The personality of each person is endowed only with her inherent combination of psychological traits and characteristics that form her personality, constituting the originality of a person, his difference from other people. Individuality is manifested in the traits of temperament, character, habits, prevailing interests, in the qualities of cognitive processes (perception, memory, thinking, imagination), in abilities, individual style of activity, etc.

61. Nomothetical / idiographic

Personality classifications by types and traits

Nomothetic approach (traits)- a certain set of traits is inherent in all people, but in varying degrees of severity.
You can build a profile of personality traits.

Idiographic Approach (Types)- each person has a unique (inherent only) set of traits.
You can determine whether a person belongs to one type or another.

62. Types / traits of personality

Knowing the characteristics of a person's personality, we can predict his most likely behavior in a given situation.

general level - types, on the next level - features, below - the level of habitual reactions, below - specific reactions, i.e. actually observed behavior.

At the level of types, Eysenck analyzes personality in three directions: neuroticism, extraversion-introversion and psychoticism. He explores neuroticism and extraversion-introversion most deeply.

His theory is based on the idea that people differ on the basis of heredity - in the reactivity of the nervous system, the speed and strength of conditioned reactions. These individual differences correlate with personality dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion-introversion. In studies of personality structure, Eysenck distinguishes two main types of personality measurement:

introversion - extraversion

neuroticism (instability) - stability

Personality traits (compendium according to Zaitseva):

Traits due to natural conditions are common to all people.

Traits that change in the course of history, common to a group of people.

The traits that develop in the course of the individual history of personality development are individual personality traits.

Trait Analysis:

Analysis of biography facts

Interviewing and interviewing experts - people who have regular business and personal contacts with the research object

Questionnaires (the subject acts as an expert in his life)

Personality tests (in the process of research, the subject exhibits the investigated trait).

Multifactorial questionnaires (identifying the profile of personality traits).

The mental properties of a person in her behavior, in the actions and deeds that she performs, are simultaneously manifested and formed. Therefore, the static point of view, which proceeds from the personality traits as something originally given and considers its actions and deeds only as a manifestation of an independent unchanging essence, as well as a dynamic point of view, which completely dissolves the personality in a situation and, trying to explain behavior from the dynamic relationships that develop in it, transforms all personality traits only into changeable states, devoid of any, even relative, stability

Psychology studies not only the general laws and patterns of mental processes and states. We are all different, unique and inimitable, therefore, knowledge of the individual psychological characteristics of a person is no less important than the mechanisms and processes of the psyche that are characteristic of all people. The study of this area is engaged in a section of psychology called differential psychology, or the psychology of individual differences.

There is a saying: "Someone else's soul - darkness." This is true only for those who do not know psychology at all. And this science is quite accurate, and it claims that there are unshakable general principles, which are subject to the mental processes of any person. Not only the similarity of the physiological structure, but also the commonality of the features of the mental sphere allows us to attribute all people to one species of Homo sapiens. Even the stages of our development we go through similar and all experience the same difficulties of growing up.

In psychology, there is a concept of the norm, albeit rather shaky. Too much deviation from the mental norm is considered a pathology, is recognized as a mental illness and requires the intervention of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

However, nevertheless, people are different, and this is noticeable, one might say, with the naked eye, even to a person inexperienced in psychology. We behave differently in similar situations, we show differently. There are differences in the course, and in the level, and in, and in motor skills.

These features appear within the framework of general laws, but they play important role in creating a unique personality image. And at the same time, they help to understand her, desires, and predict behavior. That is, the individual manifests itself in general, and not only through the characteristics of behavior, external, but also at the internal level of consciousness.

Despite the variety of manifestations of our psyche, when we talk about individual psychological characteristics, they mean primarily three areas:, and. And if, for example, in cognitive processes the individual is only a superstructure, an addition to general laws, then temperament, character and abilities can be considered as a manifestation of the unique uniqueness of each person.

Temperament

The natural prerequisite for individual differences is the characteristics of the nervous system and, first of all, temperament. This term itself, translated from Latin, means "a mixture of elements." Indeed, temperament is a complex of human qualities. Their various combinations give rise to a variety of mental activities of people, which is manifested in four main types of temperament.

Types of temperament according to Hippocrates

For the first time, different types of temperament were described by the ancient Greek physician and thinker Hippocrates. He believed that the difference in people's behavior is due to the prevailing fluid in their body.

• Sangua - blood gives a person strength, activity, perseverance in achieving goals, sociability and qualities of a warrior, etc.
• Phlegm (mucus) manifests itself in calmness, slowness and equanimity.
• Holi (bile) makes a person agile, even fussy, subject to frequent mood swings and sociable to the point of obsession.
• Melan Holi (black bile) generates gloom, a mood of decay and indecision; people who are dominated by this fluid are morose losers.

The types of temperament described by the ancient Greek scientist (sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric) are still the most popular, although, of course, adjustments have been made to their characteristics. And now no one associates the peculiarities of temperament with the prevailing fluid in the body.

Temperament in modern psychology

In fact, temperament is a dynamic characteristic of the psyche, and the difference in its types is associated with the mobility and strength of the two main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition. This connection was discovered and described by the Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov. He proposed his own classification of temperaments, which basically coincides with the Hippocratic one.

A sanguine person is characterized by a high speed and strength of nervous processes, as well as a balance of excitement and inhibition. This makes sanguine people active, but without fussiness. They have a high working capacity and a stable mood with rather bright and strong emotions. They are sociable, but choosy in choosing friends and pragmatic. Business is above all for them.

A phlegmatic person with the strength of both excitement and inhibition is characterized by a low speed of nervous processes with a predominance of inhibition, that is, inertia. This is, in the truest sense of the word, a brake type. Phlegmatic people do not like changing activities, they are unemotional and uncommunicative. They are slow-witted, but stubborn workers.

Choleric people are characterized by high speed and strength of nervous processes, but their excessive mobility, instability. These are very active people with a changeable mood, they have many friends, but they themselves are fickle and cannot do one thing for a long time.

Melancholic people are distinguished by the weakness of both the processes of excitement and inhibition, therefore, their mood changes are not expressed, and it seems that they are constantly in a state of despondency.

Temperament properties

In their pure form, these types are not found, because temperament is a complex combination of properties and qualities, and it affects all areas of the psyche. For the convenience of studying individual psychological characteristics, several of the most important characteristics that make up temperament are distinguished.

• Sensitivity - the sensitivity of the nervous system to stimuli.
• Activity - the degree of efficiency and the ability to maintain a state of arousal.
• The rate of reactions or the speed of mental processes is manifested in the rate of change in mood, speech, thinking, etc.
• - the level of sociability, communicative openness or isolation.
• Plasticity - ease of changing types of activities and quick adaptation to changing conditions.
• Rigidity - resistance to change, loyalty to habits, stubbornness.

Temperament is largely determined by innate factors and practically does not change during life. True, some of the most striking features in youth can be smoothed out, masked and adapted to the environment with age.

Temperament is the biological basis of another individual personality trait - character.

Character as a biosocial personality warehouse

As a member of society, from the moment of birth, a person interacts with other people, assimilates behaviors, and absorbs culture and traditions. As a result, each personality is a unique fusion of biological and social, and the formation of character takes place in the interaction of these two principles. Therefore, in the same environment, people develop different characters. They differ even in twins, who have a very similar biological basis.

It's all about experience. From the moment of birth, we find ourselves in situations to which we react differently, not only depending on the traits of temperament, but also on external circumstances. As a result, we accumulate a varied, but absolutely unique experience that influences the formation of character no less, but most likely more than the properties of physiology and the nervous system.

Character is a set of characteristics and personality traits that manifest themselves in all spheres of life and leave an imprint on communication with other people, interests, nature of activity, etc. It is not for nothing that the term "character" from ancient Greek can be translated as a distinctive feature, seal, sign.

Character traits are quite stable, they are laid down in childhood and are a kind of a person's calling card. But still, this personality trait is more changeable than temperament, since life experience affects its content. And often, having met a person after several years of separation, we are surprised to notice changes in his character.

Character is a complex education that has a complex structure. Therefore, there are many of its typologies or sets of basic features, which are described by different psychologists.

Hell theory

English psychologist G. Allport - one of the authors of the theory of traits, believed that each person is a unique and inimitable combination of individual character traits or dispositions (traits). By disposition, he understood a stable feature of behavior, the readiness of an individual to behave in a certain way in a given situation. That is, character always manifests itself in behavior or activity, and in order to get to know a person, you need to interact with him, see what he is like in business.

