Allport gave this definition of personality, “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine…characteristic behavior and thought,” according to the text.
Heredity and Environment
Allport believed that heredity provides the personality with physique, intelligence and temperament; which can be shaped, expanded, or limited by the conditions of our environment. Our genetic endowment then works with our social environment, where no two people are exactly alike.
Two Distinct Personalities
Allport concluded that to study personality, psychology must deal with the individual. Allport found no continuum of personality between childhood and adulthood, so the adult personality is not restrained by childhood experiences.
He emphasized the conscious rather than the unconscious, the present and future rather than the past. He recognized the uniqueness of personality rather than proposing generalities or similarities for large groups of people. And he chose to study the normal rather than the abnormal personality.
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