Allport's Personality Definition

Gordon Allport, a prominent psychologist, defined personality as a dynamic concept. He viewed personality not as a static entity, but as an internal system within the individual that influences their characteristic behaviors and thoughts.

Intervening Variable Concept

Allport conceptualized personality as an intervening variable. This means personality is an internal state or process that helps explain the relationship between external stimuli (what happens to a person) and their responses (how they behave). It's something that happens *between* the input and the output.

Why Intervening Variable?

• Personality, for Allport, is not directly observable like behavior itself.
• It's inferred from behavior and represents the underlying psychological structures and dynamics.
• It accounts for the consistency and uniqueness of an individual's actions.

Evaluating Other Options

• Response style: This describes *how* someone responds, but not the underlying personality structure itself.
• Social stimulus value: This refers to how an individual influences others, which is an outcome of personality, not the definition of personality itself.
• Thinking style: While thinking style is part of personality, it is too narrow to encompass Allport's broader definition.

Therefore, the most fitting description according to Allport's view is that personality acts as an intervening variable.