Gordon Allport as the Father of Personality Psychology - Coursework Example

Running head: GORDON ALLPORT Gordon Allport. Institution: Abstract. Gordon Allport can rightly be called the Father of Personality Psychology. He introduced several concepts such as the concept of the self, personal traits or dispositions, psychological maturity and functional autonomy. He shifted the emphasis to the study of the individual personality. He devised several personality tests and authored many seminal books. His influence continues to be felt even today. Gordon Allport. Gordon Allport (1897-1967) can rightly be considered the Father of Personality Theory. In the early twentieth century, personality was not a formal sub-discipline of Psychology. The emphasis was on the psychoanalytical and behavioral approaches, with Social Psychology also being given importance. Allport was a pioneer in the study of personality and shifted the very direction of its study. His conception of personality emphasized the uniqueness of psychologically healthy individuals who strive proactively towards goals they have consciously set. He is credited with having taught the first college level course on Personality Theory, which is now a mandatory part of every undergraduate Psychology curriculum. Gordon Allport’s own life and personality made him particularly qualified for his work, which can be considered a seminal contribution to the field of Personality Psychology and has many practical applications in today’s workplace. Gordon Willard Allport was born on November 11, 1897 in Montezuma, Indiana, the youngest of four brothers. His father, John E. Allport, was a country physician. His mother, Nellie Wise Allport, was a former schoolteacher, who taught him religious piety and work ethics. Allport is reported to have been a shy and studious boy, who was subject to teasing and lived a somewhat isolated childhood, which was otherwise quite commonplace and pleasant. He is said to have been rather acutely aware of the differences between himself and others in his childhood companions and in his interests. He followed in the footsteps of his brother, Floyd Allport, through High School and on to Harvard. In 1919, Allport graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Economics. He spent the following year teaching English and Sociology at Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey. Allport received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard in 1922. A travelling fellowship from Harvard enabled him to spend two years in Europe studying under the German psychologists, Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler. He taught at Dartmouth for four years and then returned to Harvard, where he remained for the rest of his career. Allport died in 1967 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. (McDougal, 2001) While Floyd Allport went on to become an eminent social psychologist, Gordon Allport was drawn towards the study of personality. A turning point in Allport’s life was his meeting with Sigmund Freud in Vienna in 1919. Freud, whose approach centered on the effect of the unconscious on personality, attributed unconscious motives to a simple observation of Allport’s. This led Allport to conclude that, while Behavioral Psychology was too superficial in it’s’ approach to personality, Depth Psychology was unnecessarily deep in the emphasis given to the influence of the unconscious. He perceived the need for an alternative theory of motivation and embarked on his study of Psychology with his own unique perspective. He was not only a psychologist and educator par excellence, but also a humanist. He was a gifted teacher and patient guide to doctoral aspirants. He had a passion for social ethics and was a social service volunteer. He unobtrusively helped many European psychologists to escape from Nazi Germany and find employment in the U.S. (Kinnes, 2007). Allport developed his unique Personality Theory, examined several social issues, particularly prejudice, in depth and devised many practical personality tests. He proposed that every individual has a unique, consistent personality and all behavior is motivated by the desire for self-expression. Allport is credited with introducing several significant concepts to the field of Personality Theory: the concept of the self, personal traits or dispositions, psychological maturity, functional autonomy and the categorization of values. Allport defined personality as dynamic (moving and changing), organized (structured), psychphysical (involving both the mind and the body), determined (structured by the past and predisposing of the future) and characteristic (unique to the individual). Allport theorized that behavior is motivated, to a certain extent, by opportunistic functioning, which is reactive, past-oriented and based on biological needs. However, most human behavior is motivated by the desire to function in a manner which expresses the self. Allport termed this propriate functioning, which is proactive, future-oriented and psychological. The word propriate is derived from ‘proprium,’ which refers to self-awareness, or the concept of the self. Allport defined the proprium, of the self, as composed of those aspects of one’s experience which one feels are the most essential. He defined seven functions of the self: (1) sense of body: awareness of one’s body develops in the first two years of