There are central dispositions or traits that determine the entire mental appearance of a person, and they immediately catch the eye. Someone is a clear workaholic, while others tend to avoid hard work. One is a cheerful, cheerful joker, and the other is always unhappy with everything and complains about everything. Someone is brave to the point of recklessness, and someone is cautious and indecisive. These are all central dispositions, we name them first of all when we are asked to describe a person.

Along with the central ones, there are many secondary traits. They are not immediately evident and take longer to recognize. Secondary, for example, include interests, hobbies, clothing preferences, tastes, etc.

Allport also highlights common and individual traits. As a part of society, a person from birth assimilates the qualities inherent in most people from his environment, for example, what we call national character. Italians and Hispanics are easily excitable and emotional, Norwegians and Swedes, on the contrary, are very calm, reasonable and slow, and the Japanese are characterized by contemplation and restraint.

Individual character traits are what distinguishes a person from other people. The more strongly they are expressed, the more vivid the individual is the subject. However, if individual traits contradict the general, then society can apply to such a person social sanctions, express censure, for example.

On the basis of G. Allport's theory of traits, methods of psychological diagnostics of personality were created, for example, factor analysis, tests by G. Eysenck, R. Cattell, etc.

Character structure

Due to the complexity of this property and the variety of its manifestations, there are many different classifications of character traits. So, depending on the sphere of the psyche, which plays an important role in human behavior, the following are distinguished:

• Emotional, associated with the characteristics of the sphere of emotions and feelings: cheerfulness or gloom, emotional excitability or coldness, etc.
• Strong-willed: decisiveness and indecision, perseverance, perseverance, independence, independence, etc.
• Moral: honesty or deceit, kindness and cruelty, responsiveness, courage, etc.
• Intellectual: curiosity, resourcefulness, quick-wittedness, thoughtfulness, etc.

You can often hear such an expression as "weak-willed person." What's this? Features of a person's character are manifested not only in the combination of traits, but also in the strength of their expression. There are people who, due to the weakness of the nervous system or due to problems of upbringing, have an unstable character. Some of its features are poorly expressed, especially problems are observed in the volitional sphere. Such people are called weak-willed.

Capabilities

Abilities that determine the individual style of activity and are the basis for its success are considered important personality traits. There are also qualities that provide the ability to interact with others and are necessary in order to gain respect and authority from others.

Abilities and inclinations

Abilities are a complex system of human qualities and properties. Their biological basis is the inclinations, that is, innate physical and mental characteristics, including the properties of temperament. But not only. Often the inclinations are associated with the psychophysiological characteristics of the body, they are given to a person from birth and are necessary for success in a particular activity. But they do not guarantee it.

For example, an ear for music is required for a musician, and a high sensitivity of a visual analyzer is required for an artist. But this alone is not enough for mastering the activity, all the more for achieving success. To do this, you need to develop abilities, and this is possible only in activity and requires the investment of labor and volitional efforts. Mastery is not a gift given by nature or God, but, first of all, work and perseverance.

Is it possible to develop abilities in the absence of natural inclinations? This is very complex issue, there is no definite answer to it. Undoubtedly, in the absence of the necessary qualities, it will be more difficult to master the activity, it will require more effort and, perhaps, the achievements will not be so impressive. But lately, more and more psychologists support the idea that a stubborn and persistent person can learn everything. The main thing is to give him the right teaching methods. That is, to teach any person to draw, you just need to know how to teach correctly.

Ability types

All the variety of human abilities is usually divided into two types: general and special.

Special qualities include those qualities that are required for mastering a specific activity, such as ear for music for playing musical instruments or phonetic ear for learning foreign languages... For sports you need endurance and mobility, and for working with children - feeling.

General abilities are no less varied, because they are necessary in a wide variety of areas of activity. First of all, these include mental ability or intelligence level. Although intelligence is considered an innate characteristic of a person, mental abilities require their development, including qualities, as well as a volitional sphere, etc.

Sometimes high level mental ability combined with learning is called giftedness. This quality of a person can compensate for the lack of some special abilities and enable you to succeed in many activities.

No matter how valuable abilities are, they are only potential, an opportunity for further development and human improvement. The same can be said about other individual psychological characteristics. Each individual has the opportunity to become a unique, extraordinary, talented person, but for this you need to know your psychological characteristics, your strengths and weaknesses and actively engage in self-development.

Human traits and their manifestation

03.04.2015

Snezhana Ivanova

Character traits always leave an imprint on a person's behavior, and also affect his actions.

Throughout his life, each person manifests his individual characteristics, which are reflected not only in his behavior or the specifics of communication, but also determine the attitude towards activities, himself and other people. All these features, manifested in life, both in scientific use and in everyday life, are called character.

Definition of "character"

In psychology, character is understood as a certain set of human traits that are pronounced and relatively stable. Character traits always leave an imprint on a person's behavior, and also affect his actions.

In psychological dictionaries, you can find a fairly large number of definitions of character, but they all boil down to the fact that character is a set of the most persistent individual psychological characteristics of a person, which are always manifested in her activities and social behavior, as well as in the system of relations:

• to the team;
• to other people;
• to work;
• to the surrounding reality (to the world);
• to herself.

The term " character» ( in the lane. from Greek. character - chasing or printing) was introduced by the ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist, student Plato and Aristotle's closest friend Theophrastus... And here it is worth paying special attention to the translation of the word - chasing or printing. Indeed, the character seems to emerge in the form of a peculiar pattern on the person's personality, thus creating a unique seal that distinguishes its owner from other individuals. A similar pattern, as well as the coat of arms or emblem on the personal seal of the medieval nobility, is drawn on a certain basis with the help of specific signs and letters. The basis for engraving an individual personality is temperament, and a unique pattern - bright and individual character traits .

Character traits as a tool for psychological assessment and understanding of a person

In psychology, character traits are understood as individual, rather complex features that are most indicative for a person and make it possible with a high degree of probability to predict his behavior in a particular situation. That is, knowing that a particular person has some traits, one can predict his subsequent actions and possible actions in this or that case. For example, if a person has a pronounced trait of responsiveness, then there is a high probability that at a difficult moment in life he will come to the rescue.

A trait is one of the most important and essential parts of a person, his stable quality and a well-established way of interacting with the surrounding reality. In a character trait, personality is crystallized and its integrity is reflected. A person's character trait is a real way of solving many life situations (both activity and communicative) and therefore they need to be considered from the point of view of the future. So, character traits are a prediction of the actions and actions of a person, since they are distinguished by persistence and make a person's behavior predictable and more obvious. Due to the fact that each personality is unique, there is a huge variety of unique character traits.

Each person acquires special traits of his character throughout his life in society, and all individual signs (traits) cannot be considered characterological. Such will be only those who, regardless of the life situation and circumstances, will always manifest themselves in an identical way of behavior and the same attitude in the surrounding reality.

Thus, in order to assess personality psychologists (to characterize it) as an individual, it is necessary to determine not the entire sum of the individual qualities of a person, but to highlight those traits and qualities of character that are distinctive from other people. While these traits are individual and different, they must constitute structural integrity.

Traits of a person's character are priority in the study of his personality, as well as for understanding and predicting his actions, actions and behavior. Indeed, we perceive and understand any kind of human activity as a manifestation of certain traits of his character. But, characterizing a person as a social being, it is not so much the manifestation of traits in activity that becomes important, as what exactly this activity is directed to (and also what the human will serves). In this case, one should pay attention to the content side of the character, and more specifically, to those personality traits that make up the general structure as its mental make-up. They are expressed in: integrity-contradiction, unity-fragmentation, static-dynamism, breadth-narrowness, strength-weakness.

List of human traits

Human character- it is not only a certain set of some features (or a random set of them), but a very complex mental formation, which is a certain system. This system consists of many of the most stable personality traits, as well as its properties, manifested in different systems human relations (to work, to one's business, to the world around us, to things, to oneself and to other people). In these relations, the structure of character, its content and individuality of originality find expression. Below, in the table, the main character traits (their groups) are described, which are manifested in various systems of human relations.

