fei75766_ch12_377-407.indd 403  02/06/20 12:56 PM
Chapter 12    Allport: Psychology of the Individual403
lostsightoftheproactive person, Allport’s viewofhumanity isphilosophically refresh -
ing.Aswithanyother theory, however, itmust beevaluated onascientific basis.
Allport probably didmore thananyother psychologist todefine personality 
andtocategorize other definitions oftheterm. Butdohiswritings constitute atheory 
inthesense ofstating asetofrelated assumptions thatgenerate testable hypotheses? 
Onthiscriterion, Allport’s exhortations rateaqualified “Yes.” Itisalimited theory, 
offering explanations forafairly narrow scope ofpersonality, namely, certain kinds of
motivation. Thefunctionally autonomous motives ofpsychologically healthy adults 
arecovered quite adequately byAllport’s theory. Butwhat ofthemotives ofchildren 
andofmentally disturbed adults? What moves them andwhy? What about ordinarily 
healthy adults whouncharacteristically behave inastrange manner? What accounts 
forthese inconsistencies? What explanation didAllport offer forthebizarre dreams, 
fantasies, andhallucinations ofmature individuals? Unfortunately, hisaccount ofper-
sonality isnotbroad enough toadequately answer these questions.
Despite itslimitations asauseful theory, Allport’s approach topersonality is
bothstimulating andenlightening. Anyone interested inbuilding atheory ofpersonality 
should firstbecome familiar withAllport’s writings. Fewother psychologists havemade 
asmuch effort toplace personality theory inperspective; fewhavebeenascareful in
defining terms, incategorizing previous definitions, orinquestioning whatunitsshould 
beemployed inpersonality theory. Thework ofAllport hassetastandard forclearthink -
ingandprecision thatfuture theorists would dowelltoemulate.
Hasthetheory generated research? Onthiscriterion, Allport’s theory receives a
moderate rating. HisReligious Orientation Scale, theStudy ofValues, andhisinterest 
inprejudice haveledtomultiple studies onthescientific study ofreligion, values, and
prejudice. 
Onthecriterion offalsifiability, Allport’s theory must receive alowrating. The
concept offoursomewhat independent religious orientations canbeverified orfalsi-
fied,butmost ofAllport’s other insights liebeyond theability ofscience todetermine 
whether some other explanation might beequally appropriate. 
Auseful theory provides anorganization for observations. Does Allport’s theory 
meet thiscriterion? Again, onlyforanarrow range ofadult motives doesthethe-
oryoffer ameaningful organization forobservations. Much ofwhat isknown about 
human personality cannot beeasily integrated intoAllport’s theory. Specifically, 
behaviors motivated byunconscious forces aswellasthose thatarestimulated by
primary drives werenotadequately explained byAllport. Herecognized theexistence 
ofthese kinds ofmotivations, butseemed content toallow thepsychoanalytic and
behavioral explanations tostand without further elaboration. Thislimitation, how-
ever, doesnotinvalidate Allport’s theory. Toaccept thevalidity ofother theoretical 
concepts isalegitimate approach totheory building. 
Asaguide for the practitioner, Allport’s theory hasmoderate usefulness. Itcer-
tainly serves asabeacon totheteacher andthetherapist, illuminating theviewof
personality thatsuggests thatpeople should betreated asindividuals. Thedetails, 
unfortunately, areleftunspecified. 
Onthefinaltwocriteria ofauseful theory, Allport’s psychology oftheindivid -
ualishighly rated. Hisprecise language renders thetheory bothinternally consistent 
andparsimonious.Final PDF to printer