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Was Gordon Allport a Trait Theorist?

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Was Gordon Allport a Trait Theorist? PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Was Gordon Allport a Trait Theorist? David C. Zuroff McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Contemporary discussions have generally defined a trait as a pervasive, cross-situational consistency in behavior. A careful examination of Allport's (1937, 1961, 1966) writings reveals that he did not believe in such pervasive consistencies. In fact, he maintained that behavior in different situations is frequently inconsistent, even contradictory, because different traits are aroused to different degrees in different situations. Allport was, therefore, an interactionist in the sense that he recognized that behavior is determined by the person and the situation. However, he failed to develop an interactionist process theory that could predict and explain the situational variability that he observed and de- scribed. Allport's concept of a trait as well as those of several contemporary theorists are compared and found to differ in terms of (a) the ontological status they ascribe to traits and (b) the type of consistency over situation they require. Distinctions among types of trait concepts are then used to clarify the debate about the existence of traits. It is argued that the evidence for traits as pervasive, cross-situational consistencies is quite negative but that there is considerable evidence for the exis- tence of traits as average levels of responses and as consistent patterns within delimited ranges of situations. Mischel's (1984) concept of a context-bound consistency is shown to be surprisingly sim- ilar to Allport's concept of a trait. The future of trait constructs is discussed in relation to the descrip- tive, predictive, and explanatory functions of traits. Disenchantment with the trait concept is widespread among of trait psychology. I will argue that although pervasive consis- personality psychologists and is often attributed to Mischel's tency defined a trait for Mischel and Bern, it was not implied (1968) influential critique. Critics of trait psychology have por- by Allport's original use of the term. What, then, have Allport's trayed Gordon Allport as both the originator and the principal critics meant by pervasive consistency? Mischel and Peake exponent of the doctrine of traits (Bern & Allen, 1974; Mischel (1982) argued that the appropriate empirical index of consis- & Peake, 1982). This article seeks to rehabilitate Allport by tency is the correlation between subjects' behaviors in pairs of demonstrating that he was not a trait theorist, at least in the distinct situations. It follows that they believed that trait theo- sense that most psychologists now understand the term. This ries predict consistency in the rank ordering of subjects across reexamination of Allport's conceptualization of traits leads to pairs of situations. The crucial point, however, is that Mischel a discussion of some issues in trait psychology that are relevant and Peake (1982) examined the average of all pair-wise corre- to contemporary work in personality. In particular, I attempt lations. This criterion of traitlikeness implies that a true trait (a) to delineate the types of definitions of the trait concept that is manifested throughout an individual's life-space; consistent psychologists have used; (b) to compare Allport's definition behavior in some situations does not meet this criterion and with those of Mischel (1968), Epstein (1979), Moskowitz cannot qualify as a trait.1 Stated differently, Mischel and Peake (1982), and Buss and Craik (1983); (c) to consider the implica- (1982) apparently thought that for trait theories, pervasive tions of definitional differences for the ongoing debate about means consistency across all or practically all situations. Is this the existence of traits; and (d) to consider the future of trait an accurate representation of trait psychology? Did Allport in constructs in personality psychology. fact believe that traits are manifested by a relatively constant In order to rehabilitate Allport, we must first determine pre- rank ordering of individuals across practically all situations? cisely what he has been accused of espousing. In their various Answering this question is complicated by Allport's (1937) writings, both Mischel and Bern have suggested that a belief in distinction between nomothetically defined common traits and pervasive, cross-situational consistency is the defining feature 1 In a recent article, Mischel (1983) seems to have altered his position and accepted the reliability of measures aggregated over situations as a I would like to express my gratitude to Jonathan Cheek, Debbie legitimate measure of traitlikeness. The present article's argument is Franko, Debbie Moskowitz, Ted Powers, Jules Rotter, Conrad Schwarz, directed toward Mischel's earlier and highly influential statements. It is and several anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on ear- also true that at one point Mischel (1968, p. 295) acknowledged that lier drafts of this article. "Allport (1966) recognized the enormous evidence that the behavior of Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David the same person is variable and may change in accord with situations." C. Zuroff, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur In general, however, Mischel portrayed trait theory as oblivious to situa- Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1B1. tional influences on behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, !986, Vol. 51. No. 5,993-1000 Copyright 1986 by the Aimrican Psychological Association, lnc.0022-3514/86/$00.75 993 994 DAVID C. ZUROFF idiographically defined individual traits. Allport prescribed Thus, if a given child steals pennies, but does not lie, it might be different procedures for establishing the existence of common that the child has two individual traits, one determining one be- traits, which apply (approximately) to many individuals, and havior and one the other, rather than a single inconsistent disposi- individual traits, which exist only in one individual. The stabil- tion toward honesty (Allport, 1937, p. 251). Both of the first two ity of the rank ordering of individuals is pertinent to common types of explanation minimize the importance of apparent vari- traits, but not to individual traits. For individual traits, the cru- ability in behavior. Allport's third type of explanation, however, cial question is the degree to which the individual's behavior is recognized genuine situational differences in people's behavior. self-consistent from time to time and situation to situation. Let He believed that such differences exist because different situa- us set aside the incompatibility between Allport's critics' focus tions can arouse different traits in a person or, more commonly, on a nomothetic criterion of consistency (constant rank order- different mixtures of traits. In fact, Allport emphasized that di- ing) and Allport's focus on idiographic criteria (self-consis- rectly opposite traits could be activated in different situations: tency). The question then becomes, Does trait psychology pre- dict consistency across practically all situations, for either com- Every person has conflicts, frequently expressed in antagonistic dis- mon or individual traits? positions. The ever-changing environment raises now one trait and now another to a state of active tension. (Allport, 1937, p. 330) No doubt, one can find numerous passages in both Allport's 1937 text and his 1961 revision in which he appears to endorse . traits are often aroused in one type of situation and not in that belief. He wrote, for example: another; not all stimuli are equivalent in effectiveness. (Allport, 1937, pp. 331-332) The statistical proof for the existence of a trait lies in various mea- Sometimes a person may harbor personal dispositions that are ex- sures of reliability.. .It is likewise essential that if a person shows actly opposite. Conquering and yielding, exlraverted and intro- himself to be ascendant in one situation, he also shows himself verted, saintly and sinful dispositions may reside within one breast. (usually) to be ascendant in other situations. (AUport, 1961, p. 341) (Allport, 1961, p. 363) Nevertheless, a careful reading of Allport reveals that he was . personality traits often contradict each other. People may be fully conscious, even in 1937, of the variability as well as the both ascendant and submissive, perhaps submissive only towards those individuals bearing traditional symbols of authority and consistency of behavior. Allport added a chapter in the 1961 prestige; and towards everyone else aggressive and domineering. text entitled "Character, Situation, Role," but it did not alter (Allport, 1937, p. 330) his basic conceptions of traits or the role of the environment. Likewise, Allport's (1966) final statement admitted, "my earlier The key to understanding Allport's conception of traits is his views seemed to neglect the variability induced by ecological, willingness to accept the notion of contradictory traits. The social, and situational factors" (p. 9), but this admission did not phrase contradictory traits makes sense only if a trait is under- lead to any qualitative changes in his theorizing. Because of the stood to imply consistency over a limited range of situations. essentially stable nature of Allport's conceptualization of traits, Thus, in Allport's terminology, a person could be said to display I will present representative quotations from both the 1937 and a trait of meticulousness in
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