PSYCHOLOGY OF THE INDIVIDUAL

GORDON ALLPORT

I. Basic Introduction

● Gives emphasis on the uniqueness of the individual; it argues against theories

which reduce individual behaviors to common traits or those that focus on a
single aspect of personality (particularism).
● Morphogenic science is the study of an individual (patterned properties peculiar
to a single case) in contrast with nomothetic which is the study of groups (general
laws).
● Uses eclectic approach to theory building; a comprehensive theory is preferable
to a narrow, specific theory even if it does not generate as many testable
hypotheses.
● He references and accepts theories from Freud, Maslow, Rogers, Eysenck,
Skinner, and others but did not believe that any of them are able to adequately
explain the growing and unique personality as a whole.
● Argued against particularism, theories that focus on only a specific part of a
personality

II. Structure – basic units or building blocks of a personality (basic terms and
concepts)

“Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical

systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought.”

People do not merely adapt to their environment but also reflect on it and interact with it
in such a way as to cause their environment to adjust to them. Personality is both
substance and change, both product and process, both physical and psychological, and
both structure and growth.

● Dynamic organization – Personality is organized and patterned but is not static;

it is constantly growing or changing.
● Psychophysical – Psychological and the physical aspects of personality.
● Determine – Personality is something and does something.
● Characteristic – Unique mark or engraving on an individual’s personality which
sets them apart from others.
● Behavior and thought – anything that person does including both internal
(thoughts) and external (words and actions) behaviors.
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”

They permit the description of the person in terms of individual characteristics.

Levels of Personal Dispositions

● Cardinal Dispositions – exceedingly prominent to a person; they are obvious

and cannot be hidden. Most people do not have cardinal dispositions.
○ Example: The word narcissistic came from Narcissus. Since dispositions
are individual, only he was completely narcissistic. But when narcissism is
used to describe others, it becomes a common trait.
● Central Dispositions – less dominating but still marks the person as unique.
Everyone has several central dispositions (5–10 most outstanding
characteristics).
○ Example: Those that would be listed in an accurate letter of
recommendation written by someone who knew the person quite well.
● Secondary Dispositions – guide much of a person’s adaptive and stylistic
behavior. Everyone has many secondary dispositions--responsible for much of
one’s specific behaviors.

Motivational and Stylistic Motivations

● Motivational Dispositions – strongly felt more than others; receive their

motivation from basic needs and drives to initiate action (similar to Maslow’s
concept of coping behavior).
● Stylistic Dispositions – less intensely experienced but still have some
motivational power to guide action (similar to Maslow’s idea of expressive
behavior).
○ Unlike in Maslow’s theory, there is no distinct division between
motivational and stylistic personal dispositions; some dispositions are
clearly stylistic while others are obviously based on a strongly felt need
and are thus motivational.
○ Example: Politeness is a stylistic disposition, whereas eating is more
motivational. How people eat depends partially on how hungry they are
and on the strength of their stylistic dispositions. A usually polite but
hungry person may forgo manners while eating alone, but if the polite
disposition is strong enough and if others are present, then the famished
person may eat with etiquette and courtesy despite being famished.
Proprium – behaviors and characteristics that are close to the core of personality but
not the whole personality—warm and central, and an important part of self; includes
values and conscience that are personal and consistent with beliefs (related to sense of
self-identity and self-enhancement).

● Periphery of personality – non-appropriate behaviors which include 1) basic

drives and needs that are ordinarily met and satisfied without much difficulty; (2)
tribal customs, and (3) habitual behaviors (e.g., smoking).

III. Process – ​dynamic aspects of personality including motives (sources of

motivation)

Theory of Motivation

Other theories of personality, such as Psychoanalysis, did not allow for possibilities of
growth—homeostatic (reactive) and saw people as being motivated primarily by needs
to reduce tension and to return to a state of equilibrium. For Allport, an adequate theory
explains both the reactive and proactive behavior of adults, and considers the
differences between peripheral motives—those that reduce a need, and propriate
strivings—those that seek to maintain tension and disequilibrium.

