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25 reviews for:
Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being
Brian Little
3.74 AVERAGE
25 reviews for:
Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being
Brian Little
3.74 AVERAGE
Let me say: I had reservations, but I also found in Me, Myself, and Us a very lucid, exciting, and practicable description of personality studies and theories. In particular, I found Little's material on biogenic, sociogenic, and idiogenic change, as well as so-called "free traits" and "acting out of character" very helpful. I also thought that he came into interesting territory in chapters on "internals" and "externals" in the subject of locus-of-control orientation and on the way that greedy-for-attention or narcissistic (read: "creative") persons depend on networks of supportive people, though he doesn't follow this nearly as far as he should have. The final chapter, both a coda and a summary, is very powerful after the book of studies, summaries, anecdotes, and observations.
To his credit also, Little also comes across as generous, kind, and open, interleaving confident statements with a frequent recognition of misconceptions that he has encountered and changed in his own approaches to personality studies.
I began – and remain – highly skeptical of psychological assessments such as these for multiple reasons and, to be honest, Little doesn't do much to ameliorate my concerns. Social context and historical oppression are given short shrift in favour of a romantic idealism of the individual subject, for instance, and this leads to a failure to think through basic questions about gender, class, and geography. To be fair, Little does at least acknowledge some of these as questions, but does so in a well-meaning albeit befuddled and very dadish approach to "men and women tend to be different..." It doesn't inspire much confidence; nor do his occasional asides on the way in which women in Toronto and Montréal seek to ignore male attention on the subways, which reads very much as an in-joke among men. Brief, mostly dismissive comments made on historical figures such as [a:Sigmund Freud|10017|Sigmund Freud|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1406688955p2/10017.jpg] or [a:Jacques Derrida|4132|Jacques Derrida|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1449735131p2/4132.jpg] also felt unnecessary – they suggest how superficial Little's understanding of them could be, and he doesn't remediate that feeling.
In summary, this is an excellent and very positive book in mainstream personality studies that avoids the positivistic trap of pseudo-studies while remaining highly readable and practical. Check it out!
To his credit also, Little also comes across as generous, kind, and open, interleaving confident statements with a frequent recognition of misconceptions that he has encountered and changed in his own approaches to personality studies.
I began – and remain – highly skeptical of psychological assessments such as these for multiple reasons and, to be honest, Little doesn't do much to ameliorate my concerns. Social context and historical oppression are given short shrift in favour of a romantic idealism of the individual subject, for instance, and this leads to a failure to think through basic questions about gender, class, and geography. To be fair, Little does at least acknowledge some of these as questions, but does so in a well-meaning albeit befuddled and very dadish approach to "men and women tend to be different..." It doesn't inspire much confidence; nor do his occasional asides on the way in which women in Toronto and Montréal seek to ignore male attention on the subways, which reads very much as an in-joke among men. Brief, mostly dismissive comments made on historical figures such as [a:Sigmund Freud|10017|Sigmund Freud|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1406688955p2/10017.jpg] or [a:Jacques Derrida|4132|Jacques Derrida|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1449735131p2/4132.jpg] also felt unnecessary – they suggest how superficial Little's understanding of them could be, and he doesn't remediate that feeling.
In summary, this is an excellent and very positive book in mainstream personality studies that avoids the positivistic trap of pseudo-studies while remaining highly readable and practical. Check it out!
Three and a half, really. Solid anecdotes, approachable setup, really interesting points, written in a way that felt genuine.
+1 would read and recommend and I am even more glad I got to meet this guy.
With an even hand of psychological science and personal observation, Brian Little wrote a book to bring modern streams of psychology to an easily accessible level. This book looks at personality psychology from many angles and invites reflection and introspection into what makes you tick.
With an even hand of psychological science and personal observation, Brian Little wrote a book to bring modern streams of psychology to an easily accessible level. This book looks at personality psychology from many angles and invites reflection and introspection into what makes you tick.
Little is a delight to spend time with. Witty and erudite, he introduced me to several areas of research in psychology that I found interesting--particularly the ideas of personal constructs and personal projects. I also appreciated that after discussing all these interesting studies and ideas, he didn't then try to hack my life with a "how to apply this at home" section.
funny
informative
lighthearted
Excellent! An all around delightful and insightful journey into personality (much more than everyone's favorite introvert vs extrovert battle) and ultimately what that means for us.
Not something you'll sit down and read five chapters of in one sitting, but definitely worth your time!
Not something you'll sit down and read five chapters of in one sitting, but definitely worth your time!
https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_little_who_are_you_really_the_puzzle_of_personality
Read it if you're interested about your personality (who isn't?). Simple take-home message: 3 sources of personality: gene, culture, (no surprise so far) and ... (drums!) free traits! -- when you "act out of character", because you deeply care about something. (Be it profession or, love).
The author is a good old stereotypical scholar and professor. I hope we still have enough space for that -- university is a place to explore (yourself and the world), where dangerous yet beautiful exchanges happen. (He got death threats from students for asking them to explore too deep, I guess.)
The author is a good old stereotypical scholar and professor. I hope we still have enough space for that -- university is a place to explore (yourself and the world), where dangerous yet beautiful exchanges happen. (He got death threats from students for asking them to explore too deep, I guess.)
Dr. Little explores a wide range of aspects factoring into the thing we call personality, the differences between people. After having had a refresher and some deeper insights into the mbti and the big five, Brian Little explores many other aspects in the following 9 chapters of which my favorites have to be about personal projects, locus of control, and self-monitoring. Combine all the interesting information in this book about aspects of personality with the witty writing style of Brian Little and you have yourself a very interesting and catchy book calle me, myself, and us.
Warning, you will get to know yourself better!
Warning, you will get to know yourself better!