Personality and Personal Growth

by Robert Frager, James Fadiman

Unique in its cross-cultural, global, and gender-balanced perspectives--and emphasis on humanistic and transpersonal psychologists--this book explores the positive aspects of major personality theorists, stressing each ones relevance for personal understanding. Exceptionally well-written and accessible, it encourages and supports readers in using themselves as the primary touchstone for each theory. Each chapter gives them opportunities to validate their insights through direct experience, and, by observing their own reactions, come to their own conclusions about the utility and value of each theory. Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis. Anna Freud and the Post-Freudians: Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Heinz Kohut, and the Gestalt Therapy of Fritz and Laura Perls. Carl Gustav Jung and Analytical Psychology. Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology. Karen Horney and Humanistic Psychoanalysis. The Psychology of Women: A Relational Approach. Erik Erikson and the Life Cycle. Wilhelm Reich and Somatic Psychology. William James and the Psychology of Consciousness. B. F. Skinner and Radical Behaviorism. Cognitive Psychology. The Personal Construct Theory of George Kelly. Carl Rogers and the Person-Centered Perspective. Abraham Maslow and Transpersonal Psychology. Yoga and the Hindu Tradition. Zen and the Buddhist Tradition. Sufism and the Islamic Tradition. For therapists, educators, social workers and anyone interested in personality and personal adjustment.

Genres: Psychology, Textbooks

608 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Jessica Zambrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this for my Personality Psychology class. It explains the various theories very concisely. Having had to deal with mega textbooks, I can wholeheartedly appreciate this. Right now I'm studying Freud, Jung, Adler and Horney for an exam next week. Good stuff man!

[Sorrowka · Rating 5 out of 5]

No body told me this book until I'm doing postgrad, I'm excited to share how handy this book! It's compact and pragmatic, much more adding East Psychology (Transpersonal psychology and religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam). My teacher even used their structure for the class. the quotation is what intrigued me the most, both Frager and Fadiman sure have a strong suit at picking words!

[Alex Hernández · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que más que Teorías de la personalidad, debería tener incluido en el título la palabra "historia". Para mí fue más un resumen histórico que una lectura a fondo sobre las teorías per se.

[Ihsana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

20250428 ◊ Textbook for Psych 7: Theories of Personality, a prerequisite class for my grad school program. I found it to be well written, engaging, and accessible.

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the textbook used in my PSYC 233 (Personality) class. Between taking 2 introductory psych courses, psych 30 in high school, and reading The Psychology Book, almost the first half of the textbook was nothing new. I was actually surprised that this class didn't go into any further detail than the introductory course, being a higher level course with a more focused subject matter. Skinner, Maslow, Bandura, and a few others were new, though.
My teacher uses this textbook primarily for two reasons. The first is that the last 3 chapters and a small portion of chapter 12 are "transpersonal" psychology, or non-Western. It focuses on Yoga, Buddhism, and Sufi. It gives a glimpse into non-American (and non-European) views of the world. She also uses them because throughout each chapter are little exercises you can do that are supposed to help you look deeper into yourself while also helping you understand the content that you just read. You have to choose 3 to do, one from each third of the book.
The content itself is easy enough to understand, though having to read a whole chapter at once was pretty dry at times. I was just disappointed with the lack of new content or more in depth content with psychologists we know very well, particularly Freud and Jung.

[Faye Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is much better that the earlier edition. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Karen Rice]

Very good book. Well organized and detailed.