Allport rejected instinct theories of conflict as tautological reasoning

Evidence

Still, he wrestled with psychodynamic themes that permeated the field in his day, including the notion that people are instinctually destructive. He was openly critical of the tautology of this approach, noting that “widespread conflict does not mean in itself that instinct underlies it” (p. 214). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 143

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what exactly did Allport identify as the tautology problem in Freudian instinct theory, and does his critique anticipate later circular explanations in prejudice research?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 143