PSY 560 Allport Case Study Student Name: Date: Read the following case study and thoroughly and completely answer the questions that follow. Remember to use full sentences and cite sources to support any contentions that you make, using proper APA formatting. CASE STUDY: Mary is a 36-year-old stay-at-home mother of four children. She is starting to become a bit bored with staying home, having done that for the past 15 years. Prior to having children, Mary worked in a credit union and enjoyed her job. She especially liked the precision of number crunching. She has carried this characteristic into her housekeeping chores. She tries to keep her home spotless, even with four children. She cleans the two bathrooms every day, vacuums, dusts, picks up toys, and performs various and sundry cleaning chores. Clutter and messiness bother her, and she is almost neurotic about cleaning. She is a perfectionist and knows it. All of her friends agree, but she is able to laugh at this quirk and not take herself too seriously. Although maintaining a house with four children might seem overwhelming to others, Mary handles these chores fine and has time (sometimes while cleaning) to keep in close touch with her friends, especially with phone calls. Mary is continuously on the phone. Her friends are a very important part of her social support network, especially since she does not have coworkers with whom to interact and because her husband travels a lot for his job. Often, her friends seem more important to her than her spouse and she seems to have a better relationship with them than her husband. They describe her as being fiercely loyal, supportive, and talkative. They also know that she has a good heart. She is always willing to help another mom whose babysitter got sick by watching their child while she goes to work. If a friend is feeling overwhelmed about preparing for an upcoming party, she is willing to cook or bake something for them. You would never know from looking at her that Mary is such a warm and caring person. She actually looks a bit intimidating and angry, but that is just because her age is starting to show with somewhat deep lines between her eyes, which is mistaken for a frown. She is aware of this contradiction and is a bit self-conscious of her frown lines. Mary is also insecure about not having attended college. Many of her friends graduated from college. Some even have doctorate degrees, but Mary never did. She does not think of herself as unintelligent, but she sees herself as uneducated and defers to others with a better education. Her friends see her as very intelligent, and they encourage her to pursue at least an associate’s degree mainly so she will feel better about herself. Mary is considering this possibility. It is something that she has always wanted to do. In particular, she is thinking about getting an associate’s degree in legal business studies and becoming a legal assistant after all of her children are in middle sc ...

1. PSY 560 Allport Case Study
Student Name:
Date:
Read the following case study and thoroughly and completely
answer the questions that follow. Remember to use full
sentences and cite sources to support any contentions that you
make, using proper APA formatting.
CASE STUDY:
Mary is a 36-year-old stay-at-home mother of four children. She
is starting to become a bit bored with staying home, having
done that for the past 15 years. Prior to having children, Mary
worked in a credit union and enjoyed her job. She especially
liked the precision of number crunching. She has carried this
characteristic into her housekeeping chores. She tries to keep
her home spotless, even with four children. She cleans the two
bathrooms every day, vacuums, dusts, picks up toys, and
performs various and sundry cleaning chores. Clutter and
messiness bother her, and she is almost neurotic about cleaning.
She is a perfectionist and knows it. All of her friends agree, but
she is able to laugh at this quirk and not take herself too
seriously.
Although maintaining a house with four children might seem
overwhelming to others, Mary handles these chores fine and has
time (sometimes while cleaning) to keep in close touch with her
friends, especially with phone calls. Mary is continuously on
the phone. Her friends are a very important part of her social
support network, especially since she does not have coworkers
with whom to interact and because her husband travels a lot for
his job. Often, her friends seem more important to her than her
spouse and she seems to have a better relationship with them
than her husband. They describe her as being fiercely loyal,

