This textbook will help you understand the most important person in your life -- you. Personality psychologists explore the characteristics and processes that make you different from the person sitting next to you. In addition to presenting the most influential theories of personality, the textbook covers some practical applications of those theories -- for example, in psychotherapy, education and the workplace. Moreover, you will find extensive coverage of what personality researchers have discovered about 26 important concepts in the field -- for example, self-esteem, dream interpretation, social anxiety, gender roles, loneliness and hypnosis. The book also includes 12 personality scales you can take to see how you compare with other people on numerous personality concepts. Knowing how you score on a measure of, for example, social anxiety, provides a personal framework when reading about research on this personality trait.