Persistent traits (symptom complexes) of character, manifested in personality relationships

In addition to the traits that are manifested in the system of relationships, psychologists have identified traits of a person's character that can be attributed to the cognitive and emotional-volitional sphere. So character traits are divided into:

• cognitive (or intellectual) - curiosity, theoreticalness, criticality, resourcefulness, analyticism, thoughtfulness, practicality, flexibility, frivolity;
• emotional (impressionability, passion, emotionality, cheerfulness, sentimentality, etc.);
• strong-willed traits (persistence, determination, independence, etc.);
• moral traits (kindness, honesty, justice, humanity, cruelty, responsiveness, patriotism, etc.).

Some psychologists suggest highlighting motivational (or productive) and instrumental traits. Motivational traits are understood as those that move a person, that is, they induce him to certain actions and deeds. (they can also be called goal traits). Instrumental features give a unique style and personality to human activity. They refer to the very manner and way of performing an activity (they can also be called traits-ways).

Representative of the humanistic direction in psychology Gordon Allport I combined character traits into three main categories:

• dominant (those that most of all determine all forms of human behavior, his actions and deeds, such as selfishness or kindness);
• ordinary (which manifest themselves equally in all spheres of life, for example, parity and humanity);
• secondary (they do not have the same influences as dominant or ordinary ones, for example, it can be diligence or love for music).

So, the main character traits are manifested in various spheres of mental activity and the system of personality relations. All these relationships are anchored in different ways actions and forms of human behavior that are most familiar to him. Certain regular relationships are always established between the existing traits, which make it possible to create a structured character. She, in turn, helps to predict, according to the traits of a person's character already known to us, others that are hidden from us, which makes it possible to predict his subsequent actions and actions.

Any structure, including character, has its own hierarchy. Thus, character traits also have a certain hierarchy, therefore there are main (leading) and secondary traits that are subordinate to the leading. It is possible to predict the actions of a person and his behavior, relying not only on the main features, but also on secondary ones (despite the fact that they are less significant and are not manifested so clearly).

Typical and individual in character

The bearer of character is always a person, and his features are manifested in activities, relationships, actions, behavior, ways of acting in a family, in a team, at work, among friends, etc. This manifestation always reflects the typical and the individual in the character, because they exist in an organic unity (for example, the typical is always the basis for the individual manifestation of character).

What is meant by typical character? A character is called typical when there is a set of essential traits that are common to a certain group of people. This set of features reflects the general living conditions of a particular group. In addition, these traits should be manifested (to a greater or lesser extent) in each representative of this group. The set of distinctive typical features is a condition for the emergence of a certain.

The typical and individual in character is most clearly expressed in the relationship of a person to other people, because interpersonal contacts are always conditioned by certain social conditions of life, the corresponding level of cultural and historical development of society and from the formed spiritual world of the person himself. Attitude towards other people is always evaluative and manifests itself in different ways (approval-condemnation, support-misunderstanding) depending on the existing circumstances. This manifestation is expressed depending on the person's assessment of the actions and behavior of others, or rather their positive and negative character traits.

Typical traits of a person's character in terms of their intensity are manifested in each individually. So, for example, individual traits can reveal themselves so strongly and vividly that they become unique in their own way. It is in this case that what is typical in character is transformed into the individual.

Positive character traits and their manifestation

Both the typical and the individual in character, finds its manifestation in the systems of personality relations. This is due to the presence of certain traits in a person's character (both positive and negative). So, for example, in relation to work or their business, such positive character traits as hard work, discipline and organization are manifested.

As for interpersonal communication and attitude towards other people, here are the following good character traits: honesty, openness, fairness, adherence to principles, humanity, etc. All these features allow you to build constructive communication and quickly establish contacts with people around you.

It should be noted that there are a huge variety of individual character traits. But among them it is necessary to single out, first of all, those that have the greatest influence on the formation of the spirituality of a person and his (it is in this context that the best trait of a person's character - humanity) finds its manifestation. These traits are even more important in the process of upbringing and development of the younger generation, because the same traits are formed in different ways depending on situations, the presence of other character traits and the orientation of the personality itself.

Highlighting good qualities character, do not forget about their possible curvature, or about the presence of obvious negative traits with which a person needs to fight. Only in this case will there be a harmonious and holistic development of the personality.

Negative character traits and their manifestation

In relation to the behavior, actions and activities of other people, a person always forms traits of a certain character - positive and negative. This happens according to the principle of analogy (that is, there is identification with what is acceptable) and opposition (with what is included in the list of inadmissible and incorrect). Attitude towards oneself can be positive or negative, which primarily depends on the level of development and the ability to adequately assess oneself ( that is, from the formed level). A high level of self-awareness is evidenced by the presence of the following positive traits: high demands on oneself, and self-esteem, as well as responsibility. And, conversely, such negative traits character such as self-confidence, selfishness, immodesty, etc.

Negative character traits (in principle, as well as positive ones are manifested) in the four main systems of human relations. For example, in the system of "attitude to work" among the negative features are called, irresponsibility, carelessness and formality. And among the negative traits manifested in interpersonal communication, it is worth highlighting isolation, stinginess, boastfulness and disrespect.

It should be noted that negative character traits that are manifested in the system of a person's relationship to other people almost always contribute to the emergence of conflicts, misunderstanding and aggression, which subsequently leads to the emergence of destructive forms of communication. That is why, every person who wants to live in harmony with others and with himself should think about bringing up positive traits in his character and getting rid of destructive, negative traits.

Individual psychological characteristics of a person are peculiar properties of a person's mental activity, which are expressed in temperament, character, motivational-need-sphere and abilities, resulting from a systemic generalization of individual biological and socially acquired properties involved in the functioning of a person's behavior system, as well as his activities and communication.

Temperament is a regular ratio of stable individual personality traits that characterizes various aspects of the dynamics of mental activity. Previously existing theories of temperament were based either on humoral determination (like Hippocrates), or on somatic (tied to the peculiarities of the structure of the body, as E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon, A. F. Lazursky did), but nowadays they often speak of psychobiological determination, since temperament is set by the properties of the nervous system and is expressed in the psychological appearance of a person.

Theories: Humoral (physiological) theories:

Hippocrates (4 types of liquids - sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic); Galen (4 substances - hot, cold, solid, liquid - the names are the same as those of Hippocrates); I.P. Pavlov (strength, speed, endurance of nervous processes); And Kant (excitement, weakening of vitality in the field of feelings or activity - 4 temperaments); V. Wundt (strength and stability of emotional reactions - 4 temperaments)

Constitutional theories: E. Kretschmer (Picnic, Asthenik, Athletic); W. Sheldon (Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, Ectomorphic)

Psychological theories of temperament

1. German psychologist O. Gross, in the study of psychopathies, identified primary functions (direct reactions to stimulation) and secondary functions (associated with the restoration of costs that went to the primary function) Formally, without using these concepts, O. Gross was the first to pay attention to temporal-energy characteristics human activity.

2. The fundamental characteristics of temperament J. Strelyau considers reactivity (the magnitude of the human body's responses to influences, sensitivity and endurance, or the ability to work) and activity (intensity and duration of behavioral acts, coverage and volume of actions taken) at a given amount of stimulation. Main provisions:

1. We can talk about relatively stable individual differences in relation to the formal characteristics of behavior - intensity (energy aspect) and time (temporal aspect).

2. Temperament characterizes the qualities of intensity and time, not only people, but mammals in general.

3. Temperamental characteristics are the result of biological evolution and therefore must have a genetic basis, which determines, along with environmental influences, individual manifestations of temperament.

The structure of temperament in the theory of V.M. Rusalov. Temperament is a psychosociobiological category, one of the independent basic education psyche, which determines all the richness of meaningful characteristics of a person. It is formed under the influence of the general constitution in the process of those specific activities, in which a person is included from childhood. From nature, a person receives the reaction norms of biochemical, biomechanical, neurophysiological and other properties, as a result of which an individual level of metabolism, muscle development, etc. is formed in him.

