The Optimal Personality
eBook - ePub

The Optimal Personality

An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis

  1. 250 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Optimal Personality

An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis

About this book

The terms mental health, maturity, personality integration, self-actualization have been used by psychologists to represent the realm of the ideal or optimal personality. Originally published in 1974, Professor Richard Coan here describes a method of analysing this domain, and examines the important theoretical implications of his findings. He developed instruments to measure various characteristics, including personal consistency, the experience of control and openness to experience, which are associated with current concepts of sound psychological functioning. A battery containing these instruments was administered to several hundred subjects and analysed. The results, reported here, are enlightening. It was found, for example, that the different characteristics viewed by psychologists as traits of the ideal person do not constitute a unitary pattern. There is no evidence of a general dimension of personality integration or mental health. A number of independent components or factors of sound functioning were isolated. Some desirable traits were discovered to be inversely related to each other, many of these relationships appearing to involve a choice between an open or spontaneous orientation and a more ordered and controlled orientation. The author's view, fully supported by his findings, is that if people are to achieve maximal realization of their potentials, a clear requisite is the flexible utilization of various modes of experiencing and acting.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Optimal Personality by Richard W. Coan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Psychology & Applied Psychology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Year
2019
eBook ISBN
9780429656675
Edition
1

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Original Title Page
  6. Original Copyright Page
  7. Table of Contents
  8. Preface
  9. Chapter 1 Approaches to Psychological Theory
  10. Chapter 2 Concepts of the Optimal Personality
  11. Chapter 3 Research Strategy for the Study of the Optimal Personality
  12. Chapter 4 Development of a Research
  13. Chapter 5 The Scope of Awareness
  14. Chapter 6 The Experience of Control
  15. Chapter 7 Additional Questionnaire Instruments
  16. Chapter 8 Other Measures Included in the Research Battery
  17. Chapter 9 An Analysis of the Battery as a Whole
  18. Chapter 10 Masculine and Feminine Modes of Functioning
  19. Chapter 11 Toward a General Theory of the Optimal Personality
  20. References
  21. Index