Gordon Allport's personality theory

Throughout history, the set of characteristics that make people different between They, having a distinctive way of interpreting, acting and living life have been studied through conscience. This distinctive pattern is what we commonly know as personality. Being an abstract concept, personality can be interpreted from a large number of approaches.

Among these approaches, some consider that the personality is a unique configuration in each person, with no two being the same. Thus, each person is totally unique, although some similarities with others may be found. This point of view is what we consider to be an idiographic approach, being the maximum exponent of this Gordon allport and his personality theory.

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What makes us do what we do?

The fact that we behave, or that we respond to the world in one way or another is due to a wide group of variables and factors.

The situations we live in, what they demand of us and how we interpret both the situation and what we may be able to see are very relevant elements when deciding an action plan or other. However, not only does the situation control the behavior, but

there are a series of internal variables that govern together with the environmental demands that we make and even think specifically.

The latter correspond to the set of characteristics that make up our personality, which according to the principle of functional autonomy of motives, is a force that causes us to motivate ourselves to act in a certain way, this action being in turn motivating due to the activation of the patterns learned throughout the cycle vital.

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The Propium and its configuration in the personality

Personality has been conceptualized in very different ways depending on the author, theoretical current and approach that has dealt with it. In Allport's case, this leading psychologist views personality as an organization dynamics of the psychophysiological systems that determine the way of thinking and acting characteristic of the subject. Through these elements, Allport creates a theoretical system aimed at explaining what the behavior style of individuals is.

However, the personality needs a backbone in which the different characteristics of the personality are structured. This axis is what the author calls own, this being the self-perception of being a differentiated entity. It is about the subject's perception of himself as being integrated by different characteristics, experiences and desires, being the self-perception of being a differentiated being.

In Allport's personality theory, it is considered that this perception of the entity itself is formed by different factors. The elements that make up this skeleton of mental life, which are acquired throughout psychic maturation, are the following.

1. Body me

This part of the propium is basically the experience of bodily and perceptual sensations, which allow the experience with the external environment. It is the component of consciousness about the parts of the body and the way it feels when it comes into contact with external stimuli.

2. Identity

It is about the idea that we are a “something” in a continuous way, that goes through different experiences throughout life. It can be understood as the backbone of our own life history, the way in which we interpret the journey we have been taking and, from this, the conclusions we draw about ourselves themselves.

3. Self-esteem

The perception that we are not passive entities, but that we modify our experience and our life with our actions, is a very important part when it comes to integrating the personality. We see ourselves as valuable beings.

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4. Self-image

It is a comparative element, which takes into account, on the one hand, the performance itself and, on the other, the reaction of the media to it. In other words, it is what you think others think of yourself.

5. Extension of the self

This part of the self refers to the perception that the person has specific interests, these elements being important to us. These objectives and goals form a vector of action that guides behavior.

6. Rationality

Self-perception of the ability to find adaptive solutions to the different problems and demands that the environment can provide. It is closely related to self-confidence.

7. Intentionality

The most complex element of propium, the creation of an intentional self supposes the self-awareness of being a being with its own objectives and goals, the ability to motivate oneself and fight for

The structure of personality

Personality is an element that can be understood as a kind of organized system that generates behavioral patterns from the subject's activity. To explain its organization and allow the study and prediction of behavior, it is necessary to take into account the main and most basic of the elements that make it up: traits.

Traits are that element that allows us to assess different stimuli as a set to which we can respond in a similar way, our behavior being in some way adaptive to them.

Traits are understood as the point of union between mental processes and physiological components, this union being responsible for our performance. A) Yes, Allport states that traits cause the tendency to always act in a similar way.

Traits in Allport's Personalistic Theory

As the main exponent of the idiographic approach, Allport considered that the behavioral patterns of each person are unique and different between subjects. Despite this, it is considered that human beings generally possess the same types of traits, such as dependency, aggressiveness, sociability and anxiety, so it is not uncommon for similar patterns to exist. What makes each individual have their own personality is the relationship that exists between the Personality traits and which ones stand out in each one.

Personality traits can be classified according to how identifiable it is to the general behavior of the subject, considering the author three main types of traits

1. Cardinal traits

They are considered cardinal features those personality traits that are part of the person's own core, affecting and defining most of the person's behavioral repertoire. That is, they are the ones that have more weight in the way of being of each individual.

2. Central features

The central features are those sets of characteristics that have an influence on the behavior of the person in different contexts. They participate in our performance and the trends we have despite influencing a set more restricted behavior, such as socialization, being generally independent between they.

3. Secondary traits

It is about some elements that, Although they are not part of the general personality of the subjects, they can arise at certain times, as when dealing with a specific situation.

All this set of factors makes Allport's theory a complex element that tries to give a meaning to the personality from a structural point of view, being the main characteristics of the personalistic theory the fact that each person is configured through a composition of different traits unique to each person and the fact that that the human being is an entity that does not limit itself to remaining static while life passes, but that it actively participates in its environment to build, experiment and fulfill goals and objectives.

What kind of theory is Allport's?

Allport's personality theory is interesting not only because of its content, but also because of the confluence of various ideologies and theoretical perspectives.

Regardless of whether it is limited to an idiographic point of view, in which the variables that make each person unique and different are highlighted, The theory established by Allport indicates that although the configuration of each person is unique, there are common patterns of behavior, because personality traits are generally shared innate elements.

In the same way, although his theory is of an innate nature, it does not ignore the influence of situational factors when explaining behavior, thus approaching interactionist positions that see behavior as a combination between the biological and the environmental.

Finally, Allport's theory is part of the structuralist theories of personality. These theories are based on the idea that personality is a configuration of characteristics organized with a concrete structure, which allows predicting future behavior as the individual tends to act according to said structure.

However, it also shows a certain interest in the procedural, that is, in the process by which it is developed and not only its structure, in analyzing how the propium is being formed.

Bibliographic references:

• Allport, G.W. (1961). Pattern and Growth in personality. New York: Holt.

• Bermúdez, J. (1996). Personalistic theory of G.W. Allport. In Bermúdez, J. (Ed.) Psychology of personality. Madrid: UNED.

• Hernangómez, L. & Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and Differential Psychology. CEDE Preparation Manual PIr, 07. CEDE: Madrid.