[Review of Objective Personality Study: A Workbook in Applied Mental Hygiene

Abstract

Reviews the books, Objective Personality Study: A Workbook in Applied Mental Hygiene by Emily L. Stogdill and A. Herndon (1939); and Psychology of Personality by J. H. Coffin (1940). Stogdill and Herndon's book is organized in twenty-four assignments subdivided into four units, titled respectively "Social Adjustments," "Developmental History," "Habits and Reactions" and "Summary and Plan Making". Each assignment calls for answers to fairly specific questions about the student's behavior or history. A bibliography, short and in general fairly well-chosen, is appended to each assignment. The reviewer argues that the workbook will be useful for instructors who organize the mental hygiene course around a highly personal approach. Coffin has prepared an outline on the psychology of personality in the familiar green-backed series. It is rather inferior to most of its companion volumes. This field is not sufficiently crystallized to lend itself well to the outline treatment, and Coffin seems to have some bizarre notions about personality. It is not a little startling to read. On the whole, the reviewer recommends this book for instructors who may want handy outlines of certain fields covered, but it will not prove useful and may sometimes be misleading to students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)