In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major practical theoretical contributions. In this fascinating collection, Professor Gordon Claridge charts the development of a model of mental health that blurs the line between madness and sanity, conditions such as schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis seen as dimensions of 'normal' personality and temperament rather than separate abnormalities. Working with, and influenced by, the late Hans Eysenck, Claridge is celebrated for evolving research on personality and psychological disorders into a revised view of the spectrum of psychotic traits. The concept of schizotypy, re-evaluated by Claridge, sees mental illness not as a pathology suffered by a few, but as the end of a continuum experienced by us all. Psychopathology and Personality Dimensions brings together some of the author's most influential publications on the topics of schizotypy and psychoticism, personality disorders, and the use of drug techniques to investigate normal and abnormal individual differences. Interspersed throughout with specially-written retrospectives by Professor Claridge, looking back at his work and contextualising where it sits in the wider literature, the collection illustrates a radical and influential model of mental illness that continues to resonate today. This book is an essential resource for all those engaged or interested in the field of personality and psychological disorders.

For several decades there has been an increasing move towards viewing the psychotic illnesses from a dimensional perspective, seeing them as continuous with healthy functioning. The idea, concentrating mostly on schizophrenia, has generated considerable theoretical debate as well as empirical research, conducted under the rubric of 'schizotypy'. This book offers a timely discussion of the most significant themes and developments in this research area. Divided into four key sections which represent current concerns in schizotypy research - Measurement, Brain and Biology; Development and Environment; Consequences and Outcomes; and Future Directions - chapters reflect a broad range of approaches and discuss varied theoretical perspectives on schizotypy. Topics include: cognitive and perceptual biases psychometric assessments creativity and schizotypy genetic associations. developmental perspectives Schizotypy: New dimensions will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the area of psychotic illnesses, as well as professionals including psychiatrists and clinical psychologists who are concerned with the basis of serious mental disorder. The book will inform readers who are new to the topic and will update and expand the knowledge base of those more experienced in the field.

The central thesis of Schizotypy: Implications for Illness and Health is both challenging and controversial: that the features of psychotic disorders actually lie on a continuum with, and form part of, normal behaviour and experience. The dispositional or 'schizotypal' traits associated with psychotic disorders certainly predispose an individual to mental illness, but they may also lead to positive outcomes such as enhanced creativity or spiritual experience. Discussion of each aspect of this theme is supported by extensive experimental and clinical evidence, questioning the received medical wisdom which treats psychotic illness in the narrow context of neurological disease. The result is an authoritative and provocative overview of an important topic in psychological research and clinical practice.

The assumption that there is a significant connection between normal psychological and biological differences and the development of psychological disorders has grown in recent years and research in this area has developed rapidly. Written by psychologists with expertise in both the areas of abnormal and differential psychology, this textbook aims to integrate evidence and ideas from healthy personality and temperament on the one hand and psychological disorders on the other. This is achieved by viewing personality traits as predispositions to disorder, and by questioning how far the causes of various disorders can be seen as an extension or exaggeration of processes underlying normal personality or temperament. These main themes are discussed using a biological perspective, based on the theory that personality can be deconstructed into a number of basic dimensions (of biological origin) that also act as vulnerability factors for disorder. This is a second level textbook for undergraduate students of psychology, but it can also be used by health professionals and their trainees, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and nurses.

For several decades there has been an increasing move towards viewing the psychotic illnesses from a dimensional perspective, seeing them as continuous with healthy functioning. The idea, concentrating mostly on schizophrenia, has generated considerable theoretical debate as well as empirical research, conducted under the rubric of 'schizotypy'. This book offers a timely discussion of the most significant themes and developments in this research area. Divided into four key sections which represent current concerns in schizotypy research - Measurement, Brain and Biology; Development and Environment; Consequences and Outcomes; and Future Directions - chapters reflect a broad range of approaches and discuss varied theoretical perspectives on schizotypy. Topics include: cognitive and perceptual biases psychometric assessments creativity and schizotypy genetic associations. developmental perspectives Schizotypy: New dimensions will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the area of psychotic illnesses, as well as professionals including psychiatrists and clinical psychologists who are concerned with the basis of serious mental disorder. The book will inform readers who are new to the topic and will update and expand the knowledge base of those more experienced in the field.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major practical theoretical contributions. In this fascinating collection, Professor Gordon Claridge charts the development of a model of mental health that blurs the line between madness and sanity, conditions such as schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis seen as dimensions of 'normal' personality and temperament rather than separate abnormalities. Working with, and influenced by, the late Hans Eysenck, Claridge is celebrated for evolving research on personality and psychological disorders into a revised view of the spectrum of psychotic traits. The concept of schizotypy, re-evaluated by Claridge, sees mental illness not as a pathology suffered by a few, but as the end of a continuum experienced by us all. Psychopathology and Personality Dimensions brings together some of the author's most influential publications on the topics of schizotypy and psychoticism, personality disorders, and the use of drug techniques to investigate normal and abnormal individual differences. Interspersed throughout with specially-written retrospectives by Professor Claridge, looking back at his work and contextualising where it sits in the wider literature, the collection illustrates a radical and influential model of mental illness that continues to resonate today. This book is an essential resource for all those engaged or interested in the field of personality and psychological disorders.