The cultural background of personality

These five essays deal with the cultural basis of personality. The central concept, that personality is mainly an individual embodiment of culture, is approached from a somewhat different vantage point in each of the essays. The first touches on the socialization of the individual by his society into its culture; the second treats culture itself; the third discusses the phenomenon of social differentiation; the fourth is an attempt to describe the nature of personality and its manifestation in social interactions; and in the final essay the role of culture in the formation of personality is assessed.