Gordon W. Allport

Date of Birth: November 11, 1897

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Date of Death: October 9, 1967

Biography

Gordon Willard Allport was a pioneering American psychologist, born on November 11, 1897, in Montezuma, Indiana. He is best known for his work in personality psychology and the development of trait theory. Allport’s approach to psychology emphasized the uniqueness of the individual and the importance of the present context, diverging from the then-dominant psychoanalytic and behaviorist schools of thought. Allport earned his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1919, and after a brief period teaching in Turkey, he returned to Harvard to complete his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1922. His dissertation focused on the concept of social facilitation, laying the groundwork for his future contributions to social psychology. Throughout his career, Allport published numerous influential works, including “Personality: A Psychological Interpretation” (1937) and “The Nature of Prejudice” (1954). He also developed the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, a widely used psychological assessment tool. Allport’s work earned him many accolades, including serving as President of the American Psychological Association in 1939. He continued to teach and conduct research until his death on October 9, 1967.

5 Interesting Facts about Gordon W. Allport

1. Gordon Allport is credited with founding the field of personality psychology.

2. He was one of the first psychologists to study the concept of prejudice and its effects on society.

3. Allport introduced the concept of “functional autonomy” to explain how adult motives can become independent of the original drives that produced them.

4. He mentored several prominent psychologists, including Jerome S. Bruner and Stanley Milgram.

5. Allport was awarded the Gold Medal Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Science of Psychology by the American Psychological Foundation in 1963.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Gordon W. Allport

1. “The individual in the social world is both a product and an architect of that world.”

2. “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.”

3. “Prejudice is an antipathy based upon a faulty and inflexible generalization.”

4. “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”

5. “So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

As a prominent academic and psychologist in the mid-20th century, Gordon Allport did not amass significant personal wealth. His contributions were primarily intellectual and scholarly rather than financial. Therefore, no notable net worth is recorded.