fei75766_fm_i-xx.indd xvii  02/19/20 08:58 AMxvii Preface
Thetenth edition ofTheories of Personality usesclear, concise, andcomprehensible language aswellas
aninformal writing style. Thebook isdesigned forundergraduate students andshould beunderstood bythose 
withaminimum background inpsychology. However, wehavetriednottooversimplify orviolate thetheo-
rist’s original meaning. Wehavemade ample comparisons between andamong theorists where appropriate 
andhaveincluded many examples toillustrate howthedifferent theories canbeapplied toordinary day-to-day 
situations. Aglossary attheendofthebook contains definitions oftechnical terms. These same terms also
appear inboldface within thetext.
Thepresent edition continues toprovide comprehensive coverage ofthemost influential theorists of
personality. Itemphasizes normal personality, although wehavealsoincluded briefdiscussions onabnormality, 
aswellasmethods ofpsychotherapy, when appropriate. Because eachtheory isanexpression ofitsbuilder’s 
unique viewoftheworld andofhumanity, weinclude ample biographical information ofeachtheorist sothat
readers willhaveanopportunity tobecome acquainted withboththetheory andthetheorist.
What’s New?
Inthetenth edition, wehavemade changes thatbothaddtoandbuild upon previous editions. Inorder to
provide amore integrative andbroad overview ofthebook, wehaveadded anewsection inChapter 1that
describes andsummarizes thefivemajor theoretical perspectives: psychodynamic, humanistic-existential, dispo -
sitional, biological-evolutionary, andlearning (social)-cognitive. Thisoverview notonlyprovides aroadmap for
thebook butalsohelps students withthe“bigpicture” ofwhattheories ofpersonality areandhowtheydiffer 
onfundamental assumptions. Thepsychodynamic theorists areFreud, Adler, Jung, Klein, Horney, Fromm, and
Erikson. Humanistic-existential theorists include Maslow, Rogers, andMay. Next, thedispositional theorists 
covered areAllport, andMcCrae andCosta, followed bythebiological-evolutionary theorists Eysenck andBuss. 
Finally, thelastperspective isthelearning (social)-cognitive theorists Skinner, Bandura, Rotter, Mischel, and
Kelly. Wearrange thefiveperspectives inthissequence forhistorical reasons, moving generally fromtheoldest 
tothenewest toalsoprovide students withasense ofchange andprogression inpersonality theory. 
AlsonewtoChapters 1and13(McCrae &Costa) istheresearch andtheory using social media 
“footprints” asawayofassessing personality. Ourpersonalities influence whether andhowweusesocial 
media, andourdigital behavior reflects those differences inpersonality. Another setofadditions tothe
10thedition isnewresearch thatexamined whether Maslow evercreated hiswell-known “pyramid” model 
ofhierarchy ofneeds (hedidnot)andnewmeasures ofSelf-Actualization inChapter 9.Aswitheach new
edition, wehavealsoupdated the“Recent Research” sections ofeach ofthetheories. Forexample, recent 
research haslentsupport toBuss’s theory oftheevolutionary origins ofpersonality traits, suchasextraver -
sion, conscientiousness, andneuroticism. Bandura’s theory hasstimulated research reporting thatchildren 
whobully aremost likely toengage in“moral disengagement”—that is,theyminimize theconsequences of
their actions anddonotconsider what theyaredoing asharmful. 
Thetenth edition ofTheories of Personality isnowavailable online withConnect, McGraw-Hill 
Education’s integrated assignment andassessment platform. Connect alsooffers SmartBook forthenew
edition, which isthefirstadaptive reading experience proven toimprove grades andhelpstudents study 
more effectively. Allofthetitle’s website andancillary content isalsoavailable through Connect, including: 
• AfullTestBank ofmultiple choice questions thatteststudents oncentral concepts andideas ineach
chapter.
• AnInstructor’s Manual foreachchapter withfullchapter outlines, sample testquestions, anddiscus -
siontopics.
• AStudy Guide which includes learning objectives andchapter summaries. Inaddition, itcontains 
avariety oftestitems, including fill-in-the-blanks, true–false, multiple-choice, andshort-answer 
questions.Final PDF to printer