Requirements of an adequate theory of motivation

1. Acknowledges the contemporaneity of motives – the past of an individual is

insignificant except for when it has a present effect on motivation (adults’ motives
are different from those of children).
2. Pluralistic – motives are different not only in form but also in
substance—conscious and unconscious; transient and recurring; peripheral and
propriate, etc.
3. Ascribes dynamic force to cognitive processes – long-range planning and
intention—future oriented and involves preferences and purposes (becomes
irrational when people allow their anger to dominate their plans and intentions).
a. Example: A young woman declines an offer to see a movie because she
prefers to study anatomy. This is consistent with her 1) purpose of getting
good grades, 2) plans of being admitted to medical school, and 3)
intention of being a doctor.
4. Concrete uniqueness of motives – autonomous motive that is unique to an
individual.
a. Example: A male is interested in improving his bowling game just because
he wants to. His motive is concrete, and his manner of seeking
improvement is unique and functionally autonomous.
Functional Autonomy

“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.”

Functional autonomy represents a theory of changing motives in reaction to Freud’s

pleasure principle and the drive-reduction hypothesis of stimulus-response psychology.
Some motives are contemporary and self-sustaining; they grow out of earlier motives
and become functionally independent of them. This notions the concept that present
interests and conscious preferences are in harmony with the common sense belief of
“many people do things simply because they like to do them.”

● Present motives are functionally autonomous to the extent that they seek new
goals; behaviors will continue even as the motivations for them change.
● Example: A person may originally plant a garden to satisfy a hunger drive but
eventually become interested in gardening for its own sake.

Perseverative Functional Autonomy

“Perseveration” is the tendency of an impression to leave an influence on subsequent

experience. Perseverative functional autonomy is found in animals as well as humans
and is based on simple neurological principles–habits and behaviors that are not part of
one’s proprium.

● Example: A rat learned to run a maze in order to be fed but then continues to run
the maze even after it has become satiated—just for the fun of it.
● Other examples for humans: Addiction to alcohol with no physiological hunger for
them—alcoholics continue to drink although their current motivation is
functionally independent from their original motive.

Propriate Functional Autonomy

It is the master system of motivation that confers unity on personality (self-sustaining

motives that are related to the proprium)—occupations, hobbies, and interests are
closer to the core of personality, and many of our motivations concerning them become
functionally autonomous.

● Example: A woman originally takes a job for money but eventually develops a
consuming passion for the job itself.
Processes That Are Not Functionally Autonomous

Functional autonomy is not an explanation for all human motivation. There are eight
processes that are not functionally autonomous:

1. Biological drives (e.g., eating, breathing, and sleeping)

2. Those directly linked to the reduction of basic drives
3. Reflex actions (e.g., eye blink)
4. Constitutional equipment (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.

IV. Growth and Development – how we develop into the unique person each of
us is (developmental stages from prenatal to old age)

Healthy (psychologically mature) adults are generally aware of what they are doing and
their reasons for doing it. Allport took unconscious processes and compulsive behaviors
at face value since such behaviors tended to have underlying motivations and often
originate from a person’s childhood.

He provided three terms in relation to this:

● Proactive behavior – consciously acting on the environment in new and

innovative ways causing their environment to react to them–permits growth
toward psychological health.
● Conscious processes – flexible and autonomous due to relatively trauma-free
childhood.
● Maturity – adults become more mature as they get older (exponential growth).

Characteristics of the psychologically healthy person

Allport identified six criteria for the mature personality:

● Extension of the sense of self – earmark of maturity, continually seek to identify

with and participate in events outside themselves.
● Warm relating of self to others – capacity to love others in an intimate and
compassionate manner.
● Emotional security (self-acceptance) – accept themselves for what they are
and they possess emotional poise.
 ● Realistic perception – problem oriented rather than self-centered.
● Insight and humor (self-objectification) – see themselves objectively and have a
non-hostile sense of humor.
● Unifying philosophy of life – clear view of the purpose of life–they have a
mature religious orientation.

