Gordon Allport Personality Psychology And Trait Theory

Gordon Allport, born on November 11, 1897, is considered the founder of â€Å"personality psychology† and â€Å"trait theory†. Allport, just like any other psychologist, had his own definition on what personality is. According to Allport, â€Å" no two psychologists could easily agree on one definition of the term ‘personality’† (Kendall, 2010, p. 282), Allport believed that personality could be characterized in two ways, idiographic and nomothetic; while Freud believed that personality is composed by the Id, Ego and Superego. Allport had his own very definition of personality, he states that â€Å"personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.†¦show more content†¦183), this can be an individual that carries the Narcissistic Personality Disorder or to describe someone who was â€Å"Christ-like†, but this is very uncommon. The second one is central dispositions, which are quite common, these are the traits that everyone carries at a certain degree. Allport suggested that â€Å"a person’s central dispositions would be those things one would mention in a carefully written letter of recommendation† (Kendall, 2010, p. 184). And lastly, secondary dispositions, which are the characteristics that are unique to the individual. According to Allport, â€Å"these are less conspicuous, less consistent and are less called into play† (Kendall, 2010, p. 184). Allport, along with other psychologists, pursued the approach to distinct between idiographic - which states that there are characteristics that are unique to the individual and nomothetic - which refers to the rules and traits of personality that can be generalized to large amounts and different types of people, but Allport also notes that â€Å"no two people can have exactly the same trait. Thus, all traits are inherently individual traits† (Kendall, 2010, p. 283). Freud in the other hand, believed that personality was divided into three parts, the Id, the Ego and the Superego. The oldest aspect of psyche that an individual inherits at birth, is the id, thisShow MoreRelatedThe Theories Of Personality, By Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport, Albert Bandura, And Raymond Cattell1568 Words   |  7 PagesWhen it comes to understanding the theories of personality, there are several psychologists that put their input in to help us understand the theories of personality. The individuals that have contributed to the theories of personality and have made us understand the topic more would be Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport, Albert Bandura, and Raymond Cattell. Abraham Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York April 1, 1908. 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