Gordon Allport

The functions of the proprium

• Self-image
• Also develops between four and six. This is the “looking-glass self,” the me as others see me. This is my social esteem or status, including my sexual identity. It is the beginning of what others call conscience, ideal self, and persona.
• Rational coping
• Is learned predominantly from six till twelve years of age. The child begins to develop his or her abilities to deal with life’s problems rationally and effectively. Erikson called this industry.
• Propriate striving
• Usually begins after twelve years old. This is my goals, ideals, plans, vocations, callings, a sense of direction, a sense of purpose. The culmination of propriate striving, according to Allport, is the ability to say that I am the proprietor of my life -- i.e. the owner and operator!

Maturity

• A well-developed proprium and a rich adaptive set of dispositions gives you psychological maturity or good mental health which contains seven characteristics:
• Specific, enduring extensions of the self, i.e. involvement.
• Dependable techniques for warm relating to others (e.g. trust, empathy, genuineness, tolerance...).
• Emotional security and self-acceptance.
• Habits of realistic perception (opposed to defensiveness).
• Problem-centeredness, the use of problem-solving skills.
• Self-objectification – knowing oneself and laughing
• A unifying philosophy of life, including a particular value orientation, differentiated religious sentiment, and a personalized conscience. Unitas Multiplex: Latin for - creating a unified whole out of many diverse aspects

Autonomy

• Is the person controlled by past events? Adler did not think so. Your motives today are independent of their origins. This concept is called Functional autonomy
• Preservative functional autonomy are basically habits.
• These are behaviors that no longer serve their original purpose. When we are young we make decisions based on the facts that we are small and insignificant. When we grow up and are large and powerful we still live by those preservative functions that have no correlation to our current facts.
• Propriate functional autonomy are choices.
• Even though you have the ability to choose to stop making these choices, you continue to make them. Values may have been developed in early childhood, but you choose to live by them today.