## Personality Psychology ### The Trait Approach ### Gordon Allport's Trait Theory <!-- Put the link to this slide here so people can follow --> **Rizqy Amelia Zein** Department of Personality and Social Psychology course website: https://s.id/amerta google classroom: cyhrwcw --- ## Gordon Allport (1897-1967)  --- People are “busy leading their lives into the future, whereas psychology, for the most part, is busy tracing them into the past” – G. Allport --- ## His contributions :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * Helped bring personality into the mainstream, and he formulated a theory of personality development in which ***==traits==*** play a prominent role * Allport ==challenged Freud’s psychoanalysis== on several points - He ==did not accept== the notion that ==unconscious forces dominate the personality== of normal mature adults </div> --- ## His contributions :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * The unconscious is ==important only== in the behavior of ==neurotic or disturbed== people * We are ==not prisoners of childhood conflicts== and past experiences, as Freud believed * Instead, we are ==guided more by the present== and by our view of the future </div> --- ## His contributions :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * Allport ==opposed== collecting ==data from abnormal personalities== - Whereas Freud saw a continuum between the normal and abnormal, Allport saw a clear distinction - To Allport, ==the abnormal personality== functioned at ==an infantile level== </div> --- ## His contributions :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * He emphasis on ==the uniqueness of personality== as defined by ==each person’s traits== * He ==opposed== the traditional scientific emphasis on forming ==general constructs== or ==laws== to be applied universally * He argued that ==personality is not general== or universal but is particular and ==specific to the individual== </div> --- ## Allport's view :eyes: <div style="text-align: left"> * “..Personality is the ==dynamic organization== within the individual of those ==psychophysical systems== that ==determine==...characteristic behavior and thought” * By ==dynamic organization==, Allport means that although personality is constantly changing and growing, the growth is organized, not random </div> --- ## Allport's view :eyes: <div style="text-align: left"> * ==Psychophysical== means that personality is composed of ==both mind and body== functioning together as a unit - It is neither all mental nor all biological * By ==determine==, Allport means that all facets of personality ==activate or direct specific behaviors== and thoughts - The phrase characteristic behavior and thought means that everything we think and do is typical of us </div> --- ## Allport's view :eyes: <div style="text-align: left"> * Personality reflects both our ==heredity== and our ==environment== - Heredity provides the personality with ==raw materials==, such as physique, intelligence, and temperament, that may then be ==shaped, expanded, or limited== by the ==conditions of our environment== - Allport invokes ==both personal and situational variables== to indicate the importance of both genetics and learning </div> --- ## Personality traits :label: <div style="text-align: left"> * A ==predispositions to respond==, in the same or a similar manner, to different kinds of stimuli - Traits are ==consistent== and enduring ways of reacting to our environment * Personality traits are ==real and exist== within each of us - They are not theoretical constructs or labels made up to account for behavior </div> --- ## Personality traits :label: <div style="text-align: left"> * Traits ==determine or cause behavior== * Traits can be ==demonstrated empirically== - By ==observing behavior over time==, we can infer the existence of traits in the consistency of a person’s responses to the same or similar stimuli * Traits ==vary with the situation== - e.g. person may display the trait of neatness in one situation and the trait of disorderliness in another situation. </div> --- ## Personality traits :label: <div style="text-align: left"> * Traits are ==interrelated==; they may overlap, even though they represent different characteristics - e.g. aggressiveness and hostility are distinct but related traits and are frequently ==observed to occur together== in a person’s behavior </div> --- ## Traits and culture :tanabata_tree: <div style="text-align: left"> * Allport proposed ==two types of traits==: ***==individual==*** and ***==common==*** - ***==Individual traits==*** are unique to a person and define his or her character - ==***Common traits***== are shared by a number of people, such as the members of a culture - This demonstrates that common traits are subject to social, environmental, and cultural influences </div> --- ## Personal disposition :dolls: <div style="text-align: left"> * Allport relabeled common traits as traits and individual traits as personal dispositions * Our personal dispositions do not all have the same intensity or significance. * They may be ***==cardinal traits==***, ***==central traits==***, or ***==secondary traits==*** </div> --- ## Cardinal traits :loudspeaker: <div style="text-align: