364 Part IV Dispositional Theories
As the warm center of personality, the proprium includes those aspects of life
that a person regards as important to a sense of self-identity and self-enhancement
(Allport, 1955). The proprium includes a person’s values as well as that part of the
conscience that is personal and consistent with one’s adult beliefs. A generalized
conscience—one shared by most people within a given culture—may be only periph-
eral to a person’s sense of personhood and thus outside that person’s proprium.Motivation
Most people, Allport believed, are motivated by present drives rather than by past
events and are aware of what they are doing and have some understanding of why
they are doing it. He also contended that theories of motivation must consider the
differences between peripheral motives and propriate strivings. Peripheral motives
are those that reduce a need, whereas propriate strivings seek to maintain tension
and disequilibrium. Adult behavior is both reactive and proactive, and an adequate
theory of motivation must be able to explain both.A Theory of Motivation
Allport believed that a useful theory of personality rests on the assumption that
people not only react to their environment but also shape their environment and cause
it to react to them. Personality is a
growing system, allowing new
elements to constantly enter into
and change the person.
Many older theories of per-
sonality, Allport (1960) believed,
did not allow for possibilities of
growth. Psychoanalysis and the
various learning theories are basi-
cally homeostatic, or reactive,
theories because they see people
as being motivated primarily by
needs to reduce tension and to
return to a state of equilibrium.
An adequate theory of per-
sonality, Allport contended, must
allow for proactive behavior.
It must view people as con-
sciously acting on their environ-
ment in a manner that permits
growth toward psychological
health. A comprehensive theory
must not only include an explana-
tion of reactive theories, but must
also include those proactive theo-
ries that stress change and growth.Sometimes people are motivated to seek tension, not
merely reduce it. © Purestock/SuperStock