For him, a drive is more akin to an unconscious behavior. Aplicó conceptos y métodos de las ciencias sociales a los estudios psicológicos y desarrolló una original teoría de la personalidad, expuesta en obras como Personalidad: una interpretación psicológica (1937). At that time, he was also editor of the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. Allport attempted to draw a clear distinction between motives and drives. Hizo la educación primaria en colegios públicos de Cleveland, Ohio, donde su familia se instaló cuando tenía seis años. degree in 1919 in Philosophy and Economics (not psychology). He suggested that a drive forms as a reaction to a motive, which may outgrow the motive as the reason for a behavior. He was one month shy of being seventy years old. While at Harvard, Allport exhibited his social interests by volunteering in various capacities, including as a probation officer, assisting foreign students, helping war veterans, and participating in a Boston boy’s club. [1] He emphasized the uniqueness of each individual, and the importance of the present context, as opposed to past history, for understanding the personality. Gordon Allport was a 20th century psychologist who studied personality and personality traits. He graduated from Glenville High School and secured a full scholarship to Harvard, following in his brother’s footsteps. In 1963, Allport was awarded the Gold Medal Award from the American Psychological Foundation. In 1955, his fifth publication was released, Becoming: Basic Considerations for Psychology of Personality. As Allport continued his education at Harvard, he eventually turned to psychology and went on to earn his PhD. Between thirty of his colleagues, they divided fifty journals according to how significant and devoted they were to the advancement of psychology as a science (Allport, pg.1). Learning brings new systems of interests into existence just as it does new abilities and skills. ", "The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century", Allports classic paper on autonomy of motives, Gordon Allport, The Open System in Personality Theory, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gordon_Allport&oldid=986409746, Presidents of the American Psychological Association, Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Articles needing additional references from June 2007, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. This page was last edited on 31 October 2020, at 17:47. [1] He contributed to the formation of values scales and rejected both a psychoanalytic approach to personality, which he thought often was too deeply interpretive, and a behavioral approach, which he thought did not provide deep enough interpretations from their data. Another part of his influence resulted from the deep and lasting impression he made on his students during his long teaching career, many of whom went on to have important careers in psychology. More than sixteen hundred articles in total were analyzed. Adams referred to Allport as a "[quack] who pretend[s] to be a physician," is "no less scoundrelly," and "is even more dangerous" than other fraudulent addiction cure peddlers mentioned earlier in the book. He also believed that the tendency of psychodynamic psychology to examine people’s unconscious motives and their past could lead to overlooking present issues. Allport was criticized for diagnosing and treating morphine addicts via mail simply on the basis of letters and no in-person appointments. Allport was one of the first researchers to draw a distinction between Motive and Drive. His fourth book, The Nature of Prejudice, was published in 1954, and benefited from his insights from working with refugees during World War II. He explains that from 1888 to 1898, 19% of the psychological writing leaned upon instinctive, "synthetic apperceptive unity, and kindred concepts" (pg.2). Although Allport is noted as being influential in many areas of psychology, he is particularly well known for his trait theory. Nicholson, I. The less than adequate hospital facilities in Cleveland required that Allport’s father allow doctors, nurses, and patients to reside in the home with the family. Allport also spent a brief period of time teaching at Dartmouth College, though he soon returned to Harvard where he taught until his death in 1967. (1997). Gordon Allport's father, who was Scottish, shared this outlook, and operated by his own philosophy that "If every person worked as hard as he could and took only the minimum financial return required by his families needs, then there would be just enough wealth to go around. The less than adequate hospital facilities in Cleveland required that Allport’s father allow doctors, nurses, and patients to reside in the home with the family. Sus padres eran Nellie Edith y John Edwards Allport, quien era un médico rural. Because of inadequate hospital facilities at the time, Allport's father actually turned their home into a makeshift hospital, with patients as well as nurses residing there. His brother Floyd Henry Allport, was professor of social psychology and political psychology at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (in Syracuse, New York) from 1924 until 1956, and visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley. Allport diverged from his brother’s pursuit of psychology, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy instead. [2] Part of his influence stemmed from his knack for exploring and broadly conceptualizing important and interesting topics (e.g. To "correlate psychology and social ethics": Gordon Allport and the first course in American personality psychology. Allport was a shy child and was often ridiculed for his physical impairment of having been born with only eight toes. Cardinal trait - This is the trait that dominates and shapes a person's behavior. All rights reserved. Gordon Willard Allport (November 11, 1897 – October 9, 1967) was an American psychologist. The drive then becomes autonomous and distinct from the motive, whether the motive was instinct or something else. 1. He did not believe that people can be classified according to a small number of trait dimensions, maintaining that each person is unique and distinguished by peculiar traits.[15]. [11], Allport was elected President of the American Psychological Association in 1939. However he earned his A.B. Hocutt, Max (2004). Allport began his instruction in psychology at Harvard. Secondary trait - These are characteristics seen only in certain circumstances (such as particular likes or dislikes that a very close friend may know). One of Allport's biographers states, "he grew up not only with the Protestant religion, but also the Protestant work ethic, which dominated his home life."