left"> * A ==***cardinal trait***== is so ==pervasive== and influential that it touches almost ==every aspect of a person’s life== - Allport described it as a ruling passion, a powerful force that dominates behavior - Allport offered the examples of sadism and chauvinism - Not everyone has a ruling passion, and those who do may not display it in every situation </div> --- ## Central traits :dart: <div style="text-align: left"> * Everyone has a few ==***central traits***==, some 5 to 10 themes that best describe our behavior - Allport’s examples are aggressiveness, self-pity, and cynicism - These are the kinds of characteristics we would mention when discussing a friend’s personality or writing a letter of recommendation </div> --- ## Secondary traits :izakaya_lantern: <div style="text-align: left"> * The least influential individual traits are ***==the secondary traits==***, which appear much ==less consistently== than cardinal and central traits - Secondary traits may be so ==weak== that only a close friend would notice evidence of them - They may include, for example, a minor preference for a particular type of music or for a certain food </div> --- ## Motivations :lightning: <div style="text-align: left"> * ==Cognitive processes==, that is, our conscious plans and intentions, are a vital aspect of our personality * ==***Functional autonomy of motives***== is the idea the motives of emotionally healthy adults are not connected to the prior experiences in which they initially appeared - Forces that motivated us early in life become ==autonomous==, or independent, of their original circumstances </div> --- ## Motivations :lightning: <div style="text-align: left"> * ***==Perseverative functional autonomy==*** is ==repetitive physical actions== such as habitual ways of performing some routine, everyday task - The behaviors continue or persevere on their own without any external reward - The actions ==once served a purpose== but they ==no longer do== and are at too basic and low a level to be considered an integral part of personality </div> --- ## Motivations :lightning: <div style="text-align: left"> * ==***Propriate functional autonomy***== is more important than perseverative functional autonomy and is ==essential== to understanding adult motivation - The word propriate derives from proprium, Allport’s term for the ego or self </div> --- ## Personality development :family:  --- ## The Healthy Adult Personality :heart_eyes: <div style="text-align: left"> * The healthy personality ==changes and grows== from being a biologically dominated organism in infancy to a mature psychological organism in adulthood * Our motivations become ==separated from childhood== and are ==oriented toward the future== </div> --- ## :six: Criteria of Healthy Personality <div style="text-align: left"> * Mature adults ==extend their sense of self== to people and activities beyond the self * Mature adults ==relate warmly to other people==, exhibiting intimacy, compassion, and tolerance * Mature adult’s ==high degree of self-acceptance== helps them to achieve emotional security </div> --- ## :six: Criteria of Healthy Personality <div style="text-align: left"> * Mature adults hold ==a realistic perception== of life, ==develop personal skills==, and ==make a commitment== to some type of work * Mature adults have ==a sense of humor and self-objectification== (an understanding of or insight into the self) * Mature adults subscribe to ==a unifying philosophy of life==, which is responsible for directing the personality toward future goals </div> --- ## Expressive behaviour :zap: <div style="text-align: left"> * Allport conducted considerable research on what he called ==***expressive behavior***==, described as behavior that expresses our personality traits - Expressive behavior is ==spontaneous== and reflects ==basic aspects== of the personality - In contrast to coping behavior, expressive behavior is ==difficult to change==, has ==no specific purpose==, and is usually displayed without our awareness </div> --- ## Coping behaviour :sunny: <div style="text-align: left"> * He also identified ==***coping behavior***==, which is oriented toward ==a specific purpose== and is ==consciously planned== and carried out - Coping behavior is determined by needs inspired by the situation and is ordinarily directed toward bringing about some change in our environment </div> --- ## Personality Assessments :straight_ruler: <div style="text-align: left"> * Personality is ==so complex== that to evaluate it we must employ many techniques. He listed 11 major methods, from tests and scales to projective techniques * ***BUT*** Allport relied heavily on ==***the personal-document technique***== </div> --- ## Personal Document Techniques :book: <div style="text-align: left"> That involves examining **diaries**, **autobiographies**, **letters**, **literary compositions**, and other samples of **a person’s written or spoken records** to determine the number and kinds of personality traits </div> --- ### Thank you! :tada: You can find me on: - [My personal website](https://rameliaz.github.io/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ameliazein) - [..or email](mailto:amelia.zein@psikologi.unair.ac.id)