Orenthal James (O.J) Simpson

1
Orenthal James (O.J) Simpson

• Katie Haight and MifAnne Bollman

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Outline

• O.J. Simpson The early years
• O.J. Simpson Football years and awards
• O.J. Simpson Family and friends
• O.J. Simpson Retirement
• O.J. Simpson The court hearings and verdicts
• O.J. Simpson Still in the spotlight

3
Simpson The Early years

• Third of four children, born in a low income
  suburb of San Francisco in July of 1947.10
• Father left the family while Orenthal James was a
  toddler.10
• Developed rickets shortly after birth, was teased
  through childhood as he was pigeon toed and bow
  legged.10
• Mother was always supportive and a driving force
  of his athletic commitment.10

4
Simpson Football years

• Started playing football in high school.5
• Played College ball at the City College of San
  Francisco.5
• Named to the Junior College All American team as
  running back.5
• Earned an athletic scholarship to the University
  of Southern California in 19675
• 1969 was drafted to the Buffalo Bills5

5
Simpson Football awards

• Earned the Walter Camp Award twice in the first
  two years at the University of Southern
  California.5
• Earned the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and
  was two-time census all-American.5
• Player of the year in 1972, 1973, played 6
  Probowls and was 14th on the NFLs all-time
  rushing list.5
• Was inducted into the football Hall of Fame in
  1985.5

6
Simpson Family and Friends

• Married in 1967 to his high school sweetheart.1
• Together they had 3 children, the youngest of
  which drowned in the family before the age of
  2.10
• Divorced in 1979 (same year his daughter
  drowned)10
• Remarried in 1985, to long-time lover Nicole
  Brown, had 2 children, divorced in 199210

7
Family and Friends continued

• Lots of friends due to fame
• Well respected my the local authorities, attended
  yearly galas5
• Frequently entertained a wide number of friends,
  including police officers.5
• Well respected by friends, and was thought of as
  a friendly outgoing family man and role model.5

8
Simpson Retirement

• Simpson retired from pro-ball in 197910
• Opened his own production company, dealing with
  mostly made for TV movies 10
• Simpson had many endorsement deals and was the
  face of products such as Pioneer Chicken, Napa
  Naturals soft drinks and Hertz rent-a-car.10
• Simpson was also in TV mini-series and a handful
  of movies including Naked Gun trilogy10

9
Simpson The court hearings

• Low speed pursuit on the interstate5
• 2 pleas of not guilty toward counts of murder in
  the first degree.10
• After a lengthy trial rendering verdict on
  October 3rd, 1995, Orenthal James was found
  not-guilty of the charges against him.10

10
Simpson The verdicts

• Although found not-guilty in criminal court,
  there was also a civil trial.10
• In February 1997 a civil trial found O.J Simpson
  liable for the wrongful death of Nicole Brown and
  her friend Ronald Goldman and battery against
  each of them.10
• He was ordered to pay a settlement of 33.5
  million dollars to their families.10

11
Simpson Still in the spotlight

• O.J. Simpson has recently written a book titled
  If I did it.5
• He was arrested in September 2007 for an alleged
  armed robbery in Las Vegas.11
• According to FBI reports OJ had been planning for
  weeks to stage this recovery of his own stolen
  goods in hopes of media attention.11

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O.J. Simpson in Erik Eriksons eyes
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Outline

• Eriksons Theory on the Ego
• Eriksons Eight Stages of development
• O.J. Simpsons stages of development
• Summary of O.J. Simpsons final stage of
  development

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Eriksons theory on the Ego

• More emphasis on the ego, on social and
  historical influences than Freuds theory7
• Eriksons theory elaborates that the ego is the
  mediator between the id and the superego7
• In childhood the ego is weak, develops quickly
  through adolescence ever growing or altering7

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Ego particulars

• 1) Body ego refers to experiences within the
  body7
• 2) the ego ideal the way we are now in
  comparison to pre-established ideal. 7 Is O.J.
  content with his ego ideal? Is who he has become
  his pre-established ideal?
• 3) the ego identity the images we have of
  ourselves in several different social roles. 7
  O.J. enjoys social attention, and most likely
  content with the way hes settled into his social
  surroundings.

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Eight Stages of Development

• Each stage is a conflict/interaction of opposites
  between harmonious elements and disruptive
  elements. (syntonic vs. dystonic) 7
• Each conflict produces basic strength, an ego
  strength or ego quality. 7
• During each stage there is an opportunity for
  identity crisis or turning point, these make a
  person especially susceptible to personality
  modification7
• Each stage develops in its proper time, one stage
  emerges following the development of the previous
  stage. 7

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Stages of Development9

• Stage 1 Trust vs. Mistrust
• Stage 2 Autonomy vs. Shame
• Stage 3 Initiative vs. Guilt
• Stage 4 Industry vs. Inferiority
• Stage 5 Identity vs. Role
• Stage 6 Intimacy and Solidarity vs.
  Isolation
• Stage 7 Generativity vs. Self absorption or
  stagnation
• Stage 8 Integrity vs. Despair7

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Simpsons ego development

• Erikson might say that O.J.s ego has difficulty
  controlling/playing mediator to his id and
  superego and that perhaps social forces have
  managed to control his ego rather than his ego
  being in control
• O.J. is very content in being in the public eye,
  and through his fame in the NFL he has gained a
  social circle that is perhaps a strong drive
  behind his ego.

