By studying the characteristics of the character of a particular person, it is possible to identify what qualities characterize a person. At the heart of their manifestation are the influence of individual experience, knowledge, abilities and capabilities of people. The list of biological features includes the innate characteristics of a person. Other personality traits acquired as a result of life:
- sociality
It means irreducibility to individual, biological characteristics of people, saturation with socio-cultural content.
- Uniqueness
The uniqueness and originality of the inner world of an individual, his independence and the inability to attribute to one or another social or psychological type.
- transcendence
Willingness to go beyond one's "limits", constant self-improvement as a way of being, belief in the possibility of development and overcoming external and internal obstacles on the way to one's goal and, as a result, incompleteness, inconsistency and problematicness.
- Integrity and subjectivity
Internal unity and identity (equality to oneself) in any life situations.
- Activity and subjectivity
The ability to change oneself and the conditions of one's existence, independence from the surrounding conditions, the ability to be a source of one's own activity, the cause of actions and the recognition of responsibility for the actions taken.
- Moral
The basis of interaction with the outside world, the willingness to treat other people as the highest value, equivalent to one's own, and not as a means to achieve goals.
List of qualities
The personality structure includes temperament, volitional qualities, abilities, character, emotions, social attitudes and motivation. And also separately the following qualities:
- Independence;
- Intellectual self-improvement;
- Communication;
- Kindness;
- industriousness;
- Honesty;
- Purposefulness;
- Responsibility;
- Respect;
- Confidence;
- Discipline;
- Humanity;
- Mercy;
- Curiosity;
- Objectivity.
The personal qualities of a person are internal perception and external manifestations. External manifestation includes a list of indicators:
- congenital or acquired artistry;
- attractive appearance and sense of style;
- ability and distinct pronunciation of speech;
- intelligent and sophisticated approach to .
The main qualities of a person (her inner world) can be classified according to a number of criteria:
- a comprehensive assessment of the situation and the absence of conflicting perceptions of information;
- inherent love for people;
- unbiased thinking;
- positive form of perception;
- wise judgment.
The level of these indicators determines the individual characteristics of the student.
The structure of individual qualities
To more accurately determine the quality of a person's personality, it is necessary to highlight its biological structure. It consists of 4 levels:
- Temperament, including characteristics of genetic predisposition (nervous system).
- The degree of unique mental processes that allows you to determine the personal qualities of a person. The level of individual perception, imagination, manifestation of volitional signs, feelings and attention affects the result.
- The experience of people, characterized by knowledge, abilities, capabilities and habits.
- Indicators of social orientation, including the attitude of the subject to the external environment. The development of personal qualities acts as a guiding and regulating factor in behavior - interests and attitudes, beliefs and attitudes (a state of consciousness based on previous experience, a regulatory attitude and), moral norms.
Features of people that characterize their temperament
The innate qualities of a person form him as a social being. Behavioral factors, type of activity and social circle are taken into account. The category is shared by 4 concepts: sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic.
- Sanguine - easily adapting to a new habitat and overcoming obstacles. Sociability, responsiveness, openness, cheerfulness and leadership are the main personality traits.
- Melancholic - weak and inactive. Under the influence of strong stimuli, behavioral disturbances occur, manifested by a passive attitude to any activity. Closure, pessimism, anxiety, a tendency to reason and touchiness are characteristic features of melancholic people.
- Cholerics are strong, unbalanced, energetic personality traits. They are short-tempered and unrestrained. Resentment, impulsiveness, emotionality and instability are clear indicators of a restless temperament.
- Phlegmatic - a balanced, inert and slow personality, not inclined to change. Personal indicators act in easy overcoming of negative factors. Reliability, goodwill, peacefulness and prudence are the hallmarks of calm people.
Individual character traits
Character is a combination of individual traits that are manifested in different types of activities, communication and relationships with people. The development of personal qualities is formed against the background of life processes and the type of activity of people. For a more accurate assessment of the nature of people, behavioral factors in specific circumstances should be studied in detail.
Varieties of character:
- cycloid - changeability of mood;
- hyperthymic accentuation consists in high activity, failure to complete things;
- asthenic - capricious and depressive personal qualities;
- sensitive - timid personality;
- hysterical - the makings of leadership and vanity;
- distimic - focused on the negative side of current events.
Individual abilities of people
Individual psychological qualities of a person contribute to the achievement of success and perfection in a certain activity. They are determined by the social and historical practice of the individual, the results of the interactions of biological and mental indicators.
There are different skill levels:
- giftedness;
- talent;
- genius.
The development of the algorithm of personal qualities and abilities of people is characterized by the ability to learn new things in the mental sphere. Special features are manifested in a specific type of activity (musical, artistic, pedagogical, etc.).
Volitional traits of people
Adjustment of behavioral factors associated with overcoming internal and external discomfort makes it possible to determine personal qualities: the level of efforts and plans for taking actions, concentration in a given direction. Will manifests itself in the following properties:
- - the level of effort to achieve the desired result;
- perseverance - the ability to mobilize to overcome troubles;
- endurance is the ability to limit feelings, thoughts and actions.
Courage, self-control, commitment are the personal qualities of strong-willed people. They are classified into simple and complex acts. In a simple case, urges to action flow into its execution automatically. Complex acts are carried out on the basis of drawing up a plan and taking into account the consequences.
human feelings
The persistent attitude of people to real or imaginary objects arise and are formed on the basis of the cultural and historical level. Only the ways of their manifestation, based on historical epochs, change. are individual.
Personality motivations
Motives and motivations that contribute to the activation of actions are formed from. The stimulating qualities of a person are conscious and unconscious.
They appear as:
- striving for success;
- avoiding trouble;
- getting power, etc.
How to manifest and how to recognize personality traits
The personal qualities of an individual are determined by analyzing behavioral factors:
- self-esteem. manifested in relation to themselves: modest or confident, arrogant and self-critical, decisive and brave, people with a high level of self-control or lack of will;
- assessment of the relationship of the individual to society. There are different degrees of the relationship of the subject with representatives of society: honest and fair, sociable and polite, tactful, rude, etc.;
- a unique personality is determined by the level of interests in the labor, educational, sports or creative field;
- clarification of the position of the individual in society occurs in a close relationship of opinion about it;
- in the study of psychological factors, special attention is paid to memory, thinking and attention, characterizing the development of personal qualities;
- observation of the emotional perception of situations allows you to assess the reaction of the individual when solving problems or its absence;
- measuring the level of responsibility. The main qualities of a serious personality are manifested in labor activity in the form of a creative approach, enterprise, initiative and bringing things to the desired result.