life. (2) Self-identity: recognition of oneself as an individual identity also develops in the first two years (3) Self-esteem: recognition of one’s value to oneself and to others develops between two and four years of age. (4) Self-extension: defining oneself in terms of the people, things or events in one’s life develops between the age of four and six. (5) Self-image; looking at oneself based on the perception of others develops between four and six. (6) Rational coping: dealing with problems rationally and effectively is learned between the ages of six and twelve. (7) Propriate striving: defining one’s goals in life and having a sense of purpose after twelve years of age. These functions, arising at particular stages in life, constituted a new developmental theory. Allport’s concept of personal traits, or personal dispositions, is a crucial part of his contribution to Personality Psychology. Traits, or predispositions, are unique, determining characteristics in an individual. Based on this, Allport advocates the study of the personality by focusing on one person at a time, through personal interviews, observations and analysis of letters and diaries – idiographic or qualitative methods. Allport differentiates between (1) Common traits, which are culturally similar, can be reliably observed and are normally distributed (e.g. extroversion/introversion); (2) Central traits, which are highly characteristic tendencies, where 5-10 are needed to describe a person (e.g. shyness, smartness). These are the building blocks of personality; (3) Secondary traits, which are not so obvious or consistent (e.g. preferences and attitudes); (4) Cardinal traits, which is one trait which dominates and defines a person (e.g. Machiavelli was dominated by political ruthlessness). Allport characterized mental health as psychological maturity which encompassed (1) extension of the self through involvement (2) Warm relations with others (3) Emotional security and self-acceptance (4) Realistic perceptions (5) Problem-centeredness and the development of problem solving skills (6) Self-insight and humor (7) A unifying philosophy of life. He advocated the concept of functional autonomy, by which adult motivation is not necessarily linked to the past. This is divided into preservative functional autonomy, which mainly consists of repetitive behavior, or habits, devoid of their original function (e.g. smoking) and propriate functional autonomy, where behavior is self-directed by values. Allport also developed a characterization of values: the theoretical (scientist – truth); the economic (businessmen – utility); the aesthetic (artist – beauty); the social (nurse – concern for people); the political (politicians – power); the religious (monks – unity). (Boeree, 2006). Allport’s theories have many practical applications in the workplace, mainly in the form of the personality tests he has devised. In 1954, he devised a scale to measure prejudice, called the Allport’s Scale of Prejudice, which measures prejudice on a scale of 1 – 5. The five points on the scale are (1) Antilocution: speech in terms of negative stereotypes (2) Avoidance: leading to the isolation of the minority (3) Discrimination: denial of rights and opportunities (4) Physical attacks: including vandalism (5) Extermination. (The Free Dictionary). This Scale serves as a convenient tool to identify and measure prejudice in the workplace. Allport also devised other tests for the classification and measurement of personality traits. Gordon Allport’s influence on the field of Personality Psychology cannot be overestimated. His widely published books include The Nature of Prejudice (1954), which is still in use, The Individual and his Religion (1950), The Psychology of Rumor (1947), Personality: A Psychological Interpretation (1937), which was later published as Patterns and Growth in Personality (1965), Becoming: Basic Considerations for a Psychology of Personality (1955), Letters from Jenny (1965) and The Personality in Psychology (1968). (Huff, 2001). He brought about a drastic change in direction in the study of personality, with his emphasis on the study of the individual. He introduced a much needed alternative approach to the exclusive claims of Behavioral and Depth Psychology. He was as much a psychologist as a social scientist and philosopher, and aimed to achieve the understanding “To feel oneself meaningfully linked to the whole of Being” (Kinnes, 2007). He was awarded the American Psychological Foundation’s gold medal in 1963. He influenced the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers and his work continues to be relevant in today’s society and world. References. Boeree, George. (2006). Personality Theories. Gordon Allport 1897-1967. Retrieved 12 March 2008, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/allport.html Huff, Chuck. (2001). Why Should We Care About Gordon Allport? Retrieved 12 March 2008, http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/misc/Allporttalk.html Kinne, Tormod. (2007). Gordon Allport. Retrieved 12 March 2008, from http://oaks.nvg.org/gordon-allport.html#top McDougal, Jan. (2001). Gordon Willard Allport. Retrieved 12 March 2008, from http://www.psychology.sbc.edu/mcdougal.htm The Free Dictionary. Allport’s Scale. Retrieved 12 March 12, 2008 from http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Allports+Scale+of+Prejudice+and+Discrimination Read More