Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
What separates a fully realised theory of human personality from mere speculation? Salvatore R. Maddi's Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis presents a rigorous, systematic examination of the major personality theories that defined 20th-century psychology, drawing on his position as Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago to bring scholarly authority to one of the discipline's most contested arenas. Rather than championing a single framework, Maddi constructs an analytical structure that places competing theories — from Freudian psychoanalysis to humanistic and existential models — side by side, illuminating their core assumptions, internal logic, and empirical implications with remarkable clarity. The work argues that meaningful progress in personality psychology demands not partisan allegiance to one school of thought, but a clear-eyed comparative method that holds each theory accountable to the same rigorous criteria. Maddi's prose is precise and unflinching, cutting through jargon to reveal the deeper philosophical commitments that underpin each theoretical tradition. A foundational academic text that has shaped generations of psychologists and students alike, this volume raises a question that continues to resonate: if our theories of personality differ so profoundly, what does that tell us about the nature of the self itself?
Author: Salvatore R. Maddi
Format: Hardback
Published: 1968, The Dorsey Press
Genre: Psychology
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
What separates a fully realised theory of human personality from mere speculation? Salvatore R. Maddi's Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis presents a rigorous, systematic examination of the major personality theories that defined 20th-century psychology, drawing on his position as Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago to bring scholarly authority to one of the discipline's most contested arenas. Rather than championing a single framework, Maddi constructs an analytical structure that places competing theories — from Freudian psychoanalysis to humanistic and existential models — side by side, illuminating their core assumptions, internal logic, and empirical implications with remarkable clarity. The work argues that meaningful progress in personality psychology demands not partisan allegiance to one school of thought, but a clear-eyed comparative method that holds each theory accountable to the same rigorous criteria. Maddi's prose is precise and unflinching, cutting through jargon to reveal the deeper philosophical commitments that underpin each theoretical tradition. A foundational academic text that has shaped generations of psychologists and students alike, this volume raises a question that continues to resonate: if our theories of personality differ so profoundly, what does that tell us about the nature of the self itself?