358 Part IV Dispositional Theories
awarded the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the APA; and in 1966,
he was honored as the first Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics at
Harvard. On October 9, 1967, Allport, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer.Allport’s Approach
to Personality Theory
Answers to three interrelated questions reveal Allport’s approach to personality the-
ory: (1) What is personality? (2) What is the role of conscious motivation in person-
ality theory? (3) What are the characteristics of the psychologically healthy person?What Is Personality?
Few psychologists have been as painstaking and exhaustive as Allport in defining
terms. His pursuit of a definition of personality is classic. He traced the etymology
of the word persona back to early Greek roots, including the Old Latin and Etrus-
can meanings. As we saw in Chapter 1, the word “personality” probably comes
from persona, which refers to the theatrical mask used in ancient Greek drama by
Roman actors during the first and second centuries b.c.e. After tracing the history
of the term, Allport spelled out 49 definitions of personality as used in theology,
philosophy, law, sociology, and psychology. He then offered a 50th definition,
which in 1937 was “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psy-
chophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment”
(Allport, 1937, p. 48). In 1961, he had changed the last phrase to read “that deter-
mine his characteristic behavior and thought” (Allport, 1961, p. 28). The change
was significant and reflected Allport’s penchant for accuracy. By 1961, he realized
that the phrase “adjustments to his environment” could imply that people merely
adapt to their environment. In his later definition, Allport conveyed the idea that
behavior is expressive as well as adaptive. People not only adjust to their environ-
ment, but also reflect on it and interact with it in such a way as to cause their
environment to adjust to them.
Allport chose each phrase of his definition carefully so that each word con-
veys precisely what he wanted to say. The term dynamic organization implies an
integration or interrelatedness of the various aspects of personality. Personality is
organized and patterned. However, the organization is always subject to change:
hence, the qualifier “dynamic.” Personality is not a static organization; it is con-
stantly growing or changing. The term psychophysical emphasizes the importance
of both the psychological and the physical aspects of personality.
Another word in the definition that implies action is determine, which sug-
gests that “personality is something and does something” (Allport, 1961, p. 29).
In other words, personality is not merely the mask we wear, nor is it simply
behavior. It refers to the individual behind the facade, the person behind the action.
By characteristic, Allport wished to imply “individual” or “unique.” The word
“character” originally meant a marking or engraving, terms that give flavor to what
Allport meant by “characteristic.” All persons stamp their unique mark or engraving
on their personality, and their characteristic behavior and thought set them apart