GORDON ALLPORT: PSYCHOLOGY OF
THE INDIVIDUAL
*A small boy hands out a letter to the famed
psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, requesting an
appointment. At the appointment, the
youngster tries to get Freud's attention, so
he tells him a story about another boy who
has a dirty phobia. Then Freud stated that if
he is the boy, he is speaking. To divert the
subject, the child recounts another story.
That appointment ignited the boy's interest
in psychology, although from a different
perspective (humanistic approach). That
boy's name was Gordon Allport.
morphogenic science
-study of an individual
morphogenic methods
-are those that gather data on a single
individual
nomothetic methods
-gather data on groups of people
eclectic approach
-a type of psychotherapy tailored to fit the
exact needs of the individual seeking
treatment. Eclectic therapy is sometimes
referred to as multi-modal or integrative
therapy as therapists combine a variety of
disciplines into one session.
BIOGRAPHY OF GORDON ALLPORT
-Gordon Willard Allport was born on
November 11, 1897
-fourth and youngest son, parents: John
E. Allport and Nellie Wise Allport
-her mother was devoutly religious and
was a former school teacher who taught
Gordon Allport about clean language and
proper conduct.
-described himself as a social “isolate”
-his enrollment at Harvard also marked
the beginning of a 50-year association with
that university
-married Ada Lufkin Gould/Ada Allporthas
a master’s degree in clinical psychology
from Harvard
WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
-is the “the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychophysical systems
“that determine his characteristic behavior
and thought”
-is both physical and psychological; it
includes both overt behaviors and covert
thoughts; it not only is something, but it
does something. Personality is both
substance and change, both product and
process, both structure and growth.
dynamic organization
-implies an integration or interrelatedness of
the various aspects of personality
psychophysical
-emphasizes the importance of both the
psychological and the physical aspects of
personality.
determine
-“personality is something and does
something”
characteristic
-imply “individual” or “unique”
behavior and thought
-simply refer to anything the person does.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CONSCIOUS
MOTIVATION?
-plays a crucial role in psychology by
influencing individuals' awareness of their
actions and the reasons behind them.
Understanding conscious motivation helps
psychologists grasp individuals' intentions,
goals, and decision-making processes,
providing insight into their behavior and
mental states. It also allows individuals to
reflect on and potentially modify their
motivations, contributing to personal growth
and well-being.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
A HEALTHY PERSON?
-proactive behavior(that is, 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.)
-motivated by conscious processes(which
allow them to be more flexible and
autonomous than unhealthy people, who
remain dominated by unconscious motives
that spring from childhood experiences.)
-have experienced a relatively trauma-free
childhood, even though their later years
may be tempered by conflict and suffering.
Six Criteria for the mature personality
● The first is an 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.
● Second, mature personalities are
characterized by a “warm relating
of self to others”.
-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.
● A third criterion is 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.
● Fourth, psychologically healthy
people also possess a 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.
● A fifth criterion is 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.
Allport (1961) believed that insight
and humor are closely related and
may be aspects of the same thing,
namely self-objectification.
 ● The final criterion of maturity is a
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. The person
with a mature religious attitude and a
unifying philosophy of life has a
well-developed conscience and,
quite likely, a strong desire to serve
others.
STRUCTURES OF PERSONALITY
-To Allport, the most important structures
are those that permit the description of the
person in terms of individual characteristics,
and he called these individual
characteristics personal dispositions.
PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS
-they permit researchers to study a single
individual.
-“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”. The most
important distinction between a personal
disposition and a common trait is indicated
by the parenthetical phrase “peculiar to the
individual.”
Common traits
-are general characteristics held in common
by many people. It provide the means by
which people within a given culture can be
compared to one another.
*Personal dispositions are individual;
common traits are shared by several
people.
LEVELS OF PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS
Cardinal Dispositions
-eminent characteristic or ruling
passion so outstanding that it dominates
their lives.
Central Dispositions
-everyone has several central dispositions,
which include the 5 to 10 most outstanding
characteristics around which a person’s life
focuses.
-those that would be listed in an accurate
letter of recommendation written by
someone who knew the person quite well.
Secondary Dispositions
-less conspicuous but far greater in number
than central dispositions.
-occur with some regularity and are
responsible for much of one’s specific
behaviors.
*Cardinal dispositions, which are
exceedingly prominent in a person, shade
into central dispositions, which are less
dominating but nevertheless mark the
person as unique. Central dispositions,
which guide much of a person’s adaptive
and stylistic behavior, blend into secondary
dispositions, which are less descriptive of
that individual.
MOTIVATIONAL AND STYLIC
DISPOSITIONS
Motivational Dispositions
-strongly felt dispositions receive their
motivation from basic needs and drives.
Stylic Dispositions
-personal dispositions that are less intensely
experienced.
-these dispositions possess some
motivational power.
*Stylistic dispositions guide action,whereas
motivational dispositions initiate action.
*Motivational dispositions are somewhat
similar to Maslow’s concept of coping
behavior, whereas stylistic dispositions
are similar to Maslow’s idea of expressive
behavior.
PROPRIUM
-All characteristics that are “peculiarly
mine”.
-refer to those behaviors and characteristics
that people regard as warm, central, and
important in their lives.
-includes those aspects of life that a person
regards as important to a sense of
self-identity and self-enhancement.
MOTIVATION
Peripheral Motives
-are those that reduce a need
Propriate Strivings
-seek to maintain tension and disequilibrium
A Theory Of Motivation
-Allport contended, must allow for proactive
behavior. It must view people as
consciously acting on their environment in a
manner that permits growth toward
psychological health. Allport claimed that
theories of unchanging motives are
incomplete because they are limited to an
explanation of reactive behavior. The
mature person, however, is not motivated
merely to seek pleasure and reduce pain
but to acquire new systems of motivation
that are functionally independent from their
original motives.
Functional Autonomy
-Allport’s most distinctive and, at the same
time, most controversial postulate. It is
Allport’s (1961) explanation for the myriad
human motives that seemingly are not
accounted for by hedonistic or
drive-reduction principles.
-holds that some, but not all, human motives
are functionally independent from the
original motive responsible for the behavior.
If a motive is functionally autonomous, it is
the explanation for behavior, and one need
not look beyond it for hidden or primary
causes.
-“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”
Four Requirements of An Adequate
Theory Of Motivation
1. An adequate theory of motivation
“will acknowledge the
contemporaneity of motives.” In
other words, “Whatever moves us
must move now”.
2. “It will be a pluralistic theory;
allowing for motives of many
types”. He contended that adults’
motives are basically different from
those of children and that the
motivations of neurotic individuals
are not the same as those of normal
people.
3. “It will ascribe dynamic force to
cognitive processes(e.g., to
planning and intention)”. Allport
argued that most people are busy
 living their lives into the future, but
that many psychological theories are
“busy tracing these lives backward
into the past.
4. An adequate theory of motivation is
one that “will allow for the
concrete uniqueness of motives”.
A concrete unique motive is different
from an abstract generalized one,
the latter being based on a
preexistent theory rather than the
actual motivation of a real person.
PERSEVERATIVE FUNCTIONAL
AUTONOMY
-refers to the phenomenon where behaviors
that were originally motivated by certain
needs or goals become autonomous or
self-perpetuating, continuing even after the
original motivation or need is no longer
present. Essentially, it's when a behavior
persists independently of its original
purpose. For example, someone might
continue to engage in a hobby even after
the initial reason for starting it has faded.
Perseveration
-which is the tendency of an impression to
leave an influence on subsequent
experience.
PROPRIATE FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY
-refers to those self-sustaining motives that
are related to the proprium.
-refers to the highest level of functional
autonomy in personality development. It
involves behaviors that are guided by one's
self-concept, values, and sense of identity
rather than by external pressures or
motivations. In other words, these behaviors
are driven by an individual's deep-seated
understanding of themselves and their
principles, rather than by external rewards
or constraints.
CRITERION FOR FUNCTIONAL
AUTONOMY
-In general, a present motive is functionally
autonomous to the extent that it seeks new
goals, meaning that the behavior will
continue even as the motivation for it
changes.
PROCESSES THAT ARE FUNCTIONALLY
AUTONOMOUS
(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, namely
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; and
(8) some neurotic or pathological
symptoms.
THE STUDY OF AN INDIVIDUAL
Morphogenic Science
-focuses on the study of the dynamic
processes that shape the development of
personality over time. It emphasizes
understanding how individuals change and
grow in response to internal and external
influences, rather than viewing personality
as fixed or static. This approach
acknowledges the complexity and fluidity of
personality, recognizing that it is shaped by
a combination of genetic, environmental, (7) cynical-morbid, and
and psychological factors. (8) sentimental.

