Reinventing personality

Although people in everyday life understand and appreciate the role of personality in predicting and interpreting interpersonal behavior and occupational performance, the point nonetheless eludes many academic psychologists. This article traces the major sources of the widespread skepticism among academic psychologists regarding the validity of personality psychology and attempts to answer the major complaints. It then presents a perspective on personality that attempts to combine the best elements of traditional depth psychology with symbolic interactionism-that is, an evolutionary based account of social interaction.