Chapter 15 provides us with an introduction to the interpersonal aspects of personality. The authors begin with an overview of three mechanisms of social interaction. Personality interacts with situations in three ways: Through selection, through evoking responses, and through manipulation.

The authors turn first to selection, highlighting the influence of personality on mate selection, marital satisfaction, and divorce. In addition, the authors review work on shyness and the selective entry into, or avoidance of, certain situations.

The authors next review work on evocation. The authors highlight work on aggression and the evocation of hostility, and work on evoking upset in partners. The authors then discuss evocation through expectancy confirmation, reviewing work suggesting that beliefs about the personality characteristics of others can evoke behaviors in others that confirm those initial beliefs.

The authors then review manipulation or social influence, which includes all the ways in which people intentionally alter, change, or exploit others. The authors review research that identified 11 tactics of manipulation, including charm, coercion, and silent treatment. Next the authors review work documenting that personality is linked with the tactics of manipulation that people use.

The then authors review research on the Machiavellian personality, using this research to illustrate the interpersonal aspects of personality, which center on selection, evocation, and manipulation. Finally, the authors review work at the interface of personality and social interaction, with a special focus on the personality dimension of narcissism.