THEORIES OF PERSONALITY GORDON ALLPORT PSYCHOLOGY OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Gordon Allport emphasized

uniqueness of the individual.

morphogenic science

gather data on a single

individual

Personality

“the dynamic organization within

the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his

unique adjustments to his environment” In

1961, he had changed the last phrase to read “that determine his

characteristic behavior and thought”

dynamic

organization

implies an integration or interrelatedness of the various

aspects of personality.

“dynamic.”

the organization is always subject to change: hence, the

qualifier Personality is not a static organization; it is

constantly growing or changing.

psychophysical

emphasizes

the importance of both the psychological and the physical aspects of

personality.

determine

“personality is something and does something”

characteristic

marked with a unique engraving, a stamp

or marking, that no one else can duplicate.

proactive behavior;

they not only

react to external stimuli but they are capable of

consciously acting on their environment in new and

innovative ways and causing their environment to react to them.

extension of the sense of self.

Mature people

continually seek to identify with and participate in events outside

themselves. They are not self-centered but are able to become

involved in problems and activities that are not centered on

themselves. They develop an unselfish interest in work, play, and

recreation. Social interest (Gemeinschaftsgefühl), family, and spiritual

life are important to them. Eventually, these outside activities become

part of one’s being. Allport (1961) summed up this first criterion by

saying: “Everyone has self-love, but only self-extension is the earmark

of maturity”

“warm

relating of self to others”

They have the

capacity to love others in an intimate and compassionate manner.

Warm relating, of course, is dependent on people’s ability to extend

their sense of self. Only by looking beyond themselves can mature

people love others nonpossessively and unselfishly. Psychologically

healthy individuals treat other people with respect, and they realize

that the needs, desires, and hopes of others are not completely

foreign to their own. In addition, they have a healthy sexual attitude

and do not exploit others for personal gratification.

emotional security or self-acceptance.

Mature

individuals accept themselves for what they are, and they possess

what Allport (1961) called emotional poise. These psychologically

healthy people are not overly upset when things do not go as planned

or when they are simply “having a bad day.” They do not dwell on

minor irritations, and they recognize that frustrations and

inconveniences are a part of living.

realistic

perception of their environment.

They do not live in a fantasy world or

bend reality to fit their own wishes. They are problem oriented rather

than self-centered, and they are in touch with the world as most

others see it.

insight and humor.

Mature people know

themselves and, therefore, have no need to attribute their own

mistakes and weaknesses to others. They also have a nonhostile

sense of humor, which gives them the capacity to laugh at themselves

rather than relying on sexual or aggressive themes to elicit laughter

from others.

unifying philosophy of life.

Healthy people have a clear view of the purpose of life. Without this

view, their insight would be empty and barren, and their humor would

be trivial and cynical.

Common traits

general characteristics held in common by many people.

personal dispositions

“a

generalized neuropsychic structure (peculiar to the individual), with the

capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate

and guide consistent (equivalent) forms of adaptive and stylistic

behavior”

Cardinal Dispositions

They are so obvious that they cannot be hidden; nearly

every action in a person’s life revolves around this one

Central Dispositions

which include the 5–10

most outstanding characteristics around which a person’s life focuses.

Secondary Dispositions

are not central to the

personality yet occur with some regularity and are responsible for

much of one’s specific behaviors. Less conspicuous but far greater in number

than central dispositions

motivational dispositions.

These strongly felt dispositions

receive their motivation from basic needs and drives. INITIATE ACTION

stylistic dispositions

personal dispositions that are less intensely experienced, guide action

Proprium

refer to those behaviors and

characteristics that people regard as warm, central, and important in

their lives. They are characteristics

that an individual refers to in such terms as “That is me” or “This is

mine.” All characteristics that are “peculiarly mine”

peripheral motives

are

those that reduce a need

propriate strivings

seek to

maintain tension and disequilibrium

reactive

people as being motivated primarily by needs to

reduce tension and to return to a state of equilibrium.

Functional Autonomy

holds that some,

but not all, human motives are functionally independent from the

original motive responsible for the behavior.

Perseverative Functional Autonomy

Allport borrowed this term from

the word “perseveration,” which is the tendency of an impression to

leave an influence on subsequent experience.

Propriate Functional Autonomy

which refers to those self-sustaining

motives that are related to the proprium.

nomothetic

which seeks general laws

behavior and thought

simply refer to anything the

person does. They are omnibus terms meant to include internal

behaviors (thoughts) as well as external behaviors such as words and

actions.

functional autonomy

as “any

acquired system of motivation in which the tensions involved are not

of the same kind as the antecedent tensions from which the acquired

system developed”