Organized around the personality systems framework, this text offers students a clear and engaging introduction to the study of personality. Integrating cutting-edge research, the second edition provides a comprehensive roadmap toward understanding personality by examining personality's different parts, organization, and development over time.

Part 1: Examining Personality
Chapter 1: What Is Personality?
Chapter 2: Research in Personality Psychology
Chapter 3: Perspectives on Personality
Part 2: Parts of Personality
Chapter 4: Motivation and Emotion
Chapter 5: Interior Selves; Interior Worlds
Chapter 6: Mental Abilities and Navigating the World
Chapter 7: The Conscious Self
Part 3: Personality Organization
Chapter 8: How the Parts of Personality Fit Together
Chapter 9: Dynamics of Action
Chapter 10: Dynamics of Self-Control
Part 4: Personality Development
Chapter 11: Personality Development in Childhood and Adolescence
Chapter 12: Personality Development in Adulthood

John D. Mayer is professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire. He has authored more than 130 articles, chapters, books, and psychological tests, including Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives and the internationally known Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)