorsed the point that during each stage

personality development is characterized by an identity crisis which can be seen as a period of

vulnerability and potential (Feist et al., 2018, p. 214). Therefore, Post-Freudian Theory is an

approach wherein the personality development of an individual is assisted by the ego which
helps us navigate through conflicts, is heavily influenced by society, and takes place during a

series of stages (that are conflictual) that stretch over the lifespan (Feist et al., 2018, p. 213-214).

Two examples of Michelle’s thoughts feelings, and behaviors

Michelle Obama would often journal her feelings. While dating Barack her sense of

certainty about her life goals and decisions began to waiver because he appeared to have a strong

sense of purpose. She wrote, “One, I feel very confused about where I want my life to go. What

kind of person do I want to be? How do I want to contribute to the world?” (Obama, 2018, p.

302). During those same moments Michelle came to the realization that, “I hated being a lawyer.

I felt empty doing it. This was a distressing thing to admit, given how in debt I was. In my

blinding need to do things perfectly, I’d missed the signs and taken the wrong road…This meant

finding a new profession, and what shook me most was that I had no concrete ideas about what I

wanted to do” (Obama, 2018, p. 303). She then wrote, “In the span of a year, I gained Barack

and lost Suzanne… Suzanne’s sudden death had awakened me to the idea that I wanted more joy

and meaning in my life. I couldn’t continue to live with my own complacency” (Obama, 2018, p.

304).

As Michelle transitioned from her previous life of working at city hall, being an

executive director, and working in a hospital to a life of being the first Lady, she had thoughts

about how to best utilize her role. Michelle wrote, “In general, I was less interested in the

redecorating and inauguration planning than I was in figuring out what I could do with my new

role. As I saw it, I didn’t actually have to do anything…. I wanted to ensure any effort I made

helped advance the new administration’s larger goals” (Obama, 2018, p. 720-721). This

realization came after her initial thoughts about the position of First Lady which was, “There is
no handbook for incoming First Ladies of the United States. It’s not technically a job…I knew

only a little about previous First Ladies and how they’d approached the position… I knew I

would be happiest if I could engage actively and work toward achieving measurable results… I

intended to arrive at the White House with a carefully thought out strategy… (Obama, 2018, p.

694-698).

Application of both theories for example one- Shift in career and life goals

The first example where Michelle is struggling with her life purpose relates to many key

concepts in Existentialist Theory. For example, Michelle began to experience the burden of

freedom as she understood that she was able to switch professions, however, she did not yet have

a distinct direction in which she wanted to go (Obama, 2018, p. 303). Furthermore, Michelle also

experienced the pain of responsibility in that moment as she recognized the amount of debt she

was in from a profession that made her feel empty (Feist et al., 2018, p. 350). The burden and

pain felt by this experience came about as Michelle realized that she wanted more from her life.

Core elements of existentialism were also present in this first example. Existence taking

precedence over essence is an element of existentialism that was present for Michelle at the time

as she decided to leave her profession (existence- growth and change) because she no longer

wanted to “live with my own complacency” (essence- static and indicates finality) (Obama,

2018, p. 304). In this moment, Michelle is also searching for meaning in her life as she asks

herself what kind of person she wants to be and how she wants to contribute to the world, which

closely mirrors existentialist questions like who am I and does life have meaning (Feist et al.,

2018, p. 351). Michelle also was faced with the responsibility of beginning to map out her new

life and make decisions that could alter her life trajectory during this time. Existentialists believe
that ultimately it is our choice to face who we could potentially be or to avoid that commitment

and in this moment Michelle picked the ability to choose who she was to become as she stated

she had to find a new profession (Feist et al., 2018, p. 351; Obama, 2018, p. 303).

Michelle’s choice to pursue a new profession also falls in line with basic concepts of

existentialism. For instance, in the moment Michelle experiences normal anxiety regarding her

decision to discontinue being a lawyer as she recognizes her need to not be complacent (to grow)

and change her life course even though it was distressing for her to admit (surrender) her past

notions about what direction her life should be headed (May, 1967, p. 80; Obama, 2018, p. 303).

Furthermore, Michelle is intentional, another basic concept of existentialism, in this situation

because she is making a decision not to continue down the path of being a lawyer in the future

and in doing so her intent to change careers is also providing new meaning to her experiences.

Last, but not least, this first example of Michelle altering her life course relates to the key

concepts of freedom and destiny. Michelle enacts existential freedom in this example by being

able to change careers and take time to choose a career that better suits her. Essentially, Michelle

had the freedom to act (find another job and soul search) on the choice she made (to stop being a

lawyer) with the understanding that death could come at any moment (Feist et al., 2018, p. 374;

Obama, 2018, p. 303). Michelle enacts essential freedom in this example as well as she became

free to be who she really was instead of continuing to feel empty by being a lawyer (Feist et al.,

2018, p. 361). Existentialists believe that people have the power to choose which gives us the

power to confront and challenge our own destiny (Feist et al., 2018, p. 361). Michelle utilized

her power to choose within the boundaries of her destiny in the sense that she chose to

discontinue being a lawyer (Obama, 2018, p. 303). This choice can be seen as a part of her

overall destiny of becoming the first African American First Lady in the sense that on the
campaign trail she was able to better relate to constituents. Michelle was able to connect with

constituents as a woman of the people who came from humble beginnings (Southside of

Chicago), worked in city hall, worked in the hospital system, and had partnered with veterans as

opposed to being a fancy corporate lawyer out of touch with the masses.

