Chapter 12 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 367Allport (1961) listed other examples of perseverative functional autonomy
that involve human rather than animal motivation. The first is an addiction to
alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs when there is no physiological hunger for them.
Alcoholics continue to drink although their current motivation is functionally inde-
pendent from their original motive.
Another example concerns uncompleted tasks. A problem once started but
then interrupted will perseverate, creating a new tension to finish the task. This
new tension is different from the initial motivation. For example, a college student
is offered 10 cents for every piece of a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle she successfully
puts together. Assume that she does not have a preexisting interest in solving
jigsaw puzzles and that her original motivation was solely for the money. Also
assume that her monetary reward is limited to $45, so that after she has completed
450 pieces, she will have maximized her pay. Will this student finish the remain-
ing 50 pieces in the absence of monetary reward? If she does, then a new tension
has been created, and her motive to complete the task is functionally autonomous
from the original motive of getting paid.
Propriate Functional Autonomy
The master system of motivation that confers unity on personality is propriate func-
tional autonomy, which refers to those self-sustaining motives that are related to
the proprium. Jigsaw puzzles and alcohol are seldom regarded as “peculiarly mine.”
They are not part of the proprium but exist only on the periphery of personality. On
the other hand, occupations, hobbies, and interests are closer to the core of personal-
ity, and many of our motivations concerning them become functionally autonomous.
For example, a woman may originally take a job
because she needs money. At first, the work is
uninteresting, perhaps even distasteful. As the
years pass, however, she develops a consuming
passion for the job itself, spending some vacation
time at work and, perhaps, even developing a
hobby that is closely related to her occupation.
Criterion for Functional Autonomy
In general, a present motive is functionally autono-
mous to the extent that it seeks new goals, meaning
that the behavior will continue even as the motiva-
tion for it changes. For example, a child first learn-
ing to walk is motivated by some maturational
drive, but later he may walk to increase mobility
or to build self-confidence. Similarly, a scientist
initially dedicated to finding answers to difficult
problems may eventually gain more satisfaction
from the search than from the solution. At that
point, her motivation becomes functionally inde-
pendent from her original motive of finding
answers. She may then look for another area of
inquiry even though the new field is somewhat
A person might begin running to lose
weight but continue because running is
enjoyable. The motive for continuing
to run is then functionally autonomous
from the motive for beginning to run.
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