Understanding the Self

This accessible, broad-based and authoritative textbook explores theories and research relating to the self for students of personality and social psychology.

It engages with contemporary debates about the nature of self by contrasting original and leading-edge treatments from five perspectives: biological; cognitive-experimental; experiential; social constructionist; and psychodynamic. The concluding chapter explores how these perspectives interrelate through a discussion of the dilemmas of self and identity in modern society.

A feature of the book is that it is designed to provoke reflection in the reader, both on their own experience and on the nature of social psychological understanding: What kind of social psychology of the person is appropriate and possible in a postmodern age?

Understanding the Self is one of three books which form the core of the Open University's course Social Psychology: Personal Lives, Social Worlds (D317). Each is designed as an independent text for use by undergraduates studying social psychology as well as being of interest and relevance to researchers and a wider readership.