These properties are included in the performance of various types of activities - from sucking and grasping reflexes to playing, learning, etc. As a person matures, due to genetic stability, he develops a certain generalized speed inherent in him, generalized plasticity, generalized emotionality and other characteristics of temperament. These characteristics not only color the activity, but also set boundaries, protect the body from excessive or low energy expenditure, while maintaining its ability to survive. The main adaptive task of temperament is energy regulation. He relied on the teachings of P.K. Anokhin about the acceptor of action (a functional system for generating and correcting any behavioral act) and the data of neuropsychophysiology. Temperament structure (8) according to V.M. Rusalov

Blocks of temperament mean: 1. ergic (objective) characterizes the desire for mental and physical stress, excess or lack of strength. 5. Social ergicity determines openness to communication, breadth of contacts, ease of establishing connections. 2. Subject plasticity means viscosity or flexibility of thinking, the ability to switch from one type of activity to another, the desire for diversity. 6. Social plasticity is restraint or disinhibition in communication, the breadth of social programs, the naturalness of interaction. 3. Object pace is the speed of motor-motor operations. 7. Social tempo - speech motor activity, the ability to verbalize. 4. Subject emotionality is a measure of sensitivity to the discrepancy between the real result and the desired one. High sensitivity to non-coincidence is expressed in the predominance of negative emotions, and low sensitivity - in the presence of positive emotional experiences. 8. Social emotionality characterizes a feeling of confidence in the process of communication, emotional sensitivity, a measure of anxiety about failures in communication.

Temperament is a complex of innate dynamic characteristics of the individual's psyche, manifested in the intensity, speed and pace of his mental activity, in the emotional tone of life, the individual's sensitivity to external influences, in his sensitivity and mental stability. Temperament determines a number of mental characteristics (properties) of an individual: 1.the speed and intensity of mental processes, 2.plasticity, adaptability to external changing conditions or rigidity, 3.sensitivity, sensitivity, susceptibility, emotional excitability, strength and stability of emotions, anxiety and tension, 4. subordination of behavior to external manifestations (extraversion) or internal feelings, ideas (introversion).

The role of temperament in work and study lies in the fact that the influence on the activity of various mental states caused by an unpleasant environment, emotiogenic factors, and pedagogical influences depends on it. Influence depends on temperament various factors that determine the level of neuropsychic stress (for example, performance assessment, expectation of control of activity, acceleration of the pace of activity, disciplinary actions, etc.)

There are 4 ways to adapt the temperament to the requirements of the activity.

1 way - professional selection, 2 way - individualization of the requirements, conditions and methods of work (individual approach), 3 way - overcoming negative influence temperament through the formation of a positive attitude to activity (motivation), 4 way - the main and most universal - the formation of an individual style of activity (ISD).

An individual style of activity is a stable system of methods and methods of activity, conditioned by the personal qualities of a person and which is a means of effective adaptation to objective circumstances. This is a phenotypic (acquired in vivo) quality that arises on the basis of the properties of the nervous system in response to the requirements of the types of activity that are familiar to the subject; thus, the individual style of activity can be viewed as an integral effect of human interaction with the environment. The mechanisms of ISD formation are adaptation, compensation and correction.

The ISD structure consists of a core and an extension to it (or around it). The core includes the typological properties of the nervous system and consists of the properties of group A (features that favor success in this activity) and the properties of group B (features that impede success in this activity). An extension consists of the qualities developed by a person in the course of spontaneous or conscious searches and includes the properties of group C (features of compensatory value) and properties of group D (features of adaptation).

In psychology, the concept of "character" (Greek charakter - printing, chasing) means a set of individual mental properties that develop in activity and are manifested in typical this person methods of activity and forms of behavior.

The main feature of character as a mental phenomenon is that character is always manifested in activity, in the attitude of a person to the surrounding reality and people. Character is a lifetime education and can be transformed throughout life.

V modern science Among the dominant views on the relationship between character and temperament, four main approaches can be distinguished:

1. The concept of E. Kretschmer, who linked the body type with temperament and behavioral features.

2. In some psychological concepts, you can find the opposition of character and temperament. Moreover, most often these concepts emphasize the antagonism of character and temperament.

3. Temperament is an element of character, its core, an unchanging part. For example, S. L. Rubinstein adhered to this point of view.

4. Temperament is the natural basis of character. These include L. S. Vygotsky and B. G. Ananiev.

In Russian psychology, there is an opinion that temperament and character are very close, since the peculiarities of temperament in one form or another are reflected in a person's character. This is due to the fact that the basic properties of temperament are formed much earlier than the completion of the formation of character.

Lazursky identified three psychological levels, depending on the degree of adaptation of a person to the environment, depending on how much the environment "presses" on a person. The lowest level (1. Reasonable type 2. Affective; 3. Active) - these are insufficiently adapted people, the environment leaves a super strong imprint on them, forcibly adapting them to their needs and almost ignoring the innate characteristics of each individual person. Intermediate level (1. Impractical idealist theorists: 2. Realistic practitioners) - people were able to find their place in environment and use it for your own purposes. Highest level (1) altruism; 2) knowledge: inductive, deductive; 3) beauty; 4) religion; 5) society, state; 6) external activity, initiative; 7) system, organization; 8) power, struggle) is the level of creativity when a person seeks to remake the environment.

Fromm deduced the following main types of social characters.

Masochist-sadist. This is the type of person who is inclined to see the reasons for their life successes and failures, as well as the reasons for the observed social events, not in the prevailing circumstances, but in people. In an effort to eliminate these reasons, he directs his aggression at the person who seems to him to be the cause of failure.

Destroyer. It is characterized by pronounced aggressiveness and an active desire to eliminate, destroy the object that caused the frustration, the collapse of the hopes of the given person. To destructiveness as a means of resolving one's own life problems usually people contact who feel anxiety and powerlessness, are limited in the realization of their intellectual and emotional capabilities.

Conformist automaton. He unquestioningly obeys circumstances, society of any type, the requirements of a social group, quickly assimilating the type of thinking and mode of behavior that is characteristic of most people in a given situation. Such a person almost never has any own opinion nor a pronounced social position.

Abilities are individual psychological characteristics of a person, which are a condition for the successful implementation of one or another productive activities... The most important in defining abilities are three points: - abilities distinguish one person from another; - that, unlike defects, they ensure success; - the fact of irreducibility of abilities to knowledge, abilities, skills.

There are several concepts of ability. 1. Theories of heredity understand abilities as biologically determined phenomena, the development and manifestation of which depends entirely on the inherited fund. F. Galton adhered to this position, substantiating the heritability of talent 2. Theory of acquired abilities. Helvetius in the 18th century argued that through education, genius of any level can be formed. This statement was somewhat softened by Ashby, who believed that abilities were made up of innate programs and performance. 3. The approach that affirms the dialectic of innate and acquired in abilities, developed mainly in Russian psychology. Only anatomical and physiological features can be innate, and the abilities themselves are the result of becoming (moreover, the innate and the inherited are not identified). Abilities are formed in activity and therefore depend on its content and on communication with adults, who give the child standards of actions and achievements. On this basis, P.Ya. Galperin assumed that abilities are the result of interiorization.

In the structure of abilities, supporting properties are distinguished, without which the manifestation of abilities is generally impossible (for example, for visual activity this is the sensitivity of the visual analyzer, sensorimotor qualities, imaginative memory) and leading properties that set the upper limit for the development of abilities (creative imagination). Or, speaking of the structure of abilities, they single out the inclinations and operations with the help of which the abilities realize themselves.

Giftedness shows, thanks to what initial, structural conditions it is possible to achieve a high result. However, this result may not be achieved. Unlike giftedness, genius emphasizes not potential and structural, but actual and procedural characteristics of the creative process.

The term "genius" is used both to denote a person's ability to create, and to assess the results of his activities, suggesting an innate predisposition to productive activity in a particular area and the achievement of an outstanding result. Genius, unlike talent, is not just the highest degree giftedness, but is associated with the creation of qualitatively new creations. The main thing in the phenomenon of genius is the increased tone, the ability to concentrate, the power of vitality (and the initial abilities are not of paramount importance).

Theories of genius 1. Pathological theories associate genius with insanity, dementia, "racial degeneration," the decline of the physiological functions of geniuses. This tradition originates from Aristotle and Plato, who noted the peculiarities of the delusions of great people.2 Psychoanalytic theories focus on the motivational components of creativity, considering it as one of the psychological defenses (sublimation). According to this approach, creativity is a compensatory response to psychological or physiological problems(Beethoven, Demosthenes). 3. Theories of qualitative superiority consider a genius person as initially different from others, possessing "creative intelligence" - the ability to generate not only subjectively, but also objectively new. 4. Quantitative superiority theories view genius as reaching the upper limit of aptitude that is inherent in many, but usually does not receive motivational or educational reinforcement.