Concepts of Post-Freudian Theory can be applied to this first example. For example,

Erikson’s definition of the ego was demonstrated in this instance as Michelle began to take stock

of the experiences that led her to that point in life and began to make adaptive modifications in

order to navigate her current crises in which she realized she was going down a path where she

might lose herself to society (the world of being a rich, successful corporate lawyer) (Feist et al.,

2018, p. 210). Furthermore, at this time, ego identity is an aspect of the ego that is highlighted in

Michelle’s life as her self image is of a woman who is lost and does not know what direction she

wants to go in life in comparison to Barack and Suzanne who seemingly had their life tracks

figured out already (Feist et al., 2018, p. 211; Obama, 2018, p. 304).

The choice to change professions could also be seen as a product of society having an

influence on personality development, which is a key point in Post-Freudian Theory. Although

not directly tied to the change in professions in terms of Michelle’s life timeline, Michelle

detailed that as a child her father taught her to, [“work hard, laugh often, and keep word”, while,

“her [mother] goal was to push us out into the world. “I am not raising babies,” she would tell us.

“I’m raising adults.” (Obama, 2018, p. 21, p. 124]. Hence, these life lessons from her parents,

one aspect of society, heavily influenced Michelle’s conclusion to change careers because she

recognized that she might have to take a pay cut and work harder. Although facing this

realization was distressing, sticking with tough decisions was not a new occurrence for Michelle

as her mother had primed her as a little girl to make decisions and endure the consequences
whatever they may be. In terms of Michelle’s decision and the cultural environment’s influence,

Michelle understood that her community wanted her to go far and represent them well as a girl

from the South Side of Chicago, which is why in part the decision to change careers was

distressing (Obama, 2018, p. 303). For Michelle to have such conviction to become a lawyer and

then want to give it up relatively quickly once she obtained the status was not the way of her

parents or her culture (Feist et al., 2018, p.211).

Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development can be applied to this example. At that

point in her life, Michelle was in her mid to late twenties, which is where the stage intimacy

versus isolation comes into play (Feist et al., 2018, p. 624). At numerous points in the book,

Michelle detailed her desire to make sure that her identity was not lost in Barack’s and she

became successful in that by learning to live with him (through compromise and sacrifice) even

though their personalities did not always gel. As this stage had been met, Michelle entered into

the generativity vs. stagnation stage which is when her career change occured (Feist et al., 2018,

p. 627; Obama, 2018, p. 303). During this time, Michelle felt the need to generate through the

production of work in order to contribute meaningfully. Hence, in this stage she was not stagnant

as she did not remain self-absorbed, but rather sought to add to society in a productive manner.

Application of both theories for example two- First Black Woman of the White House

The second example where Michelle transitioned into the First Lady relates to key

concepts of Existentialist Theory. For example, Rollo May stated that healthy people live

authentically and often have the courage to live life in the present which is exemplified by

Michelle wanting to figure out what she could do in her new role (Feist et al., 2018, p. 347). The

authentic Michelle was not satisfied with being a “trophy wife” but was more content to use her
new position to enact change in the present moment (Obama, 2018, p. 720-721). Existence as a

concept was present during this moment as Michelle was called to change her role from being

the wife of a senator to being the wife of the president. With the change in roles also came

growth as a person because she had to endure a new world that came with no handbook (Obama,

2018, p. 694-698). In this example, one could see that essence is preceded by existence because

Michelle did not view becoming First Lady as having made it to the finish line, but more so the

beginning of her call to action (Feist et al., 2018, p. 351).

Becoming the First Lady was also associated with concepts of Existentialist Theory, like

meaning, responsibility, and anxiety. For example, although meaning might be subjective to the

individual, in terms of finding her meaning as a First Lady, Michelle concluded that she would

much rather assist in advancing the administration’s goals than decorate the White House

(Obama, 2018, p. 720-721). The weight of responsibility was also on Michelle at this time as she

internalized how the people who voted for her husband had expressed faith in them, in turn

putting the future of America in the Obamas’ hands. Hence, why Michelle felt the need to obtain

measurable results (Obama, 2018, p. 694-698). Normal anxiety was present as Michelle

understood that going from a Senator’s wife to the President’s wife would require magnanimous

growth and a change for the family in which no handbook had ever been written about (May,

1967, p. 80; Obama, 2018, p. 694-698).

