Class and Personality in Society

This volume graphically demonstrates how differencesin social class affect personality. It does so by presentingresearch in class character covering a broad range ofphenomena in the area shared by psychology, sociology,psychiatry, and anthropology. Concerned with key issuesof substance and method in this area, the essays in Classand Personality in Society provide firsthand experience inthe divergent ways in which specialists view and explorethe relationship between personality and social status. Thematerial offers a picture of how, out of controversy andconfusion, scholars and researchers can achieve order,clarity, and sophistication.The editor’s extensive introductory essay providesframes of reference from the social sciences pertinentto this aspect of social psychology. It describes historictrends and suggests fresh answers to controversial issuessuch as the nature of American class structure, the contributionof psychoanalysis to psychological research, andthe relative importance, to personality, of early trainingversus current circumstance. Calling for more sociologicalawareness in psychological research, Grey documents hisviews with specific examples. The discussion is furtherenlivened by its pertinence to such current problems asthe culture of poverty and community psychiatry.Class and Personality in Society was originally intendedfor use in courses in Social Psychology and Culture andPersonality, and in sociology courses that discuss howsocial institutions and processes are related to individualpersonality. It may also provide stimulating supplementalreading in introductory psychology or sociology course.It will also prove valuable to professionals in specializedprograms in clinical psychology and psychiatry concentratingon community mental health.