The relation between individual and collective processes is central to the social sciences, yet difficult to conceptualize because of the necessity of crossing disciplinary boundaries. The result is that researchers in different disciplines construct their own implicit, and often unsatisfactory, models of either individual or collective phenomena, which in turn influence their theoretical and empirical work. In this 1985 book, Drew Westen attempts to cross these boundaries, proposing an interdisciplinary approach to personality, to culture, and to the relation between the two. Throughout the book, Westen provides reviews of a variety of fields, including personality theory, moral development, ego development, and culture theory. His book will appeal to students and scholars in all the social sciences, as well as to any reader concerned with understanding the relation between individuals and the world in which they live.

‘Based on an admirably thorough exposition of modern thought and research in the psychological and social sciences, Drew Westen presents here a brilliant, intellectually exhilarating effort to transcend, by means of a new theoretical formulation, the artificial divisions in our knowledge about individuals and about cultures.’

Marie Jahoda - University of Sussex

‘This is a notable attempt to integrate contemporary personality theory and contemporary theories in anthropology around the concept of psychological need. It is an impressive overview of a psychocultural approach to social theory that takes into account usually neglected psychological variables. A cogent and compelling work, it will provoke thought and response in its readers.’

Professor George DeVos - University of California, Berkeley