Book Description
Larsen and Buss's Personality Psychology is based on a framework of six important domains of knowledge about personality functioning. These six domains are the dispositional domain (traits, trait taxonomies, and personality dispositions over time), the biological domain (physiology, genetics, evolution), the intrapsychic domain (psychodynamics, motives), the cognitive/experiential domain (cognition, emotion, and the self), the social and cultural domain (social interaction, gender, and culture), and the adjustment domain (stress, coping, health, and personality disorders). This book is based on the notion that these domains of knowledge represent the organizing structure of contemporary personality psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book!
This book is probably one of the best textbooks that I have encountered in my study of psychology.Buss/Larsen put this book together very well and included all the important facts on personality.I really enjoyed the different self tests that were included. ... Read more

Book Description
Organizing content into six domains of personality functioning (dispositional, biological, intrapsychic, cognitive/experiential, social and cultural, and adjustment), this text interweaves contemporary research with classic and modern theories within the context of each of the domains. This unique framework encourages students to view the "whole person" as the sum of influences and effects of each of the domains of personality functioning. The second edition includes the latest research, as well as a restructuring of material, and continues to bring the subject to life by incorporating a vivid, four-color design. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Personality Psychology Is A Pretty Good Psychology Text Book
I liked this psychology text book because it explained the field of personality psychology in an understandable yet uncondescending way.Everything was laid out in an organized fashion by chapter, the domains of personality psychology.The book goes in a top down manner in reflection of how the field is divided in to different subfields and specific studies that are related through a specific subfield.

This book uses helpful models to link together related concepts and explains them in a matter-of-fact way using real world and cultural examples.Scientific in its approach but unbiased in its scope, this book mirror's the psychological community's view of the personality.Of the two words comprising the title, "Psychology" definitely takes the cake in terms of the book's focus.A psychology textbook, the approach is scientific, so don't expect many philosophical forays into what is personality. ... Read more

Book Description
Experience the story of a lifetime


When you want to truly get to know a person, dates and facts about their life will only tell you so much. You need to look at the stories that define that person's life, as well as their individual traits and characteristics, as defined by human nature and culture.


When it comes to studying personality, the larger story matters most of all. In The Person: An Integrated Introduction to Personality Psychology, Fourth Edition, Dan McAdams presents a bold and integrative vision for personality psychology that puts many different ideas into a meaningful structure. With this text, you can understand the larger story, and discover how powerful and useful studying personality psychology is today.


The text begins with fundamental evolutionary, social, and cultural contexts for understanding personality, followed by an examination of the three different levels of an individual's personality:

- Dispositional traits, a person's general tendencies.

- Characteristic adaptations, a person's desires, beliefs, concerns, and coping mechanisms.

- Life stories, the stories that give a life a sense of unity, meaning, and purpose.


Key Features:
* New streamlined paperback format.
* Updated with recent research findings to engage professors and students alike.
* Presents a clear unifying vision for the field of personality psychology.
* Brings together the best from traditional personality theories and contemporary research.
* Addresses the most important questions that people can ask about their own lives and about human life in general. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A life saver
The Person: A New Introduction to Personality Psychology
This book was purchased to assist in a psychology class. It has been a life saver. Ideas and concepts are clear, graphs are so easy to follow. Has been by far one of the best educational tools I've purchased yet.

Amazon Books
This book was listed as in good condition and it came looking pretty much new. It shipped in a timely manner, got to me before class and was about 60% cheaper than the price at the school bookstore. Thanks!

An insightful, interesting and comprehensive book
Personality psychology is a unique subject dealing with individual differences in people, and this book does a superb job of addressing this topic.What I like most about this book is that it covers all the important and renowned theories in this field, such as Costa and McCrae's Big Five traits, Freud's idea of defense mechanisms, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Bandura's observational learning, Erikson's stages of psychosocial development and Bowlby's attachment styles among others.

These concepts may be seemingly diverse and unrelated, but McAdams manages to integrate them very well using his idea of three different levels of personality: forming an outline with traits, knowing some of the person's details through motivational, cognitive and developmental concerns and finally constructing an individual's life stories.All the concepts fit marvellously well within this framework.

In addition to the clear and concise writing, interesting and revelant narratives, anecdotes and examples are included.Moreover, within each chapter and at the end of each chapter, the important ideas and concepts are re-iterated and summarized.

