TRAIT PERSPECTIVES:

Allport : chapter 6
 “what a man really is”
 Personality is the dynamic organization
within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his
characteristic behavior & thought.
 Personality as striving toward unity
 Continually evolving & changing
 Although situational influences have effect,
it is individual’s own perception of the
influences that determine one’s behavior.
 Behavior is controlled by internal
forces
 Differences in behavior are caused
by opposing tendencies/traits
 A unifying genotype responsible for the
two phenotypes.
 Refers the internal factors as
psychophysical systems
 Personality consists of both mind &
body,organized into a complex unity
 Individual’s characteristic - unique
behavior
 We are not only adjust to environment
but also reflect on it
 Allport’s view of personality:
 Emphasize the uniqueness of individual
 Internal cognitive & motivational
process that influence behavior
 Personality as jointly determined by
biology & environment
 What is a Trait
 Trait=neuropsychic system with the
capacity to render many stimuli & guide
consistent form of adaptive & expressive
behavior.
 Trait exists but is invisible
 Located in certain part of the nervous
system
 Infer the existence by observing the
consistencies in a person’s behavior
 Trait manifest itself thru variety of
responses.
 The theory of traits
 Major concepts revolve around the
different kinds of traits that are
contained in the proprium (self) &
 How they are shaped as the self
continues to develop
 Traits are key structures within the self
 Traits direct the individual’s behavior in
unique ways
 Characteristics of traits
 Cardinal traits
 characteristics that are pervasive & dominant
 master motives,ruling passion
 Central traits
 the ones people mention when asked to
describe another person/to write a letter of
recommendation
 Secondary traits
 characteristics that are peripheral
 Common traits vs Personal
dispositions
 Common traits
 Categories for classifying groups of
people on a particular dimension
 Personal dispositions
 Contrast to the common trait
 Unique characteristic of a person
 A trait not shared with others
 The proprium, or self
 The proprium develops continuously
from infancy to death
 Moves through a series of stages
1.Bodily Self (first aspect of selfhood)
 Salient in infancy
2.Self Identity
 During the first 18 months
 We perceive ourselves with a certain
continuity & sameness
3.Self esteem (2 & 3 y)
 Children are familiar with environment
 Pride when they master tasks &
humiliation when they fail
 Very negativistic

4.Self-extension (4-6 y)
 Concern with possessions
 Egocentric
 Selfish
5.Self-image
 Along with self extension
 2 components:
 Learned expectations of the roles
 Aspirations for the future we seek to attain
 Formulate plans for the future
6.Self-as-rational-coper/rational agent (6-12 y)
 Reflective thought
 Devise strategies to cope with problems
 Testing their skills
 Capable of distortion & defense
 Beginning to sense their rational powers
7.Propriate striving (adolescence)
 People start to develop the facet of the self
 2 kinds of motives:
 Peripheral motives=impulses & drives – the
striving toward immediate gratification of
needs & reduction of tension
 Propriate motives=increase/maintenance of
tensions in the service of important goals
 Ego-involved behavior
 Unification of personality in pursuit of major
life goals
 Closely related to development of conscience
8.The self-as-knower (adulthood)

 Capable of integrating all the prior

aspects of the proprium
 Various aspects of the proprium
continue to develop & do not
function separately
 Several/all of them can operate
simultaneously
 Example
Facing a difficult examination.
 Butterflies in your stomach (bodily self)
 Significance of the exam in terms of your past and
future (self identity)
 Prideful involvement (self esteem)
 What success/failure may mean to your family (self
extension)
 Your hopes & aspirations (self image)
 Your role as the solver of problems on the
examination (rational agent)
 The relevance to your long-range goals (propriate
striving)
Development of the Mature Personality
 Only the adult is capable of coming
close to self-realization
 Children’s behavior is designed to help
them survive
 As the proprium develop,they learn to
protect themselves
 Allport accepted Freud’s ego defense
mechanisms but excessive use is
indicative of immature personality
 Functional Autonomy
 As persons mature, their bonds with the
past are broken
 Serves as a bridge between the phase of
development controlled by immature
striving & by mature striving
 Each person has a creative energy level
that must be satisfied
 People are innately curious, seek to
understand themselves & others
Characteristics of Maturity
 Mature individuals are those who are
able to free themselves from excessive
reliance on earlier motives
 6 criteria for judging whether/not a
person is mature
1. Extension of the sense of self
 Able to participate in activities
tt.concern with only with their welfare
but also with the welfare of others
2. Self acceptance

 Emotionally secure
 Avoid overreacting in matters that
are beyond their control
 High tolerance level of frustration
 Immature – blame others
3. Warm relatedness to others
 Capable of relating warmly to
others
 Intimacy
 Concern to others
 “Do not poison the air that other
people have to breathe”
4. Realistic perception of reality
 Accurate in their perception of events
 Problem centered, not ego centered

 5.Self-objectification
 Mature persons know themselves
 Insight into their own abilities &
weaknesses
6. Unifying philosophy of life

 Have a set of life goals

 Clear self image
 Have a set of standards that guide
their conduct
The role of religion as a unifying
philosophy of life
 Religion can play important part in
helping individuals mature
 Commitment to religious beliefs can
organize our lives
 Extrinsic religious orientations –
immaturity & associated with
maladjustment
 Intrinsic religious orientations - maturity