A review of the individual properties of people helps to create a general picture of behavior in the professional and social sphere. Under the concept of "personality" is a person with individual properties, due to the social environment. These include personality traits: intelligence, emotions and will.
Grouping features that contribute to personality recognition:
- subjects who are aware of the presence of their inherent social traits;
- people participating in the social and cultural life of society;
- personal qualities and character of a person are easy to determine in a social relationship through communication and the labor sphere;
- individuals who are clearly aware of their peculiarity and significance in the public.
Personal and professional qualities of a person are manifested in the formation of a worldview and internal perception. The individual always asks philosophical questions about life, his significance in society. He has his own ideas, views and life positions that influence
The character of a personality is a qualitative individual characteristic that combines stable and permanent properties of the psyche that determine the behavior and characteristics of a person’s attitude. Literally, translated from Greek, character means a sign, a trait. Character in the structure of personality combines a combination of its various qualities and properties that leave an imprint on behavior, activity and individual manifestation. The totality of essential, and most importantly, stable properties and qualities determine the whole way of life of a person and his ways of responding in a given situation.
The character of the individual is formed, defined and formed throughout his life path. The relationship of character and personality is manifested in activities, communication, causing typical behaviors.
Personality traits
Any trait is some stable and unchanging stereotype of behavior.
Characteristic personality traits in a general sense can be divided into those that set the general direction for the development of character manifestations in the complex (leading), and those that are determined by the main directions (secondary). Leading traits allow you to reflect the very essence of character and show its main important manifestations. It must be understood that any character trait of a person will reflect the manifestation of his attitude to reality, but this does not mean that any of his attitude will be directly a character trait. Depending on the living environment of the individual and certain conditions, only some manifestations of relationships will become defining character traits. Those. a person can react aggressively to one or another irritant of the internal or external environment, but this will not mean that the person is malicious by nature.
In the structure of the character of each person, 4 groups are distinguished. The first group includes traits that determine the basis of personality, its core. These include: honesty and insincerity, adherence to principles and cowardice, courage and cowardice, and many others. To the second - features that show the attitude of the individual directly to other people. For example, respect and contempt, kindness and malice, and others. The third group is characterized by the attitude of the individual towards himself. It includes: pride, modesty, arrogance, vanity, self-criticism and others. The fourth group is the attitude to work, activity or work performed. And it is characterized by such features as diligence and laziness, responsibility and irresponsibility, activity and passivity, and others.
Some scientists additionally distinguish another group that characterizes a person's attitude to things, for example, neatness and slovenliness.
They also distinguish such typological properties of character traits as abnormal and normal. Normal features are inherent in people who have a healthy psyche, and abnormal features include people with a variety of mental illnesses. It should be noted that similar personality traits can be both abnormal and normal. It all depends on the degree of expression or whether it is an accentuation of character. An example of this would be healthy suspicion, but when it goes off scale, it leads to.
The determining role in the formation of personality traits is played by society and the attitude of a person towards him. It is impossible to judge a person without seeing how he interacts with the team, without taking into account his attachments, antipathies, comradely or friendly relations in society.
The attitude of the individual to any kind of activity is determined by his relationship with other persons. Interaction with other people can encourage a person to be active and rationalize or keep him in suspense, give rise to his lack of initiative. The idea of the individual about himself is determined by his relationship with people and attitude to activity. The basis in the formation of the consciousness of the individual is directly related to other individuals. A correct assessment of the personality traits of another person is a fundamental circumstance in the formation of self-esteem. Also, it should be noted that when a person’s activity changes, not only the methods, methods and subject of this activity change, but also the person’s attitude towards himself in the new role of the actor changes.
Personality traits
The most important feature of character in the structure of personality is its certainty. But this does not mean the dominance of one trait. Several traits can dominate in the character, contradicting or not contradicting each other. Character can lose its certainty in the absence of its clearly defined features. The system of moral values and beliefs of the individual is also the leading and determining factor in the formation of character traits. They establish the long-term orientation of the behavior of the individual.
Features of the individual's character are inextricably linked with his stable and deep interests. The lack of integrity, self-sufficiency and independence of the individual is closely related to the instability and superficiality of the interests of the individual. And, on the contrary, the integrity and purposefulness, perseverance of a person directly depends on the content and depth of his interests. However, the similarity of interests does not yet imply the similarity of the characteristic features of the individual. For example, among scientists you can meet both cheerful people and sad people, both good and evil.
To understand the personality traits, one should also pay attention to his affections, leisure. This can reveal new facets and features of character. It is also important to pay attention to the correspondence of a person's actions to his established goals, because the individual is characterized not only by the action, but also by how exactly he produces them. The orientation of the activity and the actions themselves form the dominant spiritual or material needs and interests of the individual. Therefore, character should be understood only as the unity of the image of actions and their direction. It is from the combination of the characteristics of the character of the individual and his properties that the real achievements of a person depend, and not from the presence of mental capabilities.
Temperament and personality
The relationship of character and personality is also determined by the temperament of the individual, abilities and other aspects. And the concepts of temperament and personality character form its structure. Character is a set of qualitative properties of an individual that determine his actions, manifested in relation to other people, actions, things. Whereas temperament is a set of properties of the individual's psyche that affect his behavioral reactions. The nervous system is responsible for the manifestation of temperament. Character is also inextricably linked with the psyche of the individual, but his features are formed throughout life under the influence of the external environment. And temperament is an innate parameter that cannot be changed, you can only restrain its negative manifestations.
The premise of character is temperament. Temperament and character in the structure of personality are closely interconnected with each other, but at the same time they are different from each other.
Temperament contains the mental dissimilarity between people. It differs in the depth and strength of manifestations of emotions, activity of actions, impressionability and other individual, stable, dynamic features of the psyche.
It can be concluded that temperament is an innate foundation and basis on which a person is formed as a member of society. Therefore, the most stable and constant personality traits is temperament. It is equally manifested in any activity, regardless of its direction or content. It remains unchanged in adulthood.
So, temperament is the personal characteristics of the individual, which determine the dynamism of the course of his behavior and mental processes. Those. the concept of temperament characterizes the pace, intensity, duration of mental processes, external behavioral reaction (activity, slowness), but not conviction in views and interests. It is also not a definition of the value of the individual and does not determine its potential.
There are three important components of temperament that are related to the general mobility (activity) of a person, his emotionality and motor skills. In turn, each of the components has a rather complex structure and is distinguished by various forms of psychological manifestation.
The essence of activity lies in the individual's desire for self-expression, the transformation of the external component of reality. At the same time, the direction itself, the quality of the implementation of these trends is determined precisely by the characterological features of the individual and not only. The degree of such activity can be from lethargy to the highest manifestation of mobility - a constant rise.
The emotional component of the personality's temperament is a set of properties that characterize the features of the flow of various feelings and moods. This component is the most complex in its structure in comparison with the others. Its main characteristics are lability, impressionability and impulsiveness. Emotional lability is the rate at which one emotional state is replaced by another or stops. Under the impressionability understand the susceptibility of the subject to emotional influences. Impulsivity is the speed with which an emotion turns into a motivating cause and force for actions and deeds without first thinking them through and making a conscious decision to carry them out.
The character and temperament of the individual are inextricably linked. The dominance of one type of temperament can help determine the character of the subjects as a whole.
Personality character types
Today, in specific literature, there are many criteria by which personality types are determined.
The typology proposed by E. Kretschmer is now the most popular. It consists in dividing people into three groups depending on their physique.
Picnic people are people who are prone to becoming overweight or slightly overweight, small in stature, but with a large head, broad face and shortened neck. Their character type corresponds to cyclothymics. They are emotional, sociable, easily adapting to a variety of conditions.
Athletic people are tall and broad-shouldered people, with well-developed muscles, a hardy skeleton and a powerful chest. They correspond to the iksotimic type of character. These people are powerful and quite practical, calm and unimpressive. Ixotimics are restrained in gestures and facial expressions, they do not adapt well to changes.
Asthenic people are people who are prone to thinness, the muscles are poorly developed, the chest is flat, the arms and legs are long, and they have an elongated face. Corresponds to the type of character schizotimics. Such people are very serious and prone to stubbornness, it is difficult to adapt to change. They are characterized by closure.
K.G. Jung developed a different typology. It is based on the predominant functions of the psyche (thinking, intuition). His classification divides subjects into introverts and extroverts, depending on the dominance of the external or internal world.
An extrovert is characterized by directness, openness. Such a person is extremely sociable, active and has many friends, comrades and just acquaintances. Extroverts love to travel and make the most of life. An extrovert often becomes the initiator of parties, in companies he becomes their soul. In ordinary life, he focuses only on circumstances, and not on the subjective opinion of others.
An introvert, on the contrary, is characterized by isolation, turning inward. Such a person fences himself off from the environment, carefully analyzes all events. It is difficult for an introvert to make contacts with people, so he has few friends and acquaintances. Introverts prefer solitude to noisy companies. These people have a high level of anxiety.
There is also a typology based on the relationship of character and temperament, which divides people into 4 psychotypes.
Choleric is a rather impetuous, fast, passionate and, along with this, unbalanced person. Such people are prone to sudden mood swings and emotional outbursts. Choleric people do not have a balance of nervous processes, therefore they are quickly depleted, thoughtlessly expending strength.
Phlegmatic people are distinguished by equanimity, unhurriedness, stability of moods and aspirations. Outwardly, they practically do not show emotions and feelings. Such people are quite persistent and persistent in their work, while always remaining balanced and calm. The phlegmatic person compensates for his slowness in work with diligence.
Melancholic is a very vulnerable person, prone to a stable experience of various events. The melancholic reacts sharply to any external factors or manifestations. Such people are very impressionable.
A sanguine person is a mobile, active person with a lively character. He is subject to frequent changes of impressions and is characterized by quick reactions to any events. We can easily try on the failures or troubles that befell him. When a sanguine person is interested in his work, he will be quite productive.
K. Leonhard also identified 12 types that are often found in people with neurosis, accentuated characters. And E. Fromm described three social types of characters.
The psychological nature of the personality
Everyone has long known that significant changes occur in the psychological character of a person in the process of its development and life. Such changes are subject to typical (regular) and atypical (individual) trends.
Typical trends include changes that occur with a psychological nature in the process of growing up a person. This happens because the older an individual becomes, the faster he gets rid of childish manifestations in character, which distinguish children's behavior from an adult. Childish personality traits include capriciousness, tearfulness, fears, irresponsibility. Adult traits that come with age include tolerance, life experience, intelligence, wisdom, prudence, etc.
As one moves along the life path and gains life experience, the individual changes in his views on events, and their attitudes towards them change. Which together also affects the final formation of character. Therefore, there are certain differences between people of different age groups.
So, for example, people between the ages of about 30 and 40 live mainly in the future, they live in ideas and plans. All their thoughts, their activity are aimed at the realization of the future. And people who have reached the age of 50 have come to the point where their present life meets simultaneously with their past life and their future. And therefore, their character is modified in such a way as to correspond to the present. This is the age when people completely say goodbye to dreams, but are not yet ready to be nostalgic for the past years. People who have overcome the 60-year milestone practically do not think about the future, they are much more concerned about the present, they have memories of the past. Also, due to physical ailments, the previously taken pace and rhythm of life is no longer available to them. This leads to the appearance of such character traits as slowness, regularity, peace.
Atypical, specific tendencies are directly related to the events experienced by a person, i.e. caused by past life.
As a rule, character traits that are similar to existing ones are fixed much faster and appear faster.
It should always be remembered that character is not a fixed value, it is formed throughout the entire life cycle of a person.
The social nature of personality
Individuals of any society, despite their individual personal characteristics and differences, have common features in their psychological manifestations and properties, therefore they act as ordinary representatives of this society.
The social character of the individual is a general way of adaptability of the individual to the influence of society. It is created by religion, culture, education system and upbringing in the family. It should also be borne in mind that even in the family, the child receives the upbringing that is approved in this society and corresponds to the culture, is considered normal, ordinary and natural.
According to E. Fromm, social character means the result of a person's adaptation to one or another image of the organization of society, to the culture in which he is brought up. He believes that none of the well-known developed societies in the world will allow the individual to fully realize himself. From this it follows that the individual is in conflict with society from birth. Therefore, we can conclude that the social nature of the individual is a kind of mechanism that allows the individual to exist freely and with impunity in any society.
The process of adaptation of an individual in society occurs with a distortion of the character of the individual and his personality, to the detriment of it. According to Fromm, the social character is a kind of defense, an individual's response to a situation that causes frustration in the social environment, which does not allow the individual to freely express himself and fully develop, putting him obviously within the framework and limitations. In society, a person will not be able to fully develop the inclinations and opportunities inherent in him by nature. As Fromm believed, the social character is instilled in the individual and has a stabilizing character. From the moment an individual begins to have a social character, he becomes completely safe for the society in which he lives. Fromm identified several variants of this nature.
Personal character accentuation
Accentuation of the character of a person is a pronounced feature of character traits, which is within the recognized norm. Depending on the magnitude of the severity of character traits, accentuation is divided into hidden and explicit.