Indeed, this book leaves the reader much more enriched and knowledgeable about ourselves and the people in our lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not really for adults
This book is more for jr high kids. For them I suppose it would get a higher star rating.But for me, very dissapointed.

Not what I thought...
Very short and more for middle-school aged kids.Not worth the money, and I got it used. ... Read more

Book Description
This book presents personality from the perspective ofexisting research. It provides an overview of personality research anddemonstrates the relationship between research and real individuals. Readers areencouraged to explore the relationship between the research and their ownpersonalities. It also introduces primary source literature in personalitypsychology by covering the content, methods, and issues in the journals withminimal jargon.Personality Psychology: The Science ofIndividuality presents content on its own merits rather than forcing it tofit existing theories. Readers avoid the sometimes inaccurate connections tohistorical theories found in other books on personality. The book also includesdiscussions often neglected in other books, such as entire separate chapters onintelligence and cognitive style, the unconscious, and evolutionary personalitypsychology. Readers will learn important areas in enough depth to appreciate theissues and complexities. The book always attempts to make clear why a particularstudy is important. This may facilitate the readers' ability to study thesubject further. Chapter Two includes a short personality questionnaire designedto measure the Big 5 factors. Since discussions of methodology refer back to theBig 5 factors throughout the book, readers benefit by having a personalinvolvement through their scores on the questionnaire. It may also help to makesome of the material personally relevant.A valuable book for anyreader interested in understanding the existing research into personality, orwho wishes to understand more about his or her own personality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

best of available
A textbook of personality psychology, but not of a traditional "theories of personality (Freud-Jung-Rogers-Maslow)" type. This is good, because this way it represents what is really going on in personality psychology, instead of what has been going on. One might want a better integration, but this simply does not exist as yet. The two alternative books that one might consider (and there are only two of them) are "Personality" by Caprara and Cervone (social cognitive approaches are better represented but almost no biology at all), and "Personality traits" by Matthews and Deary (has a narrower scope). All other personality textbooks are just outdated (starting from the table of contents).

Nice Explanations
This book is a great book for people inturested in Personality Phsychology. It gives clear explanations and if it's still unclear it will give an example or two. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Little Biased Reviewer - But Great Theory!
Yes, I must admit it, I am a bit biased.George Kelly is my intellectual great-grandfather.That is, I trace my intellectual heritage through my mentor, Brent D. Slife, through his mentor, Joseph F. Rychlak, to his mentor, George A. Kelly.As such, I am quite biased in this review of Kelly's book on Personal Construct Psychology.That being said, I still believe that this is an excellent book.Kelly provides a wonderfully divergent perspective on personality from the more Lockean perspectives that have prevailed in psychological theorizing.Kelly is quite thoughtful and presents a very thorough, well conceived theory that attempts to address, in a rationalistic, telic perspective the personality of human beings.Still, as a truly new theory, Kelly introduces new terms that may be difficult for some to understand initially.Furthermore, as a new theory, which reintroduces final causal theorizing, which conceives of humans as being determined by their goals, purposes, and ends (instead of linear, deterministic theorizing that conceives of humans as determined by their past), while refreshing and, from my perspective, essential for psychology, it may be difficulty to integrate this theory into their already generated linear conceptualizations.I recommend you read this with an open mind and attempt to think more freely from this divergent perspective offered by Kelly.

Constructive Alternativism
Kelly's personality theory is based on an underlying philosophical position which he called "constructive alternativism" (3). According to this view, "We assume that all of our present interpretations of the universe are subject to revision or replacement" (15). Kelly focused on "man-the-scientist" (4): "Might not the individual man, each in his own personal way, assume more of the stature of a scientist, ever seeking to predict and control the course of events with which he is involved?" (5). The "Fundamental Postulate" of his theory states "A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events" (46). This occurs as a person construes or interprets, evaluates, makes sense of, observed regularities in what is going on by noting similarities and differences among events. Thus an organized system of constructs is built up, significantly embodied in language, that provides a basis for prediction and control. Problems may result from the limitations in a person's system of constructs, combined with resistance to changing them. Kelly's approach is presented as a series of postulates and corollaries. Although presented somewhat technically and at a high order of abstraction, he writes clearly and sometimes memorably. For example, noting the theme of his book he writes, "...man, to the extent that he is able to construe his circumstances, can find for himself freedom from their domination. It implies also that man can enslave himself with his own ideas and then win his freedom again by reconstruing his life" (21). Kelly wrote at a time before concern with non-sexist terminology was formulated and can be forgiven for his lapses in this regard. The resonance of his formulations with those of Korzybski and Whorf seems remarkable and provides an example of the inter-theory corroboration that Korzybski found so valuable.

