1. 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

2. Core ideas in Allport’s theory I
-Personality-
Personality 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

3. Core ideas in Allport’s theory II
-The Focus-
Emphasis 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

4. Core ideas in Allport’s theory III
-Traits-
Neuropsychic 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

5. 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!)

6. Core ideas in Allport’s theory IV
-The Self-
Personal 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)
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

7. Core ideas in Allport’s theory IVa
The proprium and the stages of development

8. Core ideas in Allport’s theory V
-Motives-
Adult 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

9. 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!

10. 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 )
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?