Empirical evidence of the correctness of any of the listed theories has not yet been obtained, and genius is considered as a polydeterministic phenomenon.

Lecture 12. Individual personality traits

Many, it would seem, the most various properties personality is connected with relatively stable dependencies in certain dynamic structures. This is especially clearly manifested in the character of a person.

Character is a pivotal mental property of a person that leaves an imprint on all his actions and deeds, a property on which, first of all, a person's activity depends in various life situations.

In other words, giving a definition of character, we can say that it is a set of personality traits that determines the typical ways of her response to life circumstances.

Under the character should be understood not any individual psychological characteristics of a person, but only a set of the most pronounced and relatively stable personality traits, typical for a given person and systematically manifested in his actions and deeds.

In the opinion of B. G. Ananyev, character "expresses the main life orientation and manifests itself in a way of action that is peculiar to a given personality." The word "character" in translation from Greek means "sign", "feature".

Very often the character is understood as something that almost coincides with the personality or differs from the personality according to the criterion that everything that is individual belongs to the character, and the personality is only general. We had such views in the 40s, 50s and 60s. In fact, of course, this is not the case. There is such a comic typology that BS Bratus cites in one of his books: "A good person with a good character, a good person with a bad character, a bad person with a good character and a bad person with a bad character." From point of view common sense this typology is true, it works. This suggests, first of all, that personality and character are not the same thing, they do not coincide.

In character, a person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by how she does it.

It is not by chance that the words "characteristic" and "character" have a common root. Well composed psychological characteristic a person first of all and deeply should reveal his character, since it is in him that personality traits are most significantly manifested. However, it is impossible, as is sometimes done, to replace all personality traits only with character traits. The concept of "personality" is broader than the concept of "character", and the concept of "individuality of a person as a person" is not limited only to his character.

In psychology, a person is distinguished in the wide and narrow sense of the word, and the character is outside the personality in the narrow sense of the word. Character is understood as such characteristics of a person that describe the ways of his behavior in different situations. In relation to character, concepts such as "expressive characteristics" (characteristics of external manifestation, external expression of a person) or "stylistic characteristics" are used. In general, the concept of "style" is quite close in its essence to the concept of "character", but more on that later.

A remarkable illustration of this relationship between personality and character is Henry Kuttner's little fantasy story The Mechanical Ego. The hero of the story is an American writer and screenwriter of the 50s. XX century - is preoccupied with clarifying relations with his employers, with his girlfriend and at the same time a literary agent protecting his interests, as well as a number of other problems. Suddenly, a robot arrives from the future, which traveled in time and filmed and recorded "character matrices" from interesting figures of different times and peoples. The hero manages to "drink" this robot with the help of high-frequency current and persuade him to impose some matrices on it. Further, the hero goes out several times and communicates with different people, first imposing the matrices of the character of Disraeli, an English aristocrat and politician of the last century, then Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and, finally, Mamontoboy from the Stone Age. It is interesting to see what changes and what remains unchanged when changing matrices. The hero's goals, his aspirations, his desires, his values ​​remain unchanged. He strives for the same thing, but acts in different ways, showing in one case the refinement and cunning of Disraeli, in the other case - the straightforwardness and aggressiveness of the Mamontoboy, etc.

Thus, the difference between character and personality in the narrow sense of the word lies in the fact that the character includes features related to the mode of behavior, to the forms in which the same behavior can be clothed in content.

Each person differs from others in a huge, truly inexhaustible number of individual characteristics, that is, characteristics inherent in him as an individual. The concept of "individual characteristics" includes not only psychological, but also somatic ("soma" - in Latin "body") features of a person: eye and hair color, height and figure, development of the skeleton and muscles, etc.

An important individual feature of a person is the expression on his face. In it, not only somatic, but also psychological characteristics of a person are manifested. When people say about a person: “he has a meaningful expression on his face, or“ he has cunning eyes, ”or“ stubborn mouth, ”they mean, of course, not an anatomical feature, but the expression in facial expressions of psychological characteristics peculiar to this individual.

Individual psychological characteristics distinguish one person from another. Industry psychological science, which studies the individual characteristics of various aspects of personality and mental processes, is called differential psychology.

The most general dynamic structure of personality is the generalization of all its possible individual psychological characteristics into four groups, which form four main aspects of personality:

1. Biologically determined characteristics (temperament, inclinations, basic needs).

2. Socially determined features (orientation, moral qualities, worldview).

3. Individual characteristics of various mental processes.

4. Experience (volume and quality of existing knowledge, skills, abilities and habits).

Not all individual psychological characteristics of these sides of the personality will be character traits. But all character traits, of course, are personality traits.

First of all, it must be said about the fundamental differences between character traits and general traits, which were discussed above.

First, character is only one of the substructures of the personality, and the substructure is subordinate. A developed mature personality has good command of his character and is able to control its manifestations. On the contrary, character breakthroughs, when a person acts directly according to the logic of what certain character traits induce him to do, are typical, say, of psychopaths. This refers to adults. As for childhood and adolescence, this is a special conversation.

Thus, the character takes a subordinate position, and the actual manifestations of character depend on what motives and goals these manifestations serve in a particular case. That is, character traits are not something that acts on its own, manifests itself in all situations.

Secondly, the essence of those traits that make up the character can be clarified through the mechanisms of character formation. Before talking about these mechanisms, let's fix the main myths that exist in relation to the character:

1) the character is biologically determined, and nothing can be done about it;

2) the character is fully educated, you can form any character at will with a specially organized system of influences;

3) there is such a very serious thing as national character, that is, there are very different character structures inherent in different nations, which significantly affect the individual character of all representatives of a given nation.

In every myth there is a grain of truth, but only a grain. There are really certain things in the character that are associated with biological factors. The biological basis of character is the temperament that we really get from birth, and with it we have to live.

The character also has, so to speak, a macrosocial basis. There is also some truth in the myth of national character. There is a lot of controversy in the literature about the national character. The main problem was posed as follows: is there a national character or not? It turned out very clearly that there are at least very strong stereotypes regarding national character, that is, that representatives of some nations demonstrate rather persistent beliefs in the existence of certain sets of traits in other nations. Moreover, these stereotypes in the perception of another nation directly depend on how this nation "behaves". For example, a few years ago in West Germany, studies were conducted on the attitude towards the French. 2 polls were conducted with an interval of 2 years, however, over these 2 years, relations between Germany and France have noticeably deteriorated. In the second survey, the number of people who named among characteristic features French frivolity and nationalism, and the number of those who attributed such positive qualities as charm and courtesy to the French sharply decreased.

Are there real differences between nations? Yes, I have. But it turned out that, firstly, differences are always distinguished by a small number of features in comparison with those features by which the similarity prevails, and, secondly, that the differences between different people within the same nation are much greater than stable differences. between nations. Therefore, the verdict passed by the American psychologist T. Shibutani is fair: "The national character, despite the various forms of its study, is in many ways similar to a respectable ethnic stereotype, acceptable primarily for those who are not familiar enough with the people in question."

In fact, the idea of ​​national character is a form of manifestation of the very typological thinking that has already been mentioned. Certain minimal differences that actually exist (for example, the temperament of southern peoples) and which are less significant than similarity are taken as the basis for a certain type. Typological thinking, as already mentioned, is distinguished, first of all, by categoricalness (either one or the other), by the absence of gradations, by highlighting something private and inflating it by ignoring everything else. Thus, an ideological monster appears under the sonorous title of "national character".

There is also a so-called social character, that is, some invariant character traits inherent in certain social groups. At one time it was fashionable in our country to talk about the class character, and there really is some reality behind it. It was also fashionable to talk about some characterological characteristics of bureaucrats, managers, etc. Behind this, there is also a certain reality associated with the fact that character is formed in the real life of a person, and to the extent of the generality of those conditions in which representatives of some and the same classes, social groups, etc., some common traits of character are formed in them. After all, the character plays the role of a kind of shock absorber, a kind of buffer between the personality and the environment, therefore, it is largely determined by this environment. In many ways, but not in all. The main thing depends on the personality. If the personality is aimed at adaptation, adaptation to the world, then the character helps to do this. If, on the contrary, the personality is aimed at overcoming the environment or at transforming it, then the character helps her to overcome the environment or transform it.