Excellent discription of a labeling theory.
This book provides an interesting theory of the mind via labels (constructs).His notion of dilating our perceptual field, which leads one to better psychological health, has led me to dig deeper into my own mind. It has also allow me to begin to develope my own theory of the mind. Thanks George

Good One
I like the way this book explains constructs ... Read more

Book Description

• Includes established theories and cutting-edge developments.
• Presents the work of an international group of experts.
• Presents the nature, origin, implications, an future course of major unresolved issues in the area.

Book Description
This volume provides an overview of research methods in contemporary social psychology. Coverage includes conceptual issues in research design, methods of research, and statistical approaches. Because the range of research methods available for social psychology have expanded extensively in the past decade, both traditional and innovative methods are presented. The goal is to introduce new and established researchers alike to new methodological developments in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great primer on research methods
There are several invaluable chapters on priming, data cleaning, and general research practices that make this an invaluable book for anyone conducting social psychological or judgment and decision making research at a graduate or faculty level. ... Read more

Book Description
By uniquely organizing coverage into six domains of personality functioning (biological, intrapsychic, dispositional, cognitive/experiential, social and cultural, and the adjustment domain) Personality Psychology interweaves contemporary research with classic and modern theories within the context of each of the domains.By adopting this unique framework, authors Randy Larsen and David Buss encourage students to view the “whole person” as the sum of influences and effects of each of the domains of personality functioning. The newest and most unique option for a personality course, this text brings the subject to life with a vivid, colorful layout- the first personality textbook to incorporate a four-color design. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Introductory Text on Personality from Research View
I have recently completed teaching an undergraduate course on Theories of Personality using this text. It is well written and very usable for an introductory course in personality theory. It's biggest strength is also it's biggest weakness in my opinion. The text presents personality theory from the perspective of current psychological research. Thus, it provides students with a wealth of research in the realm of personality from six domains: biological, intrapsychic, cognitive/experiential, dispositional, cultural, and adjustment. This is the text's strength. Because of this format, however, it basically plays out as a survey course of the research associated with personality theory. In my opinion, it minimally addresses the grand theories of personality. The authors contend that this is because the research has not substantiated these theories. Yet, from a clinical perspective I would argue that there is merit with having students wrestle with many of the concepts and ideas associated with those theories. That will not happen in this book. Nevertheless, the book does a good job of reviewing research in areas that would probably not be addressed in traditional theories of personality courses. Kevin Dugan, Ph.D. ... Read more

Book Description
This new and exciting Association for Psychological Science reader includes over 20 articles that have been carefully selected for the undergraduate audience, and taken from the very accessible Current Directions in Psychological Science journal. These timely, cutting-edge articles allow instructors to bring their students real-world perspective—from a reliable source—about today's most current and pressing issues in personality psychology. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic Project
This book represents a great project in psychology, a return to the assessment glory days of Schafer's Clinical Applications of Psychological Tests from 1948 and, more recently, Hurt, Reznikoff, and Clarkin's Psychological Assessment/Psychiatric Diagnosis/Treatment Planning volume from 1991.Like these other books, Paradigms offers more depth than the surveys of testing textbooks but more breadth than volumes examining a particular instrument.It goes a fantastic step further than any other book, in that it offers assessment of a client from five different examiners.This allows the reader to compare approaches and to see, in ways that are inexplicably rare in the psychological literature, how much assessments have in common across models and the amazing extent to which the various models can reveal the life of the test subject.A book like this refutes the nay-sayers of assessment and supports the findings of a 2001 American Psychologist survey that demonstrate how psychological testing possesses as much diagnostic power as most medical tests.