Under the influence of specific environmental factors or circumstances, some weakly expressed or not at all manifested features can be clearly expressed - this is called hidden accentuation.
By explicit accentuation is understood the extreme manifestation of the norm. This type is characterized by the constancy of features for a certain character. Accentuations are dangerous in that they can contribute to the development of mental disorders, situationally-defined pathological behavioral disorders, neuroses, etc. However, one should not confuse and identify the accentuation of a person's character with the concept of pathology of the psyche.
K. Leongrad identified the main types and combinations of accentuations.
A feature of the hysteroid type is egocentrism, excessive thirst for attention, recognition of individual abilities, the need for approval and reverence.
A high degree of sociability, mobility, a tendency to mischief, excessive independence are prone to people with a hyperthymic type.
Asthenoneurotic - characterized by high fatigue, irritability, anxiety.
Psychosthenic - manifested by indecision, love of demagoguery, self-digging and analysis, suspiciousness.
A distinctive feature of the schizoid type is isolation, detachment, lack of sociability.
The sensitive type is manifested by increased resentment, sensitivity, shyness.
Excitable - characterized by a tendency to regularly recurring periods of dreary mood, the accumulation of irritation.
Emotionally labile - characterized by a very changeable mood.
Infantile-dependent - observed in people who play in children who avoid taking responsibility for their actions.
Unstable type - manifests itself in a constant craving for various kinds of entertainment, pleasure, idleness, idleness. 
Properties or personality traits are called characteristics that most accurately describe the deep features of a person, something that gives an idea of his manner of communicating with society, responding to certain situations, not only at this particular moment, but also during long-term contact with others.
Personality traits can be of a social nature and be innate characteristics of a particular individual.
Classification of personality traits
The main character traits are usually divided into three groups:
- The attitude of the individual to society, the surrounding people (in other words, the attitude to the external environment).
- Attitude towards oneself.
- Attitude to learning and work, that is, to activity.
Emotional character traits, such as apathy or cheerfulness, aggressiveness or good nature, impulsiveness or isolation, lovingness, capriciousness, irascibility, melancholy, and so on, are formed at an early stage in the formation of the psyche, that is, in early childhood.
intellectual character traits ( prudence, insight, independence, etc.) and strong-willed(masculinity, assertiveness, prudence, pedantry, etc.) character traits, on the contrary, are acquired during life, being formed under the influence of various external situations.
Characteristics such as the following are not personality traits:
In the formation of a person's personality, natural predisposition will be of great importance, as well as the influence of temperament and hereditary genes on it.
However, one should not underestimate the role played by the environment of the child in the formation of his character. It is no less important than innate features. The kid learns the world around him and learns to act in different situations in one way or another. At first, this process occurs reflexively, and then becomes the result of a conscious choice. It is this choice that determines the further development of the personality, its growth..
Main character traits
In any person, you can find an interweaving of a wide variety of personality traits, both positive and negative. Although it is impossible to say with absolute certainty that a particular character trait is positive or, on the contrary, negative, for example, a propensity for all sorts of adventures can both help in prosperity and create huge problems, depending on how deliberately a person participates in adventures.
Envy, for example, is commonly referred to as an extremely negative personality trait, but it can encourage the envious person to move forward and achieve much more than others. In general, it can be said that the determining role is played not so much by a specific character trait as by the ability to apply it correctly, as well as its combination with other personality traits. But from a moral point of view, the most characteristic personality traits are still usually divided into negative and positive.
Negative Traits
Positive features
The list of positive character traits can be very long, but the most significant include:
Of course, all of the above is not an axiom, and it is almost impossible to predict how a particular person will react to a particular situation, how he will behave in it, even knowing him closely. Besides, negative character traits can be:
- decrease,
- turn into positive.
However, this is achieved by long and hard work on oneself, and, unfortunately, not many people can do this.
Character(Greek - sign, distinctive property, distinctive feature, feature, sign or seal) - the structure of persistent, relatively constant mental properties that determine the characteristics of the relationship and behavior of the individual.
When they talk about character, they usually mean by this just such a set of properties and qualities of a personality that impose a certain imprint on all its manifestations and deeds. Character traits are those essential properties of a person that determine a particular way of behavior, way of life. The static character is determined by the type of nervous activity, and its dynamics is determined by the environment.
Character is understood as:
- a system of stable motives and ways of behavior that form a behavioral type of personality;
- a measure of the balance of the inner and outer worlds, the features of an individual's adaptation to the reality around him;
- distinctly expressed certainty of the typical behavior of each person.
In the system of personality relations, four groups of character traits are distinguished, forming symptom complexes:
- the attitude of a person towards other people, a team, society (sociability, sensitivity and responsiveness, respect for others - people, collectivism and opposite traits - isolation, callousness, callousness, rudeness, contempt for people, individualism);
- traits that show a person’s attitude to work, their work (hard work, a penchant for creativity, conscientiousness in work, a responsible attitude to business, initiative, perseverance and their opposite traits - laziness, a tendency to routine work, dishonesty, irresponsible attitude to work, passivity) ;
- traits that show how a person relates to himself (self-esteem, correctly understood pride and self-criticism associated with it, modesty and its opposite traits - self-conceit, sometimes turning into arrogance, vanity, arrogance, touchiness, shyness, egocentrism as a tendency to consider center of events
- oneself and one's experiences, selfishness - the tendency to care primarily about one's own personal welfare);
- traits that characterize a person's attitude to things (neatness or carelessness, careful or careless handling of things).
One of the most famous character theories is the theory proposed by the German psychologist E. Kretschmer. According to this theory, character depends on physique.
Kretschmer described three body types and their corresponding three types of character:
Asthenics(from Greek - weak) - people are thin, with an elongated face. long arms and legs, flat (ore cell and weak muscles. The corresponding type of character is schizothymic- people are closed, serious, stubborn, difficult to adapt to new conditions. With mental disorders, they are prone to schizophrenia;
Athletics(from Greek - peculiar to wrestlers) - people are tall, broad-shouldered, with a powerful chest, a strong skeleton and well-developed muscles. Corresponding character type − xotimics- people are calm, unimpressive, practical, domineering, restrained in gestures and facial expressions; They do not like change and do not adapt well to it. With mental disorders, they are prone to epilepsy;
Picnics(from Greek - dense. thick) - people of medium height, overweight or prone to obesity, with a short neck, a large head and a broad face with small features. Corresponding character type - cyclothymics - people are sociable, contact, emotional, easily adapting to new conditions. With mental disorders, they are prone to manic-depressive psychosis.
