Personality Shaping Through Positive Disintegration

This book summarizes the research and application of the Theory of Positive Disintegration, one of the most influential theories in gifted education, and compares it to other theories of personality and psychological development.

For psychologist and psychiatrist Kazimierz Dabrowski, personality is not a given - it must be consciously created and developed by the individual. In his second English-language book, Personality-Shaping Through Positive Disintegration, first published in 1967, Dr. Dabrowski presents a comprehensive treatment of personality that is still relevant, perhaps more so today than when it was first written. Here Dabrowski describes personality's individual and universal characteristics, the methods involved in shaping it, and case studies of famous personalities (including Augustine and Michelangelo) demonstrating the empirical and normative nature of personality development. Included in this edition are the original introduction, written by former APA president O. Hobart Mowrer, an appendix detailing a study on gifted children and outstanding abilities conducted by Dr. Dabrowski, as well as previously unpublished biographical pieces analyzing the personalities of Beethoven, Kierkegaard, and Unamuno. Grounded in Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration, Personality-Shaping introduces the concepts at the heart of the theory and at the heart of human potential, creativity, social service, inner conflict, mental illness, and personal growth. Dabrowski's all-embracing perspective is at once a fresh alternative to the one-dimensional theories and trends pervasive in the field of psychology, and a full statement in its own right of all those aspects of human nature too often marginalized, ignored, or denied - a revolutionary and heartfelt product of Dr. Dabrowski's incisive observations and all-embracing vision.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The term self is of a metaphysical nature. It is not clearly defined, and is used in various senses. It is the distinctness of the existence of a human being, the source of his mental activity, and the individual substratum of his mental structure. #2 Personality is the name given to an individual who is developed and positive, both with respect to the scope and level of the most essential positive human qualities. Personality is not necessarily involved in various general human problems, but if a person possesses it, he embraces with his intellect, sensitivity, and activity all the truly essential problems of mankind. #3 The problem of personality is to give a comprehensive conception of personality that is free from mutable and therefore nonessential qualities. We attempt to base our conception on standards and human values that have been accepted and realized by man since the very beginning of his culture. #4 The majority of humans are mixed types, with positive and negative characteristics existing side by side in them. However, in general, positive characteristics grow in strength and importance.

This book describes the overexcitabilities often associated with gifted children and adults, as well as strategies for dealing with children and adults who experience them. It also provides essential information on Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration. Learn practical methods for nurturing sensitivity, intensity, perfectionism.

Kazimierz Dabrowski refers to his view of personality development as the theory of positive disintegration. Dabrowski feels that no growth takes place without previous disintegration. He regards symptoms of anxiety, psychoneurosis, and even some symptoms of psychosis as the signs of the disintegration stage, and therefore not always pathological.