Chapter 12 Notes Flashcards
Allport’s Psychology of the Individual believed that
Attempts to describe people in terms of general
traits rob them of their unique individuality.
Allport objected to trait and factor theories
rejected the psychoanalytic and behavioral views of humanity as being too deterministic and
too mechanistic.
traits are not determined by unconscious motives originating in early childhood but by conscious choices
He called the study of the individual
morphogenic science and contrasted it with the nomothetic methods used by most other psychologists
was willing to accept at face value the self-disclosure statements of most participants
in a study
what kind of approach?
eclectic
no theory is completely comprehensive
What Is Personality?
includes both overt behaviors and covert thoughts
People not only adjust to their environment, but also their environment adjusts to them
Role of Conscious Motivation?
Healthy adults are generally aware of what they are doing and their reasons for doing it
healthy people are motivated largely by conscious
processes
did not ignore the existence or even the importance
of unconscious processes,but unlike freud, was inclined to accept self-reports at face value
behavior of a Healthy Person?
proactive behavior
new and innovative ways
not merely directed at reducing tensions but also at establishing new ones. (rock climber)
6 characteristics of healthy person
extension of the sense of self - Social
interest (Gemeinschaftsgefühl)
warm relating of self to others
emotional security or self-acceptance
realistic perception of their environment
insight and humor
unifying philosophy of life
Personal Dispositions are broken into:
Common traits
personal dispositions
Levels of Personal Dispositions
cardinal dispositions - eminent characteristic or ruling passion - only a few people possess and which are so conspicuous that they cannot
be hidden
central dispositions - 5 to 10 most outstanding characteristics that make a person unique
secondary dispositions less distinguishable but far more numerous than central dispositions.
Allport called these intensely experienced dispositions
motivational dispositions
receive their motivation from basic needs and drives
motivational dispositions initiate action
eating
_____ dispositions guide action
Stylistic
How you dress, politeness
proprium
those behaviors and personal dispositions that are
warm and central to our lives and that we regard as peculiarly our own
the self is everything
Most people, Allport believed, are motivated by _____ drives rather than by ____ events and are aware of what they are doing and have some understanding of why
they are doing it
present
past
motives/strivings
Peripheral motives are those that reduce a need, whereas propriate strivings seek to maintain tension and disequilibrium
Theory of Motivation rests on the assumption that
people not only react to their environment but also shape their environment and cause it to react to them
the concept of functional autonomy holds
motives that are self-sustaining and
independent from the motives that were originally responsible for a behavior
a person may originally plant a garden to satisfy a hunger drive but eventually become interested in gardening for its own sake
Perseverative Functional Autonomy
habits and behaviors that are not part of one’s proprium.
Propriate Functional Autonomy
self-sustaining motives that are related to the proprium
Criterion for Functional Autonomy
motive is functionally autonomous to the extent that it seeks new goals
Processes That Are Not Functionally Autonomous
(1) biological drives, such as eating, breathing, and sleeping;
(2) motives directly linked to the reduction of basic drives;
(3) reflex actions such as an eye blink;
(4) constitutional equipment, namely
physique, intelligence, and temperament;
(5) habits in the process of being formed;
patterns of behavior that require primary reinforcement;
(7) sublimations that can
be tied to childhood sexual desires; and
(8) some neurotic or pathological symptoms
Examples of wholly morphogenic procedures
such as diaries and letters, which
stress patterns of behavior within a single individual
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Religious Orientation Findings
intrinsic better people extrinsic more prejudice
How to Reduce Prejudice:
optimal contact
(1) equal status between the two groups,
(2) common goals,
(3) cooperation between groups, and
(4) support of an authority figure, law, or custom.
Critique of Allport
generated research? On this criterion, Allport’s theory receives a moderate rating
falsifiability, Allport’s theory must receive a low rating
organization for observations: Much of what is known about human personality cannot be easily integrated into Allport’s theory
guide for the practitioner, Allport’s theory has moderate usefulness
His precise language renders the theory both internally consistent and parsimonious.
Concept of Humanity
basically optimistic
limited freedom approach // more self-insight a person develops, the greater that person’s freedom of
choice
more teleological than causal
moderate emphasis on social factors; personality has some life of its own
most of which are within their realm of consciousness.
Early childhood experiences are of relatively minor importance
individual differences and uniqueness
receive far greater emphasis
Personal dispositions that initiate actions are called
motivational traits
Personal dispositions that guide actions are called
stylistic traits
Discuss how Allport’s meeting with Freud affected his choice of a career
wanted to talk about something he saw on the way over and Freud wanted to dig really deep into unconscious motivations whereas Allport saw the significance of staying on the surface
Explain the rationale and results of the analysis of Letters from Jenny.
Published the 300 letters to describe her person
personal structure analysis and factor analysis respectively, while Allport used a common-sense approach to discern Jenny’s personality structure as revealed by her letters.
All three approaches yielded similar results, suggesting that morphogenic studies can be reliable
Summarize research on the Religious Orientation Scale
Their findings generally supported Allport’s view that there are good and bad ways to be religious: The more intrinsically oriented toward religion a person is, the less likely the person is to experience depression and be prejudice; the more extrinsically oriented, the more likely a person is to be depressed and prejudiced.
The conclusion is that while religion can be good for one’s health, it is important to be religious for the right reasons in order to derive health benefits
Explain the difference between a trait and a personal disposition
“peculiar to the individual”
Personal dispositions are individual; common traits are shared by several people.
From Allport’s point of view, explain the difference between a functionally autonomous motive and a habit in the process of becoming extinct.
functionally autonomous motive has no original reinforcer but the new behavior keeps going
an extinct behavior has disappeared to the the fact that reinforcement is lacking
