Psychobiology of Personality (Problems in the Behavioural Sciences, Series Number 10) - Softcover

"Zuckerman's book presents a wealth of data supporting the idea of consistency of traits over the lifetime of an individual. This is an important book for the student of human behavior...Its strength lies in its thoroughness." George Kucan, Human Ethology Bulletin " George Kocan, Human Ethology Bulletin "...effectively brings the integration of psychology and biology closer to a reality...a valuable addition to undergraduate libraries if only to show other approaches to the study of personality." Choice "...a useful book. It presents an up-to-date review of thinking and research dealing with personality, primarily from a psychobiological point of view...Reading through the book provides the reader with a broad grasp of the field as well as an understanding of some of the important conceptual and methodological problems inherent in much of the research described." Samuel B. Guze, American Journal of Psychiatry "...by far the best introduction to the field, and will undoubtedly be the textbook chosen by the adventurous souls who decide to lecture on the psychobiology of personality." H.J. Eysenck, Personality & Individual Differences

Personality can be defined along a small number of well established dimensions, at least half of which are determined by hereditary factors. Heredity acts on behaviour through its influence on variations in the structure and function of neural and biochemical systems. This book explores the biological basis of individual differences in personality from genes to the structure, chemistry, and function of the brain and peripheral nervous system. In addition to basic dimensions of normal personality, the book examines the biology of several types of psychopathology. The concluding chapter provides a psychobiological model for personality. This thorough analysis of the pathway from gene to personality trait will be of interest not only to biologists, but also to psychologists and psychiatrists.