Throughout history, the set of characteristics that make people different from each other, having a distinctive way of interpreting, acting and living life have been studied thoroughly. This distinctive pattern is what we commonly know as personality. Being an abstract concept, personality is interpretable from a great number of approaches .

Among these approaches, some consider that personality is a unique configuration in each person, no two are the same. Thus, each person is totally unique, although some similarities can be found with others. This point of view is what we consider an idiographic approach, the maximum exponent of which is Gordon Allport and his theory of personality.

What makes us do what we do?

Whether we behave or respond to the world in one way or another is due to a wide range of variables and factors.

The situations we live in, what they demand of us and how we interpret both the situation and what we may be able to see are very relevant elements when deciding on one plan of action or another. However, not only does the situation control behaviour, but there are a series of internal variables that govern together with the environmental demands that we make and even think about concretely .

The latter correspond to the set of characteristics that make up our personality, which according to the principle of functional autonomy of motives, is a force that causes us to be motivated to act in a certain way, this action being in turn motivating due to the activation of learned patterns throughout the life cycle.

The Propium and its configuration in the personality

Personality has been conceptualized in very different ways according to the author, theoretical trend and approach that has treated it. In the case of Allport, this important psychologist considers that personality is a dynamic organization of the psychophysiological systems that determine the way of thinking and acting characteristic of the subject. Through these elements, Allport creates a theoretical system oriented to explain what is the style of behavior of individuals.

However, the personality needs a vertebral element in which the different characteristics of the personality are structured. This axis is what the author calls propium , being this the self-perception of being a differentiated entity. It is about the subject’s perception of himself as being integrated by different characteristics, experiences and desires, being the self-perception of being a differentiated being.

In the Allport theory of personality, this perception of the entity itself is considered to be formed by different factors . The elements that make up this skeleton of mental life, which are acquired throughout psychic maturation, are the following.

1. Corporal self

This part of the propium is basically the experience of bodily and perceptive sensations , which allow the experience with the external environment. It is the component of awareness about the parts of one’s body and the way one feels when coming into contact with external stimuli.

2. Identity

It is the idea that we are a “something” in a continuous way, that we live different experiences throughout our lives. It can be understood as the backbone of our own life history, the way we interpret the journey we have made and, from this, the conclusions we draw about ourselves.

3. Self-esteem

The perception that we are not passive entities, but that we modify our experience and our life with our actions, is a very important part when it comes to integrating the personality. We see ourselves as valuable beings.

4. Self-image

This is a comparative element, which takes into account on the one hand the performance itself and on the other hand the reaction of the environment to it. In other words, it is what others think of you.

5. Extension of self

This part of the self refers to the perception that the person has specific interests, these being important elements for us. These objectives and goals form a vector of action that guides behaviour.

6. Rationality

Self-perception of the capacity to find adaptive solutions to the different problems and demands that the environment may provide. It is closely related to self-confidence.

7. Intentionality

The most complex element of the propium, the creation of an intentional self implies the self-awareness of being a being with its own objectives and goals, the capacity to motivate itself and fight to achieve

The structure of personality

Personality is an element that can be understood as a kind of organized system that generates behavioral patterns from the subject’s activity. To explain its organization and allow the study and prediction of behavior, it is necessary to take into account the main and most basic of the elements that make it up: the traits.

Traits are that element that allows us to value different stimuli as a whole to which we can respond in a similar way, our behaviour being somehow adaptive to them.

Traits are understood as the point of union between mental processes and physiological components, being this union responsible for our performance. Thus, Allport establishes that traits cause the tendency to always act in a similar way .

Traits in Allport’s personalistic theory

As the main exponent of the idiographic approach, Allport considered that the behavioral patterns of each person are unique and different among subjects. Despite this, it is considered that human beings generally possess the same types of traits, such as dependency, aggressiveness, sociability and anxiety, so it is not uncommon for similar patterns to exist. What makes each individual have their own personality is the relationship between personality traits and which ones stand out in each one.

Personality traits can be classified according to how identifiable the subject’s general behaviour is , with the author considering three main types of traits

1. Cardinal features

Cardinal features are those personality traits that are part of the person’s own core , affecting and defining most of the person’s behavioural repertoire. That is, they are the ones that have more weight in the way of being of each individual.

2. Central features

The central features are those sets of characteristics that have an influence on the person’s behaviour in different contexts . They participate in our performance and the tendencies we have despite the fact that they influence a more restricted set of behaviour, such as socialisation, and are generally independent of each other.

3. Secondary traits

It is about some elements that, although they are not part of the general personality of the subjects, can arise in certain moments , as when facing a concrete situation.

All these factors make the Allport theory a complex element that tries to give a sense to the personality from a structural point of view. The main characteristics of the personalistic theory are the fact that each person is configured through a composition of different features unique to each person and the fact that the human being is an entity that does not just remain static as life goes by, but actively participates in his or her environment to build, experience and fulfill goals and objectives.

What kind of theory is Allport’s?

Allport’s personality theory is interesting not only for its content, but also for the confluence of various ideologies and theoretical perspectives.

Regardless of the fact that it is limited to an idiographic point of view, in which the variables that make each person unique and different stand out, the theory established by Allport indicates that despite the fact that the configuration of each person is unique, there are common behaviour patterns , due to the fact that personality traits are generally shared innate elements.

Similarly, although his theory is innative, it does not ignore the influence of situational factors in explaining behavior, thus approaching interactionist positions that see behavior as a combination between the biological and the environmental.

Finally, the Allport theory is part of the structuralist theories of personality. These theories are based on the idea that personality is a configuration of characteristics organized with a specific structure, which allows the prediction of future behavior by the individual’s tendency to act according to that structure.

However, it also shows a certain interest in the process, that is to say, in the process by which it is developed and not only its structure, in analyzing how the propium is formed.

Bibliographic references:

  • Allport, G.W. (1961). Pattern and Growth in personality. New York: Holt.
  • Bermúdez, J. (1996). G.W.’s personalistic theory. Allport. In Bermúdez, J.(Ed.) Psicología de la personalidad. Madrid: UNED.
  • Hernangómez, L. & Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and Differential Psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIr, 07.