M. Brent Donnellan - Great Myths of Personality

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 28

Series Editors
Scott O. Lilienfeld
Steven Jay Lynn

This superb series of books tackles a host of fascinating myths and misconceptions regarding specific domains of psychology, including child development, aging, marriage, brain science, and mental illness, among many others. Each book not only dispels multiple erroneous but widespread psychological beliefs but provides readers with accurate and uptodate scientific information to counter them. Written in engaging, upbeat, and userfriendly language, the books in the myths series are replete with scores of intriguing examples drawn from everyday psychology. As a result, readers will emerge from each book entertained and enlightened. These unique volumes will be invaluable additions to the bookshelves of educated laypersons interested in human nature, as well as of students, instructors, researchers, journalists, and mental health professionals of all stripes.

www.wiley.com/go/psychmyths

Published

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry L. Beyerstein

Great Myths of Aging
Joan T. Erber and Lenore T. Szuchman

Great Myths of the Brain
Christian Jarrett

Great Myths of Child Development
Stephen Hupp and Jeremy D. Jewell

Great Myths of Adolescence
Jeremy D. Jewell, Michael Axelrod, Mitchell J. Prinstein, and Stephen Hupp

Great Myths of Intimate Relationships
Matthew D. Johnson

Great Myths of Education and Learning
Jeffrey D. Holmes

Great Myths of Personality
M. Brent Donnellan and Richard E. Lucas

Forthcoming

Great Myths of Autism
James D. Herbert

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, Second Edition
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry L. Beyerstein

M. Brent Donnellan
Richard E. Lucas

This edition first published 2021
2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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The right of M. Brent Donnellan and Richard E. Lucas to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Donnellan, M. Brent, author. | Lucas, Richard E. (Richard Eric), 1971 author.
Title: Great myths of personality / M. Brent Donnellan, Richard E. Lucas.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : WileyBlackwell, 2021. | Series: Great myths of psychology | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020037204 (print) | LCCN 2020037205 (ebook) | ISBN 9781118521397 (cloth) | ISBN 9781118521359 (paperback) | ISBN 9781118521441 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781118521410 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Personality.
Classification: LCC BF698 .D645 2021 (print) | LCC BF698 (ebook) | DDC 155.2dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037204
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037205

Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: JakeOlimb/Getty Images

People are different from one another. Some are cautious, whereas others are brave. Some are energetic and sociable, whereas others are withdrawn and shy. Some have high levels of selfcontrol, whereas others are impulsive and rash. No two people are exactly alike, and this diversity is one of the more interesting aspects of human nature. Appreciating and understanding these differences is at the heart of personality psychology. Although personality psychology is also concerned with the common core of human nature that makes people similar to one another, the subfield is most often identified with individual differences in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. More specifically, personality psychology seeks to understand at least four broad issues:

1. How are people different from each other? Research addressing this question seeks to determine the basic dimensions of personality and levels of individuality. Research in this stream also concerns personality assessment and evaluates different ways to measure personality (e.g., selfreport surveys vs. reports from knowledgeable informants vs. behavioral tasks).
2. Why are people different from each other? Research addressing this question evaluates genetic and environmental contributions to personality and increasingly seeks to understand how biological factors and life experiences work together to shape personality. Work in this area also evaluates how brain systems, hormones, and specific genes are related to personality.
3. How and why does personality develop across the life span? Research addressing this question seeks to chart the course of psychological development from infancy to old age. Research in this strand of personality psychology addresses classic questions related to stability and change in personality and what processes account for stability and change.
4. Do individual differences matter for consequential life outcome (such as health, wealth, and mortality)? Research addressing this question is ultimately about the importance of personality for everyday life, such as relationship functioning, wellbeing, physical health, and workrelated outcomes. It would be hard to imagine how research on the other three questions would matter if personality attributes themselves did not predict realworld outcomes. Personality would turn out to be a pretty esoteric and irrelevant topic if it did not relate to basic functioning in important life domains.