Transcript Personality - Learnblock

Traits Theories I:
Gordon Allport’s Humanistic Traits theory
“As far as the unconscious was concerned, Freud went down deeper, stayed longer,
and came up dirtier than anybody else.”
extract from Allport’s lecture
Dr Niko Tiliopoulos
Room 448, Brennan McCallum building
Email: [email protected]
Core ideas in Allport’s theory I
-PersonalityPersonality is a dynamic system of traits
– Personality: The dynamic organisation within the
individual of those psychophysiological systems [traits] that
determine her or his characteristic behaviour & thought
(unique adjustments to the environment)
Personality is greater than the sum of its traits
– An organised whole that is self-regulating and continually evolving
– Personality is real (and not a construct or abstraction)
Heuristic realism
– Personality is rooted in biological, chemical, mental etc. processes
Core ideas in Allport’s theory II
-The FocusEmphasis on the uniqueness of the person and the
importance of individuality
– Nomothetic approaches to personality
Attempt to establish universal (or group) laws (principles) of human
functioning, and understand the general variables that underlie personality
– Academic personology tends to be nomothetic in nature
– Idiographic approaches to personality
Attempt to identify the unique combination of traits that can best describe
specific individuals
– Clinical, occupational, educational personology tend to be idiographic
Core ideas in Allport’s theory III
-TraitsNeuropsychic structures that dispose a person toward
specific kinds of actions
– Traits are rooted in nervous system functioning
– Traits are established through a combination of innate physical
attributes and acquired environmental habits
– Traits render diverse stimuli functionally equivalent
They are the basis of personal consistency over situations
They are indicators of a person’s characteristic behaviour and thought in
diverse circumstances
Core ideas in Allport’s theory IIIa
-Types of Traits- (Allport identified over 4500 traits!)
– Cardinal
Pervasive, outstanding, and dominating traits (see meta-traits)
– Not all individuals posses them
– Central
The (super-) traits that can best describe an individual
– E.g. dutiful, responsible, friendly
– Secondary
Traits that are peripheral to an individual’s personality
– E.g. musical taste, food preferences
NB! Any kind of trait can fall into any of the above categories, depending
on its importance in an individual’s personality makeup (remember he follows the
idiographic approach)
Common traits (generalised dispositions; shared traits)
Individual traits (personal styles; personal dispositions)
– Universal norms (we are one)
– Group norms (some of us are one)
– Idiosyncratic norms (but we are not the same; we are unique!)
Core ideas in Allport’s theory IV
-The SelfPersonal experience of the self and sense of purpose are the
unifying aspects of personality
Humans are normally rational, creative, active, and self-reliant
(a positive conceptualisation of human nature)
Proprium: The Allportian self (ego)
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The bodily self: Physical sense & bodily reactions
Self-Identity: Self-continuity, regularity, solidity, and sameness of existence
Self-esteem: Sense of competence and worthiness
Extended-self: Abstract concepts of possession (what belongs to me)
Self-image: One’s own appraisal of one’s virtues & weaknesses
Self-as-a-rational-coper: Rationality, efficiency, & knowledge
Self-as-proprietor (knower): Awareness of being and existing
Core ideas in Allport’s theory IVa
The proprium and the stages of development
Core ideas in Allport’s theory V
-MotivesAdult motives are not (necessarily) the result of fixations, infantile
motivation, or unconscious needs
– “Some people do grow up sometimes, in some respect be adult and normal in
personality function” (Allport, 1962)
Functional Autonomy (of motives)
– 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
Emphasis on the individual’s present state, current situation, and feelings
– Perseverative functional autonomy
Self-repeating motives that depend on feedback mechanisms or biochemical
processes
– E.g. smoking
– Propriate functional autonomy
Motives that develop as direct expressions of an individual’s self-wishes or desired goals
– E.g. learning a musical instrument or studying
Evaluating Allport’s theory
The negatives
Largely neglected the effects of the
situation or environment on
personality development and
expressions
Never really developed a
standardised measurement to
assess the identified personality
components (collectively)
Actively ignored psychopathology
(Initially) played down the importance
of common traits (i.e. the nomothetic
approach)
The identified traits (4508!) are
impractical
The positives
Founder of the academic field of
personality (removed it from
psychopathology)
Proposed the Traits approach
Proposed the distinction between the
idiographic and nomothetic focus
Viewed humans as active agents
against the Freudian determinism
and the behavioural reductionism
Inspired Maslow and the humanistic /
existential approach to personality
Pioneered the study of the
psychology of religion!
Main Reading
Murphy, K. et al. (2010). PSYC2014: Personality &
Intelligence I (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest: Pearson Australia
(Section 2, Chapter 7 “Allport: Personological trait
theory”, pp. 257-285)
Optional:
Allport, F.H., & Allport, G.W. (1921). Personality traits: Their classification and
measurement. Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 16, 6-40.
Allport, G.W. (1966). Traits revisited. American Psychologist, 21, 1-10.
Allport, G.W. (1967). Autobiography. In E. G. Boring & G. Lindzey (Eds.), A history of
psychology in autobiography (Vol. 5, pp. 3-25). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Why should we care about Gordon Allport?
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/misc/Allporttalk.html