Gordon Allport

• Gordon Willard Allport - father of personality theories
• Psychology of Individuals - aka personality trait theory
• Floyd Henry Allport - his brother/ father of experimental psychology
• Personality: A Psychological interpretation - his first major book
• The nature of Prejudice - a milestone study
• Character - involves the judgement of moral rights and wrong
• Attitudes - a disposition to an object or toward an object of value
• 4500 - the number of trait like words he listed
• Genotypes - are internal forces that relate to how a person retains information
• Phenotype - are external forces that relate to the way an individual accept his surroundings and how others influence their behavior
• Common traits - characteristics which are more general than habits
• Individual traits - these are behavioural characteristics that are not found in all persons
• Cardinal disposition - traits that dominates the personality
• Central disposition - characteristics which typifies a person behavior
• Secondary disposition - responses to particular stimuli which may occur on rare occasions
• Idiograph Method - the intensive study of a simple case, emphasizes the uniquenes of the individual
• nomothetic approach - study a group of individuals and analyze them
• morphogenic approach - when he blended nomo and idio perspectives
• self extension - has diverse interests
• warm human interaction - respects and appreciates rights of others
• self acceptance or emotional security - accepts frustrating situations and has an optimistic POV
• realistic perception - looks at situation in an objective manner and solves practical problems of everyday living
• self objectification - has insight or awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses
• unifying principle of life - has a sense of purpose, belief, or goal in life
• Proprium - allports definition for ego or self