GORDON ALLPORT: MOTIVATION & PERSONALITY
Brought personality into the mainstream
Formulated theory of personality in which TRAITS play a role
Rejected UNCONSCIOUS FORCES that dominate personality
UNCONSCIOUS is only important in neurotic/disturbed persons
Emotionally healthy people function RATIONALLY, CONSCIOUSLY, IN CONTROL OF THE
FORCES THAT MOTIVATE them
We are not prisoners of childhood conflicts; we’re guided more by present
The only way to study personality was to collect data from EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
ADULTS NOT ABNORMAL PERSONALITIES
We are influenced by events of present and plans for future
Ultimate goal is NOT TO REDUCE TENSION but INCREASE TENSION (seek new sensations
and challenges; reward is the process of achieving NOT achievement)
Personality is unique; NOT GENERAL/UNIVERSAL
THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY
Growth of personality is organized not random
Psychophysical – personality is composed of mind and body functioning as a unit
Determine – all facets of personality activate/direct behaviors and thoughts
Characteristic behaviour and thought – everything we think and do is typical of us; each
person is unique
We reflect both our HEREDITY and ENVIRONMENT
Heredity provides personality w/ raw materials (physique, intelligence etc) that may be
shaped/expanded by conditions of our environment
Genetic background is responsible for the major portion of our uniqueness
Genetic endowment interacts w/ social environment; NO TWO PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME
ENVIRONMENT (not even siblings reared in the same house)
Considered personality to be…
Discrete/Discontinuous
Adult is distinct from others, divorced from their past
There are 2 personalities: one for childhood and one for adulthood; adult personality is NOT
constrained by childhood experiences
TRAITS – predispositions to respond; consistent and enduring ways of reacting to our environment
1. Real and exist w/in each of us
2. Determine behaviour
3. Interrelated; distinct but related traits observed to occur together in a person’s behaviour
4. Vary w/ the situation
2 Types
Traits (common traits) – shared by number of people; members of culture
Personal Dispositions (individual traits) – unique to person, define their character
1. Cardinal trait – so influential that it touches almost every aspect of a person’s life;
ruling passion, powerful force dominating behaviour
2. Central traits – best describe our behaviour; kinds we would mention when discussion
a friend’s personality/writing recommendation
3. Secondary traits – appear much less, inconspicuous that only few would notice it
(minor preference for music/food etc)
FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY
Motives of mature emotionally healthy adults are NOT FUNCTIONALLY CONNECTED TO
PRIOR EXPERIENCES
Forces that motivated us early in life become autonomous of original circumstances (we
become independent of our parents etc)
The way to understand adult motives is to investigate why people behave as they do today
(not in the past)
1. PERSERVATIVE FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY
Repetitive physical actions, habitual ways of performing some everyday task
Behaviors continue on their own w/o any external reward
Ex. Rat learned to run the maze for food now its no longer same purpose, for some
reason already
2. PROPRIATE FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY
Proprium/ego
Ego decides w/ motives will be maintained/discarded
We retain motives that enhance our self-image/esteem; we enjoy what we do well
Organizing the energy level – how we acquire new motives; motives that arise from
necessity to help consume excess energy that we MIGHT EXPRESS IN
DESTRUCTIVE/HARMFUL WAYS (retirement direct toward new interests)
Mastery and competence – level at w/c we choose to satisfy motives; healthy adults
motivated to perform better = master skills, increase competence
Propriate patterning – striving for consistency and integration of personality
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
BODILY SELF – infants begin to be aware of “bodily me”
SELF-IDENTITY – realize they remain the same people despite changes in body/abilities;
learn their name and see self as distinct from others
SELF-ESTEEM – discover they can accomplish things on their own; motivated to build,
manipulate objects; *if parents frustrate child’s need to explore = thwarted self-esteem
(humiliation, anger)
EXTENSION OF SELF – awareness of objects and people in the environment belonging to
them (my house, my parents, my school etc)
SELF-IMAGE – how they see and would like to see themselves; develop from parental
interaction
SELF AS RATIONAL COPER – realize reason/logic can be applied to solving everyday
problems
PROPRIATE STARVING – adolescents start to plan for the future (until they do so,
self/proprium will remain incomplete)
PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS
Social interaction w/ parents is important to develop proprium; INFANT-MOTHER BOND
Provides sufficient affection, security = proprium will develop steadily; achieve POSITIVE
PSYCHOLOGICAL GROWTH; mature healthy adult
Children needs are frustrated = self will not properly mature; insecure, aggressive, demanding,
jealous, self-centered; stunted growth; neurotic adult (functioning at childhood drives)
HEALTHY ADULT PERSONALITY
Grows out of childhood, no longer dominated by childhood drives
1. EXTENDS SELF TO PEOPLE/ACTIVITIES BEYOND SELF
2. RELATES WARMLY TO PEOPLE (intimacy, compassion, tolerance)
3. SELF-ACCEPTANCE HELPS ACHIEVE EMOTIONAL SECURITY
4. REALISTIC PERCEPTION OF LIFE, DEVELOP PERSONAL SKILLS, MAKE COMMITMENT
TO SOME TYPE OF WORK
5. SENSE OF HUMOR and SELF-OBJECTIFICATION/understanding of self)
6. SUBSCRIBES TO UNIFYING PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE