The Person - Dan P. McAdams

And nothing is more important. This third edition of The Person: An Integrated Introduction to Personality Psychology presents an exciting new way to think about the study of persons. It is unifying vision of what personality psychology is and should be for the 21st centry.

Personality psychology starts with a simple question: What do we know when we know a person? In order to know a person well and to develop a scientific understanding of human individuality, we must first understand human nature and cultural context. To this end, The Person begins with and expanded treatment of our evolutionary heritage and the complex social and cultural environments. But each person is also a unique individual. That individuality can be described on three different levels of personality: dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, and life stories.

• Traits provide the outline for human individuality, The Person expands coverage of such topics as the Big Five traits, biological underpinnings of traits, and continuity and change in personality traits during life.
• Characteristic adaptations fill in some of the details. The text explores theories and research on human motives and goals, social–cognitive concepts, and the developmental stages.
• Life stories integrate the different pieces into a meaningful whole. The Person highlights fascinating new research on the stories people construct to make sense of their lives.

This third edition of The Person integrates the classic theories of personality with the best research the field has to offer. Instructors will appreciate the book's comprehensiveness, its up–to–date perspective, and the exciting integrative vision it brings to personality psychology. Students will appreciate the book's engaging style and the way it directly addresses some of the most important questions that people can ask about their own lives and about human life in general.