Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 13. Allport: Psychology of
the Individual© The McGraw−Hill^403
Companies, 2009Concept of Humanity
Allport had a basically optimisticand hopeful view of human nature. He rejected
the psychoanalytic and behavioral views of humanity as being too deterministic and
too mechanistic. He believed that our fates and our traits are not determined by
unconscious motives originating in early childhood but by conscious choices we
make in the present. We are not simply automatons blindly reacting to the forces
of reward and punishment. Instead, we are able to interact with our environment
and make it reactive to us. We not only seek to reduce tensions but to establish
new ones. We desire both change and challenge; and we are active, purposive, and
flexible.
Because people have the potential to learn a variety of responses in many sit-
uations, psychological growth can take place at any age. Personality is not estab-
lished in early childhood, even though for some people infantile influences remain
strong. Early childhood experiences are important only to the extent that they exist
in the present. Although early security and love leave lasting marks, children need
more than love: They need an opportunity to shape their own existence creatively,
to resist conformity, and to be free, self-directed individuals.
Although society has some power to mold personality, Allport believed that
it does not hold the answer to the nature of humanity. The factors shaping per-
sonality, Allport held, are not as important as personality itself. Heredity, environ-
ment, and the nature of the organism are important; but people are essentially
proactive and free to follow the prevailing dictates of society or to chart their own
life course.
People, however, are not completely free. Allport (1961) adopted a limited-
freedomapproach. He was often critical of those views that allow for absolute free-
dom, but he also opposed the psychoanalytic and behavioral views, which he re-
garded as denying free will. Allport’s position was somewhere in the middle.
Although free will exists, some people are more capable of making choices than are
others. A healthy person has more freedom than does a child or a severely disturbed
Chapter 13 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 397primary drives were not adequately explained by Allport. He recognized the exis-
tence of these kinds of motivations, but seemed content to allow the psychoanalytic
and behavioral explanations to stand without further elaboration. This limitation,
however, does not invalidate Allport’s theory. To accept the validity of other theoret-
ical concepts is a legitimate approach to theory building.
As a guide for the practitioner,Allport’s theory has moderate usefulness. It
certainly serves as a beacon to the teacher and the therapist, illuminating the view of
personality that suggests that people should be treated as individuals. The details, un-
fortunately, are left unspecified.
On the final two criteria of a useful theory, Allport’s psychology of the indi-
vidual is highly rated. His precise language renders the theory both internally con-
sistentand parsimonious.