General concept of character and its manifestations
In concept character(from the Greek character - “seal”, “chasing”), means a set of stable individual characteristics that develop and manifest themselves in activity and communication, causing typical behaviors for it.
When they determine the character of a person, they do not say that such and such a person showed courage, truthfulness, frankness, that this person is courageous, truthful, frank, i.e. the named qualities are the properties of a given person, traits of his character, which can manifest themselves under appropriate circumstances. Knowledge of a person's character allows you to predict with a significant degree of probability and thereby correct the expected actions and deeds. It is not uncommon to say of a man of character: "He had to do it this way, he could not have done otherwise - that's his character."
However, not all human features can be considered characteristic, but only essential and stable ones. If a person, for example, is not polite enough in a stressful situation, then this does not mean that rudeness and incontinence are a property of his character. Sometimes, even very cheerful people can experience a feeling of sadness, but this does not make them whiners and pessimists.
Speaking like a lifetime human, character is determined and formed throughout a person's life. The way of life includes the way of thoughts, feelings, impulses, actions in their unity. Therefore, as a certain way of life of a person is formed, the person himself is formed. An important role here is played by social conditions and specific life circumstances in which a person's life path passes, based on his natural properties and as a result of his deeds and deeds. However, the direct formation of character occurs in groups of different levels of development (, a friendly company, a class, a sports team, etc.). Depending on which group is the reference group for the individual and what values it supports and cultivates in its environment, the corresponding character traits will develop among its members. Character traits will also depend on the position of the individual in the group, on how he integrates in it. In a team as a group of a high level of development, the most favorable opportunities are created for the development of the best character traits. This process is mutual, and thanks to the development of the individual, the team itself develops.
Character content, reflecting social influences, influences, constitutes the life orientation of the individual, i.e. her material and spiritual needs, interests, beliefs, ideals, etc. The orientation of the personality determines the goals, the life plan of a person, the degree of his life activity. The character of a person implies the presence of something significant for him in the world, in life, something on which the motives of his actions depend, the goals of his actions, the tasks that he sets himself.
Decisive for understanding character is the relationship between socially and personally significant for a person. Every society has its own major and essential tasks. It is on them that the character of people is formed and tested. Therefore, the concept of "character" refers more to the relationship of these objectively existing tasks. Therefore, character is not just any manifestation of firmness, perseverance, etc. (formal persistence can be just stubbornness), but focus on socially significant activities. It is the orientation of the personality that underlies the unity, integrity, strength of character. The possession of life goals is the main condition for the formation of character. A spineless person is characterized by the absence or dispersion of goals. However, the nature and orientation of the personality are not the same thing. Good-natured and cheerful can be both a decent, highly moral person, and a person with low, unscrupulous thoughts. The orientation of the individual leaves an imprint on all human behavior. And although behavior is determined not by one impulse, but by an integral system of relations, in this system something always comes to the fore, dominating it, giving a peculiar flavor to the character of a person.
In the formed character, the leading component is the persuasion system. Conviction determines the long-term direction of a person's behavior, his inflexibility in achieving his goals, confidence in the justice and importance of the work he performs. Character traits are closely related to the interests of a person, provided that these interests are stable and deep. The superficiality and instability of interests are often associated with great imitation, with a lack of independence and integrity of a person's personality. And, conversely, the depth and content of interests testify to the purposefulness and perseverance of the individual. The similarity of interests does not imply similar features of character. So, among rationalizers one can find people cheerful and sad, modest and obsessive, egoists and altruists.
Indicative for the understanding of character can also be the affections and interests of a person related to his leisure. They reveal new features, facets of character: for example, L. N. Tolstoy was fond of playing chess, I. P. Pavlov - towns, D. I. Mendeleev - reading adventure novels. Whether a person's spiritual and material needs and interests dominate is determined not only by the thoughts and feelings of the individual, but also by the direction of his activity. No less important is the correspondence of a person's actions to the set goals, since a person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by how she does it. Character can only be understood as a certain unity of direction and mode of action.
People with a similar orientation can go completely different ways to achieve goals and use their own, special, techniques and methods for this. This dissimilarity also determines the specific character of the individual. Character traits, having a certain motivating force, are clearly manifested in a situation of choosing actions or ways of behaving. From this point of view, as a character trait, one can consider the degree of expression of an individual's achievement motivation - his need to achieve success. Depending on this, some people are characterized by the choice of actions that ensure success (showing initiative, competitive activity, striving for risk, etc.), while others are more likely to simply avoid failures (deviation from risk and responsibility, avoiding manifestations of activity, initiative, etc.).
Teaching about character characterology has a long history of development. The most important problems of characterology for centuries have been the establishment of types of character and their definition by its manifestations in order to predict human behavior in various situations. Since character is a lifetime formation of a personality, most of its existing classifications proceed from grounds that are external, mediated factors in the development of a personality.
One of the most ancient attempts to predict human behavior is the explanation of his character by the date of birth. A variety of ways to predict the fate and character of a person are called horoscopes.
No less popular are attempts to connect the character of a person with his name.
Significant influence on the development of characterology had physiognomy(from the Greek Physis - "nature", gnomon - "knowing") - the doctrine of the relationship between the external appearance of a person and his belonging to a certain type of personality, due to which the psychological characteristics of this type can be established by external signs.
Palmistry has no less famous and rich history than the physiognomic trend in characterology. Palmistry(from the Greek Cheir - "hand" and manteia - "fortune telling", "prophecy") - a system for predicting a person's character traits and his fate according to the skin relief of the palms.
Until recently, scientific psychology has consistently rejected palmistry, but the study of the embryonic development of finger patterns in connection with heredity gave impetus to the emergence of a new branch of knowledge - dermatoglyphics.
More valuable in diagnostic terms than, say, physiognomy can be considered graphology - a science that considers handwriting as a kind of expressive movements that reflect the psychological properties of the writer.
At the same time, the unity, versatility of character do not exclude the fact that in different situations the same person manifests different and even opposite properties. A person can be both very gentle and very demanding, soft and compliant and at the same time firm to the point of inflexibility. And the unity of his character can not only be preserved in spite of this, but it is precisely in this that it manifests itself.
The relationship of character and temperament
Character often compared with, and in some cases, they replace these concepts with each other.
In science, among the dominant views on the relationship between character and temperament, four main ones can be distinguished:
- identification of character and temperament (E. Kretschmer, A. Ruzhitsky);
- opposition of character and temperament, emphasizing the antagonism between them (P. Viktorv, V. Virenius);
- recognition of temperament as an element of character, its core, an invariable part (S. L. Rubinshtein, S. Gorodetsky);
- recognition of temperament as the natural basis of character (L. S. Vygotsky, B. G. Ananiev).