Wiggins' book has five teams of examiners conducting assessment with a single person.Although the subject is not a patient or engaged in behavioral health services, she presents with a rich psychic life and dramatic history that lend themselves to assessment.She agrees to undergo assessment with each team.

The Personological Assessment (Life History Interview) and the Empirical Assessment (MMPI)are conducted by a single examiner each;the other three Assessments are conducted by teams of two examiners each.The Personological Assessment and the Psychodynamic Assessment are conducted face-to-face with the subject, while the other three are conducted through paper-and-pencil tests and the examiners never actually meet the subject.The Psychodynamic Assessors opt to forego any background information to conduct a "blind assessment" in order to show the power of the Rorschach and other measures.Only the Mutivariate Assessment (using the NEO measure) employs input from a source other than the client, namely, her paramour.

The results of each of the five assessments constitutes the meat of the book.As noted, there is remarkable consistency in what each assessment reveals and the accuracy of these findings is supported by follow-up material that is not available to the examiners.In fact, the subject provides updates from three years later, allowing the reader to see how the examiners' various predictions fared.Collateral sources such as friends provide additional material that puts all the assessment findings in a context.

The five different assessment teams write their own chapters about the client.The writing therefore varies in these chapters.This is important, because assessment writing involves technical aspects and can easily get mired in jargon.The authors of the Personological, Psychodynamic, and Empirical chapters avoid this pitfall admirably.They use plain language and explain their ideas in ways that are readable.

The authors of the Multivariate chapter fall prey to reifying the labels of their instrument, the NEO.They make statements like "Madeline is average in Neuroticism," or apply to her various labels from the test:she is an "Upbeat Optimist," a "Creative Interactor," or "Cold-Blooded."They never sample her behavior directly, and so they must rely on the subject's self-descriptions which can only come from her own perspective.They have her paramour also complete the NEO about the subject, but when there are discrepancies in the ratings between the two subjects, the examiners manage the discordances with the dubious practice of averaging the results rather than addressing the differences.Potentially important information is thus glossed over and lost.

The authors of the Psychodynamic Assessment do an especially impressive job of description and of handling discrepancies.They find fascinating ways of interpreting the discordant data when they emerge.They also integrate behavioral observations and examiner reactions into the assessment in ways that are convincing and engaging.The Empirical Assessment is also impressive; fortunately for the examiner, the subject's MMPI was valid.The Personological Assessment is essentially a detailed clinical interview, and as such, it does not provide test data but interview statements.Five self-report measures are included in this assessment, as is a TAT, but the author focuses primarily on the interview material.

The weakest chapter from a writing perspective is the Interpersonal Assessment.The chapter includes many difficult-to-discern graphs and is highly theory-bound.The writing style is academ-ese:highly technical terms and knotted sentences abound. The authors coin new words, and unnecessarily so-- they insist on using the word "inattending" instead of ignoring, denying, or not recognizing.In their words, "the approach we take to this assessment can best be described as application, at the level of the individual case, of a nomological net developed from the transactional evolution of interpersonal personality theory and a highly generative structural model, the interpersonal complex."The Huh? factor doesn't end there.

The book overall is written with a great deal of summarizing, which makes for repetitious reading, but Wiggins has reason to be as enthusiastic as he is.There is so much of value in the volume.A complaint:these are not differing "paradigms" of assessment, but alternative "models" of assessment.They all share the paradigm that personality can be measured to some degree through assessment practices.An under-expressed concept in the book is that most clinical assessments would include several of these approaches rather than just one.An aggregation of objective, interview, and projective results would only strengthen the findings that even singly are demonstrated in this case to be impressive.A highly recommended source for students, instructors, and clinicians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Review of Homeopathic Psychology
While I would have liked a more clinical approach, this book has a lot of excellent information. For some of the constitutional types the author dsecribes, the descriptions are too general and vague, but even in those chapters, there is a lot of very useful information. I definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting a more in depth understanding of constitutional types.

Excellent Insights
This book is a great back-up reference for aspiring or practicing homeopaths (or, truthfully, for anyone wanting better understanding of why some people act the way they do).

I think the author is a great writer.He really paints full pictures of the various remedy types he covers.

In reality though, I have found that no one is only one remedy type (constitution); people generally have a few "constitutions" that predominate.This is why not everything he says about a type is true.The profiles must be taken in holistically and intuitively, not as set in stone.

