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Perspectives on Personality, 8th edition

Published by Pearson (February 22, 2016) © 2017

  • Charles S. Carver University of Miami
  • Michael F. Scheier Carnegie Mellon University

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For courses in Personality Psychology

An overview of personality psychology that brings various perspectives to life

Perspectives on Personality describes a range of viewpoints that are used by personality psychologists today, and helps students understand how these viewpoints can be applied to their own lives. Authors Charles Carver and Michael Scheier dedicate a chapter to each major perspective, presenting an overview of the perspective’s orienting assumptions and core themes and concluding with a discussion of problems within that theoretical viewpoint and predictions about its future prospects. The Eighth Edition incorporates several important recent developments in the field, including genetics and genomics and the biological underpinnings of impulsiveness.

NOTE: This ISBN is for a Pearson Books a la Carte edition: a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf text. In addition to the flexibility offered by this format, Books a la Carte editions offer students great value, as they cost significantly less than a bound textbook.

A streamlined contemporary approach makes course material both manageable and engaging

  • Authors Charles Carver and Michael Scheier’s informal, conversational style is reader-friendly without sacrificing clarity or accuracy.
  • The authors provide a balanced approach to different perspectives and emphasize diversity among viewpoints, helping students achieve a thorough understanding of personality.
  • The text reflects the rapid advances in work on behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, temperament, neurotransmitters, and other biological processes and how they relate to personality.
  • The text covers the “new” behavioral genetics (genes correlating with and interacting with environments) and epigenetic influences on gene expression as well as discussion of future issues (“Problems and Prospects”) faced by differing viewpoints.
  • The text offers integrated coverage of adult attachment patterns and their implications for personality and social behavior, a hot topic in the field.

New and updated content reflects recent developments in the field

  • NEW! The Eighth Edition has been updated to include new material on genetics and genomics, a leading area of research across all of psychology, including personality.
  • NEW! The authors offer fresh information on the biological underpinnings of impulsiveness, a topic that has received widespread interest in recent years.
  • NEW! Chapters 12 and 13 include additional material on psychological mindsets and mental contrasting.
  • NEW! More than 200 new citations have been added, ensuring that the text is as up-to-date as possible.
  • The Eighth Edition has been updated to include new material on genetics and genomics, a leading area of research across all of psychology, including personality.
  • The authors offer fresh information on the biological underpinnings of impulsiveness, a topic that has received widespread interest in recent years.
  • Chapters 12 and 13 include additional material on psychological mindsets and mental contrasting.
  • More than 200 new citations have been added, ensuring that the text is as up-to-date as possible.

1. What Is Personality Psychology?

2. Methods in the Study of Personality

3. Issues in Personality Assessment

4. The Trait Perspective

5. The Motive Perspective

6. Genetics, Evolution, and Personality

7. Biological Processes and Personality

8. The Psychoanalytic Perspective

9. Psychosocial Theories

10. The Learning Perspective

11. Self-Actualization and Self-Determination

12. The Cognitive Perspective

13. The Self-Regulation Perspective

14. Personality in Perspective: Overlap and Integration

Charles S. Carver and Michael F. Scheier met in graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, where they both earned doctoral degrees in personality psychology. After graduation, they took positions at the University of Miami and Carnegie-Mellon University, respectively, where they have remained throughout their careers. They’ve collaborated for four decades in work that spans personality, social, motivational, clinical, and health psychology. In 1998, they received awards for Outstanding Scientific Contribution (Senior Level) from the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association. In 2007, they received the Donald T. Campbell Award for Distinguished Contributions to Social Psychology from APA’s Division of Personality and Social Psychology. In 2011, the first author received the Jack Block Award for Distinguished Contributions to Personality Psychology from APA’s Division of Personality and Social Psychology. In 2012, the authors received the Distinguished Lifetime Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity. Mike was the 2003—2004 President of APA’s Division of Health Psychology and served for over 10 years as Department Head at CMU. Along with seven editions of Perspectives on Personality, the authors have published two books on self-regulation (the more recent titled On the Self-Regulation of Behavior, in 1998) and more than 400 articles and chapters. Mike is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, and fisherman. Chuck keeps intending to take up painting but getting distracted by things that need fixing and shrubbery that needs cutting.

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