gordon willard allport

GORDON WILLARD ALLPORT

"So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate

sword other than laughter."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

• November 11, 1897 - October 9, 1967• Montezuma,Indiana• HARVARD alumnus• Flyod Henry Allport• Stanley Milgram• Anthony Greenwald• Jerome S. Bruner

DEFINITION

• “The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment”.

• characteristic behavior and thought (1961)

BIOPHYSICAL& BIOSOCIAL

• Organic side & Perceived side

PERSONAL DIGS

• PSYCHOANALYSTS – Dig too deep (Rendezvous with Freud)

. BEHAVIOURISTS : Do not dig deep enough

DYNAMICS OF PERSONALITY

• MOTIVATIONS: beyond drive reduction• Reactive versus Proactive neither a bundle of physiological drives nor a

mechanical product of environmental forces• Concious versus Unconcious motivations goal seeking- self expression/

psychopathology• Functional Autonomy

PURITAN VERSUS ECLECTIC APPROACHES

• IDIOGRAPHIC: sees individuals as a unique whole and relies largely on intuitive understanding. Allport believed that the two should be combined.

• NOMOTHETIC:involves fragmentation of the individual into measurable variables.

• MORPHOGENIC : how traits and other personality variables become integrated into the unique structures of individuals (emphasis on uniqueness of individuals) Marion Taylor & Letters from Jenny.

FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY

• “One thing leads to another, but that subsequent other can grow to operate independently”

• Present motives are independent(autonomous) of their origins

• Past motives explain nothing unless they are also present motives

• Bonds to the past – historical NOT functional• P – liberalized from the past

FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMYTWO FLAVOURS

• PERSEVERATIVE functional autonomy Remnants of the past/vestiges • PROPRIATE functional autonomy versus

Opportunistic functioning Value oriented/self directed/self-sustaining Propriate striving: Deep desire to function in a

way that expresses the SELF unattainable yet gives unity (e.g. Religion)

NOT ALL OF THEM

• 1. Biological drives, such as eating, breathing, and sleeping • 2. Motives directly linked to the reduction of basic drives• 3. Reflex actions such as an eye blink• 4. Constitutional equipment such as physique,intelligence,

and temperament; • 5. Habits in the process of being formed;• 6 .Patterns of behavior that require primary reinforcement;• 7 .Sublimations that can be tied to childhood sexual desires• 8. Some neurotic or pathological symptoms

STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY

• Personal Dispositions• Propium

LEXICAL HYPOTHESIS• “ that guy swallowed a dictionary!!! ”• G.ALLPORT & H.S.ODBERT (1936)• COMBED THE DICTIONARY• Listed : 17,953 words …..PHEW!!!• Reduced to 171 words• “Those individual differences that are most salient

and socially relevant in people’s lives will eventually become encoded into their language; the more important such a difference, the more likely is it to become expressed as a single word”

TRAITS:ALLPORT’S “DISPOSITIONS”

• Organised mental structures• “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.”

• COMMON TRAITS & INDIVIDUAL TRAITS (tied to propium)

BUILDING BLOCKS OF PERSONALITY

• CARDINAL TRAITS: when one of the central traits become a dominant force/ can’t be hidden (clouds/pervades) – rare occasional

• CENTRAL TRAITS: indicate the person as unique• SECONDARY TRAITS: less

descriptive(reliable)/conspicuous (specific situations)• MOTIVATIONAL TRAITS: strong enough to initiate

action• STYLISTIC TRAITS: manner in which an individual

behaves (guide rather than initiate)

PROPIUM versus SELF/EGO

• NOT an object/thing within an individual that drives behavior

• all those behaviors and characteristics that people regard as warm and central in their lives

• Core of one’s personhood – and not its entirety (e.g. basic drives and needs) not central to one’s identity/sense of self

Phenomenological & Functional

• Self as - The Known• Self as - Unfolding Potential

PROPIUM STAGES

1. Sense of body2. Self-identity 3. Self-esteem 4. Self-extension 5. Self-image 6. Rational coping 7. Propriate striving

Governing principles

• Principle of organizing the energy level• Principle of mastery and competence• Principle of propiate patterning

RICH PROPIUM(characteristics of maturity)

• Specific, enduring extensions of self, i.e. involvement

• Dependable techniques for warm relating to others (e.g. trust, empathy, genuineness, tolerance...)

• Emotional security and self-acceptance

• Habits of realistic perception (as opposed to defensiveness)

• Problem-centeredness, and the development of problem-solving skills.

• Self-objectification -- insight into one’s own behavior, the ability to laugh at oneself, etc

• A unifying philosophy of life, including a particular value orientation, differentiated religious sentiment, and a personalized conscience

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

• PREJUDICE• VALUES with Vernon and Lindzey• Influenced – Kelly, Maslow & Rogers

Character

• Ethical concept• A moral standard or value system against

which the individual’s actions are evaluated. “good character,” a personal judgment as to the social and/or ethical desirability of his or her personal qualities

• personality evaluation

Temperament

• Biological concept• mood or emotional component of personality• Aggressive/Timid

WORKS

• Personality : A Personality Interpretation (1937)

• The psychology of rumor (1947) with L. Postman.

• The individual and his religion (1950).• The nature of prejudice (1954).• Pattern and Growth in Personality (1965)• The Person in Psychology (1968),