How do we come to be who we are? Why do we differ in our personalities? How do these differences matter in life? Individual Differences and Personality aims to describe how and why personality varies among people. Unlike books that focus on individual theorists, this book focuses on current research and theory on the nature of personality and related individual differences. The book begins by discussing how personality is measured, the concept of a personality trait, and the basic dimensions of personality. This leads to a discussion of the origins of personality, with descriptions of its developmental course, its biological causes, its genetic and environmental influences, and its evolutionary function. The concept of a personality disorder is then described, followed by a discussion of the influence of personality on life outcomes in relationships, work, and health. Finally, the book examines the important differences between individuals in the realms of mental abilities, of beliefs and attitudes, and of behavior. - Presents a scientific approach to personality and related individual differences, as well as theory and research on the fundamental questions about human psychological variation - New edition presents findings from dozens of new research studies of the past six years - Includes new chapter on vocational interests and a revised chapter on personality disorders reflecting DSM-5 formulation - Contains streamlined descriptions of measurement concepts and heritability research - Includes various boxes containing interesting asides that help to maintain the student's attention

Dark Personalities in the Workplace defines dark personalities, their prevalence in the workplace, and how they are best managed. The book brings together research in psychology and business to both profile these employees and impart best practices for businesses to manage them. Chapters explore narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy in a work context. Coverage includes common behaviors such as incivility, negative attitudes, counterproductive behavior and escalating to harassment, bullying, violence, and fraud. Practical advice is given on how to avoid hiring dark personalities, avoid promoting dark personalities, and how to perform investigations and interventions with dark personalities. With a background in forensic psychology and industrial/organizational psychology, Cynthia Mathieu provides a researched understanding to these personalities, case studies to better understand them, and practical tools and applied solutions for dealing with them. - Integrates psychology and business literature on dark personalities - Identifies common personality features and behaviors - Suggests HR protocols to avoid hiring dark personalities - Addresses how to manage and review performance for dark personalities - Explores the importance of leadership and organizational culture - Presents case studies and applied solutions - Provides recommendations for investigations and interventions

How does your personality shape your life and what, if anything, can you do about it? Are you hardwired for happiness, or born to brood? Do you think you're in charge of your future, or do you surf the waves of unknowable fate? Would you be happier, or just less socially adept, if you were less concerned about what other people thought of you? And what about your "Type A" spouse: is he or she destined to have a heart attack, or just drive you to drink? In the past few decades, new scientific research has transformed old ideas about the nature of human personality. Neuroscientists, biologists, and psychological scientists have reexamined the theories of Freud and Jung as well as the humanistic psychologies of the 1960s, upending the simplistic categorizations of personality "types," and developing new tools and methods for exploring who we are. Renowned professor and pioneering research psychologist Brian R. Little has been at the leading edge of this new science. In this wise and witty book he shares a wealth of new data and provocative insights about who we are, why we act the way we do, what we can -- and can't -- change, and how we can best thrive in light of our "nature." Me, Myself, and Us explores questions that are rooted in the origins of human consciousness but are as commonplace as yesterday's breakfast conversation, such as whether our personality traits are "set" by age thirty or whether our brains and selves are more plastic. He considers what our personalities portend for our health and success, and the extent to which our well-being depends on the personal projects we pursue. Through stories, studies, personal experiences, and entertaining interactive assessments, Me, Myself, and Us provides a lively, thought-provoking, and ultimately optimistic look at the possibilities and perils of being uniquely ourselves, while illuminating the selves of the familiar strangers we encounter, work with, and love.

Individual Differences and Personality, Third Edition provides a comprehensive overview of research on personality. The book begins with the main approaches to the study of personality, basic principles of personality measurement, the concept of personality traits, and the major dimensions of personality variation. Further chapters review personality change and stability, biological causal mechanisms, genetic and environmental influences and evolutionary adaptive function. Personality disorders are examined as are life outcomes—such as relationships, work, health, and others—that are predicted by personality characteristics. The book additionally examines important individual differences, such as mental abilities, vocational interests, religious beliefs, political attitudes and sexuality. The third edition is updated with new findings on age-related differences in personality, on sexual orientation and personality, on socially desirable responding in personality assessment, and on the biological and social origins of mental ability differences. Treatments of several topics have been streamlined, including reliability and validity, developmental change, genetic and environmental influences and the structure of mental abilities. - Organized by issues in personality research rather than by theorists - Identifies main traits in personality and explains personality assessment - Examines the impact of personality on life outcomes - Explores developmental, genetic and evolutionary aspects of personality - Includes other psychological characteristics (abilities, interests, beliefs and attitudes) - Test bank included on the instructor website