*two scientific approaches: the
nomothetic, which seeks general laws,
and the idiographic, which refers to that
which is peculiar to the single case.
morphogenic
-refers to patterned properties of the whole
organism and allows for intraperson
comparisons.
THE DIARIES OF MARION TAYLOR
-story that the Allports chose not to publish
-helped them organize and publish
second case; the story of Jenny Gove
Masterson, another pseudonym.
LETTERS FROM JENNY
-best illustrated Allport’s morphogenic
approach to the study of lives
-these letters reveal the story of an older
woman and her intense love/hate feelings
toward her son, Ross.
*The first related to Ross, women, the
past, and herself;self-sacrificing. The
second dealt with Jenny’s search for a
job, and the third cluster revolved
around her attitude toward money and
death.
CRITIQUES OF ALLPORT
-moderate on generate research
-low on falsifiability
-moderate on guides action
-high internally consistent
a -high on parsimonious
-moderate on organizes data
-optimistic, adopted a limited-freedom
approach, teleological, consciousness,
uniqueness, both biological and social, free
choice.

Contiguity
-refers to the proximity of two items in the
letters. How often did the category occur?

Three Techniques To Look at Jenny’s

Personality
● Personal Structure Analysis
● Factor Analysis

8 Clusters of 198 Descriptive Adjectives

(1) quarrelsome-suspicious,
(2) self-centered (possessive),
(3) independent-autonomous,
(4) dramatic-intense,
(5) aesthetic-artistic,
(6) aggressive,