What was gordon allports theory

Where the person falls on this continuum is based on how they respond to specific contextual situations. Unlike the other personality trait theories that have been proposed, Allport suggests that the traits people have can be organized into three levels of hierarchy. He refers to them as central traits, cardinal traits, and secondary traits.

Although one trait is often identified, such as the self-sacrifice of Mother Theresa, it is rare for an individual to have a personality dominated by one cardinal trait. Most personalities are composed of multiple traits that have an equal influence on personality development at the top of the hierarchy. Because there are multiple traits present, it is possible for an individual to pursue multiple passions.

These are the basic characteristics that are found in the average person. Everyone can be kind, loyal, friendly, devious, angry, grouchy, and so forth. If someone has a central trait emphasis on being kind and friendly, then their behavior will reflect these building blocks. They are more likely to reach out to strangers, offer help, or form social networks when compared to an individual who has building blocks based on anger and deviousness.

The latter individual would be more likely to isolate and be pessimistic of strangers. To them, the idea of being kind and friendly would seem like a foreign concept in the same way that someone who is kind and friendly would feel like anger and isolation are a foreign concept.

These traits are at the bottom of the hierarchy. His work as a teacher also had a profound effect on some of his students, including Stanley Milgram , Jerome S. Allport is perhaps best known for his trait theory of personality.

He began developing this theory by going through a dictionary and noting every term he found that described a personality trait. Allport died on October 9, In addition to his trait theory of personality, he left an indelible mark on psychology. Rather than focusing on the psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches that were popular during his time, Allport instead chose to utilize an eclectic approach.

As one of the founding figures of personality psychology, his lasting influence is still felt today. Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter.

The Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century. Review of General Psychology. Allport GW. Personality: a Psychological Interpretation. Allport, GW. Gordon W. The Century Psychology Series. A History of Psychology in Autobiography. Vol 5. Pattern and Growth in Personality. Harvard University; Department of Psychology. Allport The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Gordon Allport. Allport came from a working family that valued health and education. This resulted in Allport developing a great interest in understanding human motivation, impulses, and personality, resulting in his trait theory of personality. This ended up shaping his career and his contributions to American psychology. After meeting Freud, Allport returned to Harvard in order to obtain his Ph.

Throughout his career, which spanned the first half of the 20th century, he made important contributions to psychology. Among his various contributions, there is one that stands out: his ideas on personality traits. According to Allport, these traits are influenced by our childhood experiences, our current environment, and the interaction between them.

In the Allport era, psychologists believed that personality traits could be shaped by past and current forces. Allport believed that personality was composed of three types of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary.

The trait theory of personality categorizes traits into three levels: cardinal, central, and secondary. Allport told the story of his visit to Freud in his autobiographical book Pattern and Growth in Personality.

Here are some elements that although they are not part of the general personality of subjects, they can occur at times , As if to deal with a specific situation.

Likewise, although her theory is innate in nature, it does not ignore the influence of situational factors in explaining behavior, so it addresses interactionist positions that see behavior as a combination between the biological and the environment. These theories are based on the idea that personality is an organized configuration of characteristics with a specific structure, which predicts future behavior by tending the individual to act in accordance with that structure.

However, it also shows a certain interest in the process, that is to say for the process by which it is developed and not only its structure, by analyzing the formation of propium. The personal theory of GW Allport. Psychology of the personality.

Madrid: UNED. Personality and differential psychology. CEDE: Madrid. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Table of Contents. Rational people: these are its 5 characteristics.