Chapter 13

Allport: Psychology of the Individual

Gordon Allport had a short but pertinent visit with Freud in Vienna, a meeting that changed
Allport's life and altered the course of personality psychology in the United States. In Allport's
mature theory, his major emphasis was on the uniqueness of each individual. Allport built a theory
of personality as a reaction against what he regarded as the non-humanistic positions of both
psychoanalysis and animal-based learning theory. However, Allport was eclectic in his approach
and accepted many of the ideas of other theorists. Allport defined personality as "the dynamic
organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine [the person's]
behavior and thought.” This definition includes both physical and psychological properties and
both stability and flexibility. Also, personality not only is something but it does something; that is, it
includes both behavior and thinking.

More than any other personality theorist, Allport recognized the importance of conscious
motivation. His emphasis of conscious motivation probably began with his short-lived discussion
with Freud, when Allport had not yet selected a career in psychology. Several years before
Maslow conceptualized the self-actualizing personality, Allport listed six criteria for psychological
health. These include: an extension of the sense of self, warm relationships with others, emotional
security or self-acceptance, realistic view of the world, Insight and humour, Unifying Philosophy of
Life. To Allport, the most important structures of personality are those that permit description of the
individual in terms of individual characteristics, and he called these individual structures personal
dispositions.

Levels of Personal Dispositions are Cardinal Dispositions where some people possess an
eminent characteristic or ruling passion so outstanding that it dominates their lives. Central
Dispositions are those that would be listed in an accurate letter of recommendation written by
someone who knew the person quite well. Secondary Dispositions is less conspicuous but far
greater in number than central dispositions. Allport further divided personal dispositions into
Motivational dispositions, which are strong enough to initiate action. Stylistic dispositions which
refer to the manner in which an individual behaves and which guide rather than initiate action.

Allport insisted that an adequate theory of motivation must consider the notion that motives
change as people mature and also that people are motivated by present drives and wants.
Peripheral Motives, those that reduce a need. Propriate Strivings, seek to maintain tension and
disequilibrium. To Allport, people not only react to their environment, but they also shape their
environment and cause it to react to them. His proactive approach emphasized the idea that
people often seek additional tension and that they purposefully act on their environment in a way
that fosters growth toward psychological health.

Allport's most distinctive and controversial concept is his theory of functional autonomy, which
holds that some (but not all) human motives are functionally independent from the original motive
responsible for a particular behavior. Allport recognized two levels of functional autonomy:
Perseverative functional autonomy in which the tendency of certain basic behaviors (such as
addictive behaviors) to perseverate or continue in the absence of reinforcement. Propriate
functional autonomy refers to self-sustaining motives (such as interests) that are related to the
proprium.
 Allport wrote eloquently about personality, but his views are based more on philosophical
speculation and common sense than on scientific studies. As a consequence, his theory rates low
on its ability to organize psychological data and to be falsified. It rates high on parsimony and
internal consistency and about average on its ability to generate research and to help the
practitioner. Allport saw people as thinking, proactive, purposeful beings who are generally aware
of what they are doing and why. On the six dimensions for a concept of humanity, Allport rates
higher than any other theorist on conscious influences and on the uniqueness of the individual.
He rates high on free choice, optimism, and teleology and about average on social influences.