DISPOSITIONAL STRATEGY

3 Pages 844 Words

The Dispositional Strategy assumes claims that personality is the set of enduring characteristics innate to the person. Each individual differs in the amount of each particular characteristic they possess; some may have no signs of a certain characteristic and meet all the criteria for another. The defining characteristics of our culture influence people greatly whether they are aware of it or not, they influence our sociability with others and the environment we live in.
The majority of dispositional psychologists claim that an enduring disposition is a permanent, inherent element of personality; different from a state which is a temporary condition. Dispositions are not just habits, although they define who we are, they are in no way easy to define. A person’s disposition cannot be determined by observing several acts; their behavior must be stable over time.
When I was assigned a random roommate, after just two days I thought she was an aggressive, snobby, typical sorority girl. Yet I could not label her correctly with a certain disposition after only 48 hours. I would have to watch her behavior over a course of time, wait for it to be stable, and then classify her. My first impression of her was completely wrong; once I got to know her I can correctly say she has a sweet, motherly, and proud disposition that I love. What she was like the first few days in our apartment was just a state, a temporary condition resulting from the fatigue and stress of moving in.
Jackson, 2
Gordon Allport, the founder of the modern Dispositional Strategy, believed that psychological traits were real attributes of people that served to explain behavior and not just describe it. He spent nearly his entire career researching personality and trying to make sense if it. Allport said that the daunting task of “finding out what the other person is really like” is very difficult yet you should not throw in the towel. Allport made it easi...