Allport - Dispositional Flashcards
What terms describe Allport psychology?
-conscious, health , unique, individual
Who is the father of trait theory?
-Allport
What did Allport say personality is?
-what a person really is, it is dynamic and always changing, and it determines how we think and act
What is Allports criteria for a personality theory? (5)
-it is within the person
-person is filled with variables/traits
-motives are in the present
-living synthesis
-self awareness
What did Allports meeting with Freud make him believe?
-we need to focus on the conscious more
What are the assumptions he holds around the mature healthy person? (4)
-conscious motives
-proactive behaviour
-flexibility
-autonomy
What characteristics does the mature healthy person have? (6)
- Extension of self
- Warm relating to other
- Emotional security (poise)
- Realistic perceptions (you see things as they are)
- Insight and humour
- Unifying philosophy of life (with goals you are working towards)
What is the unique, individual person?
-people should be described using individual traits called personal dispositions
What are and are not personal disposition?
Are not:
-habits, attitudes and common traits
Are:
-stable and temporary characteristics
-evaluative characteristics
-physical characteristics
What are the levels of personal dispositions? (3)
- Cardinal
- Central
- Secondary
Tell me about cardinal traits.
-life dominating and pervasive, not very many people have one
Tell me about central traits. How about secondary traits? (2)
-consistent and defining (intelligence)
-semi consistent and often situational (I like to go on a tropical vacation, I’m impatient while in traffic)
What is the proprium or the core of the personality?
-all the things that are warm, central and important characteristics
What are part of the proprium?
-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
What are the two motives? (2)
-peripheral (reducing a need and reacting to something like hunger)
-propriate striving (seeking growth and change and proactive)
What is functional autonomy? Example (2)
-
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
What does Allport say the structure of personality is?
-unique collection of your personal dispositions
What does Allport say about pathology?
-I don’t care about it, let the psychoanalysts and behaviourists deal with these people, I don’t wanna deal with them
What is the contact hypothesis which Allport came up with?
-that interaction between groups reduces prejudice
What is religious orientation?
-in these religious communities,he noticed that there were two distinct groups that emerged and he called them extrinsic and intrinsic
What are the extrinsic religious people?
-they’re in it for what they get out of it
What is the intrinsic religious person?
-they believe in religion fully and follow it because of that
