Many great minds have contributed to the understanding of human behavior. Many have given their lives to understanding a phenomenon and helped solve several quests. Have you wondered what led to their curiosity about understanding the human mind and behavior? There are many stories about the making of great psychologists and their theories.
Gordon Allport was an American psychologist best known for his trait theory of personality. He believed each individual had a unique set of traits and organized the traits into cardinal, central, and secondary traits. Further, he refused to use the theories of behaviorism and psychoanalysis in defining personality. He pointed out the importance of individual differences and situational factors. Here is an illustration of various theories given by him.
Gordon Allport was born in Montezuma, Indiana, in the year 1897. He had four brothers, of whom he was the youngest. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a teacher. He was known to be a hardworking and disciplined student.
Gordon was exposed to a diverse range of patients as his father had set up his clinic at home. As a teenager, Gordon was very competent, and he set up his own printing business and worked as the editor for a school newspaper at his school. Gordon grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1915, he graduated from high school. Gordon received a scholarship to Harvard University after graduating second in his class. Gordon received his bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics in 1919. He was drawn to the new field of social psychology and personality theory. This was followed by volunteering at several social services in Boston.
Gordon was a student of a well-known German psychologist, Hugo Munsterberg. However, his interest in psychology grew because of his elder brother's influence. His brother often engaged him in deep conversations about psychological issues, and Gordon was always keen on hearing his brother's opinions.
Gordon graduated with a degree in philosophy and economics in 1919. However, he returned to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology in 1920. While working on his doctorate, he was awarded two significant fellowships. One was given in recognition of an innovative book on personality theory that he co-authored with his brother, Floyd. Gordon's second fellowship allowed him to study psychology in Europe.
Allport, then 22, traveled to Vienna, Austria, to meet the famous psychoanalyst. He sat down nervously in Freud's office and told a story about a young lad he had met on the train on his way to Vienna. He said that the boy was frustrated by the dirt and would refuse to sit next to anyone dirty. Freud raised whether the boy that Allport was describing was himself. Gordon was unhappy with this meeting and showed disinterest in the quick analysis of the psychoanalytic theories.
Allport did not agree with the quick interpretation used by the school of psychoanalysis for decoding an individual's personality. He did not even agree with the school of thought called behaviorism, which was the dominant school of thought. Allport believed that psychoanalysis was too focused on the sexual histories of people rather than paying attention to people's attention, motivation or intentions. Psychoanalysis, in his opinion, performed unnecessary deep analysis, whereas behaviorism performed very simple analyses of complex human behaviors. He rejected the notion put forth by behaviorism, which said that everything could be learned by conditioning. He contended that humans have certain dispositions or internal mental content that influence behavior and personality.
He introduced the "trait theory" for understanding human personality. He narrowed it down to 4500 personality traits. Allport believed that people had a variety of traits and that these traits were crucial to their thought patterns, motivations, behaviors, and uniqueness. He believed that while personality has a biological basis, it can be shaped by a person's experiences in life. These traits can be divided into three categories, as illustrated in the diagram below.
Gordon Allport also provided the theory of genotype and phenotype in personality. According to Allport, numerous internal and external forces can influence a person's thoughts and feelings. These thoughts and feelings can lead to behaviors, which can lead to specific actions. Allport believed that an individual's personality could develop along a specific path based on the outcomes of these actions.
The internal forces affecting behavior were termed "genotypes" by Allport. The external forces are the phenotypes.
Allport distinguished between drives and motives. He associated drives and unconscious acts with childhood behaviors and experiences. However, he believed that as an individual ages and matures, independent motives could emerge from those drives.
Gordon Allport was a pioneering psychologist in the field of personality psychology. He was dedicated and industrious in his work. He came from a family that valued academics. He was a dedicated student and was inspired to study psychology because of the influence of his brother. He was responsible for generating the Trait Theory of personality, and this also became a famous theory because of its objective nature. Allport also came up with other useful theories, such as the theory of 'genotype' and 'phenotypes' theory of functional autonomy. He was a great contributor to psychology, and many theorists took after his work to understand the construct of personality.
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