According to the observations of E. R. Kaliteevskaya, adaptability and the absence of roughness, difficulties in the so-called "difficult age" fixes the adaptive character and then leads to the fact that a person experiences many difficulties in life. And vice versa, outwardly violent manifestations of "difficult age" help a person to form certain elements of independence, self-determination, which will give him the opportunity to live normally in the future, actively influence reality, and not just adapt to it.

At the same time, character cannot be viewed as a simple sum of individual qualities or personality traits. Some of his features will always be leading; it is by them that one can characterize a person, otherwise the task of understanding character would be impracticable, since each individual has a large number of individual characteristic features, and the number of shades of each of these features is even greater. For example, neatness can have shades: punctuality, pedantry, cleanliness, smartness, etc.

Individual character traits are classified much more easily and clearly than character types in general.

A character trait is understood as certain features of a person's personality that are systematically manifested in different types his activities and by which one can judge his possible actions in certain conditions.

BM Teplov proposed to divide character traits into several groups.

The first group includes the most general character traits that form the main mental makeup of the personality. These include: adherence to principles, purposefulness, honesty, courage, etc. It is clear that the opposite, that is, negative, qualities can appear in character traits, for example: lack of principle, passivity, deceit, etc.

The second group consists of character traits in which a person's attitude towards other people is expressed. This is sociability, which can be broad and superficial or selective and the opposite feature is isolation, which can be the result of indifference to people or mistrust of them, but can be the result of deep inner concentration; frankness and its opposite - secrecy; sensitivity, tact, responsiveness, fairness, solicitude, politeness, or, on the contrary, rudeness.

The third group of character traits expresses a person's attitude towards himself. These are self-esteem, pride, correctly understood and the associated self-criticism, modesty and the opposite - vanity, arrogance, self-importance, sometimes turning into arrogance, resentment, shyness, egocentrism (the tendency to constantly be in the center of attention along with one's feelings), selfishness ( concern mainly for their personal welfare), etc.

The fourth group of character traits expresses a person's attitude to work, his work. This includes initiative, perseverance, hard work and the opposite - laziness; the desire to overcome difficulties and the opposite to it - the fear of difficulties; activity, conscientiousness, accuracy, etc.

In relation to work, characters are divided into two groups: active and inactive. The first group is characterized by activity, purposefulness, persistence; for the second - passivity, contemplation. But sometimes the inactivity of character is explained (but by no means justified) by the deep inner contradictoriness of a person who has not yet "decided", has not found his place in life, in a team.

The brighter and stronger a person's character, the more definite his behavior and the more clearly his individuality appears in various actions. However, not all people have their actions and deeds determined by their inherent personal characteristics. The behavior of some people depends on external circumstances, on the good or bad influence of comrades on them, on the passive and lack of initiative in fulfilling individual instructions of leaders and superiors. Such employees are spoken of as spineless.

Character cannot be considered an independent, as it were, the fifth side of the general dynamic structure of the personality. Character is a combination of internally interrelated, the most important individual aspects of the personality, the characteristics that determine the activity of a person as a member of society. Character is a personality in the originality of its activity. This is his closeness with abilities (we will consider them in the next lecture), which also represent a person, but in his productivity.

In conclusion of the conversation about the essence of such an important category in the structure of personality, which is character, and before proceeding to consider the classification of characters, I would like to talk about two variants of disharmonious relationships between character and personality, illustrating them with examples of two Russian autocrats taken from works the remarkable Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky.

The first of these examples - the subordination of personality to character, uncontrollable character - is illustrated by the description of Paul I.

"Character<…>benevolent and magnanimous, inclined to forgive offenses, ready to repent of mistakes, lover of truth, hater of lies and deceit, caring about justice, persecutor of any abuse of power, especially covetousness and bribery. Unfortunately, all these good qualities became completely useless both for him and for the state due to the complete lack of measure, extreme irritability and impatient demands of unconditional obedience.<…>Considering himself always right, he stubbornly adhered to his opinions and was so irritable with the slightest contradiction that he often seemed completely beside himself. He himself realized this and was deeply upset by this, but did not have enough will to defeat himself. "

The second example is the absence of personality, its substitution with character, that is, the presence of developed forms of external manifestation in the absence of internal content - Empress Catherine II.

“She was capable of exertion, of strenuous and even unbearable work; therefore, to herself and to others, she seemed stronger than herself. But she worked more on her manners, on the way of dealing with people, than on herself, on her thoughts and feelings; therefore her manners and treatment of people were better than her feelings and thoughts. In her mind there was more flexibility and receptivity than depth and thoughtfulness, more bearing than creativity, as in all her nature there was more nervous liveliness than spiritual strength. and knew how to manage people than affairs.<…>In your letters of friendship<…>it seems to be playing a well-learned role and with feigned playfulness, with pretended wit, it tries in vain to cover up the emptiness of the content and the tension of the presentation. We meet the same traits in her treatment of people, as in her activities. In whatever society she moved, whatever she did, she always felt as if she were on stage, so she did too much for show. She herself admitted that she loved to be in public. The atmosphere and impression of the case were more important to her than the case itself and its consequences; therefore, her mode of action was above the impulses that inspired them; therefore, she cared more about popularity than about utility, her energy was supported not so much by the interests of the business as by the attention of people. Whatever she thought, she thought more about what they would say about her than about what would come of the planned case. She valued the attention of her contemporaries more than the opinion of her offspring ... She had more popularity than love for people, and in her work there was more brilliance, effect than greatness, creativity. She will be remembered for longer than her deeds. "

Probably, no one needs to be convinced of how important it is to understand the characters of the people with whom you meet every day - be it your relatives or employees. Meanwhile, our idea of ​​the types of characters is sometimes extremely abstract. We often make mistakes in assessing the person we are interested in. Sometimes you have to pay dearly for such mistakes: after all, it can be a mistake in choosing a friend, assistant, employee, spouse, etc. The fact is that we, poorly orienting ourselves in characters, sometimes do not notice the best features of those around us. We pass by that valuable thing that is in a person, we do not know how to help him open up.

Man as a person, of course, is not reducible to character. Personality is determined, first of all, by the social activity that it performs. A person has social orientations, ideals, attitude to others and to various aspects of life, knowledge, skills, abilities, their level of development, temperament. Personalities are characterized by harmonious development as a whole, learning ability, flexibility of behavior, the ability to reorganize, the ability to solve organizational issues, etc. However, characterological traits are essential for understanding the personality. The brighter the character, the more it leaves an imprint on the personality, the more it affects behavior.

Numerous attempts to classify character types as a whole (and not individual traits) have so far been unsuccessful. In addition to the variety and versatility of characterological qualities, the variety of the proposed classifications is also explained by the difference in features that can be used as their basis.

The ancient Greek philosopher and physician Theophrastus (372–287 BC) in his treatise "Ethical Characters" described 31 characters: flatterer, talker, braggart, etc. He understood character as an imprint in the personality of the moral life of society.

The French moralist La Bruyere (1645-1696) gave 1,120 such characteristics, dividing his essay into a number of chapters: the city, about the capital, about nobles, etc. He, like Theophrastus, in his characteristics revealed the inner essence of a person through his deeds ... For example, he wrote: "Dodgers tend to think of others as tricksters; they are almost impossible to deceive, but they do not deceive for long."

From Aristotle comes the identification of character with volitional personality traits, and hence the division of character into strong and weak in terms of the expression of volitional traits in it. It is more correct to understand a strong character as the correspondence of a person's behavior to his worldview and beliefs. A person with a strong character is a reliable person. Knowing his beliefs, you can always foresee how he will act in a certain situation. It is about such a person that they say: "This one will not let you down." It is impossible to say in advance about a weak-willed person how he will act in a given situation.

Another example of the classification of characters is an attempt to subdivide them into intellectual, emotional and volitional (Ben, 1818-1903). You can still hear the characteristics: "This is a man of pure reason", or: "He lives in the mood of today." Attempts were made to divide characters into only two groups: sensitive and volitional (Ribot, 1839-1916) or extraverted (directed at external objects) and introverted (directed at their own thoughts and experiences) - Jung (1875-1961). Russian psychologist A. I. Galich (1783-1848) divided characters into bad, kind and great. There have been attempts to give more complex character classifications.

The most widespread division of characters according to their social value. This assessment is sometimes expressed by the word "good" character (and, in contrast, "bad"),

It is also widespread in everyday life to divide characters into light (characteristic of livable, pleasant people around and easily finding contact with people) and heavy.

