The Integrated Personality

Abstract

Central to Seeman's (1959) theory of personality integration is the basic contention that the integrated individual has the ability to make available a maximum amount of information on which to base his or her behavior. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, theory and research in personality integration are reviewed ih light of this central concept. Second, the construct of maximal information usage as it is defined in Seeman's theory is integrated with the same notion as it has appeared in three different areas of psychology, corresponding to three of the components of personality originally delineated by Seeman: the cognitive, interpersonal, and physiological subsystems. The integration of this diverse body of literature is undertaken to increase our understanding of the manner in which the integrated person functions vis-a-vis these three components of personality. For each subsystem, specific recommendations are made for additional empirical research designed to address the theoretical issues that have been raised.