Unit 4 - Gordon Allport - Self Notes PDF

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Allport's theory of personality...

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Gordon Allport’s Theory of Personality (Trait Theory) BIOGRAPHY – - Gordon Allport (1897-1967) was one of the 4 sons born to a teacher and country doctor in Indiana. The family kept moving often until they finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Here, Allport grew up in a hardworking and protestant environment. - He graduated 2nd in his class in 1919, on the same day his brother Floyd received his Ph.D. After Graduation, he taught abroad in Eastern Europe for a year and later joined his brother Floyd in Harvard University where he studied Psychology & Social Ethics. - On his return trip to the United States, he stopped by in Vienna to meet one of his brothers. While he was there, he sent a note to Sigmund Freud & got an invitation to meet him. He went to meet Freud and noted that he was patiently waiting for Allport. There was an awkward silence for some time until finally Allport described an incident of a young boy who feared dirt to Freud. - Freud listened carefully to him and asked, “Was that little boy you?” Freud was expressing his belief that the story Allport told betrayed his own unconscious fears and conflicts. Allport was shaken by the question. He was mistaken by Freud as a patient seeking therapy. He suspected that psychoanalysis was too deeply rooted in the unconscious and that personality theories should be focused on conscious or viable motivations. THE STUDY OF TRAITS – - Allport completed his Ph.D. in 1922. His dissertation was titled ‘An Experimental study of the Traits of Personality’. He was awarded a travelling fellowship and travelled all over Germany and England for the next 2 years studying with noted psychologists. In 1924, he accepted a teaching position in Harvard University. He taught there for most of his life where he introduced the first formal course on the psychological and social aspects of personality. - His work was published in various journals and he went on to become the president of the APA. He was also the editor for various journals. MAJOR THEMES IN ALLPORT’S WORK – A] Consistency of Personality – Allport argued that humans remain constant or remarkably recognizable in personality even though they may vary from situation to situation. According to him personality is discrete or discontinuous. Some researches do support this view with evidence whereas some researches imply that situations make people change their behaviour thus bringing about a change in their personality. He believed that there are 2 different personalities – one for childhood and one for adulthood and that the adult personality is not constrained by childhood experiences. B] Concept of Self – Allport insisted on the idea of self as the major focus of personality growth. Today, a great deal of research focuses on this idea. (e.g.: self-esteem, self-efficacy, etc.) C] Interaction of Personality and Social Influences – Although his major focus was on personality traits, he did recognize the importance of social factors and their influences on personality. ALLPORT’S DEFINTION OF PERSONALITY – (He had reviewed 50 defn’s by 1961) - “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to the environment.” (1937) - “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought” (1961) These defn’s – Not Accepted – Pers Psychs

Components of the Definition – a) Dynamic Organization – Although personality is constantly changing and growing, the growth is organized and not random. We need to integrate all parts of our personality into a whole. CRITICISMS – THEME OF UNITY IS NOT SHARED BY EVERYONE. The focus of Learning theorists is on DISCRETE units of behaviour. b) Psychophysical – Personality is composed of mind and body functioning together as a unit; personality is neither all mental or biological. Allport accepted the idea that temperament constitutes an inherited biological foundation for personality. c) Determine – Personality is made up of determining tendencies that play an important role in the individual’s behaviour. “Personality is something and does something.” It is not merely a mask we wear, nor is it simply behaviour. Allport believed that traits are not just predictor’s of behaviour but they actually determine (cause) behaviour. He was accused of circular reasoning. (Example – Jack hitting Babba is BEHAVIOUR. We observe the hitting behaviour and say that Jack is high on ‘aggression’ which is a trait. However, if asked why Jack is aggressive – we reason it by saying ‘because he hit Babba’ –LOL) d) Unique – Allport believed that traits are highly unique. He completely disagreed with theorists who stated that one or more instincts would motivate all people (e.g. sexual drives, striving for superiority, etc.) e) Adjustments to the environment – Allport felt that our personalities develop as a function of learning to adapt to social situations while trying to achieve our needs. NOTE – Points d & e are specific to the first definition only f) characteristic behaviour and thought – It means that everything we think and do is characteristic or typical of us. Each person in unique. TRAITS – - Traits, according to Allport are distinguishing characteristics that guide behaviour. They are consistent and long-lasting. They are predispositions to respond in the same or a similar manner to different kinds of stimuli. He defined a trait as a, “neuropsychic structure having the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and guide equivalent (meaningful consistent) forms of adaptive and expressive behaviour.” (Allport,1961)The characteristics of traits are – i) Real and exist within each one of us ii) Determine or cause behaviour iii) Can be demonstrated empirically iv) Are Interrelated v) Vary with the situation - Initially, Allport proposed 2 types of traits – Individual and Common traits. Individual traits are unique to one person and define his or her character. Common traits are shared by a number of people such as the members of a culture. People in different cultures have different common traits and are subject to change over time. - As some confusion could result with the phenomena of traits, Allport revised his terminology and labelled common traits as traits and individual traits as personal dispositions.

