Personality: A Psychological Interpretation

Gordon Allport's Personality: A Psychological Interpretation (1937) introduced an original theory of personality. Allport's approach emphasized the adult personality, proposing that adult motives, while originating from infantile drives, become independent of them—a concept he termed functional autonomy. He also highlighted the importance of the self as an organizing principle within an individual, accounting for personality unity, higher motives, and memory continuity.1

Traits, such as sociability or meticulousness, are considered stable over time and situations, representing dispositions to respond in identifiable ways. Allport viewed traits as internal structures, shaped by both genetic predispositions and experience. His work contributed to understanding personality as a unique organization within each person, distinct from psychoanalytic theories that focused more on infantile experiences.21