Floyd Henry Allport

American psychologist

Floyd Henry Allport (August 22, 1890 – October 15, 1979) was an American psychologist who is often considered "the father of experimental social psychology", having played a key role in the creation of social psychology as a legitimate field of behavioral science. His book Social Psychology (1924) impacted all future writings in the field. From 1919 to 1922, Allport was an instructor in psychology at Harvard and Radcliffe, and then until 1924 he was an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Allport became one of the original faculty members at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1924. Allport published numerous books and articles in the field of psychology. Three of his most influential books are Social Psychology,
Association on the Social Science Research Council (Representative). Allport found that individuals perform better when in a group setting as opposed to completing the same/similar task alone.

Floyd Allport and his brother Gordon Allport collaborated on this 1921 paper which outlined the dimensions of the personality assessments that they used while studying personality. They provided information of how they arrived at these classifications and brief examples of what the manifestations of the traits will be in the actual person. The traits were: intelligence, temperament (emotional breadth and strength), self expression (extro introversion, ascendance submission, expansion reclusion, compensation, insight and self evaluation) and sociality. Allport then shows how, when you add something other than a qualitative statement, it is much more clear as to what the circumstance is. Allport derived an equation that combined structural kinematics/geometry (non quantitative) and structural energics (quantitative).

Allport focuses on the methodology of involving specific social stimulus that may or may not be presented. Allport described three ways in which societal behaviors may be analyzed, co acting, reciprocal and co reciprocal. He questions the definition of time, space, degrees of qualities because they represent large scale behaviors and not individual traits or differences. Allport believes this method and the results will offer promise of a contribution of practical as well as theoretical value in human relationships.

"Social Forces" was published December 1927. In the nature of institutions section, Allport questions the term "institutions". He gives two examples; institutions can be given a group entitativity and a figure, or they can be simply human behavior broken down into sections. The institutions have three factions. A system is brought from the past, watching and sorting the system and then the accumulated tools used to sort and or observe the system. He makes the point that institutions are not valid to blame or say they can cause things. They may be used as a description but he wants it pointed out that they can be a hindrance to the sociological method.

Social stimuli are the main factors in any experimental social psychological setting. The point is to identify the difference in the types of stimuli. The social stimuli lead to the recognition and proof of "social intelligence". A social group's effect on an individual attitude can be notable. Social stimuli then lead to competition, specific attention, quickness, worse quality and physical movement. The conclusion leads to the focus of the individual as the key component towards learning anything about the group.

The Journal of Abnormal Psychology was renamed the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology in 1921, with reasons given for the combination of abnormal and social psychology. New concepts and behavior terminology led to a separate unique classification. Different specific commonalities were becoming apparent and being tied in relation. The concepts were even being taught but had not been merged to detailed organizational identities. The inclusion of social psychology was defined and supported.