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Simpsons 8 stages of development

• Stage 1 Trust vs. Mistrust (dependable care
  giver)
• Stage 2 Autonomy vs. Shame (learned to walk even
  after rickets)
• Stage 3 Initiative vs. Guilt
• To forceful and developed too much initiative,
  possibly attributed to the loss of his father and
  his noticeable physical deformity, leading to
  guilt feelings.

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Simpsons 8 stages of development continued

• Stage 4 Industry vs. Inferiority (O.J. seems to
  fear inferiority)
• Stage 5 Identity vs. Role (Devoted to his
  career)
• Stage 6 Intimacy and Solidarity vs.
  Isolation (developed intimate relationships)

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Simpsons 8 stages of development continued

• Stage 7 Generativity vs. Self absorption or
  stagnation ( Is a family man, involved with his
  children, but was conflicted with the divorce of
  2 ex-wives, possible murdered his ex-wife most of
  his contributions benefited him greater than
  others)
• Stage 8 Integrity vs. Despair (The novel written
  might be O.J.s way of hoping to accept his life
  and reflections have helped him generate such
  writings)

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Conclusion

• Made it through developmental stages, great
  success in some areas and perhaps much less in
  others
• People are a product of the stages of development
  that they endure7

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Future directions

• Eriksons theory doesnt elaborate on personality
  and motivation, perhaps an analysis with a social
  cognitive theory such as Banduras theory or a
  trait theory such as Allports might generate a
  few more explanations about his personality along
  with his development.

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O.J. Simpson, according to Carl Rogers
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Humanistic Psychology/Personality Main Points

• Belief in the basic goodness and respect of
  humankind.4
• Roots are based in existential psychology or the
  understanding and acceptance of ones own
  existence and responsibility.4
• Focus on the here and now4
• To be psychologically healthy people must take
  responsibility for themselves, whether the
  persons actions are positive or negative.4
• Everyone possesses an inherent worth4
• The goal of life should always be to achieve
  personal growth and understanding4
• Only through self-improvement and self-knowledge
  can one truly be happy4

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Carl Rogers and OJ Simpson

• It is in our nature as living things to do the
  very best we can!4
• OJ was forced to wear homemade leg braces as a
  child because of a severe case of rickets caused
  by a calcium deficiency.5
• Overcame his disability, and began playing
  football in high school5
• Was the running back for the USC Trojans, during
  which time he set NCAA records, and won the
  Heisman trophy5
• Played most of his career for the Buffalo Bills,
  ended his career in 1979 at age 325

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Carl Rogers and OJ Simpson

• To be psychologically healthy people must take
  responsibility for themselves, whether the
  persons actions are
• positive or negative.4
• OJ adamantly denies committing the 1994 double
  murder of his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and
  her Friend Ronald Goldman, and is eventually
  found not guilty by a jury of his peers5
• However, in 2006 ReganBooks announced it would
  publish a book by Simpson entitled If I Did It
  Confessions of a Killer, which hypothetically
  describes how the murders would have been
  committed. 6

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Carl Rogers and OJ Simpson

• Simpson claims the book is fictional, and purely
  hypothetical.6
• If I Did It walks the reader through the events
  of June 12, 1994, the night Brown

• Simpson and Goldman were murdered, and is
  considered by many to be a first hand confession
  from Simpson.6
• Rogers might say that this is Simpsons way of
  taking responsibility for his actions on that
  night. (assuming that he is in fact guilty), and
  therefore he is striving for psychological
  health.4

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Self-Actualizing Tendency

• The human organism has an underlying
  actualizing tendency, which aims to develop all
  capacities in ways that maintain or enhance the
  organism and move it toward autonomy. This
  tendency is directional, constructive and present
  in all living things.3
• It encompasses all motivations tension, need, or
  drive reductions and creative as well as
  pleasure-seeking tendencies.3
• Each person has a fundamental mandate to fulfill
  their potential.3
• Can be seen as a push to experience oneself in a
  way that is consistent with ones conscious view
  of what one is.3

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Core of Personality

• Rogers theory of personality has only two broad
  types one where the self-actualizing tendency is
  vigorously functioning (the ideal fully
  functioning person), and one where it is not (the
  maladjusted person).2

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Fully Functioning Person

• Has received unconditional positive regard, has
  few conditions of worth, and has the following
  characteristics2
• Openess to Experience2
• Existential Living2
• Organismic Trusting2
• Experiential Freedom2
• Creativity2

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Maladjusted Person

• Has received conditional positive regard and
  developed conditions of worth. Characteristics
  are2
• Defensive Living2
• Live according to preconceived plan2
• Disregards organism2
• Feels manipulated2
• Common and conforming2

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OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person

• Received unconditional Positive Regard
• Mother was a stable and significant force in his
  life, despite gang and delinquent behaviour.5
• Met with football legend Willie Mays after
  spending time in jail at 15 after a gang fight,
  Simpson would later credit Mays with being the
  driving force for turning his life around.5

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OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person cont.

