Beyond Individual and Group Differences: Human Individuality, Scientific Psychology, and William Stern's Critical Personalism

"James Lamiell is a creative, sophisticated, and careful thinker, one whose ideas are deserving of broad attention….The book should be of interest to scholars and practitioners, along with advanced graduate students." --Kenneth J. Gergen, Swarthmore College   Beyond Individual and Group Differences: Human Individuality, Scientific Psychology, and William Stern's Critical Personalism examines the history of psychology's effort to come to terms with human individuality, from the time of Wundt to present day. With a primary emphasis on the contributions of German psychologist William Stern, this book generates a wider appreciation for Stern's perspective on human individuality and for the proper place of personalitic thinking within scientific psychology. The author presents an alternative approach to the logical positivism that permeates traditional psychological thought and methodology making this an innovative, ground-breaking work.   Feature and Benefits: Provides book-length treatment of the concept of human individuality in twentieth century scientific psychology, highlighting the historical contributions made by the German psychologist and philosopher William Stern (1871-1938). Critically appraises contemporary thinking about personality in light of historical and methodological considerations. Challenges readers to rethink the problem of human individuality with research that mounts a direct empirical challenge to the long-standing belief that it is meaningless to characterize individuals without comparing them with one another. Concludes with a general discussion of the potential of personalistic thinking both as a foundation for personality theory and as a framework for social thought.   Beyond Individual and Group Differences is a dynamic book for academics and scholars in the areas of personality psychology, individual differences, and the history of psychology.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: A Lost Star Part I: Historical Beginnings 2. The Problem of Individuality & the Birth of a "Differential" Psychology 3. The Narrowing of Perspective in the Proliferation of Standardized Testing & Correlational Research 4. The Entrenchment of a "Common Trait" Perspective on Human Individuality Part II: Statistical Thinking in the Post-Wundtian Restructuring of Scientific Psychology 5. The Emergence of a "Neo-Galtonian" Framework for Psychological Research: An Historical Sketch 6. Contemporary "Nomotheticism" within the Framework of Neo-Galtonian Inquiry: A Methodological Primer 7. Contemporary "Nomotheticism" in Critical Perspective Part III: Rethinking the Problem 8. An Introduction to Critical Personalism 9. Some Models of Personalistic Inquiry in Contemporary Psychology 10. Our Differences Aside: Persons, Things, Individuality, & Community References Name Index Subject Index