2. supportive, and talkative. They also know that she has a good
heart. She is always willing to help another mom whose
babysitter got sick by watching their child while she goes to
work. If a friend is feeling overwhelmed about preparing for an
upcoming party, she is willing to cook or bake something for
them. You would never know from looking at her that Mary is
such a warm and caring person. She actually looks a bit
intimidating and angry, but that is just because her age is
starting to show with somewhat deep lines between her eyes,
which is mistaken for a frown. She is aware of this
contradiction and is a bit self-conscious of her frown lines.
Mary is also insecure about not having attended college. Many
of her friends graduated from college. Some even have
doctorate degrees, but Mary never did. She does not think of
herself as unintelligent, but she sees herself as uneducated and
defers to others with a better education. Her friends see her as
very intelligent, and they encourage her to pursue at least an
associate’s degree mainly so she will feel better about herself.
Mary is considering this possibility. It is something that she has
always wanted to do. In particular, she is thinking about getting
an associate’s degree in legal business studies and becoming a
legal assistant after all of her children are in middle school.
They will be old enough to not need her as much, but that is
still two years away and she is nervous about this prospect
because she has been out of school for so long.
Mary is a good mother. She takes care of her children’s physical
and emotional needs. She has one child, Jennifer, who has a
severe learning disability, and she is a consistent advocate for
her. She makes sure that Jennifer’s needs are met, but she is
realistic. She knows that Jennifer will probably not go as far as
her other three children in whatever career she chooses. Mary is
pragmatic that way, even though it is painful for her.
Mary also makes sure that her children have fun. Their family
usually purchases a Six Flags amusement park season’s pass,
and they frequently go during the summers and even into the
fall. At first, she went on some of the more exciting roller

3. coasters just because her children wanted to try them out, but
now she is an avid roller coaster fan and would ride on them
even if her children were not with her. This sense of fun can
likewise be found in her ability to laugh at herself. She is able
to see humor in her need for order and cleanliness and in her
tendency to not be able to recall a word she wants to use (the
notorious tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon) and her occasional
feelings of frustration as she takes care of her children. She
sometimes loses her temper, especially when she is tired, but
she is always aware of her fatigue being a factor in how she
reacts to her children. She can later joke about this with friends
who also have children and sometimes even with her own kids.
Application Questions:
Using Allport’s trait theory approach, describe Mary’s
personality by answering the following questions. Answer
thoroughly and completely, using full sentences and citing to
sources to support any contentions and analyses.
1. Allport suggested seven criteria that demonstrate that a
person is psychologically healthy (mature). What are they? Find
examples of them in the case.
2. What are the differences between cardinal, central, and
secondary traits? What are some of Mary’s central traits?
3. What is functional autonomy? Find at least one example of
preservative functional autonomy in the case.
4. What is proprium according to Allport? What is Mary’s
proprium?
5. What is propriate striving? Find at least one example of it in
the case.
Theory Comparison Questions:
Answer thoroughly and completely, using full sentences and
citing sources to support any contentions and analyses.
1. Compare Allport’s criteria for mental health to each of the
following theorists and theories:
a. Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory of Personality
b. Rogers’s Person-Centered Theory of Personality
c. Cattell’s Factor-Analytic Trait Theory of Personality

4. 2. How does Allport’s propriate striving compare to Jung’s
concept of self-realization? To Maslow’s concept of
actualization? To Rogers’s concept of actualization?
3. Compare Allport’s concept of the proprium to Rogers’s
concept of the self.
Reference
Ashcraft, D. (2012). Personality theories workbook (5th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
PSY 560 Allport Case Study
Student Name:
Date:
Read the following case study and thoroughly and completely
answer the questions that follow. Remember to use full
sentences and cite sources to support any contentions that you
make, using proper APA formatting.
CASE STUDY:
Mary is a 36-year-old stay-at-home mother of four children. She
is starting to become a bit bored with staying home, having
done that for the past 15 years. Prior to having children, Mary
worked in a credit union and enjoyed her job. She especially
liked the precision of number crunching. She has carried this
characteristic into her housekeeping chores. She tries to keep
her home spotless, even with four children. She cleans the two
bathrooms every day, vacuums, dusts, picks up toys, and
performs various and sundry cleaning chores. Clutter and
messiness bother her, and she is almost neurotic about cleaning.
She is a perfectionist and knows it. All of her friends agree, but
she is able to laugh at this quirk and not take herself too
seriously.
Although maintaining a house with four children might seem

