Optimal Human Being

Book excerpt: Ken Sheldon's comprehensive new book addresses two questions: how can individuals best integrate the different facets of themselves to achieve "optimal human being", and how can researchers best integrate the different levels of analysis within the human sciences to understand "optimal human being" in general? In the process, the book supplies two new frameworks—one for viewing the human sciences as a group, and the other for viewing personality theory within that group. Optimal Human Being features a multi-level model that moves from biologically based levels of analysis to higher, socially based levels, and demonstrates how these different levels interact to determine behavior. The author then proposes a new way of looking at personality by examining four "tiers": organismic foundations, personality traits, goals/intentions, and self-concepts, and demonstrates how these levels relate to the state of optimal human being. The book concludes with two higher levels of analysis relevant to personality—social interaction and culture—and proposes a new profile of optimal human being. Intended for researchers and students in social and personality, clinical, developmental, and industrial psychology and other social sciences, the book will also serve as a supplement in a variety of courses including personality, positive psychology, well being, personal development, and motivation.