Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
Edition
IV. Dispositional Theories 13. Allport: Psychology of
the Individual© The McGraw−Hill^405
Companies, 2009themselves for who they are; have a realistic perception of the world; and
possess insight, humor, and a unifying philosophy of life.- Allport advocated a proactiveposition, one that emphasized the notion that
people have a large measure of conscious controlover their lives. - Common traitsare general characteristics held in common by many people.
They may be useful for comparing one group of people with another. - Individual traits(personal dispositions) are peculiar to the individual and
have the capacity to render different stimuli functionally equivalent and to
initiate and guide behavior. - Three levels of personal dispositions are (1) cardinal dispositions,which
only a few people possess and which are so conspicuous that they cannot
be hidden; (2) central dispositions,the 5 to 10 individual traits that
make a person unique; and (3) secondary dispositions,which are less
distinguishable but far more numerous than central dispositions. - Personal dispositions that initiate actions are called motivational traits.
- Personal dispositions that guide actions are called stylistic traits.
- The propriumrefers to those behaviors and personal dispositions that are
warm and central to our lives and that we regard as peculiarly our own. - Functional autonomyrefers to motives that are self-sustaining and
independent from the motives that were originally responsible for a behavior. - Perseverative functional autonomyrefers to those habits and behaviors that
are not part of one’s proprium. - Propriate functional autonomyincludes all those self-sustaining
motivations that are related to the proprium. - Allport used morphogenic procedures,such as diaries and letters, which
stress patterns of behavior within a single individual.
Chapter 13 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 399