ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the content of both the general frames of reference and the actual theories of Gordon W. Allport and Henry A. Murray, a secondary aim is to appraise their theories from the point of view of usability. If some of the critical remarks made by Allport and Murray seem directed toward outmoded positions, it is largely because of the present accelerating trend toward emphasizing humanistic qualities. The doctrines of logical positivism and operationism are best considered tools for theorizing rather than substitutes for theory. Indeed, their instrumental use in psychology has produced a valuable rise in standards of objectivity and precision in finding facts and formulating theory. In man's proactive functioning, both theorists find regularity and order to be typical, and attribute this to the unified, organized nature of personality. From the theorists' view of psychological organization, association-istic positions and limited experimental approaches seem particularly inadequate.
