Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 13. Allport: Psychology of
the Individual(^398) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
characteristics. They recorded 198 descriptive adjectives, many of which were
synonymous and overlapping. Allport then grouped the terms into eight clusters:
(1) quarrelsome-suspicious, (2) self-centered (possessive), (3) independent-
autonomous, (4) dramatic-intense, (5) aesthetic-artistic, (6) aggressive, (7) cynical-
morbid, and (8) sentimental.
Comparing this commonsense, clinical approach with Paige’s factorial study,
Allport (1966) presented some interesting parallels (see Table 13.1). Through
Jenny’s letters, then, we find that she possessed about eight central traits that char-
acterized the last 12 years of her life—if not her entire life. She was aggressive, sus-
picious, possessive, aesthetic, sentimental, morbid, dramatic, and self-centered.
These central dispositions were sufficiently powerful that she was described in sim-
ilar terms both by Isabel (Ada Allport), who knew her well, and by independent re-
searchers, who studied her letters (Allport, 1965).
The close agreement between Allport’s commonsense clinical approach and
Paige’s factor analytic method does not prove the validity of either. It does, however, in-
dicate the feasibility of morphogenic studies. Psychologists can analyze one person and
identify central dispositions with consistency even when they use different procedures.
Related Research
More than any other personality theorist, Gordon Allport maintained a lifelong active
interest in the scientific study of religion and published six lectures on the subject
under the title The Individual and His Religion (Allport, 1950). On a personal level,
Allport was a devout Episcopalian; and for nearly 30 years, he offered a series of
meditations in Appleton Chapel, Harvard University (Allport, 1978).
392 Part IV Dispositional Theories
TABLE 13.1
Jenny’s Central Dispositions Revealed by Clinical and Factor
Analytic Techniques
Clinical Technique
(Allport)
Quarrelsome-suspicious
Aggressive
Self-centered (possessive)
Sentimental
Independent-autonomous
Aesthetic-artistic
Self-centered (self-pitying)
(No parallel)
Cynical-morbid
Dramatic-intense
Factor Analytic Technique
(Paige)
Aggression
Possessiveness
Need for affiliation
Need for family acceptance
Need for autonomy
Sentience
Martyrdom
Sexuality
(No parallel)
(“Overstate”; that is, the tendency to be
dramatic and to overstate her
concerns)