A History of Personality Psychology


Book Description

In this book Frank Dumont presents personality psychology with a fresh description of its current status as well as its prospects. Play, sex, cuisine, creativity, altruism, pets, grieving rituals, and other oft-neglected topics broaden the scope of this fascinating study. This tract is imbued with historical perspectives that reveal the continuity in the evolving science and research of this discipline over the past century. The author places classic schemas and constructs, as well as current principles, in the context of their socio-political catalysts. He further relates this study of the person to life-span developmental issues and to cultural, gender-specific, trait-based, genetic/epigenetic, and evolutionary research findings. Personality psychology has recently reconciled itself to more modest paradigms for describing, explaining, and predicting human behaviour than it generated in the 19th and 20th centuries. This book documents that transformation, providing valuable information for health-service professionals as well as to teachers, researchers, and scientists.




Personality Psychology


Book Description

Personality Psychology: The Basics provides a jargon-free and accessible overview of the discipline, focusing on why not all individuals think, feel, speak, or act the same way in the same situation. The book offers a brief history of the area, covering a range of perspectives on personality including psychodynamic, behaviourist, humanistic, and cognitive approaches. Also featuring fascinating case studies to richly illustrate the theories discussed, the text looks at influential theories and related research within each of the major schools of thought in personality psychology. Rigorously examining the fundamental principles of personality psychology, the author concludes by outlining the future of the area in relation to cutting edge research and potential future trends. Exploring the major personality theories that seek to explain why people behave as they do in eight reader-friendly chapters, and written in accordance with British Psychological Society (BPS) guidelines regarding content in Individual Differences, this is an essential introduction for students who are approaching personality psychology for the first time.




Handbook of Personality Psychology


Book Description

The most comprehensive single volume ever published on the subject, the Handbook of Personality Psychology is the end-all, must-have reference work for personality psychologists. This handbook discusses the development and measurement of personality as well as biological and social determinants, dynamic personality processes, the personality's relation to the self, and personality in relation to applied psychology. Authored by the field's most respected researchers, each chapter provides a concise summary of the subject to date. Topics include such areas as individual differences, stability of personality, evolutionary foundations of personality, cross-cultural perspectives, emotion, psychological defenses, and the connection between personality and health. Intended for an advanced audience, the Handbook of Personality Psychology will be your foremost resource in this diverse field.Chapter topics include:* Nature of personality psychology* Conceptual and measurement issues in personality* Developmental issues* Biological determinants of personality* Social determinants of personality* Dynamic personality processes* Personality and the self* The Five Factor Model* Applied psychology




The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology


Book Description

Research on personality psychology is making important contributions to psychological science and applied psychology. This second edition of The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology offers a one-stop resource for scientific personality psychology. It summarizes cutting-edge personality research in all its forms, including genetics, psychometrics, social-cognitive psychology, and real-world expressions, with informative and lively chapters that also highlight some areas of controversy. The team of renowned international authors, led by two esteemed editors, ensures a wide range of theoretical perspectives. Each research area is discussed in terms of scientific foundations, main theories and findings, and future directions for research. The handbook also features advances in technology, such as molecular genetics and functional neuroimaging, as well as contemporary statistical approaches. An invaluable aid to understanding the central role played by personality in psychology, it will appeal to students, researchers, and practitioners in psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and the social sciences.




The Evolution of Personality and Individual Differences


Book Description

Capturing a scientific change in thinking about personality and individual differences, this volume provides theories and empirical evidence which suggest that personality and individual differences are central to evolved psychological mechanisms and behavioural functioning.




Personality in Nonhuman Animals


Book Description

This stimulating and comprehensive collection brings together multiple perspectives on the topic of personality in nonhuman animals—linking historical perspectives, theoretical approaches, methods, and cutting-edge discoveries. Experts from various fields describe their findings on species ranging from dogs, cats, chimpanzees, and dolphins to sharks, snakes, and other reptiles. Chapters not only discuss the evolution of personality, but also describe potential applications within the areas of animal-human interactions, animal ethics and welfare, conservation science, and other areas. A key focus is the role of genetics and the environment in determining animal behavior and personality, including related traits, such as creativity and boredom. These chapters present the study of personality in nonhumans as a means by which we can better understand medical and psychological issues specific to our own species as well. Chapters include: · Exploring factor space (and other adventures) with the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire · The quantitative and molecular genetics of individual differences in animal personality · Personality, temperament and individuality in reptile behavior · What do we want to know about personality in marine mammals? · Individual differences in nonhuman animals: examining boredom, curiosity, and creativity · The interplay between animal personality and foraging ecology Taking significant steps in advancing the study of animal personality, Personality in Nonhuman Animals will engage personality psychologists, comparative psychologists, and behavior ecologists as well as conservationists, zookeepers, livestock managers, and all those interested in the brain and behavior of animals.




Personality Psychology


Book Description

Personality Psychology: Foundations and Findings is an evidence-based text with integrated cultural references and excellent coverage of the key building blocks of the subject matter--namely, the "foundations"(traits, genetics, self and identity, neuroscience, intrapsychic aspects, regulations and motivation, and cognition as it applies to the human personality) and the "findings" (the cutting edge research in each of these areas in which personality psychologists are actively engaged every day).




Readings in Personality Psychology


Book Description

"A new, diverse collection of source materials for personality psychology that provide context and instruction to students. Readings in Personality Psychology is designed to strengthen students' understanding of personality psychology. Students are exposed to a variety of relevant readings and are provided with pedagogical features that will help them better understand and more fully appreciate the readings included. This text has sixteen chapters of key readings from a diversity of sources. Included in the readings are contemporary theoretical articles, historical theoretical articles, reviews of important books and tests, and humorous writings."--Publisher's website.




Personality Psychology


Book Description

Personality Psychology: Understanding Yourself and Others presents an up-to-date overview of arguably the most interesting and relevant subfield in psychology for today's undergraduate students. Committed to teaching students about personality psychology as well as about life itself, authors Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell address students' most pressing questions about friendship, relationships, health, happiness, and more. Designed to appeal to today's students - who are enmeshed in online networks and fascinated by their own personalities - Personality Psychology presents theory and research in a fashion that is both engaging and accessible, with plenty of opportunities for students to share their opinions and explore their own experiences.




Handbook of Personality Development


Book Description

Bringing together prominent scholars, this authoritative volume considers the development of personality at multiple levels--from the neuroscience of dispositional traits to the cultural shaping of life stories. Illustrated with case studies and concrete examples, the Handbook integrates areas of research that have often remained disparate. It offers a lifespan perspective on the many factors that influence each individual's psychological makeup and examines the interface of personality development with health, psychopathology, relationships, and the family. Contributors provide broad-based, up-to-date reviews of theories, empirical findings, methodological innovations, and emerging trends. See also the authored volume The Art and Science of Personality Development, by Dan P. McAdams.