Differentiating Normal And Abnormal Personality

"This updated and expanded second edition of this influential book has no competition. There is no competition because there are no other books like it on the market and also because of the breadth and importance of the topics that are covered by leading-edge researchers in the field....Would be an excellent centerpiece for graduate courses in personality psychology. It provides state-of-the-art reviews of theories, statistical methods, assessment methods, and research findings. The topics and the quality of the writing should make the book highly appealing to students in both personality and abnormal psychology."--PsycCRITIQUES This long-awaited, completely new update to a classic text offers a state-of-the-art overview of a rapidly growing field that seeks to integrate the study of normal and abnormal personality. Written by some of the most influential personologists of the 21st century, including Aaron Beck, C. Robert Cloninger, Robert McCrae, and Theodore Millon, chapters show how current theories, statistical methods, and assessment instruments can be used to understand the entire spectrum of personality functioning, from normal to disordered. With graduate students and professionals new to the field in mind, this book provides information about the central issues that are being addressed by researchers and clinicians in the realm of normal-abnormal personality today. In addition, it provides essential terminology, ideas, and methods that are unique to the field at large as well as basic tools needed to become a participant in normal-abnormal psychology. Divided into three parts, the book presents an overview of major theories, statistical methods, and measurement instruments, including: Seven influential models of personality and psychopathology Four statistical methods for use in taxonomy, diagnosis, similarities and differences between normal and abnormal personality, and genetic and environmental influences Problems and pitfalls in designing empirical studies in the realm of normal-abnormal personality Empirically-based introductions and reviews of five widely-used instruments for assessing normal-abnormal personality

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A title in the modular "Principles of Psychology" series, designed for A- level and other introductory courses. While normal individuals obviously differ from each other in various ways, psychologists have emphasized differences in intelligence and personality. This emphasis is reflected in the book, and various different views are discussed at length.; Abnormality has always been a source of fascination, although it has been difficult to form a good understanding of why and how abnormality develops. Psychologists have also grappled with other complex issues, such as how to classify abnormal individuals and what forms of treatment will prove beneficial. In spite of complexities, much progress has been made.

This forward-thinking volume grapples with critical questions surrounding the mechanisms underlying mental disorders and the systems used for classifying them. Edited and written by leading international authorities, many of whom are actively involved with the development of DSM-V and ICD-11, the book integrates biological and psychosocial perspectives. It provides balanced analyses of such issues as the role of social context and culture in psychopathology and the pros and cons of categorical versus dimensional approaches to diagnosis. Cutting-edge diagnostic instruments and research methods are reviewed. Throughout, contributors highlight the implications of current theoretical and empirical advances for understanding real-world clinical problems and developing more effective treatments.

This book is the second volume of an interdisciplinary study, chiefly one of philosophy and psychology, which concerns personality, especially the abnormal in terms of states of aloneness, primarily that of the negative emotional isolation customarily known as loneliness. Other states of aloneness investigated include solitude, reclusiveness, seclusion, desolation, isolation, and what the author terms “aloneliness,” “alonism,” “lonism,” and “lonerism.” Insofar as this study most explicitly focuses on abnormal personalities, it employs the general and specific definitions of personality aberrations as formulated by the American Psychiatric Association in its latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The author views personality as preeminently comprised of the individual's interpersonal relationships. Unlike the DSM-IV, he proposes that people with personality disorders not only possibly but necessarily manifest deviancy regarding interpersonal functioning via serious shortcomings in shared inwardness, paramountly reciprocated intimacy. This work also engages in an analysis of five social factors that are conducive to predisposing, precipitating, and maintaining negative kinds of personality and aloneness. The author has formed these factors into an acronym titled SCRAM since when they are present, intimacy scurries away and in its absence, loneliness and other sorts of unwanted aloneness scamper in and fill the person with unhappiness via, for instance, sadness and self-worthlessness. The constituents of SCRAM are the following social illnesses: Successitis (for example, the fixation on fame and fortune), Capitalitis (greed-driven, unfettered capitalism), Rivalitis (competitivitis), Atomitis (hyper-individualism), and Materialitis (for example, the anti-spirituality of consumeritis). In sum, this book provides a different perspective on personality via the lenses of various types of aloneness and their lack of public and private intimacy, especially love.

This book constitutes a collection of articles that were written for, and recently published as, special sections in three consecutive issues of the Journal of Personality Assessment. Part I provides lucid commentaries on the current status of and future issues regarding the Rorschach and MMPI-2 and other instruments, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory -- Adolescent (MMPI-A), the Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS-R), the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems -- Circumplex version (IIP-C), the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), and the third edition of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III). The authors not only participated in the dvelopment of the instruments, but continue to lead the research effort in their application in both clinical and research settings. Part II addresses several issues that have been recurring themes, and often topics of debate, in the research and professional literature. The contributors discuss the impact of the five-factor model on personality assessment, the issue of deception in personality assessment, and various critical issues in the measurement of mood states. Other articles focus on the integration of the MMPI-2 and Rorschach and the process that clinicians should follow when applying scientific knowledge to clinical practice. Part III is primarily devoted to overviews of several statistical methods that are employed infrequently in personality assessment research, but have great potential in contributing to the understanding of the complex data sets often encountered in the measurement and study of personality. These articles serve as both an introduction and a brief tutorial for personality researchers who are unfamiliar with the subject matter. They are valuable references that will form the basis for evaluating the appropriate use of these methods in published research in their areas of interest.

Personality Disorders: Toward the DSM-V offers a scientifically balanced evaluation of competing theoretical perspectives and nosological systems for personality disorders. Editors William T. O'Donohue, Scott O. Lilienfeld, and Katherine A. Fowler have brought together recognized authorities in the field to offer a synthesis of competing perspectives that provide readers with the richest and most nuanced assessment possible for each disorder. The result is a comprehensive, current, and critical summary of research and practice guidelines related to the personality disorders.

Describes how psychological research has led to the understanding of many of those factors and how our personalities develop.