Synopses & Reviews
The author of the controversial book tackles the biggest mystery in all of psychology: What makes people differ so much in personality and behavior? It can't just be "nature and nurture," because even identical twins who grow up together--same genes, same parents--have different personalities. And if psychologists can't explain why identical twins are different, they also can't explain why each of us differs from everyone else. Why no two people are alike. Harris turns out to be well suited for the role of detective--it isn't easy to pull the wool over her eyes. She rounds up the usual suspects and shows why none of the currently popular explanations for human differences--birth order effects, for example, or interactions between genes and environment--can be the perpetrator she is looking for. None of these theories can solve the mystery of human individuality. The search for clues carries Harris into some fascinating byways of science. The evidence she examines ranges from classic experiments in social psychology to cutting-edge research in neuroscience. She looks at studies of twins, research on autistic children, observations of chimpanzees, birds, and even ants. Her solution is a startlingly original one: the first completely new theory of personality since Freud's. Based on a principle of evolutionary psychology--the idea that the human mind is a toolbox of special-purpose devices--Harris's theory explains how attributes we all have in common can make us different. This is the story of a scientific quest, but it is also the personal story of a courageous and innovative woman who refused to be satisfied with "what everyone knows is true."
Review
"A display of scientific courage and imagination." William Salatan
Review
"As she did in , independent scholar Harris makes waves again with a new theory of personality to explain why no two people are alike." New York Times
Synopsis
Why do people--even identical twins reared in the same home--differ so much in personality? Armed with an inquiring mind and insights from evolutionary psychology, Judith Rich Harris sets out to solve the mystery of human individuality.
Synopsis
From the author of the controversial book "The Nurture Assumption" comes the answer to a question that has long been a mystery: Why do identical twins who grow up together--same genes, reared by the same parents--differ in personality?
Synopsis
A groundbreaking theory of personality.
Synopsis
'A groundbreaking theory of personality.\n
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About the Author
Judith Rich Harris is an independent investigator and a former writer of textbooks in child development. She lives in New Jersey with her husband.