Final answer:
Gordon Allport, in 1937, published 'Personality: A Psychological Interpretation,' significant for introducing the concept of personality traits and their organization into cardinal, central, and secondary traits, moving psychology beyond psychoanalytic and behaviorist explanations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to Gordon Allport and his contributions in the year 1937, which marks a significant year in the history of psychology. In 1937, Allport published his seminal work, Personality: A Psychological Interpretation. Allport's theories laid the foundation for the understanding of personality traits, emphasizing that individual personalities are unique and that they are shaped by both genetic and environmental factors. His focus on the individual's unique constellation of personality traits was groundbreaking, contributing to the move away from type-based understandings of personality that dominated the early 20th century. His trait theory suggested that traits could be classified into three levels: cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits.
Allport's work steered the field of psychology away from the dominant psychoanalytic and behaviorist paradigms of the time, instead focusing on the psychological aspects playing a part in the healthy, mature adult personality. This was in contrast to Freud's emphasis on the unconscious and childhood experiences. Allport's publications and teachings also highlighted the importance of understanding human nature through research and observation, advocating for a more comprehensive approach to psychology.