Functional Autonomy

• • The tendency for some motives to become independent from the original motive responsible for the behavior
  • represents Allport’s most distinctive and, at the same time, most controversial postulate
  • It is Allport’s (1961) explanation for the myriad human motives that seemingly are not accounted for by hedonistic or drive-reduction principles.

  Functional Autonomy
• • represents a theory of changing rather than unchanging motives and is the capstone of Allport’s ideas on motivation.
  • holds that some, but not all, human motives are functionally independent from the original motive responsible for the behavior
  • a reaction to what Allport called theories of unchanging motives, namely, Freud’s pleasure principle and the drive reduction hypothesis of stimulus-response psychology

  Functional Autonomy
• Four requirements of an adequate theory of motivation. Functional autonomy, of course, meets each criterion.

  1. Acknowledge the contemporaneity of motives
  2. “Whatever moves us must move now”. The past per se is unimportant. The history of an individual is significant only when it has a present effect on motivation.
  3. A pluralistic Theory
  4. Ascribe dynamic force to cognitive processes
  5. Concrete uniqueness of motives
• Two levels of functional autonomy

  1. Perseverative functional autonomy
  2. Propriate functional autonomy
• • Functionally independent motives that are not part of the proprium; includes addictions, the tendency to finish uncompleted tasks, and other acquired motives.
  • an addiction to alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs when there is no physiological hunger for them.

  perseverative functional autonomy
• • Allport’s concept of a master system of motivation that confers unity on personality by relating self-sustaining motives to the proprium.
  • Jigsaw puzzles and alcohol are seldom regarded as “peculiarly mine.” (exists only on the periphery of personality)

  propriate functional autonomy
• • is functionally autonomous to the extent that it seeks new goals, meaning that the behavior will continue even as the motivation for it changes.

  Present motive
• Eight processes that are not functionally autonomous:

  1. Biological drives
  2. motives linked to the reduction of basic drives
  3. reflex actions
  4. Constitutional equipment
  5. Physique
  6. Intelligence
  7. Temperament
  8. habits still being formed
  9. behavior that require primary reinforcement
  10. sublimations tied to childhood sexual desires
  11. neurotic or pathological symptoms