Personality Theories

Personality Theories: A Global View by leading scholar Eric Shiraev takes a dynamic, integrated, and cross-cultural approach to the study of personality. The text is organized around three general questions: Where did personality theories come from? How did the theorists study facts? How do we apply personality theories now? These questions provide a consistent focus on social context, interdisciplinary science, and applications. Going beyond traditional research from the Western tradition, the book also covers theories and studies rooted in the experiences of other countries and cultures.

[The book] is designed both to explain the major personality theories and to stimulate critical thinking about them. [The author] has pursued four main objectives. To present a clear and concise picture of the major features of each important personality theory ... To focus on significant ideas and themes that structure the content of the different personality theories ... To provide criteria to guide the evaluation of each theory ... To present activities, informed by the tenets of each theory, that will provide growth in critical thinking skills. -Pref.

First published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

'Personality Theories' by Albert Ellis - the founding father of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy - provides a comprehensive review of all major theories of personality including theories of personality pathology. Importantly, it critically reviews each of these theories in light of the competing theories as well as recent research.

Personality theories are frameworks devised by professionals to interpret the interaction of dynamic forces operating in every person's life. This text explains in basic terms the following major theories: Psychoanalytic Theory, Analytic Theory, Individual Psychology, Interpersonal Theories, Psychosocial Theories, Learning Theory, Trait and Factor Theory, Field Theory, Phenomenology and Existentialism, Self-Theory, Holistic Theory, Logo-therapy, and Systemic Eclecticism. It is organized as a study guide to help the reader gain basic insights into various interpretations of the role that personality dynamics assume in human behavior. The author makes a conscious effort to keep the language clear and simple, avoiding unneeded technical terms. However, full recognition is given to the distinctive terminology developed by certain theorists. To lend a degree of concreteness to abstract ideas, explanatory drawings have been included wherever appropriate. This book will prove useful to students in counselor education and other applied psychology programs, particularly when reviewing personality theories for comprehensive or qualifying examinations. It is also a useful resource to practitioners preparing for certification or licensure tests. Additionally, the book may be of interest to persons of many walks of life who want to better understand the many and diverse interpretations of human behavior and of the dynamic forces within personality.

Personality psychology is the study of the person. As such, it is arguably the broadest, most "philosophical", branch of psychology. It involves an examination of the effects of genetics, the physical environment, culture, upbringing, trauma, pathology and more. In as much as this is clearly a huge undertaking, it is as much a matter of competing theories as it is of empirical research. For this reason, it remains a tradition in the field to look at various attempts over the last 100-plus years to tackle the issue: "What is it to be a person?" This book attempts to provide an open-minded review of the most important of these theories.