Some authors (Lombroso, Kretschmer) tried to associate not only temperament, but also character with the constitution of a person, understanding by the latter the features of the structure of the body that are characteristic of a person in a given rather long period of time.

Per last years in practical psychology, mainly thanks to the efforts of K. Leonhard (Humboldt University of Berlin) and A.E. Lichko (V.M.Bekhterev Psychoneurological Institute), ideas about the most striking (so-called accentuated) characters interesting and useful for practice, including can be taken into account in the organization of production activities. Some stable combinations of characterological traits were noticed, and it turned out that such combinations are not an infinite number, but a little more than a dozen. Currently, there is no single classification of characters. The state of affairs in this area of ​​knowledge can be compared with the position in the description chemical elements before the creation of the periodic system by D.I.Mendeleev. However, it can be noted that many ideas are well established.

Each of the striking characters with varying degrees of severity occurs on average in 5-6% of cases. Thus, at least half of all employees have bright (accentuated) characters. In some cases, there are combinations of types of characters. The rest can be conditionally referred to the "average" type.

Below we will focus on the most striking characters. Take a closer look at the people around you. Perhaps the proposed recommendations will help you understand them, develop the correct line of communication and interaction with them. However, you should not get carried away with the formulation of psychological diagnoses. Each person in certain situations can show the features of almost all characters. However, the character is determined not by what happens "sometimes", but by the stability of the manifestation of traits in many situations, the degree of their severity and the ratio. So.

HYPERTENSIVE (OR HYPERACTIVE) CHARACTER

Optimism leads such a person sometimes to the fact that he begins to praise himself, setting out the "natural theory of generational change" and prophesying high positions for himself. A good mood helps him to overcome difficulties, which he always looks at with ease, as temporary, passing. Voluntarily engaged in social work, seeks to confirm his high self-esteem in everything. This is the hyperthymic character. If in the team you are leading there is a person with a hypertimal character, then the worst thing you can do is entrust him with painstaking, monotonous work that requires perseverance, limit contacts, and deprive him of the opportunity to take initiative. Such a worker is unlikely to be useful. He will violently resent the "boredom" of work and neglect duties. However, the discontent arising in these cases is of a benign character. Having escaped from unacceptable conditions for him, hypertim, as a rule, does not hold any grudge against others. Create conditions for the manifestation of initiative - and you will see how brightly the personality will reveal itself, the work will boil in his hands. It is better to put hypertims in production areas where contacts with people are required: they are indispensable in organizing work, in creating a climate of goodwill in the team.

Disorders of adaptation and health in hyperthymes are usually associated with the fact that they do not spare themselves. They take on a lot, try to do everything in time, run, rush, are excited, often express a high level of claims, etc. It seems to them that all problems can be solved by increasing the pace of activity.

The main recommendation for people with a hyperthymic type of character is not to hold back, as it might seem at first glance, but to try to create such living conditions that would allow expressing violent energy in work, sports, and communication. Try to avoid exciting situations, extinguish the excitement by listening to music, and so on up to a light soothing psychopharmacological treatment and autogenous training.

AUTISTIC CHARACTER

Most people in communication express their emotional positions and expect the same from the interlocutor. However, people of this type of character, although they emotionally perceive the situation, have own attitude To different sides life, but they are very sensitive, easily traumatized and prefer not to reveal their inner world. Therefore, they are called autistic (Latin "auto" - turned into oneself, closed). In dealing with people of this type, one may encounter both heightened sensitivity, timidity, and absolute, “stone” coldness and inaccessibility. The transitions from one to the other create the impression of inconsistency.

The autistic character has its positive aspects. These include the steadfastness of intellectual and aesthetic hobbies, tact, unobtrusiveness in communication, independence of behavior (sometimes even overly emphasized and defended), adherence to the rules of formal business relations. Here, persons of an autistic character, due to the subordination of feelings to reason, can provide role models. Difficulties for this characterological type are associated with entering a new team, with the establishment of informal ties. Friendly relations develop with difficulty and slowly, although if they do, they turn out to be stable, sometimes for life.

If a person with an autistic character came to your team, do not rush to establish informal relations with him. Persistent attempts to penetrate into the inner world of such a person, "to get into the soul" can lead to the fact that he will become even more isolated, withdraw into himself.

The production activity of such a person may suffer from the fact that he wants to understand everything himself. This is the path leading to high qualifications, but often new knowledge and experience is much easier to obtain through communication with other people. In addition, excessive independence makes it difficult to switch from one issue to another, can complicate cooperation. "Without getting into the soul" of such a person, it is important to organize his activities so that he can listen to the opinions of others.

Sometimes people with an autistic nature take the easiest path - they communicate only with those who are similar to themselves. This is partly correct, but it can enhance the existing character traits. But communication with an emotional, open, benevolent friend sometimes completely changes a person's character.

If you yourself have such a character, then listen to good advice: do not seek to strengthen isolation, detachment, restraint of feelings in communication. Positive personality traits, taken to an extreme degree, turn into negative ones. Try to develop emotionality and the ability to express feelings. Emotional firmness, determination, the ability to defend one's position - this is just as necessary for a person as the development of other qualities - intellectual, cultural, professional, business, etc. Human communication suffers from the lack of this - one of the most valuable aspects of life. And in the end - professional activity.

LABLE CHARACTER

Usually a person, experiencing some kind of emotion, such as joy, cannot quickly "change" it. He experiences it for some time, even if the circumstances have changed. This is the manifestation of the usual inertia of emotional experiences. Not so with an emotionally labile character: the mood changes quickly and easily following the circumstances. Moreover, a minor event can completely change the emotional state.

A quick and strong change in the mood of such persons does not allow people of the average type (more inert) to "track" their internal state, to empathize with them completely. We often evaluate people by ourselves, and this often leads to the fact that the feelings of a person of an emotionally labile nature are perceived as light, implausible - rapidly changing and therefore as if not real, such that should not be given importance. And this is not true. The feelings of a person of this type are, of course, the most real, as can be seen in critical situations, as well as by the stable attachments that this person follows, by the sincerity of his behavior, and the ability to empathize.

A mistake in relation to a person with a labile character may be, for example, such a situation. The boss, who is not sufficiently familiar with his subordinates, can cause them to criticize, "sneak", focusing (unconsciously) on his own emotional inertia. As a result, the reaction to criticism may turn out to be unexpected: a woman will cry, a man may quit his job ... Ordinary "sanding" can turn into a mental trauma for life. A person with a labile character must learn to live in a "harsh" and "rough" world for his constitution, learn to protect his, in a sense, weak, nervous system from negative influences. Living conditions and good psychological health are of great importance, since the same traits of emotional lability can be manifested not by positive, but by negative sides: irritability, mood instability, tearfulness, etc. psychological climate in the work collective. If others are benevolent, then a person can quickly forget the bad, it is, as it were, repressed. Communication with hyperthymes has a beneficial effect on persons of an emotionally labile nature. The atmosphere of benevolence, warmth not only affects such people, but also determines the productivity of their activities (psychological and even physical well-being).

DEMONSTRATIVE CHARACTER

The main feature of a demonstrative character is a great ability to supplant a rational, critical view of oneself and, as a consequence, demonstrative, somewhat “acting” behavior.

"Repression" is widely manifested in the human psyche, especially in children. When a child plays, say, an electric locomotive driver, he can get so carried away by his role that, if you refer to him not as a driver, but by name, he may be offended. Obviously, this repression is associated with developed emotionality, vivid imagination, weakness of logic, inability to perceive their own behavior from the outside, low self-criticism. All this sometimes persists in adults. A person endowed with a demonstrative character easily imitates the behavior of other people. He can pretend to be the way they would like to see him. Usually such people have a wide range of contacts; as a rule, if their negative traits are not very well developed, they are loved.

The desire for success, the desire to look good in the eyes of others is so clearly represented in this character that one gets the impression that this is the main and almost the only feature. However, it is not. The key feature is still the inability at certain points in time to critically look at oneself from the outside. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look at what demonstrative personalities represent in other situations. For example, passionate about the role of the patient. Or, flaunting their supposedly immoral behavior, they demonstrate licentiousness, etc. In these cases, regardless of the desire for success in another situation, they can slander themselves that from the standpoint of the previous role is clearly disadvantageous. However, there is no correlation of one with the other, there is only a switch from one role to another. With different people, such a person can behave differently, depending on how they would like to see him.

