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Chapter 12: Problem 7

Consider this statement by Allport: "since we think about ourselves so much of the time, it is comforting to assume \(\ldots\) that we really know the score.... [But] this is not an easy assignment. [As] Santayana wrote, 'Nothing requires a rarer intellectual heroism than willingness to see one's equation written out." Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Yes, agree with the quote. Exploring oneself objectively requires great intellectual courage because personal biases often cloud our understanding of our true selves.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the Quote

The quotation from Allport mainly suggests that people often deceive themselves into believing they understand their lives or characters fully, when in reality, this is a very challenging task. The quote by Santayana, referenced in the statement, implies that it requires a high level of intellectual courage to objectively see and accept one's true nature.
02

Formulating Personal Opinion

An opinion, whether agreement or disagreement, must be formed based on the understanding of the quote. For example, one could agree with the quotation, saying that it is indeed difficult to truly understand oneself due to the human tendency to avoid confronting unpleasant truths.
03

Justification of the Opinion

Next, justify the personal opinion formed. This is to provide supporting arguments or experiences that make you agree or disagree with the statement. Suppose one agrees with the quote, they may justify this by stating that personal biases often distort an individual's understanding of self, thus seeing oneself objectively is indeed a challenging task.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

An explorer spends months in frozen wastelands, which involves severe hardships. A kamikaze pilot sacrifices his life during World War II. Allport argues that these behaviors cannot be explained by a Freudian pleasure principle, since they are painful and unpleasant. How might Freud defend the pleasure principle in each case?

Allport argues that the healthy adult shows compassion for the considerable difficulties in living faced by all human beings, and he is highly critical of the person who feels that "he and his kind matter, no one else. His church, his family, and his nation make a safe unit, but all else is alien, dangerous, [and] to be excluded from his petty formula for survival." Do you agree or disagree? Why?

(a) Why might Allport's reaction to Freud's question during their meeting in 1920 ("And was that little boy you?") be regarded as excessive? What might this imply about Allport's personality? About his theory? (b) Allport regards the very young child as an "unsocialized horror." What might this imply about his personality? About his theory?

A terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Allport explain the terrorist's behavior?

(a) Allport stresses the conscious and concrete aspects of personality, whereas Freud prefers to probe deeply into the unconscious. Which approach do you prefer? Why? (b) Traits have proved much more popular among psychological researchers during the past few decades than psychoanalytic constructs. How can this be explained?
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