Based on the materialistic understanding of human phenomena, it should be noted that the common character and temperament is the dependence on the physiological characteristics of a person, and above all on the type of nervous system. The formation of character essentially depends on the properties of temperament, more closely related to the properties of the nervous system. In addition, character traits arise when the temperament is already sufficiently developed. Character develops on the basis, on the basis of temperament. Temperament determines in the character such traits as the balance or imbalance of behavior, the ease or difficulty of entering a new situation, the mobility or inertness of the reaction, etc. However, temperament does not predetermine character. People with the same temperament properties can have a completely different character. Features of temperament can contribute to or counteract the formation of certain character traits. Thus, it is more difficult for a melancholic to form courage and determination in himself than for a choleric. It is more difficult for a choleric person to develop self-restraint, phlegmatic; a phlegmatic person needs to spend more energy to become sociable than a sanguine person, etc.
However, as B. G. Ananiev believed, if education consisted only in improving and strengthening natural properties, then this would lead to a monstrous uniformity of development. The properties of temperament can, to some extent, even come into conflict with the character. In P. I. Tchaikovsky, the tendency to melancholic experiences was overcome by one of the main features of his character - his ability to work. “You always need to work,” he said, “and every honest artist cannot sit idly by, under the pretext that he is not located .. If you wait for an arrangement and do not try to meet him, then you can easily fall into laziness and apathy . Disagreements very rarely happen to me. I attribute this to my being endowed with patience, and train myself never to give in to reluctance. I've learned to conquer myself."
In a person with a formed character, temperament ceases to be an independent form of personality manifestation, but becomes its dynamic side, consisting in a certain speed of mental processes and personality manifestations, a certain characteristic of expressive movements and personality actions. Here we should also note the influence exerted on the formation of character by a dynamic stereotype, i.e. a system of conditioned reflexes that form in response to a steadily repeating system of stimuli. The formation of dynamic stereotypes in a person in various repetitive situations is influenced by his attitude to the situation, as a result of which excitation, inhibition, mobility of nervous processes can change, and, consequently, the general functional state of the nervous system. It is also necessary to note the decisive role in the formation of dynamic stereotypes of the second signal system, through which social influences are carried out.
Ultimately, the traits of temperament and character are organically linked and interact with each other in a single, holistic image of a person, forming an inseparable alloy - an integral characteristic of his personality.
Character has long been identified with the will of a person, the expression “a person with character” was considered as a synonym for the expression “strong-willed person”. The will is associated primarily with the strength of character, its firmness, determination, perseverance. When they say that a person has a strong character, they thereby seem to want to emphasize his purposefulness, his strong-willed qualities. In this sense, the character of a person is best manifested in overcoming difficulties, in the struggle, i.e. in those conditions where the will of man is manifested to the greatest extent. But character is not exhausted by force, it has content, determining how the will will function under various conditions. On the one hand, in volitional deeds, character develops and manifests itself in them: volitional deeds in situations that are significant for the individual pass into the character of a person, fixing themselves in it as relatively stable properties of it; these properties, in turn, determine the behavior of a person, his volitional actions. Volitional character is distinguished by certainty, constancy and independence, firmness in the implementation of the intended goal. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for a weak-willed person to be called “spineless”. From the point of view of psychology, this is not entirely true - and a weak-willed person has certain character traits, such as fearfulness, indecision, etc. The use of the term “characterless” means the unpredictability of a person’s behavior, indicates that he does not have his own direction, an internal core that would determine his behavior. His actions are caused by external influences and do not depend on himself.
The peculiarity of character is also reflected in the peculiarities of the flow of human feelings. This was pointed out by K. D. Ushinsky: “nothing, neither words, nor thoughts, nor even our actions express ourselves and our attitude to the world so clearly and truly, as our feelings: they hear the character of not a separate thought, not a separate decision, but the entire content of our soul and its structure. The connection between feelings and properties of a person's character is also mutual. On the one hand, the level of development of moral, aesthetic, intellectual feelings depends on the nature of a person's activity and communication and on the character traits formed on this basis. On the other hand, these feelings themselves become characteristic, stable features of the personality, thus constituting the character of a person. The level of development of a sense of duty, a sense of humor and other complex feelings is a fairly indicative characteristic of a person.
Of particular importance for characterological manifestations is the relationship of intellectual personality traits. The depth and sharpness of thought, the unusual posing of the question and its solution, intellectual initiative, confidence and independence of thinking - all this makes up the originality of the mind as one of the sides of character. However, how a person uses his mental faculties will depend significantly on character. Often there are people who have high intellectual data, but do not give anything of value precisely because of their characterological features. Numerous literary images of superfluous people serve as an example of this (Pechorin, Rudin, Beltov, etc.). As I. S. Turgenev well said through the mouth of one of the characters in the novel about Rudin: “There is perhaps genius in him, but no nature.” Thus, the real achievements of a person do not depend on some abstractly taken mental capabilities, but on a specific combination of his features and characterological properties.
character structure
In general form, all character traits can be divided into basic, leading, setting the general direction for the development of the whole complex of its manifestations, and secondary, determined by the main. So, if we consider such traits as indecisiveness, timidity and altruism, then with the predominance of the first, a person, first of all, constantly fears “no matter how something happens” and all attempts to help one’s neighbor usually end in inner feelings and the search for justification. If the leading feature is the second trait - altruism, then the person outwardly shows no hesitation, immediately goes to the rescue, controlling his behavior with the intellect, but at the same time he may sometimes have doubts about the correctness of the actions taken.
Knowledge of leading traits allows you to reflect the main essence of the character, to show its main manifestations. Writers, artists, wanting an idea of the character of the hero, first of all describe his leading, pivotal features. So, A. S. Pushkin put into the mouth of Vorotynsky (in the tragedy “Boris Godunov”) an exhaustive description of Shuisky - “a crafty courtier”. Some heroes of literary works so deeply and truly reflect certain typical character traits that their names become common nouns (Khlestakov, Oblomov, Manilov, etc.).
Although every character trait reflects one of the manifestations of a person's attitude to reality, this does not mean that any attitude will be a character trait. Only some relationships, depending on the conditions, become features. From the totality of the relationship of the individual to the surrounding reality, it is necessary to single out the character-forming forms of relations. The most important distinguishing feature of such relations is the decisive, paramount and general vital importance of those objects to which a person belongs. These relationships simultaneously serve as the basis for the classification of the most important character traits.
