Allport - Dispositional

Question 1

What terms describe Allport psychology?

Answer 1

-conscious, health , unique, individual

Question 2

Who is the father of trait theory?

Answer 2

-Allport

Question 3

What did Allport say personality is?

Answer 3

-what a person really is, it is dynamic and always changing, and it determines how we think and act

Question 4

What is Allports criteria for a personality theory? (5)

Answer 4

-it is within the person
-person is filled with variables/traits
-motives are in the present
-living synthesis
-self awareness

Question 5

What did Allports meeting with Freud make him believe?

Answer 5

-we need to focus on the conscious more

Question 6

What are the assumptions he holds around the mature healthy person? (4)

Answer 6

-conscious motives
-proactive behaviour
-flexibility
-autonomy

Question 7

What characteristics does the mature healthy person have? (6)

Answer 7

1. Extension of self
2. Warm relating to other
3. Emotional security (poise)
4. Realistic perceptions (you see things as they are)
5. Insight and humour
6. Unifying philosophy of life (with goals you are working towards)

Question 8

What is the unique, individual person?

Answer 8

-people should be described using individual traits called personal dispositions

Question 9

What are and are not personal disposition?

Answer 9

Are not:
-habits, attitudes and common traits

Are:
-stable and temporary characteristics
-evaluative characteristics
-physical characteristics

Question 10

What are the levels of personal dispositions? (3)

Answer 10

1. Cardinal
2. Central
3. Secondary

Question 11

Tell me about cardinal traits.

Answer 11

-life dominating and pervasive, not very many people have one

Question 12

Tell me about central traits. How about secondary traits? (2)

Answer 12

-consistent and defining (intelligence)
-semi consistent and often situational (I like to go on a tropical vacation, I’m impatient while in traffic)

Question 13

What is the proprium or the core of the personality?

Answer 13

-all the things that are warm, central and important characteristics

Question 14

What are part of the proprium?

Answer 14

-central dispositions
-cardinal dispositions (if you have one)
-personal values
-mature conscience (your own morality or ethics)
-propriate striving
-all other characteristics that are warm, central and important

Question 15

What are the two motives? (2)

Answer 15

-peripheral (reducing a need and reacting to something like hunger)
-propriate striving (seeking growth and change and proactive)

Question 16

What is functional autonomy? Example (2)

Answer 16

-
Example: you start playing the piano because your parents said to and now as you grow up you want to for your own reasons, it has achieved functional autonomy

Question 17

What does Allport say the structure of personality is?

Answer 17

-unique collection of your personal dispositions

Question 18

What does Allport say about pathology?

Answer 18

-I don’t care about it, let the psychoanalysts and behaviourists deal with these people, I don’t wanna deal with them

Question 19

What is the contact hypothesis which Allport came up with?

Answer 19

-that interaction between groups reduces prejudice

Question 20

What is religious orientation?

Answer 20

-in these religious communities,he noticed that there were two distinct groups that emerged and he called them extrinsic and intrinsic

Question 21

What are the extrinsic religious people?

Answer 21

-they’re in it for what they get out of it

Question 22

What is the intrinsic religious person?

Answer 22

-they believe in religion fully and follow it because of that