Social Psychology Network

The textbooks on this page cover a variety of topics in personality psychology. For additional bibliographies, searchable catalogs, and other information, see:

• Social Psychology Textbooks
• Textbooks on Conducting Research
• Bibliography of Student Career Resources
• UnderstandingPrejudice.org Reading Room

A book icon below indicates that the publisher allows instructors to request an examination copy. Simply click on a desired book to open a window with order information.

As a token of appreciation, texts published by SPN sponsors are highlighted in red. Other publishers are also invited to become SPN sponsors.

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Introductory Personality Psychology:

• Ashton, M. C. (2022). Individual Differences and Personality (4th ed.). Academic Press.
• Burger, J. M., & Reevy, G. M. (2022). Personality (11th ed.). Sage Publications.
• Carducci, B. J. (2015). Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications (3rd ed.). Wiley.
• Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2017). Perspectives on Personality (8th ed.). Pearson.
• Cooper, C. (2020). Individual Differences and Personality (4th ed.). Routledge.
• Funder, D. C. (2024). The Personality Puzzle (9th ed.). W. W. Norton.
• Gaines, S. O., Jr. (2020). Personality Psychology: The Basics. Routledge.
• Haslam, N., & Smillie, L. (2022). An Introduction to Personality, Individual Differences & Intelligence (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2024). Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• McAdams, D. P., & Dunlop, W. L. (2022). The Person: A New Introduction to Personality Psychology (6th ed.). Wiley.
• Miserandino, M. (2018). Personality Psychology: Foundations and Findings (2nd ed.). Kendall Hunt.
• Musek, J. (2024). Personality Psychology: A New Perspective. Springer.
• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Personality Psychology: Understanding Yourself and Others (2nd ed.). Pearson.

Personality Theory:

• Boeree, C. G. (2017). Personality Theories: From Freud to Frankl. Kindle Direct Publishing (CreateSpace).
• Bornstein, R. F. (2024). Elements of Personality: Discovering Connections. American Psychological Association.
• Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2023). Personality: Theory and Research (15th ed.). Wiley.
• Cloninger, S. (2018). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons (7th ed.). Pearson.
• Feist, G. J., Roberts, T-A., & Feist, J. (2021). Theories of Personality (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2016). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (6th ed.). Pearson.
• John, O. P., & Robins, R. W. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.
• McMartin, J. (2017). Personality Psychology: A Student-Centered Approach (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Olson, M. H., Favero, D., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2019). An Introduction to Theories of Personality (9th ed.). Pearson.
• Schultz, D. P., Schultz, S. E., & Maranges, H. M. (2024). Theories of Personality (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Shiraev, E. B. (2024). Personality: Theories and Applications (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Personality Development and Change:

• Buss, A. H. (2011). Pathways to Individuality: Evolution and Development of Personality Traits. American Psychological Association.
• McAdams, D. P. (2016). The Art and Science of Personality Development (rep. ed.). Guilford Press.
• McAdams, D. P., Shiner, R. L., & Tackett, J. L. (Eds.). (2021). Handbook of Personality Development (rep. ed.). Guilford Press.
• Specht, J. (Ed.). (2017). Personality Development Across the Lifespan. Academic Press.

Personality Structure:

• Mayer, J. D. (2018). Personality: A Systems Approach (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
• Musek, J. (2017). The General Factor of Personality. Academic Press.
• Valentine, C. (Ed.). (2016). The Five-Factor Model: Recent Developments and Clinical Applications (UK ed.). Nova Science Publishers.
• Widiger, T. A. (Ed.). (2017). The Oxford Handbook of the Five-Factor Model. Oxford University Press.

Intelligence:

• Armstrong, T. (2018). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom (4th ed.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• Falck, S. (2021). The Psychology of Intelligence. Routledge.
• Flynn, J. R. (2012). Are We Getting Smarter? Rising IQ in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press.
• Gardner, H. (2026). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (4th ed.). Basic Books.
• Haier, R. J., Colom, R., & Hunt, E. (2024). The Science of Human Intelligence (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Hawkins, J. C. (2022). A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence. Basic Books.
• Herrnstein, R. J., & Murray, C. (1996). The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Free Press Paperbacks.
• Maltby, J., Day, L., & Macaskill, A. (2022). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence (5th ed.). Pearson.
• Markova, D., & McArthur, A. (2015). Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking With People Who Think Differently. Spiegel & Grau.
• Sternberg, R. J. (2021). Adaptive Intelligence: Surviving and Thriving in Times of Uncertainty. Cambridge University Press.
• Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). (2020). Human Intelligence: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
• Sternberg, R. J., & Desmet, O. A. (2023). Giftedness in Childhood. Cambridge University Press.

Emotional Intelligence:

• Bradbury, T. (2025). The New Emotional Intelligence. Bruyere Publishing.
• Goleman, D. (2020). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books. (Original work published 1995)
• Harris, F. (2023). The Color of Emotional Intelligence: Elevating Our Self and Social Awareness to Address Inequities. Ignite Press.
• Harvard Business Review. (2018). Emotional Intelligence (boxed set of 6 books).
• Saenz, A. L. (2021). The EQ Intervention: Shaping a Self-Aware Generation Through Social and Emotional Learning. River Grove Books.

Motivation:

• Bong, M., Reeve, J., & Kim, S. (Eds.). (2023). Motivation Science: Controversies and Insights. Oxford University Press.
• Carducci, B. J. (2015). Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications (3rd ed.). Wiley.
• Deckers, L. (2022). Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental (6th ed.). Routledge.
• Elliot, A. J., Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook of Competence and Motivation: Theory and Application (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Reeve, J. (2025). Understanding Motivation and Emotion (8th ed.). Wiley.
• Ryan, R. M. (Ed.). (2019). The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Studer, B., & Knecht, S. (Eds.). (2016). Motivation: Theory, Neurobiology and Applications. Academic Press.

Biological Bases of Personality:

• Davis, K. L., & Panksepp, J. (2018). The Emotional Foundations of Personality: A Neurobiological and Evolutionary Approach. W. W. Norton.
• Eysenck, H. J. (2017). The Biological Basis of Personality. Routledge. (Original work published 1967)
• Knopik, V. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., DeFries, J. C., & Plomin, R. (2017). Behavioral Genetics (7th ed.). Worth Publishers.
• Saudino, K. J., & Ganiban, J. M. (Eds.). (2020). Behavior Genetics of Temperament and Personality. Springer.

Other Books in Personality Psychology:

• Cotterill, B. F. (2023). Personality Psychology, Ideology, and Voting Behavior: Beyond the Ballot. Springer.
• Corr, P. J., & Matthews, G. (Eds.). (2020). The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Deaux, K., & Snyder, M. (Eds.). (2019). The Oxford Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Eliasz, A., Hampson, S. E., & de Raad, B. (Eds.). (2015). Advances in Personality Psychology (Vol. 2). Psychology Press.
• Forsythe, A. (2019). Key Thinkers in Individual Differences: Ideas on Personality and Intelligence. Routledge.
• Granneman, J. (2017). The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden World. Skyhorse.
• Mayer, J. D. (2014). Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives. Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.