Definition of Personality

Question 1

Allport theory: Introduction

Answer 1

Continuous flow: According to Allport “The basic principle of behaviour is its continuous flow”[1961,p.33].

Motivation: Allport’s major personality concepts have to do with motivation with what makes a person ‘go’.

Variable and Constant: At the same time a person’ “stream of activity” has both a ‘variable portion ‘ and a ‘constant portion’.

Allport describes his constant portion with his concept of trait,and the variable portion with what he calls functional autonomy, or the tendency for a behaviour to continue to be performed for reasons that differ from the reasons that originally motivated it.

Motivational: Both –the trait and functional autonomy –are motivational; many traits have motive power, and functional autonomy explains adult motivation.

Dynamics of personality: Whether traits or functional autonomy, Allport talks about dynamics of personality.

Question 2

Definition of Personality

Answer 2

Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.[ALLPORT,1937,P.48]

Question 3

dynamic organisation

Answer 3

The term dynamic organisation refers to important points: Not only is personality constantly developing and changing, but there is within the person some kind of central organisation that holds the components of personality together and relates them to each other

Question 4

psychophysical systems

Answer 4

The term psychophysical systems implies that person is not just a hypothetical construct formed by the observer but a real phenomenon composed of mind and body elements fused into ‘a personality unity’[Allport,1937,p.48].

Question 5

Characteristics, behaviour and thought

Answer 5

Characteristics in Allport’definition signifies the uniqueness of the single person. No two people are alike in this personological systems.

Finally, behaviour and thought means everything a person does. Personality expresses itself in some
way in virtually all observable human actions.

Question 6

Character and Temperament

Answer 6

While defining personality, Allport clearly makes a distinction between character and temperament.

Character means some code of behaviour in terms of which people or their acts are evaluated e.g. a person may be described as having a ‘good’ or’ bad’ character.

Temperament refers to those dispositions that are closely linked to biological or physiological determinants.

Here, heredity plays an important role, which is the raw material, along with intelligence and physique, out of which personality is made.