Lastly, with regards to Existentialist Theory, this second example is associated with the

concepts of intentionality, freedom, and destiny. Michelle’s approach to her role in the White

House, though unclear, was overcome by her intention to achieve results and implement

effective strategies. Such intentionality was brought on by her determination to have a

meaningful role/experience as the First Lady. In terms of freedom, Michelle recognized that
exercising existential freedom fit her character more in the sense that she wanted to actively

engage in her role as the First Lady with results to demonstrate that action (Obama, 2018, p. 694-

698). Furthermore, she exercised essential freedom as she decided to take on the role of First

Lady as Michelle Obama would, not as anyone else. Lastly, destiny was present in this example

as Michelle was given the role of First Lady and her response was to take control of that role in a

way that allowed her to live authentically with the goal of achieving results that would leave a

mark on Americans for decades if not centuries to come (Feist et al., 2018, p. 347; Obama, 2018,

p. 694- 698).

Michelle’s transition into the White House relates to concepts of Post-Freudian Theory.

For instance, the concept of the ego can be seen in this example as a force that is helping

Michelle navigate this new venture without being consumed by it. For example, Michelle writes,

“As time went by, I added new adventures to my routine. I started to meet friends occasionally

out for dinner…” (Obama, 2018, p. 861). This passage demonstrates that although the transition

into the White House took some time getting used to, Michelle eventually found her rhythm and

did not allow society to dictate it (Feist et al., 2018, p. 210). The ego ideal can be applied in this

example in the sense that Michelle knew what other First Ladies had done in the White House (a

sort of established way of going about things), however, she realized that she would be happiest

going about the role in her own way in attempt to become congruent with how she views herself

as a First Lady (Feist et al., 2018, p. 211; Obama, 2018, p. 694-698).

Finally, the application of Eriskson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development can be applied

with this example. At the time of this transition Michelle was 44 which put her in the

generativity vs. stagnation stage of development (Feist et al., 2018, p. 224). Michelle’s ambitions

to help advance the administration’s goals and achieve measurable results is an example of
generativity at work as she essentially set about to create, “new things and ideas that contribute

to the building of a better world” (Feist et al., 2018, p. 224; Obama, 2018, p. 694-698). This

example is the complete opposite of self absorption and stagnation as Michelle was focused on

helping citizens of the United States through new ideas and initiatives.

Comparison and contrast of the two theories explaining the two examples

Both Existentialist theory and Post-Freudian theory explain example one fairly well. Both

theories highlight personality through this example. For example, Existentialist theory talks

about finding meaning (in Michelle’s case through work) and living authentically, while Post-

Freudian theory talks about the generativity vs.stagnation stage in which production of work is

the focus of individuals at this time, with Michelle being no different (Feist et al., 2018, p. 347,

p. 627). Although both theories explain example one well, Existentialist theory explains example

one better overall when compared to Post-Freudian theory. Unlike Post-Freudian theory which is

largely centered around psychosocial stages, influence of society on personality, and

interpretation of the ego, Existentialist theory’s concepts of personal responsibility, destiny,

existence, anxiety, and freedom encapsulate Michelle’s desire to live life more meaningfully

through her thoughts to change professions in example one (Feist et al., 2018, p.347-361;

Obama, 2018, p. 303). Hence, Existentialist theory explains example one better than Post-

Freudian theory because the questions Michelle asks herself and her search for meaning instead

of becoming complacent is similar, if not the same way of thinking that existentialists assert

eventually leads to personality formation of a person.

While Existentialist theory and Post-Freudian theory explained example one fairly well,

these theories did not appear to explain example two with the same robustness. Both theories hit
on Michelle being active, in some sense, as the First Lady of the United States through finding

meaning in her new role or generativity through measurable results (Feist et al., 2018, p. 351;

Feist et al., 2018, p. 224; Obama, 2018, p. 694-698) . Furthermore, authenticity and the ego did

comparable jobs in this example with expressing Michelle’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

towards wanting to remain true to herself even with her new role as First Lady (Feist et al., p.

347; Feist et al., 2018, p. 211; Obama, 2018, p. 694-698). Additional concepts from both theories

that were prominent in explaining example one of Michelle’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior

simply were not as easily applicable in explaining example two. The struggle to apply concepts

of both Existentialist theory and Post-Freudian theory to example two are clearly evident above.

That is not to say that example two was poor in quality, but rather confirmation that example one

provided a better snapshot, the applicability of concepts required significantly less effort, of

Michelle’s personality with regards to both theories.

Existentialist theory explained not only both examples better in terms of Michelle’s

personality, but the entire book. Moreover, the title of her book, Becoming, and the meaning

behind the book encompasses the very being of Existentialism. Michelle wrote, “For me,

becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward

motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey

doesn’t end… Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done”

(Obama, 2018, p. 988). Those words in mind, the reader could see how Michelle’s life and her

belief in who she is and who people are capable of being fall in line with Existentialist theory’s

notions of freedom and responsibility, authenticity, anxiety, and existence taking precedence

over essence.
 References

Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T.-A. (2018). Theories of Personality (9th ed.). New York:

McGraw Hill.

May, R. (1967). Psychology and the human dilemma. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.

May, R. (1969b). Love and will. New York: Norton.

May, R. (1981). Freedom and destiny. New York: Norton.

Obama, M. (2018). Becoming (First edition). Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group.