The only "problem" I have with this author is his never changing doses of 10M.This is really bad advice!!I take the LM potencies -- 10Ms would not only jar my system, but they simply don't go deep enough or last long enough to bring cure.Hahnemann created the LM potencies specifically because 20% of his patients didn't heal all the way with the C potencies (M potencies are at the high end of the C scale).And even if a patient doesn't want to do the LMs, he may need a 200C or a 30C or who knows?But all patients, most certainly (!) do not "automatically" need or respond favorably to the 10M potency.Potency is a very, very individual thing (see Sankaran's work, or read Neil Tessler's interview with Divya Chhabra as two examples of the highly individualist nature of choosing the best potency for each individual patient).

Too much bias
After reading, I am not sure if this book is an objective description the constitutional types or a ranking of Phillip Bailey's personal favorites. It is easy to pick up on a theme that the author has some kind of personal problem with the idiosyncrasies of the majority of the consitutional types. He goes on and on about silica, sulphur and phosphorous which he loves and basically trashes most of the others. It comes off as very judgemental.

He states with authority some concepts in here which are highly questionable. He states over and over that people can willy-nilly change constitutions, for any number of reasons, as they age. He also describes specific disease states as constitution types (e.g. tuberculinum). His thoughts on the "layering" of constitutions are muddled and leave you asking "does this guy think people really have a core constitutional type or not !?". When you start call the emotional state-of-the-daya "constitutional type" per se then that sort of waters down the concept of a constitutal type to nil doesn't it?

I also was skeptical about the claimed "rarity" of seemingly not-too-uncommon constitutional types (e.g. a male pulsatilla). If fact the -constant- gender polarization is annoying and I think misguided. Am I the only one who thinks this author does not like women very much?

Ok having aired my complaints, thanks to Phillip Bailey on addressing a subject in need with an interesting style. There are many intersting comments (and fewer facts) in the book. This is not a great book but I don't know of a better one on the subject.

Homeopathic Psychology
As a Homeopathy student I have found this book extremely helpful as I thought it would be.

Thank you for asking.
Gloria:)

A very in-depth book about 35 constitutional remedies
This book has written out of the author's own practical experience and his deep descriptions makes the remedies types "come to life" in front of you.
The very clear and thorough explanations and examples makes the 35 most commonly seen constitutional remedies highly understandable.
You will not regret having this book! ... Read more

Book Description
Widely applauded for its balance of classic and contemporary theories of personality psychology, The Personality Puzzle is now available in a Third Edition. Preserving the features that have set The Personality Puzzle apart—a sophisticated yet accessible approach, lively prose, and transparent analysis—the new edition has been meticulously updated in light of current studies, including evolutionary and cultural theory and behavioral genetics. The Third Edition also introduces an engaging collection of artwork, featuring cartoons from The New Yorker and Gary Larson's The Far Side. Written by one of the most important scholars working in the discipline today, and priced significantly lower than its competitors, The Personality Puzzle remains the foremost text for courses in personality psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Virtually the best personality textbook available.
Funder's book is a nice example of what a psychology textbook ought to be: entertaining, witty, objective, concise, and informative.

Rather than being dry, technical, or long-winded, the book is fascinating and intelligent (and this is coming from someone who had no interest in personality psychology and used her textbooks as a quick way to fall asleep in the middle of the day).

It takes boring or vague ideas and makes them clear, simple and interesting - I even enjoyed the chapters on test development and research methods. He also sprinkles the text with anecdotes, jokes, quips and cartoons to keep it from getting dull.

It features:

+ Easy advantage/disadvantage info on the main concepts
+ Clear, understandable explanations of statistical concepts
+ Simple jargon-free definitions
+ Unique, memorable examples to demonstrate trickier concepts
+ A sense of humour mixed with a passion for being logical and scientific

From a scientific perspective, Funder is willing to carefully explain and illuminate his own biases, he details the relative advantages and disadvantages of everything, and he never oversteps his liberties as a writer.

I highly recommend it to any psychology student who wants a good read about personality. Well worth the money.

Excellent personality psyc textbook
I read this textbook as part of a course on personality psychology.It is excellent.It covers all the major topics of personality psychology very well, and gives many clear examples of the subject matter.

