Product Description

Why are some people worriers, and others wanderers? Why do some people seem good at empathising, and others at controlling? We have something deep and consistent within us that determines the choices we make and the situations we bring about. But why should members of the same species differ so markedly in their natures? What is the best personality to have; a bold one or a shy one, an aggressive one or a meek one? And are you stuck with your personality, or can you change it? Daniel Nettle takes the reader on a tour through the science of human personality, introducing the five 'dimensions' on which every personality is based, and using an unusual combination of individual life stories and scientific research. Showing how our personalities stem from our biological makeup, Nettle looks at the latest findings from genetics and brain science, considers the evolutionary origins and consequences of personality variation, and even includes a questionnaire for you to assess your own personality against the five dimensions. There is no optimal personality to have. Rather, every disposition brings both advantages and disadvantages. Life is partly the business of finding a niche where your personal characteristics work for you. Full of human as well as scientific insight, this book will enable you to understand the perils and potentials of your personality to the full.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7055 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Carol Tavris, Times Literary Supplement, April 18, 2008
'An engaging primer on the genetics of personality.'

Customer Reviews

The Five Factors of Personality and What They Mean For You
I came across this book whilst browsing in a bookstore - and I couldn't put it down. Although small, it's packed with fascinating insights on the five key factors of personality (i.e., Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience), which psychologists have found make up the core aspects of our temperament. I studied psychology, and this book provides the best description of Extraversion and Neuroticism that I have ever read. It is easy to read, and packed with scientific information on the heritability of personality, and the fascinating case studies demonstrate how each facet of personality has affected men and women's lives. I was surprised to read that Extraverts tend to have a higher sex drive, greater need for travel, money and status (so it's not all about sociability!). This is because extraverts' brains are wired to be 'rewarded' by such things, but these are less 'rewarding' for introverts. And people high in Neuroticism, may have a propensity to depression (which is good to know). A bonus is that each chapter provides examples of how the factors inter-relate within a person, e.g., how a person with high extraversion, but with low agreeability, might not be a pleasant party companion! In summary, this book provided me with some great new insights into understanding myself and others, and would make a wonderful gift for someone.

Understand the new science of personality
I've been trying to find a book on personality that does justice to the emerging consensus around the Big 5 factors (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience)... and here it is. Nettle writes clearly and lucidly for the general reader while persuasively arguing for his own interpretations of contentious issues.

Most impressively, for each of the 5 factors he;
(i) describes them in greater detail than other authors bother to do
(ii) links extreme scores to heightened risk of developing particular disorders
(iii) relates each factor to a particular psychological mechanism
(iv) links these to structures in the brain
(v) explains why variation continues to exist for each factor

There's also a clear explanation of the evidence on the causes of personality differences and the shortest Big 5 personality test ever.

One of those books that makes you feel smart for understanding it.

Don't judge this book by its cover
This is a short, easy to read book, describing the "Big 5" personality dimensions. I bought this book because I was very familiar with MBTI and 16PF but I felt I needed to get a bit more up to date with my knowledge. This book didn't disappoint. I liked the way that the author positioned each of the dimensions within evolutionary theory, describing how each dimension contributes to overall fitness. I liked the short questionnaire to help you discover where you fit on these dimensions. I also learnt that guppies show behaviours like our neuroticism trait and birds show behaviours like our exraversion trait!

However, I never would have bought this book if I'd seen it in a bookshop. This is because the cover and the form factor (it's a handbag-size book) make it look like something given out free with Cosmo. This is one of the benefits of shopping on Amazon -- you're not misled by the cover.

This is an excellent piece of science writing, short enough to read in a day.