The character of a person is manifested in the system of relations:
- In relation to other people (at the same time, such character traits as sociability - isolation, truthfulness - deceit, tact - rudeness, etc. can be distinguished).
- In relation to the case (responsibility - dishonesty, diligence - laziness, etc.).
- In relation to oneself (modesty - narcissism, self-criticism - self-confidence, pride - humiliation, etc.).
- In relation to property (generosity - greed, frugality - extravagance, accuracy - slovenliness, etc.). It should be noted a certain conventionality of this classification and a close relationship, the interpenetration of these aspects of relations. So, for example, if a person shows rudeness, then this concerns his relationship to people; but if at the same time he works as a teacher, then here it is already necessary to talk about his attitude to the matter (bad faith), about his attitude towards himself (narcissism).
Despite the fact that these relationships are the most important from the point of view of character formation, they do not simultaneously and immediately become character traits. There is a certain sequence in the transition of these relations into character traits, and in this sense it is impossible to put in one row, say, the attitude towards other people and the attitude towards property, since their very content plays a different role in the real existence of a person. A decisive role in the formation of character is played by the attitude of a person to society, to people. The character of a person cannot be revealed and understood outside the team, without taking into account his attachments in the form of camaraderie, friendship, love.
In the structure of character, one can distinguish traits that are common to a certain group of people. Even the most original person can find some trait (for example, unusual, unpredictable behavior), the possession of which allows him to be attributed to a group of people with similar behavior. In this case, we should talk about typical in character traits. N. D. Levitov believes that the type of character is a specific expression in the individual character of traits common to a certain group of people. Indeed, as noted, character is not innate, it is formed in the life and work of a person as a representative of a certain group, a certain society. Therefore, the character of a person is always a product of society, which explains the similarities and differences in the characters of people belonging to different groups.
Diverse typical features are reflected in the individual character: national, professional, age. Thus, people of the same nationality are in the conditions of life that have developed over many generations, they experience the specific features of national life; develop under the influence of the existing national structure, language. Therefore, people of one nationality differ in their way of life, habits, rights, and character from people of another. These typical features are often fixed by everyday consciousness in various attitudes and stereotypes. Most people have a formed image of a representative of a particular country: an American, a Scot, an Italian, a Chinese, etc.
In everyday life, we often mention the character of a person: "light", "good" or, conversely, "heavy". What is character and whether it can be changed, we will tell in detail.
What is a person's character
Translated from Greek, character is translated as “seal”, “chasing”, that is, on the one hand, it is a distinctive sign, and on the other, something stable and inherent in a particular subject or object.
In psychology character is a set of persistent individual personality traits that determines the type of behavior and the form of relationships with other people.
Character traits, as personality traits, are as follows:
- its components have a long-term effect, stability, do not change quickly and easily;
- character has an applied value, it determines the actions of a person in all spheres of life.
A person can show heroism, cowardice, be anxious, aggressive or soft, weak-willed. If such manifestations occur frequently and are clearly expressed outside, then they will say about a person: “He has such a character.”
When a kind-hearted and gentle personality flares up under certain conditions, manifests, then others will not call it a character, rather, they will attribute it to specific circumstances.
Knowing the nature of a person allows you to predict his behavior and actions in various situations, as well as correct them if necessary. We always know in advance who we can turn to for help, with whom it is not scary to enter into risky ventures: "He cannot do it differently, such a character."
Character traits: general information
Not every feature of a person can be attributed to his stable permanent trait of character. We have already said that a good-natured person can flare up, and for example, an optimist can fall into melancholy. But we will not describe the first as an aggressor, and the second as a whiner.
In psychology, there are three leading groups of character traits, which together make it up.
1st group of traits - attitude towards oneself
This group includes both positive and negative characteristics that show the attitude of the individual towards himself, her.
Inner dignity, honor, pride, self-criticism, appropriate modesty, adequate.
Lines with a minus sign- vanity, inflated conceit and self-esteem, pride (not to be confused with pride), resentment, shyness (not to be confused with modesty).
Group 2 - attitude towards others
Characteristics that show the basis of the relationship of the individual with other people - in the family, in the team, in the circle of friends.
Character traits with a plus sign- Responsiveness, respect, communicativeness, sensitivity, readiness to help, ability to work in a team, decency.
Lines with a minus sign- callousness, contempt for others, snobbery, rudeness, neglect, isolation, callousness, individualism.
3rd group of traits - attitude to activity
This group combines character traits related to their work, profession, work in general.
Character traits with a plus sign- industriousness, activity, responsibility, inclination to creativity, initiative.
Lines with a minus sign- laziness, procrastination, irresponsible attitude to business, lack of initiative, passivity.
Based on a sample of these characteristics, a portrait of a person can be drawn up.
Features of the formation of a person's character
For a long time, philosophers believed that character is an innate human trait. That is, he is born already with a certain set of qualities that do not change in the process of formation. Today this view is not supported. It has been proven that character is formed throughout life and depends on upbringing, environment, entry into a certain social group, professional activity, etc.
For the first time, the idea of a significant influence on the character of external factors was expressed by the scientist D. Locke, who argued that psychophysical properties and education affect the formation of character equally.
Modern science (last century) supports this hypothesis.
According to researchers, the impact:
- labor education;
- personal example;
- physical education;
- self-development;
- moral and ethical education;
- proper habit formation.
Regardless of age, the process of character formation is exposed to the information field, including the following perceived by the person:
cultural values, ideology cultivated in society;
a personal example of respected people for a particular personality;
public opinion and judgments widespread in society;
literature, television, cinema, theater.
A mature, thinking person can also engage in the correction of his character. Thus, the formation of character occurs throughout life.
Three main factors influence its changes.:
- physiological (gender,);
- social (education, culture, family, school, team);
- personal (self-development, self-education).
The first stage of character development is early infancy. At this level, it is very important to give the child love, care, give a lot of attention, because it is here that the emotional component is formed for the rest of his life.
Further development of personality occurs in early preschool age. The child learns and copies the behavior patterns of adults nearby. Direct teaching with appropriate emotional reinforcement (praise) is important. It is at this age that such traits as kindness, responsiveness, diligence are formed.
In primary school age, the main role is played by the assessment of the actions and actions of the baby by adults, the concepts of “good” and “bad” are instilled. There are character traits related to work: responsibility, punctuality.
Adolescents are actively developing moral and ethical standards and a strong-willed sphere. By the end of schooling, the character, as a rule, is already formed, then it is only corrected.
Relationship between temperament and character
Character and temperament are often equated, but they are different concepts.
