1st Edition

Personality Psychology The Basics

By Stanley Gaines Jr. Copyright 2020
    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    1. An introduction to personality psychology

    2. Psychodynamic perspectives on personality

    3. Behaviourist perspectives on personality

    4. Humanistic and existential perspectives on personality

    5. Trait perspectives on personality

    6. Cognitive perspectives on personality

    7. Biological and evolutionary perspectives on personality

    8. Concluding thoughts on personality psychology

    Biography

    Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. (Senior Lecturer, Brunel University London) specialises in the fields of relationship science and ethnic studies. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, including Personality and Close Relationship Processes (2016/2018), winner of the Distinguished Book Award from the International Association for Relationship Research in 2018. Moreover, he has served as principal investigator or co-investigator for studies that have been funded by organisations such as the American Psychological Foundation, Ford Foundation, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Fulbright Foundation, and the Economic and Social Research Council in collaboration with UKAid.