郭實獵是非常重要的來華新教傳教士，他的個性向來以瘋狂、奇特與不可理喻著稱。這與郭實獵青少年時期波折的經歷有密切關係。他不但深受虔信宗和浪漫主義思潮的影響，以臨床心理學的視角探查，他的行為還表現出「自戀型人格障礙」的大多數典型特徵。此類將心理學臨床診斷標準引入歷史研究的新方法，為我們研究歷史人物提供了具有一定價值的新視角。而郭實獵的特殊人格特徵或許正是我們理解他在十九世紀三十、四十年代一系列影響深遠卻有充滿矛盾的活動的關鍵因素。

Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-1851) was a key figure in Protestant missionaries in China during the 19th century and was well known for his emotional, strange and unreasonable character traits that resulted from a bitter childhood and frustrations he had gone through. In addition to the influences of pietism and romanticism, a clinical psychology observation also showed Gützlaff’s personality retained core symptoms of a narcissistic personality disorder, which might be a vital clue in investigating Gützlaff and his choices within historical contexts. This methodology which introduces clinical psychology diagnostic criteria into historical research attempts to provide a valuable perspective into the investigations of historical figures.