Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy: A Theory-Construction Approach

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours List Price:$158.76 Our Price:$103.19 Authors: Joseph F. Rychlak Description:

Reviews:

Definitely the Best Presentation of the Grand Personality Theories
This book is, quite simply, my favorite in this subfield of psychology. Rychlak establishes a wonderful metatheory for understanding the grand theories of psychology (e.g., those of Freud, Adler, Jung, Sullivan, Wolpe, Skinner, Dollard & Miller, Stampfl, Wolpe, Bandura, Rogers, Binswanger & Boss, Kelly, Piaget), borrowing this metatheory for Aristotle (four causes) and Kantian & Lockean perspectives on understanding human beings (conceptual v. constitutive). Rychlak, obviously, did his homework, so to speak, with evidence that he even corresponded with some of the originators (his "Acknowledgments," for example, include a thanks to Jung for responding to some of his inquiries and, it is well known, that Rychlak and Bandura debated some of the major points and subtleties of Bandura's theory in a professional journal correspondence). The only drawback to this text is its density - though Rychlak points out in his preface that he expended considerable effort in making the second edition more readable, it is my perspective (and my fellow graduate students were in concurrence) that this book is somewhat difficult to read for novices in the area of the theory and philosophy of psychology. A recent re-reading confirmed, however, that this becomes much more readable with age and, especially, with such exposure. I would highly recommend this book, if only as a primary resource for a greater understanding/knowledge of the various grand theories presented.


By far the most helpful book for understanding theory and philosophy of Psychology
I first came across Dr. Rychlak's "Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy" as an undergraduate in a Personality course. Previous to this course my own exposure to and understanding of psychological theories was mostly fragmentary. I found it very difficult to make sense of the internal logic of most theories, let alone compare theories in any meaningful way. Freud and his legacy seemed especially mysterious to me. I felt the tension of the field simultaneously depending on Freud and wanting to dismiss his "embarrassing" theories wholesale.

My Personality class (based heavily on this text) was the guide that I needed to really begin to be able to compare and contrast theories in way that was not only philosophically sophisticated but that was also reasonably comprehensive fair to the theories in question. Using the framework the philosophies of Kant (for the purposes of this text, roughly equivalent to rationalism) and Locke (roughly equivalent to empiricism) helped make once murky theories seem clear in regards to purpose and direction, major features, and problems. This approach also seems more honest in that it contextualizes each theory with its respective foundational philosophies and assumptions. This makes each theory originator's point of view seem defensible, at least within his philosophical framework. By understanding the assumptions of each theory, I gained some ground to stand on by which I could make comparisons. This ground was not provided by previous courses on theory in Psychology.

An additional benefit to studying this text was that my own understanding of the story of psychology began to make sense and hold together. I could understand what Freud was attempting to accomplish and how the rest of psychology has since reacted (and continues to react) to his project.

I later chose to study theory and philosophy of Psychology at a graduate level, and I can partially trace that decision to my studies in that course with this text. After studying this text, I felt over-prepared for my graduate course in theories. I have enjoyed chatting with professionals and professors about the ideas Rychlak put forth here. I highly recommend this book for serious undergraduate courses, graduate courses, and for in general for those who wish to gain a deeper, more cohesive, and more honest understanding of theory.



Rychlak and the Philosophy of Personality




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