With experience and with the presence of abilities, persons of a demonstrative character can well distinguish the characteristics of other people. They see the attitude towards themselves, adjust to it and try to control it. It should be noted that they often succeed in this. They develop the attitude they want to themselves, sometimes they actively manipulate people. The growth of traits of this kind, especially when combined with a low level of intelligence and unsatisfactory upbringing, can lead to adventurism. An example of this is the notorious situations with "getting" a shortage of, say, cars. In such cases, deceived people are let down by the fact that they are guided by internal criteria for evaluating lies - they try to determine whether there are any alarming details in the inner world of the adventurer: embarrassment, inconsistency of ideas, etc., which would allow them to suspect him of a lie ... But since the adventurer, after entering the role, does not internally feel a lie, people can easily be deceived when assessing his behavior.

A "developed" demonstrative personality, so to speak, forms its own worldview, deftly "pulling out" from the accepted views what is most suitable for the type of character. For example, the thesis about false modesty, about the admissibility of praise addressed to oneself is assimilated, inertia is rejected, the rationalism of others is allowed hints of one's chosenness.

It will be difficult for such a person if he finds himself in a team that does not take into account his personal and psychological originality. But there really is such a peculiarity! If those around him are cold, formal, do not notice him, the person begins to behave demonstratively: he draws attention to himself, plays scenes, which is usually condemned by others. But, tell me, how else can a person who lives in images show the originality of his experiences? Is it not through images? Obviously, the game that has arisen in these cases should be perceived as such.

Having recognized the demonstrative character, one should "amend" his promises: after all, this is often associated with self-promotion and entering the role of a person who "can do anything." It is necessary to feel where the conventionality of the game is manifested, and where it is a question of the real state of affairs.

Such a person can be entrusted, for example, with advertising products, if other personality traits do not contradict this. It is good if a person with a demonstrative character will receive satisfaction not only from the main work, but also to participate in amateur performances: in this case, he will give way to his natural inclinations.

Of great importance for the positive restructuring of such a person is the desire to develop opposite traits in oneself - the ability to restrain oneself, control oneself, direct one's behavior in the right direction, etc. "Oversituational" line of behavior. If demonstrativeness is sufficiently balanced by opposite traits, a lot is available to a person: both the ability to analyze facts, and the ability to view whole pictures in the imagination, scenarios for the possible development of the current situation, the ability to notice details of people's behavior and accurately respond to them, etc. the demonstrative character is mostly manifested by its positive features.

PSYCHASTENIC CHARACTER

An employee with a psychasthenic character, as a rule, is rational, inclined to analytical, "step-by-step" processing of information, comprehension of facts by crushing, highlighting individual features. At the same time, switching to other ways of reflecting the surrounding world - to the level of images, to an intuitive grasp of the situation as a whole - does not occur.

Constant rationalism impoverishes and weakens emotionality. Emotional experiences become dull, monotonous and obey the course of rational constructions. This leads to the fact that, in contrast to the previous type, a weakness of the repression process is observed here. Suppose a person has comprehended the situation, weighed all the pros and cons, came to the conclusion that it is necessary to act in this way, but the emotional movement organizes his inner world so poorly that doubts are not thrown away and the person, as it were, just in case, refrains from action.

The same desires can arise from time to time, not finding expression in behavior, becoming habitual and eventually even annoying. Exciting topics become the subject of repeated reflection, but this does not lead to anything. Doubts can also be habitual, and fluctuations between "for" and "against" in solving any issue can become permanent. As a result, this type of person is characterized by a lack of a firm position. It is replaced by the desire to explore everything, delaying conclusions and decisions. If you need to rationalize the situation, talk to such a person, he will deeply analyze at least some of its aspects, although other aspects may be ignored by him.

But a person with such a character should not be blamed on making decisions, especially those responsible. If he has to accept such, then it is necessary to provide assistance in this: to advise, to single out experts on this issue, to suggest solutions, helping to overcome the psychological (and not related to objective circumstances) barrier in the transition from decisions to action. Obviously, administrative work is contraindicated for psychasthenics. Once in a difficult, rapidly changing, multilateral situation, for example, a communication situation, such a person does not have time to comprehend it, may feel constrained, and is lost.

It is possible to improve the character of such a person by developing a figurative memory, emotionality. Imagination allows you to reproduce various situations and compare them, making the right conclusions even without analyzing all sides of each situation. As a result, the need for a lot of mental work disappears, and the conclusions may turn out to be correct. The fact is that the analytical approach is always associated with the risk of not taking into account certain features of the case, which are "felt" during direct perception. Emotionality allows you to combine considerations, to combine, according to the principle of similarity of emotional experiences in different areas of experience, that is, it acts as an integrating force organizing the psyche. Emotional assessments, as it were, replace rational analysis, as they allow reflecting many aspects of the situation. It is known that "no knowledge of the truth is possible without human emotions." The development of emotionality smoothes out psychasthenic features.

STUNNING CHARACTER

The fact is that, according to the characteristics of emotional experiences, a stuck character is the opposite of a labile one. As A. N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky writes, the law of oblivion operates in the sphere of feelings (we mean ordinary changeable feelings, not moral attitudes). Remembering the hurt, praise, enthusiasm, disappointment, etc., we can, of course, imagine our state, but we can no longer relive it, the acuteness of the sensation is gradually lost. Persons of a stuck character are arranged differently: when they recall what happened, feelings, in the words of M. Yu. Lermontov, "painfully hit the soul." Moreover, they can intensify, since, being repeated from time to time, they stylize the idea of ​​the situation, transforming its details. Grievances are especially remembered for a long time, since negative feelings are experienced more strongly. People with such a character are vindictive, but this is not due to intent, but to persistence and inactivity of experiences.

Inactivity also manifests itself at the level of thinking: new ideas are often learned with difficulty, sometimes it is necessary to spend days, months to instill in such a person a fresh idea. But if he really understands her, then he follows her with inevitable persistence. The same slowness, inertia can manifest itself at the level of movements. Such a person steps slowly, as if with self-admiration.

Inertia and getting stuck on feeling, thoughts, deeds lead to the fact that in work activity, excessive detailing, increased accuracy are often manifested, although attention may not be paid at all to something nearby that did not fall into the scope of attention of the stuck personality. For example, the cleaning of the desktop is carried out extremely carefully, in detail and for a long time. On the shelves, carefully, with an understanding of the smallest details, papers and books are laid out.

As we can see from our example, working with people for a leader with a stuck character is not very good. But the arrangement of the shop, giving it an internally organized look, such a person can be entrusted (if by putting things in order, he again does not unnecessarily terrorize others). It should be borne in mind that due to inertia, he may somewhat abuse his power.

A person of this nature is negatively affected by monotonous trauma by some circumstances or constant conditions that cause negative emotions. The accumulation of negative feelings, which not only persist, but also add up, can lead to an explosion.

A person expresses his anger by poor self-control. Extreme situations can lead to pronounced aggressiveness. Positive emotions associated, for example, with success, lead to the fact that a person has a "dizziness with success", he is "carried", he is uncritically pleased with himself.

The life of a person with a stuck character should be quite varied. Communication with people (and the more of it, the better) will allow him to overcome, at least in part, his own inner inertia. Of no small importance is the understanding of those around the features of this character: tolerance for expressing long-forgotten grievances or accusations, a condescending attitude towards inertia. Do not contradict the most "difficult" aspirations of such a person, do not seek to re-educate her. Inertia by itself does not determine on what emotions, positive or negative, a person gets stuck. It is better to perceive being "stuck" in positive than negative experiences!

CONFORMAL CHARACTER

Even good qualifications do not help a conformist worker to master independent work skills. Those endowed with such a character can only act if they find support from others. Without such support, they are lost, they do not know what to do, what is right in a particular situation, and what is wrong.

The peculiarity of people of a conformal nature is the absence of contradictions with their environment. Finding a place in it, they easily feel the "average static" opinion of others, are easily impressed by the most common judgments and easily follow them. They cannot resist the pressure of persuasive influences, they immediately yield.

Persons of a conformal nature, as it were, cement the collective. Invisible, never coming to the fore, they are natural carriers of his norms, values, interests. One of the undoubted advantages of this type of character is gentleness in communication, a natural "statement", the ability to "dissolve" oneself in the values ​​and interests of another.

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