Theorists

Author’s Name
Professor
Course
Due Date
Allport: Psychology of the Individual
Step 1
Gordon Allport got his motivation for delving into the study of psychology from his brief encounter with Sigmund Freud as a 22-year-old student of philosophy and economics. His short discussion with the renowned psychologist left a lasting impact on him thus arousing his curiosity in the psychological field. In his theory concerning the psychology of the individual, Allport posits that the uniqueness of an individual surpasses the tendency to classify people as having common traits. He stresses that each person has their unique characteristic hence it is essential to avoid generalizations. Allport equally believes that it is preferable to propose theories that are broad and comprehensive rather than the narrow and specific. Moreover, he presents an in-depth analysis of the aspect of personality change by conducting extensive research from different fields (Allport 17-23). His zeal to reveal the broad concepts about personality show his seriousness as a theorist.
The key terms include a definition of personality and of the traits in people among various other concepts that Allport discusses. The benefits of this theory emanate from the fact that Allport values the study of the uniqueness of an individual, unlike other theorists who are seen to generalize traits in people (Feist et al, 349-373). However, the weaknesses of this theory lie in borrowing from the use of common sense and philosophical speculation rather than scientific investigations.

Step 2
Hannah Baker is a student at Liberty high school. Like many other teenage girls her age, she wants to feel like part of the school. Therefore, she is outgoing and fun loving. Hannah is also kind, social, easy-going, funny, and of good self-esteem. These traits make her vulnerable to the social evils in her surrounding. Finally, as Allport suggests that personality is never constant and is bound to change depending on the exposure of a person, Hannah becomes more introverted when she realizes her reputation is at risk. She finally gives in to the pressure of life and commits suicide.
In an experiment with ten teenage high school students, five of them will get exposed to interacting freely with the enticements of life while the remaining five get strict restrictions. In this case, a character change is predictable in the socialized group especially when they get overwhelmed by the repercussions of loving life. The environment of the students remains constant hence they change behavior to meet the expectations of the society. Through the use of the sampling method, I will randomly pick the students for my study to obtain sufficient information on what motivates change in personality.
Work cited
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C_hb_m6vPwAllport, Gordon W. Becoming: Basic Considerations for a Psychology of Personality. , 1955. Print.
Feist, Jess, Gregory J. Feist, and Tomi-Ann Roberts. Theories of Personality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.