Valerian J. Derlega

Louis H. Janda

The Psychology of Everyday Life

Personal Adjustment

Barbara A. Winstead

Warren H. Jones

PERSONALITY: CONTEMPORARY THEORY AND RESEARCH is intended for undergraduate students studying the topic of personality. Its two major sections discuss the fundamental issues of personality, tracing the origins of the field in modern research, and examining the topics studied by contemporary psychologists. The origins of personality in heredity, the structure of the brain, gender, and childhood are probed. Other sections of the book look at the manifestations and effects of personality in morality, sex roles, aggression, and relationship with others. All of these topics have broader relevance to other areas of psychology, as they focus on the age-old question of defining what makes a person an individual.

Contemporary Theory and Research

Personality

A neglected topic in the field of personal relationships has been the study of friendships. Social psychologists have studied how and why individuals are attracted to one another and the processes of interaction during initial encounters, but they have not paid much attention to ongoing friend ships. A major goal of the present volume is to develop theories and integrate research on the development and maintenance of friendships. Another major goal is to build bridges between social psychologists and other social scientists by presenting an interdisciplinary approach. Although a majority of the contributors are social psychologists, other authors include sociol ogists as well as developmental, personality, and clinical psychologists. The chapters also present research on friendship based on a wide range of research methodologies, including laboratory research as well as longi tudinal, naturalistic, and clinical studies. Hence, the book incorporates a variety of conceptual and methodological approaches that should con tribute to a cross-fertilization of ideas among disciplines. The first chapter, by Barbara A. Winstead and Valerian J. Derlega, provides an overview of theory and research on friendship. The second chapter, by Daniel Perlman and Beverley Fehr, provides a summary and conceptual critique of social psychological theories of social attraction that are relevant to the study of friendship. Adopting a developmental approach, Duane Buhrmester and Wyndol Furman, in Chapter 3, demonstrate the particular importance of friendship during middle childhood and adolescence in fulfilling interpersonal needs.

Valerian J. Derlega

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