Light

Gordon Allport

Definition

Gordon Allport was an American psychologist who was one of the first to focus on the study of human personality and is often referred to as one of the founding figures of personality psychology.

Analogy

Consider Gordon Allport as an architect in psychology. Just like architects design buildings with unique features yet follow certain principles and guidelines, Allport designed theories about human personalities based on specific traits while adhering to psychological principles.

Related terms

Functional Autonomy: A term coined by Allport suggesting that some behaviors continue even when their original motives are no longer relevant.

Proprium: Another term from Allport referring to all aspects of a person that make for selfhood or contribute towards one's perception of oneself.

Motive vs Value Dichotomy: A concept introduced by Allport highlighting how motives can be unconscious but values always involve conscious knowledge.