Different voices and driving forces alternate in each human being. Frequently, we suddenly find ourselves doing and saying things that are different from what we would have liked to do or say. This book teaches us to recognize the multiplicity contained in each of us, the different drives and needs that bring different approaches to our daily life, so we can begin to consider them as precious resources and no longer as obstacles. Understanding the complex relationships within us will help us to live better with ourselves and with others, since all our relationships in a family, social or working environment, show a similar pattern to those that happen within us. Curiosity, a playful attitude, having fun, are pleasant approaches to this research and help us to understand ourselves, what happens to our different parts, and also to discover and appreciate all the talents we have. The theory and the simple exercises presented in this book invite you to follow a path in search of knowing yourself step by step, offering a useful and verifiable set of tools at a personal level. “Everyone represents a potentially perfect team. The harmony of the whole is consciousness. It is love. Integration is possible only through Love, in any circumstance and at any level.” Falco Tarassaco

An updated edition of a much-acclaimed textbook providing a critical introduction to personality for psychology students.

Perfect Personality Profiles is essential reading for anyone who needs to find out more about psychometric profiling. Including everything from helpful pointers on how to get ready to a thorough breakdown of the personality traits that questionnaires examine, this book walks you through every aspect of personality profiles. Whether you're a graduate looking to take the first step on the career ladder, or you're planning an all-important job change, Perfect Personality Profiles has everything you need to make sure you stand out from the competition. The Perfect series is a range of practical guides that give clear and straightforward advice on everything from getting your first job to choosing your baby's name. Written by experienced authors offering tried-and-tested tips, each book contains all you need to get it right first time.

Millions are wondering what the future holds for mankind, and if we are soon due for a world-changing global shift. Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi) and his teacher, Sri Yukteswar, offered key insights into this subject. They presented a fascinating explanation of the rising and falling eras that our planet cycles through every 24,000 years. According to their teachings, we have recently passed through the low ebb in that cycle and are moving to a higher age—an Energy Age that will revolutionize the world. Over one hundred years ago Yukteswar predicted that we would live in a time of extraordinary change, and that much that we believe to be fixed and true—our entire way of looking at the world — would be transformed and uplifted. In The Yugas, authors Joseph Selbie and David Steinmetz present substantial and intriguing evidence from the findings of historians and scientists that demonstrate the truth of Yukteswar’s and Yogananda’s revelations.

All around you in every moment you are surrounded by the most magical and mystical beings. They are too small, of course, for you to see as single individuals. But in groups you know them as the physical matter of your daily life. They form all of your physical life as you know it. Particles - who might be considered either atoms or portions of atoms - consciously view the vast spectrum of reality, yet also have a sense of personal memory like your own linear memory.These particles remember where they have been and what they have done in their infinitely long lives. Particles, then, have a unique and unusual perspective. In reading this book, understand that some of them will have similar points of view, but others will have quite extraordinary and unexpected points of view. Expect the unexpected!

Robert Simon's Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream: A Forensic Psychiatrist Illuminates the Darker Side of Human Behavior is that rare title that is both essential reading for the mental health professional and accessible in style and content to the fascinated lay reader. In twelve powerful and provocative chapters, the author introduces readers to a psychological perspective on evil, character and destiny, as well as the making of good men and women. Simon also illuminates the psychology of psychopaths, serial killers, rapists and all manner of evil characters who appall and challenge us by their very existence. He rejects the common belief that his subjects are "monsters" with nothing in common with the more "normal" among us. Simon posits that if we deny our dark side, it can only obscure our understanding of violent offenders and impede our ability to both know ourselves and control our own, at times, unacceptable impulses. The author is among the foremost experts in forensic psychiatry. He is Director of the Program in Psychiatry and Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Author or co-author of more than two dozen books and editions, including the foundational Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry, Simon has made important contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry for more than 30 years. He is also an eloquent writer with a dramatic, yet nuanced, narrative style that takes the reader inside the mind of the evildoer. The first edition of this groundbreaking work garnered uniformly superlative reviews and was translated into several languages. This updated version retains Simon's engrossing portrayals and keen insight, while offering a number of key enhancements. The highlights include: Explorations of the Internet and violence, "corporate" psychopaths, cyberstalkers, perpetrators of school violence, and a new cast of serial killers, terrorists, and other evildoers. A psychological perspective on evil, serial killers, and us. Updates on the neuroscience and genetics of deviant behaviors. Reflections on empathy, character, and destiny: the making of good men and women. A new foreword by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School, that illuminates Simon's thesis and grounds it in historical context. Graphic but never sensational, unsparing but never cold, Simon's writing transcends the theoretical and achieves that most difficult of aims: leading readers to discover, contain, and transform the darkness within us all, to the betterment of our human condition.