Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #477072 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 556 pages

Review
A refreshing diversion from the traditional assembly-line approach of other textbook authors. -- D. Brett King, University of Colorado, Boulder

The author did a fine, balanced, careful job, and the writing is a pleasure. -- Drew Westen, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital

About the Author
David C. Funder is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. He is editor of the Journal of Research and Personalityand a former associate editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is best known for his research on personality judgment and has also published on the delay of gratification, attribution theory, and the longitudinal course of personality development.

Customer Reviews

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 frequently provides 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.

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.