Humanistic Psychology and Intellectual Identity

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between Gordon Allport and humanistic psychology. Allport was an important figure in the early history of humanistic psychology. His work in personality psychology contributed to the movement's theoretical base and his organizational efforts helped give humanistic psychology an institutional structure. Despite these contributions, however, it would be a mistake to categorize him primarily as a humanistic psychologist. The term does not capture the philosophical and religious nuances of his thought, nor is it consistent with Allport's academic strategy. He is more accurately characterized as an "eclectic" or "open" theorist. Rubricizing [is] a cheap form of cognizing, i.e., really a form of notcognizing, a quick, easy cataloguing whose function is to make unnecessary the effort required by more careful, idiographic perceiving or thinking. (Maslow, 1968, p. 126)