Psychology – Theories of Personality
Study Guide
Western Mindanao State University
I. Overview of Allport’s Psychology of the Individual
Gordon Allport, whose major emphasis was on the uniqueness of each individual, built a theory
of personality as a reaction against what he regarded as the non-humanistic positions of both
psychoanalysis and animal-based learning theory. However, Allport was eclectic in his approach
and accepted many of the ideas of other theorists.
II. Biography of Gordon Allport
Gordon W. Allport was born in Indiana in 1897. He received an undergraduate degree in
philosophy and economics from Harvard, and taught in Europe for a year. While in Europe, he
had a fortuitous meeting with Sigmund Freud in Vienna, which helped him decide to complete a
Ph.D. in psychology. After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, Allport spent two years studying
under some of the great German psychologists, but he returned to teach at Harvard. Two years
later he took a position at Dartmouth, but after four years at Dartmouth, he again returned to
Harvard, where he remained until his death in 1967.
III.Allport’s Approach to Personality
Allport believed that psychologically healthy humans are motivated by present, mostly
conscious drives and that they not only seek to reduce tensions but to establish new ones. He
also believed that people are capable of proactive behavior, which suggests that they can
consciously behave in new and creative ways that foster their own change and growth. He
called his study of the individual morphogenic science and contrasted it with traditional
nomothetic methods.
IV. Personality Defined
Allport defined personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”.
V. Structure of Personality
According to Allport, the basic units of personality are personal dispositions and the proprium.
A. Personal Dispositions
Allport distinguished between common traits, which permit inter-individual comparisons, and
personal dispositions, which are peculiar to the individual. He recognized three overlapping
levels of personal dispositions, the most general of which are cardinal dispositions that are so
obvious and dominating that they can not be hidden from other people. Not everyone has a
cardinal disposition, but all people have 5 to 10 central dispositions, or characteristics around
which their lives revolve. In addition, everyone has a great number of secondary dispositions,
which are less reliable and less conspicuous than central traits. Allport further divided personal
dispositions into (1) motivational dispositions, which are strong enough to initiate action and (2)
stylistic dispositions, which refer to the manner in which an individual behaves and which guide
rather than initiate action.
Study Guide
Western Mindanao State University
I. Overview of Allport’s Psychology of the Individual
Gordon Allport, whose major emphasis was on the uniqueness of each individual, built a theory
of personality as a reaction against what he regarded as the non-humanistic positions of both
psychoanalysis and animal-based learning theory. However, Allport was eclectic in his approach
and accepted many of the ideas of other theorists.
II. Biography of Gordon Allport
Gordon W. Allport was born in Indiana in 1897. He received an undergraduate degree in
philosophy and economics from Harvard, and taught in Europe for a year. While in Europe, he
had a fortuitous meeting with Sigmund Freud in Vienna, which helped him decide to complete a
Ph.D. in psychology. After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, Allport spent two years studying
under some of the great German psychologists, but he returned to teach at Harvard. Two years
later he took a position at Dartmouth, but after four years at Dartmouth, he again returned to
Harvard, where he remained until his death in 1967.
III.Allport’s Approach to Personality
Allport believed that psychologically healthy humans are motivated by present, mostly
conscious drives and that they not only seek to reduce tensions but to establish new ones. He
also believed that people are capable of proactive behavior, which suggests that they can
consciously behave in new and creative ways that foster their own change and growth. He
called his study of the individual morphogenic science and contrasted it with traditional
nomothetic methods.
IV. Personality Defined
Allport defined personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”.
V. Structure of Personality
According to Allport, the basic units of personality are personal dispositions and the proprium.
A. Personal Dispositions
Allport distinguished between common traits, which permit inter-individual comparisons, and
personal dispositions, which are peculiar to the individual. He recognized three overlapping
levels of personal dispositions, the most general of which are cardinal dispositions that are so
obvious and dominating that they can not be hidden from other people. Not everyone has a
cardinal disposition, but all people have 5 to 10 central dispositions, or characteristics around
which their lives revolve. In addition, everyone has a great number of secondary dispositions,
which are less reliable and less conspicuous than central traits. Allport further divided personal
dispositions into (1) motivational dispositions, which are strong enough to initiate action and (2)
stylistic dispositions, which refer to the manner in which an individual behaves and which guide
rather than initiate action.
