"Almost twenty years have elapsed since the first edition of this book was published. Since that time not only have educators accepted the long felt student need for self understanding as a means for better adjustment, but also courses called personal adjustment, personality, and mental hygiene have grown until they are high on the list in respect to enrollment. Moreover, psychologists and educators have increasingly accepted the challenge of specialized training and background in order to impart more than knowledge in such courses--encouraging creative activities which stimulate new perspectives, and helping the student to utilize the many outlets open to him for growth toward maturity. To meet this aim more readily for the contemporary student, this book has been revised for the third time. The specific problem approach with the use of cases and projects has been retained. The material has been brought up to date and modified so that basic principles of human behavior are more clearly emphasized for students who are learning to face their own problems and to deal with them in groups of their peers under the leadership of a teacher skilled in the use of modern group methods. Certain topics such as values and group dynamics are treated more fully here than in the previous edition"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).