• Openness to Experience
• Simpson changed roles many times in life
• Troubled youth
• Football superstar
• Actor
• Father
• Role Model
• Return to criminal activity
• Guilty of murder?
• Recent attempted theft of sports memorabilia

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OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person cont.

• Existential Living Living fully in each and
  every moment, is flexible, adaptable, and
  spontaneous
• Simpson has adapted his lifestyle, including
  moving to another state, in order to avoid making
  payments on a 33.5 million judgment resulting
  from the civil suit brought against him by the
  families of Brown Simpson and Goldman.5

36
OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person

• Organismic Trusting
• Experience is the highest authority If it feels
  right, it probably is
• Simpson lives his life according to what he feels
  is right, and what works for him.5

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OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person

• Experimental Freedom the freedom to choose
  among alternatives
• It is irrelevant whether or not people really
  have free will, just that they feel that they
  do1
• Simpson feels he has choice in his day to day
  life, which allows him to experience the
  sensation free will.
• He chooses to live an altered lifestyle to avoid
  paying the judgment

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OJ Simpson A Fully Functioning Person cont.

• Creativity the ability to produce new and
  effective ideas and things
• Took the double murders of Nicole Brown Simpson
  and Ron Goldman and used them to create If I Did
  It Confessions of A Killer6

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Real Self vs Ideal Self

• Real Self - The you that, if all goes well, you
  will become.1
• Requires actualization, organismic valuing,
  positive regard, and positive self-regard.1
• Ideal Self The standard we cant meet always
  out of our reach.1
• We are forced to live with conditions of worth
  that are out of step with organismic valuing, and
  receive only conditional positive regard.1

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Incongruity neurosis

• The gap between the real self and the ideal self,
  the I am and the I should.
• Being out of synch with your own self.
• Simpsons real self shone through during his
  younger years, when he was given unconditional
  love from those around him.
• During and after his football career, Simpson was
  given conditional positive regard, and as a
  result began to experience incongruity.

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Threatening Situation

• When there is an incongruity between your image
  of yourself, and your immediate experience of
  yourself.1
• When in threatening situations, we use defenses
• Denial-you block out the threatening situation
• Perceptual distortion-you reinterpret the
  situation so it appears less threatening

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Simpsons Perceptual Distortion

• In If I Did It Confessions of a Killer,
  Simpson claims that Nicole Brown shared much of
  the blame for her own death, by calling her the
  enemy and expressing anger that she flirted
  openly with other men in front of their
  children.6
• Ronald Goldman is also partly to blame for his
  own death because he got involved during
  Simpsons altercation with his ex wife.6

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Conclusions

• Overall, Rogers would see OJ Simpson as a
  psychologically healthy person.
• Strives to make the very best of his existence
  and experiences
• Remains flexible in the face of lifes little and
  big disasters
• Criminal acts are only a distortion of his
  natural tendency

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Questions

• According to Eriksons theory which stage do you
  think O.J. Simpson had the greatest conflict
  with? How did that alter his ego quality?
• According to Rogers theory, would you say
  Simpson has developed a real self or an ideal
  self?

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References

• 1) Boeree, C.G. (1998). Carl Rogers. Retrieved
  October 26, 2007 from http//webspace.ship.edu/ch
  boer/rogers.html.
• 2) (2007). Carl Rogers. Retrieved October 26,
  2004 from http//psych.eiu.edu/spencer/Rogers.htm
  l.
• 3) Pescitelli, Dagmar. (1996). An Analysis of
  Carl Rogers Theory of Personality. Retrieved
  October 26, 2007 from http//pandc.ca/?catcarl_r
  ogerspagerogerian_theory.
• 4) (2001). Carl Rogers Self Theory. Retrieved
  October 26, 2007 from
• http//www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/72.html.
  
• 5) (2007). OJ Simpson. Retrieved October 26,
  2007 from
• http//www.answers.com/topic/o-j-simpson.
• 6) (2007). If I Did It The Quasi-Confession
  of O.J. Simpson. Retrieved November 4, 2007 from
  http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/
  Simpson/ifididit.html
• 7) Feist, J Feist G.J. (2006) Theories of
  Personality. New York McGraw Hill.
• 8) Harder, A.F. (2002). The Developmental
  Stages of Erik Erikson. Retrieved October 26,
  2007 from http//www.learning placeonline.com/sta
  ges/organize/Erikson.htm
• 9) (2007). Introduction to Eriksons 8 Stages.
  Retrieved October 26, 2007 from
  http//web.cortland.edu/andersmd/ERIK/stageint.HT
  ML
• 10) (2007). OJ Simpson The Early Years.
  Retrieved October 29, 2007 from
  http//sports.jrank.org/pages/4446/Simpson-O-J-Ea
  rly-Years.html
• 11) Deutsch, L Ritter, K. (2007). FBI Knew of
  O.J. Simpson Plan in Advance. Retrieved
  November 1, 2007 from http//ap.google.com/articl
  e/ALeqM5gGwO_KHE1hijwbiO- 4A8kOXN-vOAD8SM4JSO0