'Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those…

2016

'Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those Psycho-Physical systems that determine the unique adjustment to his environment.' This definition was given by

  1. A.

    M.L. Munn

  2. B.

    S. Freud

  3. C.

    G. W. Allport

  4. D.

    J.E. Dashiell

Attempted by 3 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Concept: Early 20th-century psychologists proposed competing formal definitions of personality, each anchored in a different theoretical lens: trait/structural (Allport), psychoanalytic (Freud), behaviour-integration (Munn), and social-behavioural (Dashiell).

Application: The quoted definition — “a dynamic organization within the individual of psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment” — closely reflects G. W. Allport's well-known 1937 definition of personality, given in his book “Personality: A Psychological Interpretation.” It is the foundational statement of Allport's trait theory of personality.

Cross-check:

  • Munn's own definition instead emphasizes the integration of an individual's behaviour, interests, attitudes, and abilities.

  • Freud's account of personality centers on unconscious conflict among the id, ego, and superego, not on psycho-physical systems.

  • Dashiell's research concerns social facilitation and group behaviour, not a structural definition of individual personality.

Result: The definition belongs to G. W. Allport.

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