fei75766_ch12_377-407.indd 388  02/06/20 12:56 PM
Part IV    Dispositional Theories388
thatispersonal andconsistent withone’s adult beliefs. Ageneralized conscience—one 
shared bymost people within agiven culture—may beonlyperipheral toaperson’s 
sense ofpersonhood andthusoutside thatperson’s proprium. 
Motivation
Most people, Allport believed, aremotivated bypresent drives rather thanbypast
events andareaware ofwhat theyaredoing andhavesome understanding ofwhy
theyaredoing it.Healsocontended thattheories ofmotivation must consider the
differences between peripheral motives andpropriate strivings. Peripheral motives 
arethose thatreduce a need, whereas propriate strivings seektomaintain tension and 
disequilibrium. Adult behavior isbothreactive andproactive, andanadequate theory 
ofmotivation must beabletoexplain both. 
A Theory of Motivation
Allport believed thatauseful theory ofpersonality restsontheassumption thatpeople 
notonlyreact totheirenvironment butalsoshape theirenvironment andcause itto
react tothem. Personality isagrowing system, allowing newelements toconstantly 
enter intoandchange theperson.
Many older theories ofpersonality, Allport (1960) believed, didnotallow for
possibilities ofgrowth. Psycho -
analysis andthevarious learning 
theories arebasically homeostatic, 
orreactive, theories because they
seepeople asbeing motivated 
primarily byneeds toreduce ten-
sionandtoreturn toastateof
equilibrium. 
Anadequate theory ofper-
sonality, Allport contended, must 
allow forproactive behavior. Itmust 
viewpeople asconsciously acting 
ontheirenvironment inamanner 
thatpermits growth toward psy-
chological health. Acomprehen -
sivetheory must notonlyinclude 
anexplanation ofreactive theories 
butalsoinclude those proactive 
theories thatstress change and
growth. Inother words, Allport 
argued fora psychology that,on
onehand, studies behavioral pat-
terns andgeneral laws(thesubject 
matter oftraditional psychology) 
and,ontheother, growth and
individuality.
Sometimes people aremotivated toseektension, not
merely reduce it.Purestock/SuperStockFinal PDF to printer