In psychology, there are different points of view on this issue.:
- both concepts are identical;
- temperament is a part, a core of character;
- the two concepts are antagonists;
- temperament is the natural basis of character.
Temperament is more closely related to the properties of the human nervous system and is directly conditioned by them. The character is greatly influenced by society and upbringing. If the character is subject to correction, then temperament is an innate property that remains with a person for life.
The social environment in which the individual grew up and lives has a strong influence on the character, while the temperament remains unchanged. The content of a person’s actions depends on the character, and only their manner and style depend on the temperament.
Important: temperament cannot be assessed as “good”, “bad”, but the character consists of those traits that can be regarded as positive or negative.
The type of temperament and character are connected and interact with each other in a single image of a person, forming an inseparable alloy - a characteristic of his personality.
What are the types of character
In psychology, there are several classifications of character types. One of the most famous is the typology proposed by the American psychoanalyst Alexander Lowen.
| Character type | Its characteristics |
| Oral | A person has a sharp change, dependence on others is expressed. , a tendency to melancholy and, fear of being rejected, low self-esteem. |
| Masochistic | A person who loves to suffer has a very high sensitivity. There is intuition. They are not sure of themselves, they are closed. |
| Hysterical | A high level of ambition, the ability to control behavior and actions. Arrogance, rational thinking. Developed emotions with the ability to contain them. |
| Schizoid | Very low self-esteem, lack of control over emotions and their inadequacy. affective disorders. |
| psychopathic | Desire to dominate, increased anxiety. Prevalence of image issues over internal content. Preoccupation with control over circumstances. |
| Narcissistic | Self-confidence, high ambitions. Aggressiveness, assertiveness, arrogance, perseverance. |
Also in psychology, individuals are divided into introverts (closed) and extroverts (sociable).
One more typology of characters can be distinguished.
| Character type | Its characteristics |
| Hyperthymic | The person is very sociable, "talkative", with pronounced facial expressions. Lots of initiative and energy, but easily loses temper. |
| distymny | Pessimists are introverts. They have a heightened sense of justice, the circle of friends is very limited. Difficult to make decisions, slow. |
| Excitable | Power-hungry, love conflict situations. Very unpleasant in communication. In a calm state they are attentive and pedantic, in an excited state they are aggressive and irritable. |
| stuck | An arrogant person, loves to teach others, considers himself smart. Excessive demands on oneself and other people |
| alarming | The person is extremely insecure, afraid of disputes and conflicts. Looking for support everywhere. |
| Demonstrative | Protective, adaptable. Schemer. They can cause irritation due to their self-confidence. Born entertainers, boastful, hypocritical. |
The psychological character of a person
Character is one of the components of the psychological portrait of a person. But it alone is not enough to form a full-fledged opinion about a person, which is necessary, for example, for hiring for a responsible job or a conscious choice in personal life.
At the same time, you need to determine the temperament of a person.
There are four in total:
- sanguine. A person with a stable nervous system is quite mobile and balanced. The processes of excitation and inhibition of the nervous system quickly appear and also quickly decline. Optimistic, sociable. Of the minuses - capable of irresponsibility and frivolity.
- choleric. Very mobile nervous system. Excited quickly, but cools down slowly. Extremely restless, always have to do something, energetic. Cons - conflict, aggressive, quick-tempered.
- phlegmatic person. The nervous system is very stable and balanced, but not dynamic. Cannot switch from one theme to another, does not work at "high speeds". But the result will be impressive - everything is thought out to the smallest detail. Reliable, responsible. Cons - clumsy, dryish in communication.
- melancholic. The nervous system is very weak, vulnerable, impressionable. Soft, sensitive people. Cons - low efficiency, suspiciousness, isolation.
As the third component within the framework of the psychological portrait, the abilities of the individual are considered.:
- general, formed under the influence of intellect. This is the flexibility of the mind, diligence, the ability to adapt.
- special, appealing to a certain direction: on oneself personally, on communication, on the completion of a task.
To draw up a psychological portrait, the following are also taken into account: intellectuality, emotionality, feelings, communication skills, self-esteem.
The social nature of personality
The concept of social character was introduced into science by E. Fromm.
The social nature of personality is a set of traits that occurs in people who are part of the same social group. Moreover, these special features appeared under the influence of common experiences and an identical lifestyle.
The psychologist has developed two types of social characters: unfruitful and fruitful.
Barren
These types are called unproductive because they are “takers”, who believe that the good can only be obtained from outside.
fruitful type
This is a kind of humanistic ideal to which one should aspire. It is characterized by: relying on one's own strengths and using them both to receive benefits and to give back to other people. A fruitful social character gives, not receives; it is based on love, the highest degree of which is maternal love, which knows no selfishness.
Hidden and explicit accentuation of the character of the individual
Accentuation refers to the dominant personality traits, that is, some signs are moderately developed in us, while others are excessively developed.
As a result of accentuation (from the word "accent", i.e. strengthening), the personality becomes disharmonious.
Strengthening individual traits:
- determine the vulnerability of a person, are his weak point, "Achilles' heel";
- limits the ability of a person in certain areas of activity.
For example, a personality with an accentuation of weak will can be used by people and is completely unsuitable for working in leadership positions.
Accentuation is not a psychological or mental deviation, but an extreme version of the norm.
There are several reasons for this:
- the dominance of one trait is formed only at certain stages of development, it can be minimized with age;
- accentuation does not always appear, but only under certain circumstances;
- accentuation does not prevent a person from adapting in society, with the exception of a number of restrictions that we mentioned above.
Depending on the dominance of one of the character traits, the following types are distinguished:
| Type of accentuation | Characteristic |
| Demonstrative | The desire to be in the spotlight: "at the wedding of the groom, at the funeral of the dead." Behavior deliberate, boasting. |
| Pedantic | Caution, fear of change, thoroughness, thoughtfulness. |
| Excitable | Very impulsive behavior. Lives impulses, instincts, drives. |
| Hyperthemic | Always cheerful, active, eager for life. Sociable, optimistic, easily overcomes difficulties. |
| stuck | Long remembers grievances and troubles, vindictive, petty |
| dysthymic | Pessimist, always sad and gloomy. Concentrated on the dark sides of life. |
| Cyclothymic | The swings from lust for life to pessimism are frequent and regular. |
| Exalted | A violent reaction to any event, a state of delight to universal sadness. |
| emotive | High sensitivity, sincerity, tearfulness. |
| alarming | Anxiety for any reason and for no reason. Alertness, timidity, uncertainty. |
Accentuation is considered explicit in cases where it accompanies a person most of the time, almost always.
If the dominance of any trait appears in stressful or critical situations, then the accentuation is called hidden.
