Personality and Individual Differences: A Natural Science Approach

About this book

A Natural Science Approach Hans J. Eysenck Institute of Psychiatry University of London London, England Michael W. Eysenck Birkbeck College University of London London, England This fascinating study of personality and individ¬ual differences deals with the historical develop¬ment of the concepts involved, intelligence and temperament, and genetic, biological, and behav¬ioral factors. The Eysencks survey a large amount of empirical material and attempt to integrate this information with current theories of personality, detailing both psychometric-correlational and strictly experimen¬tal studies. They take issue with a number of popular theoretical views, such as the belief that personality traits are of an inconsistent nature, and that behavior is very situation-specific. They also stress the influence of genetic factors on per¬sonality and pay particular attention to the growth of the concepts being examined. In tracing this de¬velopment, the Eysencks reveal a surprising amount of agreement on the fundamentals of per¬sonality among many theorists whose concepts would appear to have little in common. The authors have made a special effort to make the material accessible to students lacking specialized knowledge of the areas under consi-deration, making this volume an ideal text for all students of psychology.