Probably my favorite thing about this book is that it is highly interesting and readable.I would have read it even if it weren't part of a class - it was that good.I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an overview of personality.It was so good that I found myself sometimes skimming ahead and reading chapters before they were assigned.Great book.

My only problem with this book was that it was rather expensive.

A fantastic easy-to-read book on personality psychology!
I recently took a class on personality psychology and Funder's "The Personality Puzzle" was the textbook for the class.The book clearly presents concepts and theories on personality psychology, and frequentlyprovides real-life examples.Overall, an excellent read!

Excellent book!
This is probably one of the most interesting introductory personality books I have read.It is different than the typical book available for a course on the Psychology of Personality.The book (which I have used during the past two years in the university level Psychology of Personality course I teach) provides the student with a provocative blending of research, assessment, and theory.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description
The most comprehensive single volume ever published on the subject, the Handbook of Personality Psychology is the end-all, must-have reference work for personality psychologists. This handbook discusses the development and measurement of personality as well as biological and social determinants, dynamic personality processes, the personality's relation to the self, and personality in relation to applied psychology. Authored by the field's most respected researchers, each chapter provides a concise summary of the subject to date. Topics include such areas as individual differences, stability of personality, evolutionary foundations of personality, cross-cultural perspectives, emotion, psychological defenses, and the connection between personality and health. Intended for an advanced audience, the Handbook of Personality Psychology will be your foremost resource in this diverse field.

Chapter topics include:
* Nature of personality psychology
* Conceptual and measurement issues in personality
* Developmental issues
* Biological determinants of personality
* Social determinants of personality
* Dynamic personality processes
* Personality and the self
* The Five Factor Model
* Applied psychology ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great as a reference book!
I just received this book and I think it is excellent. Chapters start with an introduction or summary, and end with either a conclusion or implications section, which makes it easy to preview the topic without having to read a lot. There are 3 things I should warn prospective buyers, though: it is expensive ($89.95 the paperback edition!), it is extensive (enciclopedic, with almost a 1000 pages), and it is written for "people in the know" (NOT a beginners' book). But because it is so extensive, it has a chapter on every topic on personality psychology theories I could think of. Great as a reference book! ... Read more

Book Description
The increasing focus on children's welfare has given rise to tremendous growth in the field of child psychology, and the past decade has witnessed significant advances in research in this area. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Highly recommended for pediatric clinical workers.
I am writing about the 3rd edition, which is the most current volume.The only disappointment that I have about this text is that I did not obtain it much earlier.The chapters are well written with many references for further study.The practitioner can keep abreast of the current literature on topics that s/he may already be familiar, or obtain authoritive information about other clinical areas not part of one's regular practice.This text is not written in the style of a dictionary, that is, the reader is given a summary in the style and length of a journal article.The book compliments the older volumes of the American Handbook of Psychiatry for which I have still found much use.

I also give strong recommendation for the Social Worker's Desk Reference that is available on Amazon.This latter book is a 2002 text that for some disorders gives a better summary than the Handbook.The Desk Reference is of value regardless of one's clinical license.

Is it worth it?
The strength of the book is that it summarizes the main issues on assessment and treatment quite well. Certainly worthwhile for a quick reference to current opinion on topics but if you're after the finer detail of theory this may not be your book and you might want to try "Child Psychopathology" by Mash & Barkley. The question to ask is, is this book worth $170USD new? If you don't mind spending this money then the book is a useful addition to a professional library for advanced students and professionals.