V. Psychopathology – nature and causes of disordered personality

functioning

Criterion for Functionally Autonomous Compulsions

Functionally autonomous compulsions are extremely resistant to change while those

that are not can be eliminated through therapy or behavior modification.

● Example: A 12-year-old girl had a disturbing habit of smacking her lips several
times a minute because her mother told her inhaling air makes it good while
exhaling it makes it bad when she was 8 years old. Consequently, the girl
believed that by kissing the air she exhaled (smacking her lips) makes it well
again. However, after therapy, the girl was able to stop the behavior. Thus, the
behavior was not functionally autonomous, but the result of a compulsive need.
● Example 2 for functionally autonomous compulsion: A second-born child
attempts to overtake his older brother (pathological symptom but is autonomous
from earlier experiences) which changes into a compulsive lifestyle marked by
unconscious strivings to overtake or defeat all rivals. Because such a
deep-seated neurosis is probably not amenable to therapy, it meets Allport’s
criterion for being functionally autonomous.

VI. Change – how people change and why they sometimes resist change or
unable to change

Contact Hypothesis

One of the most important components to reducing prejudice is contact. There would be
less prejudice if members of majority and minority groups interacted more under optimal
conditions: (1) equal status between the two groups, (2) common goals, (3) cooperation
between groups, and (4) support of an authority figure, law, or custom.

● Example: African American and European American neighbors get together to

form a neighborhood watch group to make their neighborhood safer endorsed by
 the mayor and police (support of an authority figure). This interaction would then
likely lead to reduced prejudice among residents as they cooperate to achieve a
common goal.

VII. Concept of Humanity -lia

As excessively deterministic and mechanistic, Allport opposed psychoanalytic and

behavioral theories of humanity. He claimed that our futures and qualities are decided
not by unconscious urges from childhood, but by conscious decisions we make now.

Allport's perspective on humans is teleological rather than causal. Personality is derived

from past experiences to some extent, but it is our actions that constitute us humans
that are motivated by our ambitions for the future. We are all unique, not so much
because we have various inherent urges, but because we have diverse self-created
objectives and intentions.

Personality development always takes place in a social context. Social elements, on the
other hand, received just a moderate amount of attention from Allport. He
acknowledged the importance of external factors in shaping personality, but he believed
that personality has its own existence. Culture has a significant impact on language,
morals, values, fashions, and so on; but, how each of us reacts to cultural factors is
dependent on our distinct nature and internal motive.

Allport had a positive outlook on humanity, believing that everyone has some degree of
freedom. Humans are goal-oriented, purposeful, and driven by a number of forces, the
majority of which are within their control. Both differences and uniqueness are vital
between people, but individual differences and uniqueness receive far more importance.

VIII. Critique of Allport – ​generates research, falsifiable, organizes data, guides

action, internally consistent, parsimonious

Generates considerable research – Allport’s theory is limited—offers explanations to a

fairly narrow scope of personality and certain kinds of motivation (functional autonomy
among psychologically healthy adults). His account of personality is not broad enough
to adequately answer questions regarding motives of children and of mentally disturbed
adults allowing room for further research and testable hypotheses.

Difficult to Falsify – Allport used an eclectic approach to theory building and primarily
focused on philosophical thought and rational thinking (related to religious
orientation)—depending on the ability of science to determine whether some other
explanation might be equally appropriate.

Organizes a narrow range of data – Much of what is known about human personality
cannot be easily integrated into Allport’s theory, such as behaviors motivated by
unconscious forces. This limitation, however, does not invalidate Allport’s theory.

Guides action – Allport’s theory has moderate usefulness to teachers and the
therapists, suggesting that people should be treated as individuals.

Lastly, Allport’s precise language renders the theory both internally consistent and
parsimonious.