PSY_405_W4_DQS

Running head : PERSONALITY THEORIES

Personality Theories

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University

Professor

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Personality Theories

1 . describe one of Allport 's structure of personality

Gordon Allport believed that people are dynamic beings - constantly growing and evolving . Personalities have and patterns , but are equally suited for change and diversity . Allport saw people as both product and process (Feist Feist , 2007 . They proactively act and react to the environment and cause the environment to react to them as well . People consciously determine their personality . For Allport people are motivated by present

drives (Feist Feist , 2007 . They understand what they do and why they do it

Allport believed that the fault for most personality theories was that they limit people 's behaviors as being only reactive or as a result of people 's past . He held that an adequate motivation theory should allow for people 's concrete , individual motives , as well as recognize people 's intentions of living for the future as seen in their plans and goals Allport argued that people can acquire personality systems that are independent from original motives . He called this capability the functional autonomy (Feist Feist , 2007

Functional autonomy embodies Allport 's belief of people 's motives as changing rather than stagnant and monotonous . The concept holds that human behaviors are independent of the original , instinctual behavior That is , people do what they do because they like it or find some purpose in it , instead of people doing things because they have or need to (Feist Feist , 2007 . Allport...