5. overwhelming to others, Mary handles these chores fine and has
time (sometimes while cleaning) to keep in close touch with her
friends, especially with phone calls. Mary is continuously on
the phone. Her friends are a very important part of her social
support network, especially since she does not have coworkers
with whom to interact and because her husband travels a lot for
his job. Often, her friends seem more important to her than her
spouse and she seems to have a better relationship with them
than her husband. They describe her as being fiercely loyal,
supportive, and talkative. They also know that she has a good
heart. She is always willing to help another mom whose
babysitter got sick by watching their child while she goes to
work. If a friend is feeling overwhelmed about preparing for an
upcoming party, she is willing to cook or bake something for
them. You would never know from looking at her that Mary is
such a warm and caring person. She actually looks a bit
intimidating and angry, but that is just because her age is
starting to show with somewhat deep lines between her eyes,
which is mistaken for a frown. She is aware of this
contradiction and is a bit self-conscious of her frown lines.
Mary is also insecure about not having attended college. Many
of her friends graduated from college. Some even have
doctorate degrees, but Mary never did. She does not think of
herself as unintelligent, but she sees herself as uneducated and
defers to others with a better education. Her friends see her as
very intelligent, and they encourage her to pursue at least an
associate’s degree mainly so she will feel better about herself.
Mary is considering this possibility. It is something that she has
always wanted to do. In particular, she is thinking about getting
an associate’s degree in legal business studies and becoming a
legal assistant after all of her children are in middle school.
They will be old enough to not need her as much, but that is
still two years away and she is nervous about this prospect
because she has been out of school for so long.
Mary is a good mother. She takes care of her children’s physical
and emotional needs. She has one child, Jennifer, who has a

6. severe learning disability, and she is a consistent advocate for
her. She makes sure that Jennifer’s needs are met, but she is
realistic. She knows that Jennifer will probably not go as far as
her other three children in whatever career she chooses. Mary is
pragmatic that way, even though it is painful for her.
Mary also makes sure that her children have fun. Their family
usually purchases a Six Flags amusement park season’s pass,
and they frequently go during the summers and even into the
fall. At first, she went on some of the more exciting roller
coasters just because her children wanted to try them out, but
now she is an avid roller coaster fan and would ride on them
even if her children were not with her. This sense of fun can
likewise be found in her ability to laugh at herself. She is able
to see humor in her need for order and cleanliness and in her
tendency to not be able to recall a word she wants to use (the
notorious tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon) and her occasional
feelings of frustration as she takes care of her children. She
sometimes loses her temper, especially when she is tired, but
she is always aware of her fatigue being a factor in how she
reacts to her children. She can later joke about this with friends
who also have children and sometimes even with her own kids.
Application Questions:
Using Allport’s trait theory approach, describe Mary’s
personality by answering the following questions. Answer
thoroughly and completely, using full sentences and citing to
sources to support any contentions and analyses.
1. Allport suggested seven criteria that demonstrate that a
person is psychologically healthy (mature). What are they? Find
examples of them in the case.
2. What are the differences between cardinal, central, and
secondary traits? What are some of Mary’s central traits?
3. What is functional autonomy? Find at least one example of
preservative functional autonomy in the case.
4. What is proprium according to Allport? What is Mary’s
proprium?
5. What is propriate striving? Find at least one example of it in

7. the case.
Theory Comparison Questions:
Answer thoroughly and completely, using full sentences and
citing sources to support any contentions and analyses.
1. Compare Allport’s criteria for mental health to each of the
following theorists and theories:
a. Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory of Personality
b. Rogers’s Person-Centered Theory of Personality
c. Cattell’s Factor-Analytic Trait Theory of Personality
2. How does Allport’s propriate striving compare to Jung’s
concept of self-realization? To Maslow’s concept of
actualization? To Rogers’s concept of actualization?
3. Compare Allport’s concept of the proprium to Rogers’s
concept of the self.
Reference
Ashcraft, D. (2012). Personality theories workbook (5th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.