Gordon W. Allport Quotes & Sayings

“So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.”

“We cannot know the young child's personality by studying his systems of interest, for his attention is as yet too labile, his reactions impulsive, and interests unformed. From adolescence onward, however, the surest clue to personality is the hierarchy of interests, including the loves and loyalties of adult life.”

“Scarcely anyone ever wants to be anybody else. However handicapped or unhappy he feels himself, he would not change places with other more fortunate mortals.”

“A prejudice, unlike a simple misconception, is actively resistant to all evidence that would unseat it.”

“It is not that we have class prejudice, but only that we find comfort and ease in our own class. And normally there are plenty of people of our own class, or race, or religion to play, live, and eat with, and to marry.”

“It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment can make us repudiate our loyalty.”

“Mature striving is linked to long-range goals. Thus, the process of becoming is largely a matter of organizing transitory impulses into a pattern of striving and interest in which the element of self-awareness plays a large part.”

“Personality is less a finished product than a transitive process. While it has some stable features, it is at the same time continually undergoing change.”

“To a considerable degree, all minority groups suffer from the same state of marginality with its haunting consequences of insecurity, conflict, and irritation.”

“No corner of the world is free from group scorn.”