Gordon Allport

By: Luján Rodriguez

Psychology
 Birth and family
 Gordon Allport was an American
psychologist, who was born in a little
town, Montezuma, Indiana in 1879.
 He was the youngest of four sons of John

Edwards and Nellie Allport.  

 Early Years
 When he was about six, his family moved to
Ohio. Gordon’s father was a doctor with his
clinic and hospital in the family home.  
 Gordon and his brothers grew up surrounded
by their father's patients, nurses, and medical
equipment. This gave him an early idea of
what he wanted to do when he grew up- a
successful and important pshycologist.
 Growing Up
 During his teenage years, Allport had his
own printing business.

 He graduated second in his class at High

School in 1915 with scholarships that
allowed him to attend Harvard College.
 Education
 Gordon attended Harvard University.
Entering Harvard was not an easy
transition for him since the moral values
were different from those he learned at
home. Gordon majored in economics and
philosophy and earned degree in 1919.
 Starting an independent
Life
 After graduating in 1919, Gordon moved
to Turkey, where he taught economics
and philosophy at Robert College, up
until he returned back to Harvard to get
his Master which he received in 1921. 
Becoming a psychologist
 Allport worked as an instructor in
Psychology from 1924 to 1926 at
Harvard University. He began teaching
his course "Personality” in 1924; it was
probably the first course in Personality
ever taught in the U.S.
 Based on his beliefs
 He believed that every person has a
small number of specific traits that
dominate in his or her personality.He
called these a person's central traits.
 …
 He also said that as a child develops
specific behavior and interactions
becomes a part of the individual's
personality.   
 Allport’s Trait Theory
 1. Cardinal trait - This is the trait that dominates and
shapes a person's behavior.
 2. Central trait - These are the basic building blocks that
shape most of our behavior. An example of a central trait
would be honesty.
 3. Secondary trait - These are characteristics seen only
in certain circumstances (such as likes or dislikes that a very
close friend may know).
 Working as a Psychologist
 Gordon wrote a lot of books such as:
Personality: A Psychological Interpretatio
n
.This book was the first book to ever define
which topics should be covered when studying
personality.
 MORE books…
 The Individual and His Religion
 The Nature of Prejudice
 Late Life
 After going teaching introductory
courses on social psychology and
personality at Dartmouth College for four
years, Allport returned to Harvard and
remained there for the rest of his career.
 Video
 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=vi
deos+of+gordon+allport&docid=1217357
218541&FORM=VIRE
#
 II. Themes in Allport’s work
 A. Consistency of Personality
 Allport argued that humans are consistent
(“remarkably recognizable”) in personality
even though they may vary from situation to
situation.

 Some research supports Allport’s view; other

studies suggest situations make people
change their behavior (Mischel, 1984a).
 B. The Concept of the Self
 Allport argued for the idea of self as a major
focus of personality growth.

 Today, a good deal of research in clinical &

social psychology focuses on the idea of the
self (e.g., self-concept, self-esteem, self-
efficacy).
 C. Interaction of Personality &
Social Influences
 Although Allport focused on personality
traits, he did recognize the importance of
social factors & how they influence
individuals.
III. Allport’s definition of Personality
 “Personality is the dynamic organization
within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine
his unique adjustments to the
environment.”

 This is not tacitly accepted by

personality psychologists.
 Components of Allport’s definition

 1. Dynamic organization:

 Refers to Allport’s view that to be healthy,

we need to integrate all parts of our
personality into a whole.

 Criticisms: the theme of unity isn’t shared

by everyone. Learning theorists focus on
discrete units of behavior.
 2. Psychophysical Systems
 Allport argued that biology influences our
personality development.

 He accepted the idea that temperament,

constitutes an inherited biological foundation
for personality.

 There is some evidence that this might be the

case. The temperaments of young children
tend to be consistent into adulthood.
 3. Determinative
 Allport argued that traits are not just
predictor’s of behavior, they actually
determine (cause) behavior.

 Allport felt these were actually physical

(tangible) although he didn’t know how
they related to the neural systems.

 Many perceive this view as: circular

reasonsing!!!
 How does circular reasoning
work?
 Jack hits Bob (behavior)

 We observe hitting behavior & say that

Jack is high on “aggression” (a trait).

 When asked why Jack is aggressive—we

say “Because he hit Bob.”
 4. Unique
 Allport felt that traits are highly
individualized or unique.

 He disagreed with theorists who asserted

that one or a few instincts motivate all
people (sexual drives, striving for
superiority).
 5. 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.
 IV. Traits
 Allport felt that our personality was made
up of traits.

 If you know a person’s traits, you can

provide a description of their personality.
 What are traits???

 A trait is a consistent, long-lasting

tendency in behavior.

 E.g., shyness, hostility, gregariousness

 Can we all be described by
the same traits?
 Do we each have different traits or do we all
have the same traits in varying amounts?

 What do you think??

 Allport wasn’t willing to rule either of these

out, although most researchers agree we
have the same traits in different degrees.
 Individual Vs. Common Traits
 Allport argued we have both individual
traits & common traits.

 Individual traits -- possessed by only 1

person.

 Common traits-- possessed by all people

to a varying extent.
 How do we know what traits a
person possesses?
 1. We can infer them from language
(Dictionary Study).

 Allport & Odbert identified 17,953 trait

names, from the dictionary (4.5% of total
words).

 
 Dictionary study
 1.     Neutral Terms Designating Personal Traits (artistic,
assertive).
 
 2.     Terms Primarily Descriptive of Temporary Moods or
Activities (alarmed, ashamed)
 
 3.     Weighted Terms Conveying Social or Character
Judgments of Personal Conduct, or Designating influence
on others (adorable, asinine).
 
 4.     Miscellanous: Designations of Physique, Capacities,
and Developmental Conditions; Metaphorical and
Doubtful Terms (alone).
 2. Inferring traits from behavior
 Allport argues that what people do, is a
great clue as to their personality traits.

 If people like to run, hike, & ride bikes

we can infer they are athletic (a trait).

 By observing others either in naturalistic

settings or through experiments, we
can infer some of their traits.
 3. Inferring traits from Personality
measurement
 We can also infer traits from personality tests.

 Allport examined people’s values, because he

felt that you could understand people’s
motivations from their value systems.

 He along with other colleagues developed the

Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values.
 Allport-Vernon Lindzey Study of
Values
 Self-report questionnaire-- 60 questions. Scores
have norms based on 1960. Looks at who scores
high on which values.

 Allport reported that college students who entered

different occupations had different value scores.

 Recently, Huntley and Davis (1983) found that

scores on the study of values taken during college
were associated with occupations of male students
25 years later.
Allport-Vernon Lindzey Study of Values
 Scale Description of value Typical
Occupation
 Social helping people social work
 Theoretical search for truth Professor
 Economic Pragmatic, applied Business
 Aesthetic Artistic values Artist
 Political Power & influence Politics
 Religious Religion, harmony Clergy
 A. Central traits
 Central traits are the major characteristics of an
individual.

 These usually number from 5 to 10 in any one

person (e.g., honesty, sociability).

 These are rather pervasive & effect many

behaviors. We can use a small number of
adjectives to describe someone.
 B. Secondary traits
 These are characteristics that effect
behavior in fewer situations & are less
influential than central or cardinal traits.

 A preference for ice cream or dislike of

modern art would be considered a
secondary trait.
 C. Cardinal traits
 This is a single characteristic that directs
most of a person’s activities.

 It is so pervasive that it dominates just

about everything that a person does.

 E.g., A person so power-hungry that they

are solely driven by that need for control.