Overview
What are the component parts of personality? Of what is the "self" composed? What is it about personality that can change? Why is change often so slow? This book synthesizes material from neuroscience and several other scientific disciplines into a comprehensive, empirically based, and clinically useful conceptual model for understanding human personality. Rather than adopting existing psychological theories of personality and grafting neuroscience onto them, the volume takes cognitive neuroscience and biology as its starting points. Illuminated are the ways that the organization of the brain is reflected in the organization of personality, and how the brain's nonconscious learning and memory systems mediate different aspects of personality functioning. The framework presented here serves as a context in which more purely psychological theories may be understood and evaluated, and provides a rationale for psychological and psychiatric interventions. It offers a clear way of thinking about the apparent stability of personality across time, why change does or does not occur, and what conditions are likely to facilitate or retard change. This book contains vital insights for clinicians concerned with the relationship between the mind and the brain, including psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists, and behavioral neurologists, as well as scholars and advanced students in these areas.The book contains black-and-white illustrations.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"The beauty of this book is that it is itself interdisciplinary: the first author is a research scientist and the second a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst....This book is a valuable contribution, especially for those psychiatrists who wish to gain a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the neurobiological functioning of the mind and are interested in the development of a scientific foundation for psychiatry."--American Journal of Psychiatry"...the authors succeed in presenting a model that synthesizes these complex and varied fields of study. The chapters all follow a similar pattern, and the book is structured for a clear presentation....the inclusion of...complex topics should not deter the general mental health professional from reading this fascinating book. Readers who are interested in personality development or neuroscience will find that Neurodynamics of Personality provides an informative overview as well as a thought-provoking synthesis."--Psychiatric Services
"...fascinating....faculty who teach courses in the psychology of personality are sure to find meaningful ways to integrate this amazing study into their courses. Highly recommended for researchers/faculty and for clinicians."--Choice
"An engaging, highly readable introduction to some of the fundamental issues involved in applying research and thinking in the cognitive neurosciences to the clinical understanding of personality."--Drew Westen, PhD, Research Associate Professor and Director, Adolescent and Adult Personality Programs, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Department of Psychology, Boston University
"This book portrays a coherent view of personality that makes impressive use of contemporary knowledge from the cognitive neurosciences as well as the authors' clinical experiences in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Clinicians will have an adventurous read and are likely to find useful connections with their work."--Robert N. Emde, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO
"In this book, Grigsby and Stevens build a coherent, meaningful, scientifically based formulation of the relationship between brain function and psychological function. They integrate findings in neuroscience and experimental psychology with chaos theory and psychoanalysis in an insightful volume that can be understood by newcomers to these fields, yet will fascinate experienced investigators as well. Sketching an unusually cogent formulation of the correspondence between mentally and physically described processes, the book opens new doors for us into the nature of mind. It also challenges us to explore new modes of thinking about familiar subjects. While this is a scholarly book, its clear writing style and sprinkles of humor also make it a delight to read."--Aviel Goodman, MD, Director, Minnesota Institute of Psychiatry