Filled with updated research and findings, Schultz and Schultz's Theories of Personality, 11th Edition gives students a clear and cogent introduction to this dynamic field. Organized by theory, this popular text discusses major theorists who represent psychoanalytic, neopsychoanalytic, lifespan, trait, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, and social-learning approaches, while demonstrating the influence of events in theorists' personal and professional lives on the development of their theories. The text reviews current work on selected facets of personality including locus of control, sensation seeking, learned helplessness, optimism-pessimism, and positive psychology. The authors also explore the ways in which race, gender, and cultural issues play a part in the study of personality and in personality assessment. The final chapter, "Personality in Perspective," integrates topics explored in previous chapters and suggests conclusions that can be drawn from the many theorists' work.

New to this Edition

• This edition is thoroughly updated with more than 370 new references to maintain the emphasis on current issues. In addition, the entire text has been edited and revised to make it more accessible to today's students. New subheads have been added and paragraphs shortened to present the material in more manageable segments. Finally, the Review Questions have been revised to tie them more closely to the topics in each chapter.


• Topics with new and expanded coverage include: whether we present our true selves on social media; how the use of social media influences our personality and vice versa; whether selfies show the real you; the MMPI, Rorschach, and thematic Apperception Tests; the Mechanical Turk (a new way to conduct personality research online); dreams, ego resilience, the Oedipus complex, and defense mechanisms; the use of computers to interpret dreams; use of the Internet and social companion robots in psychoanalysis; and the Five-Factor model of personality (with references to two dozen new studies).


• Updated and expanded topics include the Dark Triad (a new approach to personality that includes narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy); the Smartphone Basic Needs Scale (a self-report inventory designed to measure how Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be satisfied by smartphone use); self-efficacy and locus of control (featuring over 60 new research findings); new techniques to measure sensation seeking; new data on defining and finding happiness; the latest developments in positive psychology; and use of the learned helplessness concept to develop techniques of torture in the war on terror.


• New biographical material discusses Freud's use of cocaine, Carl Jung's sex life, and Martin Seligman's life and his development of positive psychology (including his concept of flourishing). Content also includes new research on Jung's Psychological Types conducted in Arab cultures, Adler's concept of birth order, and Allport (concerning cultural differences in the facial expression of emotions); and references to more than 30 new studies on Erikson's stages of development and his concepts of ego identity, gender preference, virtual ethnic identity, and gender differences in toy preferences.

About the Authors

Duane P. Schultz

Duane P. Schultz is a former professor of psychology at the University of South Florida. He has also held faculty appointments at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia (now the University of Mary Washington), American University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Dr. Schultz and his wife, Sydney Ellen Schultz, are a well-regarded textbook author team.

Sydney Ellen Schultz

Sydney Ellen Schultz is a writer, editor, and researcher who has developed print and digital publications and teaching materials for publishers, government agencies, schools, and professional associations. She and her husband, Duane Schultz, are well regarded as textbook authors.