PSY 216 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Gordon Allport, Clean Language, Sentience
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He emphasized the uniqueness of the individual/peculiar to the single case (morphogenic/idiographic) rather than studying groups of people/general laws (nomothetic). He took an eclectic approach to theory he accepted the contributions of many different psychologists. He believed a broad, comprehensive theory is preferable to a narrow specific theory even if it does not generate as many hypotheses. Allport was willing to accept at face value the self-disclosure statements and simply asked the clients what they think of themselves. Examples: (1) the diaries of marion taylor: lifetime of diaries about her life and personal meetings with allport"s wife. Soon after her 13th birthday, her diary entries became more personal. They chose never to publish her story. (2) letters from jenny: reveal the story of an older women and her intense feelings of love/hate for her son, Allport originally published parts of these letters anonymously and then later published them under his own name.
