Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

Neuroscience in Your Life:
Wired for Thrills—The Biological 
Underpinnings of Personality
Humanistic Approaches: 
The Uniqueness of You
Comparing Approaches to Personality
Assessing Personality: Determining 
What Makes Us Distinctive
Exploring Diversity:
Should Race and 
Ethnicity Be Used to Establish Norms?
Self-Report Measures of Personality
Projective Methods
Behavioral Assessment
PsychWork:
Human Resources Manager
Becoming an Informed Consumer 
of Psychology: 
Assessing 
Personality Assessments
What are the major aspects of trait, learning, 
biological and evolutionary, and humanistic 
approaches to psychology?
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 Prologue
 Who Is the Real Madoff ?
To some, Bernard L. Madoff was an aff able, charismatic man who 
moved comfortably among power brokers on Wall Street and in 
Washington. He secured a long-standing role as an elder states-
man on Wall Street, allowing him to land on important boards 
and commissions where his opinions helped shape securities 
regulations. And his employees say he treated them like family. 
There was, of course, another side to Mr. Madoff . Reclusive, at 
times standoffi
sh and aloof, this Bernard rarely rubbed elbows in 
Manhattan’s cocktail circuit or at Palm Beach balls. This Bernard 
was quiet, controlled, and closely attuned to his image down to 
the most minute details. (Creswell & Landon, 2009, p. 1) 

Looking
Ahead

Which was the real Bernard Madoff ? Was he the powerful, 
charismatic Wall Street businessman? Or was he the self- 
conscious, detail-oriented recluse? And perhaps most impor-
tant, were there any signs that Madoff was secretly operating 
a fraudulent investment scheme that ultimately cheated 
thousands of people out of billions of dollars? 
Many people, like Madoff , have diff erent sides to their person-
alities, appearing one way to some and quite diff erently to others. 
Determining who a person truly is falls to a branch of psychology 
that seeks to understand the characteristic ways people behave—
personality psychology.