Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 13. Allport: Psychology of
the Individual(^404) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
adult. The high-intelligent, reflective person has more capacity for free choice than
does the low-intelligent, nonreflective one.
Even though freedom is limited, Allport maintained that it can be expanded.
The more self-insight a person develops, the greater that person’s freedom of
choice. The more objective a person becomes—that is, the more the blindfolds
of self-concern and egotism are removed—the greater that person’s degree of
freedom.
Education and knowledge also expand the amount of freedom we have. The
greater our knowledge is of a particular arena, the broader our freedom in that area.
To have a broad general education means that, to some extent, one has a wider
choice of jobs, recreational activities, reading materials, and friends.
Finally, our freedom can be expanded by our mode of choosing. If we stub-
bornly adhere to a familiar course of action simply because it is more comfortable,
our freedom remains largely restricted. Conversely, if we adopt an open-minded
mode of solving problems, then we broaden our perspective and increase our alter-
natives; that is, we expand our freedom to choose (Allport, 1955).
Allport’s view of humanity is more teleologicalthan causal. Personality, to
some extent, is influenced by past experiences, but the behaviors that make us
human are those that are motivated by our expectations of the future. In other
words, we are healthy individuals to the extent that we set and seek future pur-
poses and aspirations. Each of us is different from others not so much because we
have different basic drives, but because we have different self-erected goals and
intentions.
The growth of personality always takes place within a social setting, but All-
port placed only moderate emphasis on social factors.He recognized the importance
of environmental influences in helping to shape personality, but he insisted that
personality has some life of its own. Culture can influence our language, morals,
values, fashions, and so forth; but how each of us reacts to cultural forces depends
on our unique personality and our basic motivation.
In summary, Allport held an optimistic view of humanity, maintaining that
people have at least limited freedom. Human beings are goal oriented, proactive,
and motivated by a variety of forces, most of which are within their realm of con-
sciousness.Early childhood experiences are of relatively minor importance and are
significant only to the extent that they exist in the present. Both differences and
similarities among people are important, but individual differencesand uniqueness
receive far greater emphasis in Allport’s psychology.
398 Part IV Dispositional Theories
Key Terms and Concepts
- Allport was eclecticin his acceptance of ideas from a variety of sources.
- He defined personalityas the dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine a person’s behavior and thought. - Psychologically healthy peopleare motivated largely by conscious
processes; have an extended sense of self; relate warmly to others; accept