Donald W. Fiske – författare

Managing Personality is grounded in the conviction that scientific understanding of personality requires measurement in order to describe phenomena in an objective, systematic fashion and to test theories. Many have argued that science progresses with improvements in instrumentation and methodology. The critical issue in the study of personality is being sure that each concept or theoretical term is measurable, with procedures that can be specified and observed. This book is concerned with tactics and strategies for improving the relationships between ideas and observations.By contributing to advances in personality measurement, this book seeks to further the science of personality. Fiske is convinced of the importance of developing concepts, variables, and dimensions applicable to all people, rather than the personality of an individual person. Although case studies of personality is necessary for efforts to help individuals in the clinic, finding and measuring common personality attributes is more important to the development of a science of personality.Managing Personality was written for two groups of people. It is intended to present the status quo to those who want a synthesis of personality measurement as it exists. Such people may have some general interest in the field or may be interested in it because they intend to work in such related areas as clinical practice. The second audience includes students of personality who are concerned with evaluating the measurement of personality, and especially people who are conducting such research or are preparing themselves for such work.

What is the nature of the social sciences? What kinds of knowledge can they—and should they—hope to create? Are objective viewpoints possible and can universal laws be discovered? Questions like these have been asked with increasing urgency in recent years, as some philosophers and researchers have perceived a "crisis" in the social sciences. Metatheory in Social Science offers many provocative arguments and analyses of basic conceptual frameworks for the study of human behavior. These are offered primarily by practicing researchers and are related to problems in disciplines as diverse as sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and philosophy of science. While various points of view are expressed in these nineteen essays, they have in common several themes, including the comparison of social and natural science, the role of knowledge in meeting the demands of society and its pressing problems, and the nature and role of subjectivity in science. Some authors hold that subjectivity cannot be studied scientifically; others argue that it can and must be if progress in knowledge is to be made. The essays demonstrate the philosophical pluralism they discuss and give a wide range of alternative positions on the future of the social and behavioral sciences in a postpositivist intellectual world.

Managing Personality is grounded in the conviction that scientific understanding of personality requires measurement in order to describe phenomena in an objective, systematic fashion and to test theories. Many have argued that science progresses with improvements in instrumentation and methodology. The critical issue in the study of personality is being sure that each concept or theoretical term is measurable, with procedures that can be specified and observed. This book is concerned with tactics and strategies for improving the relationships between ideas and observations.By contributing to advances in personality measurement, this book seeks to further the science of personality. Fiske is convinced of the importance of developing concepts, variables, and dimensions applicable to all people, rather than the personality of an individual person. Although case studies of personality is necessary for efforts to help individuals in the clinic, finding and measuring common personality attributes is more important to the development of a science of personality.Managing Personality was written for two groups of people. It is intended to present the status quo to those who want a synthesis of personality measurement as it exists. Such people may have some general interest in the field or may be interested in it because they intend to work in such related areas as clinical practice. The second audience includes students of personality who are concerned with evaluating the measurement of personality, and especially people who are conducting such research or are preparing themselves for such work.

Originally published in 1977. This book focuses on how to do research in the area of face-to-face interaction when studying human social conduct. It covers the methods of data collection and analysis and looks at the efficiency of these. It secondarily considers a model for conceptualising such interactions, drawing together several social science components, especially linguistics, based on the idea that there is an organisational structure at work just as with grammar for language. Overall the book proposes a general conceptual framework for guiding empirical investigation, with emphasis on simultaneous study of a number of acts viewed within each other’s contexts. This is an excellent resource for study on non-verbal communications, describing specific studies as well as offering the clear overview and model for research.