Handbook of clinical child psychology
This is indeed the "Bible" for the clinical child psychologist. As a pediatrician, who through all my professional life have worked closely with child psychologists, permit me to review this very serious and professional handbook. It is edited by C Eugene Walker from Oklahoma and Michael C Roberts from Kansas with 114 contributors (all from United States). The first edition of the handbook was published 18 years ago and it has since turned into a reference and guide for students, adademics and clinicians in the field. The book is divided into seven sections with a total of 55 chapters. The first section deals with child development and the first chapter with families and children in history with a focus on American history, but I especially liked the chapter by Judith A Chafel and Kathryn Gold Hadley on poverty and well-being of children and their families. This is a new addition to this edition, but a very important one. Poverty and hunger are old phenomena, but only recently become a subject of research and interest to politicians. They should be interested, because poverty is a major public health problem in many developed countries. Data from 1996 in the United States estimate that 20.5% of the children were living in poverty. This well researched paper will give you information on definition of poverty, effects on development, health and psychosocial risks, resiliency and implications for clinical intervention. Section two provides different diagnostic assessments of children and adolescents, section three deals with problems of early life and clinical problems of birth, neonatology, infant and preschool period and section four about problems of childhood. This last section has 16 chapters with some interesting entries. I especially liked the chapter on mental retardation, which takes into account the 1992 American Association on Mental Retardation (AMMR) definition of mental retardation, where not only IQ, but multidimential classification was used as a novel way to look upon mental retardation. I would have liked an entry on the use of the word "mental retardation", which is very much debated (sometimes very hotly like at the last international conference in Seattle in August 2000) and at all not in use in many parts of the world, where instead the term "intellectual disability" is preferred. Section five has nine relevant chapters on adolescence, but I would like to see a chapter on teenage pregnancy in the next edition, because that is especially a problem in United States and United Kingdom, where we are talking about potential psychological risks for the next generation also. Section six conveys intervention strategies with good chapters on hospitalization and pharmacotherapy among others. The last section has special topics like cultural issues, divorce, grief, ethics and forensic evaluation. The chapter on impact of a parent chronic illness is very interesting and I would also suggest a chapter on chronic illness or disability in the child for the next edition. This topic is mentioned in another chapter (on contemporary issues), but deserves a full chapter. The words disability and intellectual disability are not mentioned even in the index. In this section I especially like the chapter on child maltreatment by Barbara L Bonner and collegues, which is a good review of the field of child abuse and neglect, but again the focus in on the United States and international work in the field not mentioned. A chapter on research in child psychology and the use of internet should be added for the next edition. The effects of the internet on children and adolescents should also be added. We recently had a case here in Israel, where an internet connection between two adolescents (a Jewish male and Arab female) were used by terrorists to capture and murder the 14 year old boy. I would have liked to see a section eight with chapters on the future of infancy, childhood and adolescence both in the United States, but also a chapter on international work and research in the field of child psychology. All in all a very positive review for a very useful handbook that can be used by both psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and physicians and thanks for a good editing job. It was a pleasure to read and use this handbook.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD, DMSc Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: jmerrick@aquanet.co.il

An Important Text on Clinical Child Psychology
Although this text could use a new edition, it remains one of the more complete collections of reviews of literature in the clinical dhild psychology. The Handbook of Clinical Child Psychology stands as thestandard reference guide for practitioners, students, professors, andresearchers in the field, and likely will until it is replaced with a thirdedition. ... Read more

Book Description
In Personality-Guided Forensic Psychology, Robert J. Craig discusses thehot area of forensic psychology -- the crossroads of law and psychology -- and illustrates how personality-guided assessment is a useful tool in themultiple arenas in which forensic psychologists are active: child custodyevaluation, fitness for duty evaluations, personal injury, domesticviolence, and many others. The volume begins with an overview of forensicpsychology and the personality theories most relevant to forensicpsychology. Chapters cover assessments ranging from relatively normalevaluations (police applicants and officers, custody and personal injury)to those in which severe pathology may come into play (domestic violenceand homicide). The book offers a wealth of data on personality-test scores of chronic pain patients, patients who litigate, those who commit sexualor other physical abuse or murder, and others. Psychologists who serve asexpert witnesses of friends of the court in legal proceedings, thosechoosing candidates for intervention programs, and students of forensicpsychology will find this book indispensable. Volumes in thePersonality-Guided Psychology series demonstrate the utility and relevance of assessing personality variables in an array of matters of interest topsychologists. Each book illustrates how a clinical syndrome or behaviorcan be understood in the context of the patient's unique pattern ofoverall trait dynamics. ... Read more

Book Description
Dan McAdams' The Person, Third Edition, offers a bold and integrative vision for the field, bringing together the best from traditional personality theories and contemporary research around a focus on human lives. The Third Edition has been thoroughly revised and is now organized so that the first section provides an expanded treatment of the fundamental contexts for understanding personality: human evolution and culture. In the next three large sections of the text, the three main levels of personality are considered: Dispositional Traits, Characteristic Adaptations and Integrative Life Stories ... Read more