- He stated that the pervasiveness of the influence of the trait varies with the trait itself. - He argued that humans have 3 categories of traits – cardinal, secondary and central A] Cardinal Traits – The most pervasive and powerful human traits. It is so dominant that a person’s entire life revolves around it. E.g. Sadism, Chauvinism, Non-violence, etc. B] Central Traits – The handful of traits that describe a person’s behaviour. These are qualities that characterize a person’s daily interactions. They usually number from 5-10 in an individual. They are pervasive and affect many behaviours. E.g. Aggressiveness, self-pity. C] Secondary Traits – The least important traits which a person may display inconsistently. They are exhibited in specific situations. They are less influential in comparison to central or cardinal traits. E.g. A preference of ice cream or dislike of modern art would be considered a secondary trait. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT – - Allport believed that the central problem for any personality theory is how it treats the concept of motivation. He emphasized that it is the individual’s current situation or the present that is important and not what happened in the past during toilet training, schooling, etc. He emphasized the influence of a person’s present in not only his personality theory but also in his view of motivation. - He proposed the functional autonomy of motives – the idea that motives in the normal, mature adult are independent of the childhood experiences in which they originally appeared. Childhood may be the root of the trait or tendency but do not continue to influence the tendency in adulthood. He proposed 2 levels of functional autonomy. 1] Perspective Functional Autonomy – The level of functional autonomy that relates to low-level and routine behaviours. It is a more elementary level and is concerned with behaviours such as addictions and repetitive physical actions such as habitual ways of performing everyday tasks. 2] Propriate Functional Autonomy – The level of functional autonomy that relates to our values, selfimage, and lifestyle. It is more important than perspective functional autonomy and is essential to adult motivation. The term propriate derives from the word ‘proprium’ which is Allport’s term for the ego or self. Our propriate functioning is an organizing process that maintains our sense of self. It determines how we perceive the world, what we remember from our experiences, and how our thoughts are directed. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF SELF – Allport described the nature and development of the proprium over seven stages from infancy through adolescence. 1. Bodily Sense of Self (1st Year) – sensory information provides an anchor for our self-awareness. Infants become aware of their existence and are able to distinguish their own bodies from objects in the environment. 2. Self-Identity (1 or 2-4 or 5) - Sense of existence as a separate person. Children realize that their identity remains intact despite the changes taking place. 3. Ego Enhancement or Self-esteem (2-3) – Children learn to take pride in their achievements. They begin to test the limits of the environment. 4. Ego Extension (3-4 or 4-6) – Children come to realize the objects and people that are a part of their own world. With maturity, it shifts to loved ones and later to ideal causes or loyalties. 5. Self-Image (4-6) – Children develop idealized images of themselves and their behaviours and become aware of satisfying (or failing to satisfy) parental expectations. 6. Rational Agent (6-12) - They begin to apply logic and reason to solving everyday problems. 7. Propriate Striving (12+) – Unification of personality to develop major long-range goals and plans.

NOTE - The Knower (adult) – The integration of the 7 aspects of proprium takes place which leads to a unified personality....