Personality (International Library of Psychology)

324 Pages·1999·1.27 MB·English

by  R G GORDON

The International Library of Psychology
PERSONALITY
Founded by C.K.Ogden
The International Library of Psychology
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
In 21 Volumes
I The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology Adler
II The Neurotic Constitution Adler
III Duality Bradley
IV Problems of Personality Camphell et al
V An Introduction to Individual Psychology Dreikurs
VI The Psychology of Alfred Adler and the Development of the
Child Ganz
VII Personality Gordon
VIII The Art of Interrogation Hamilton
IX Appraising Personality Harrower
X Physique and Character Kretschmer
XI The Psychology of Men of Genius Kretschmer
XII Handreading Laffan
XIII On Shame and the Search for Identity Lynd
XIV A B C of Adler’s Psychology Mairet
XV Alfred Adler: Problems of Neurosis Mairet
XVI Principles of Experimental Psychology Piéron
XVII The Psychology of Character Rohack
XVIII The Hands of Children Spier
XIX The Nature of Intelligence Thurstone
XX Alfred Adler: The Pattern of Life Wolfe
XXI The Psychology of Intelligence and Will Wyatt
PERSONALITY
R G GORDON
First published in 1926 by
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd.
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or
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© 1926 R G Gordon
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
ISBN 0-203-98150-2 Master e-book ISBN

Personality
ISBN 0415-21057-7 (Print Edition)
Individual Differences: 21 Volumes
ISBN 0415-21130-1 (Print Edition)
The International Library of Psychology: 204 Volumes
ISBN 0415-19132-7 (Print Edition)
CONTENTS
PREFACE xvi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Argument: The 1
definition of the term Personality and
its differentiation from the ego and
character, depends on a realization of
its comprehensive make-up from
factors, both physical and mental,
which are partly inherent and partly
acquired, before and after birth. If we
trace the evolution of man’s thought
on this subject from earliest times to
the present day, we find a gradual
change from vague dualistic and
animistic ideas to a more monistic
conception of personality
culminating in the theories of
“Gestalt” psychology and Emergent
evolution.
CHAPTER II. THE RELATIONSHIP OF BODY AND 15
MIND Argument : The six possible
views of this relationship held by
17th and 18th century philosophers
have been amplified in various ways
by 19th century thinkers, but the
general scheme adopted here is that
of Spinoza, as developed by Huxley
and Lloyd Morgan, with special
reference to the influence of modern
advances in physics and psychology
in abolishing the fundamental
difference between mind and matter,
and in establishing the contention
vi
that the psychoses and neuroses are
different aspects of the same
function. Personality is evolved on
increasingly higher emergents,
developed from the structural basis
of reflex arc, conditioned reflex and
engram.
CHAPTER III. THE PRINCIPLE OF EMERGENCE 29
Argument: One of the chief criticisms
of the monistic standpoint is, that it
is absurd to say, that high-grade
mental processes are nothing but
compounds of reflexes and tropisms.
The principle of emergence answers
this criticism, in so far as it
postulates that new developments
have a character and unity of their
own, quite apart from their
component parts. This depends on
the relatedness existing between the
components and the structural form
of the emergent. Emergents may be
recognized throughout the evolution
of the universe, but the principal
landmarks in the process are the
appearances of life, of mind and of
reflective thought. The gradual
increase in complexity of function
must be studied side by side with the
increase in complexity of structure.
Personality is essentially an emergent
and must be considered as such.
CHAPTER IV. THE ORGANIZATION OF BODILY 47
FUNCTION Argument: Organization
depends on the activity of the
nervous system and its progressive
complexity as demonstrated in the
hierarchy of the animal kingdom. The
units of this system are the neurones
and these are grouped into engrams
of greater or less complexity emerging
vii
from the simple reflex, through
conditioned reflexes, to those
subserving consciousness and
reflective thought. At these higher
levels inhibition and facilitation are
important in modifying the “form “of
the engrams. These phenomena are
closely related to pleasure and
unpleasure and may be to a certain
extent interdependent. The
organization of the nervous system as
a whole depends on the
superimposition of the reflex arcs
which can be most readily
demonstrated in the study of the
physiology of movement, sensation
and feeling.
CHAPTER V. THE TEMPERAMENTAL FACTOR IN 63
PERSONALITY Argument : The
function of the nervous system, while
it controls the general activity of the
organism, is in turn modified by the
function of bodily organs. Chief
among these from this point of view
are the endocrine glands whose true
influence is still imperfectly
understood. Overaction or deficiency
in the individual secretions are
known to exert certain influences on
bodily and mental characteristics,
while certain abnormalities of
personality are known to be due to
anomalies in the functions of these
glands, hence their importance in the
general study of personality.
CHAPTER VI. THE INHERENT ORGANIZATION OF 83
MENTAL FUNCTION Argument: As
the structure of engrams becomes too
complicated to follow at the higher
levels it is more profitable to study
function from the psychical aspect
viii
and to follow the hierarchy of mental
processes. Starting from the
“appetites” arranged in pairs of
opposites, we may trace the
emergence of instincts and emotional
dispositions. The discussion of the
latter in accordance with McDougall’s
treatment of them is helpful, but
certain modifications of his views
seem desirable.
CHAPTER VII. THE FURTHER ORGANIZATION OF 99
MENTAL FUNCTION Argument:
Above the level of the emotional
dispositions it is more convenient to
study separately, those processes
presenting a dominant cognitive,
affective or conative phase
respectively, not forgetting that any
mental process presents all three
phases, though all may not be
equally obvious. The higher
emergents of the dominantly affective
processes are the compound and
derived emotions and the process of
belief. On the cognitive side we have
to consider the growth and influence
of language and the processes of
imagery and perception. From these
we pass to concepts and reason,
culminating in beliefs and the
philosophy of life. On the conative
side we study the growth and
organization of sentiments with the
self-regarding sentiment as the
ultimate emergent. The combination
of this in turn with the philosophy of
life results in the emergence of the
mental aspect of the personality.
CHAPTER VIII. VARIATIONS IN PERSONALITIES 123
Argument : Having considered the
organization of the emergent we must
ix
ask how and why individual
personalities differ. Many factors
have to be considered ;
environmental, such as climate, race
and social heritage ; hereditary, such
as retardation and precocity, the
possession of talents, intelligence or
genius on the cognitive side and of
tempers and moods on the affective-
conative side. This study has led
many observers to attempt to divide
individuals into groups, especially in
respect of the particular disposition
which seems to be responsible for
conduct. The tendencies of the
modern psycho-analytic schools
show how the results of such
investigations tend to be coloured by
the personality of the observer and a
critical study of the contributions of
Freud, Jung and Adler exemplifies
both different points of view, and also
the essential variations between
groups of personalities.
CHAPTER IX. THE CONTRIBUTION OF FREUD TO 139
THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY
Argument: The history of the psycho-
analytic movement shows how the
concepts of conflict and repression
arose and how the study of neurotics
throws light on the psychology of
everyday life, as does a cartoon.
Leaving aside the ultra-sexual veneer
of the Freudian doctrine certain of
his observations are of great value to
the study of personality. More
especially the concepts of the
conative unit the “wish” and the
inhibition of the incoordinated
“unconscious” processes which he
terms the censor. The processes of