Academician Pavlov about Russian people. About the Russian mind

State educational institution higher professional education

Far Eastern State Technical University(FEPI named after V.V. Kuibyshev)

Arsenyevsky Institute of Technology(branch) FESTU

Department of Social Work and Humanities

TEST

TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER

discipline: PSYCHOLOGY

Completed by: student gr. Ar-7680

zach. Book No. 721160

N. G. Eremenko

Checked: Art. teacher A.A. Veselkina

Arsenyev

Introduction

1 Types of temperament and their psychological characteristics

2 The role of temperament in activity

3 Character

4 Classification of character traits

5 Character types

6 Character accents

Conclusion

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

In the general, or broad, sense of the word, the character of a person must be understood as individual, pronounced and qualitatively unique psychological traits of a person that influence his behavior and actions. From this definition it follows that when we're talking about about a person’s character, we mean all his individually expressed and unique psychological traits. To characterize a person always means to give the psychology of him as an individual, to highlight not the sum of his qualities, but those features that distinguish this person from other people and at the same time are structurally integral, that is, they represent a certain unity.

At this definition character in in a broad sense words to character can also include qualities of temperament and ability, if they are pronounced individual traits and at the same time influencing human behavior.

Temperament and character have a fairly close connection with each other and depend on the psychophysiological characteristics of the body and the types of higher nervous activity. However, if temperament is initially fixed genetically and is basically constant during the life of a disabled person, this cannot be said about character. It is formed and changes throughout a person’s life. Temperament traits are hereditary and therefore extremely difficult to change. Based on this, a person’s efforts should be aimed primarily not at changes, but at identifying and understanding the characteristics of his temperament. This will make it possible to identify methods of activity that most closely correspond to his natural qualities and natural talent.

1 TYPES OF TEMPERAMENT AND THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Temperament is the innate characteristics of an individual, manifested in the intensity, pace and rhythm of mental processes and states. It is the biological foundation on which personality is formed.

A person's temperament is reflected by:

· on the speed of mental processes and their stability (for example, the speed of reproduction, the stability of attention and the speed of its switching, the mobility of thought processes, etc.).

· intensity of response to emotional stimuli (sensibility, strength of emotional experiences, speed of change of emotional states);

· speed and strength of motor reactions, processes (gait, facial expressions, pantomime, gestures, speech, etc.);

· selectivity of mental activity and behavior (on the desire to communicate, to noisy companies or on the tendency to solitude, to isolation).

Man has long made attempts to identify and understand the typical features of mental makeup different people and reduce their diversity to a small number of generalized portraits. Generalized portraits based on similarities in behavior and ways of expressing feelings have been called temperament types since ancient times. The earliest known typology was proposed by the physician C. Gallen (11th century BC). Hippocrates and Kant made a great contribution to the typology of temperaments and the compilation of their psychological portraits. Since then, temperament has attracted the attention of scientists.

The type of temperament is an innate property, but it can change somewhat under the influence of living conditions or changes occurring in the body.

I. Kant was the first to draw up a psychological portrait of temperament types. Further research clarified these portraits.

Portrait of a sanguine person: high activity, rich facial expressions, expressive gestures. Alive, agile, striving for frequent changes of impressions, quickly responding to surrounding events, quickly navigating in an unfamiliar environment, adapts well, is proactive, and experiences failures and troubles relatively easily. A sanguine person is very productive if the activity interests him. If he is indifferent to an object or activity, then he becomes lethargic and boring. He tends to skim the surface, avoid difficulties, and rush to make decisions. “Trust, but verify” is the principle of approach to a sanguine person, because he lacks thoughtfulness in his decisions, constancy in his interests, and perseverance in his actions.

Portrait of a phlegmatic person. He has relatively low neuropsychic activity, even facial expressions and speech. The phlegmatic is imperturbable, calm even in the most difficult situations, the mood is even. Balanced and calm in business and actions, carefully plans activities, strives for system, and is thorough. Moderately sociable. At the same time, he is inert and slowly switches from one job to another. “Don’t rush” - this should be the approach to a phlegmatic person.

Portrait of a melancholic man. Low level of activity, muffled facial expressions, speech, gets tired quickly. He is easily vulnerable, tends to deeply experience even minor events, but outwardly reacts sluggishly to them. He is characterized by asthenic, easily arising experiences, increased impressionability, and shyness. He feels truly good in a familiar environment, in which he is able to show perseverance, perseverance, and be active. Feels awkward around new people, lacks self-confidence, and is anxious. However, he is a sensitive, prudent person and a devoted friend. “Do no harm” is the principle of approach to a melancholic person.

Portrait of a choleric person. High level neuropsychic activity, movements are sharp, rapid, impulsive. A choleric person, under the influence of passion, displays remarkable strength in activity, energy and perseverance. The strength of his feelings - pride, ambition, vindictiveness - knows no limits if he is under the influence of passion. He thinks little, acts quickly and impulsively. He is prone to sudden mood swings, is often quarrelsome, straightforward, and has poor self-restraint. Having become carried away by some task, the choleric person wastes his energy and becomes more exhausted than he should. “Not a minute of peace,” is the principle of approaching a choleric person.

Each temperament has its own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, with good upbringing and self-control, a sanguine person is characterized by responsiveness, a phlegmatic person - endurance and self-control, a choleric person - activity, passion in work, a melancholic person - impressionability. The disadvantages of temperament are: in a sanguine person - superficiality, scatteredness; in a phlegmatic person – indifference to others, “dryness”; in a melancholic person - isolation, shyness; a choleric person has impulsiveness.

It should be borne in mind that in life clearly defined types of temperament do not occur so often; usually one or another combination of them is characteristic of a person. The manifestation of temperaments is more clearly expressed in young people; with age it becomes less bright and muted, as human behavior is increasingly regulated character traits.

2 THE ROLE OF TEMPERAMENT IN ACTIVITY

In the middle of the twentieth century. the interest of scientists and practitioners in temperament types awoke with new strength, which made it possible to clarify and expand ideas about the influence of temperament on human behavior and activity. Thus, scientists from the school of B.F. Teplov discovered that the force nervous system, associated with performance, has not only positive, but also negative aspects. The low performance of the weak type is compensated by high sensitivity, which allows you to respond more subtly to changes environment. The imbalance of a choleric person negatively affects activities that require quick reactions and mobility. The influence of temperament on performance is enhanced under extreme conditions.

Researchers have shown that the type of temperament affects the formation of skills production activities. Thus, in sanguine people, motor skills are formed very quickly, although at first chaotic activity is observed through trial and error. The developed skills of sanguine people are durable and resistant to interference. In choleric people, motor skills are more difficult to develop than in sanguine people. Extraneous interference significantly affects their activities, sometimes completely disrupting them.

Phlegmatic people have slow but highly coordinated movements. Thanks to their accuracy, consistency, and, in some cases, great persistence, they largely compensate for their inertia by showing high labor productivity. In melancholic people, skills are difficult to develop and are easily inhibited. After exercise, they can reach a satisfactory level, but only in a familiar environment. Work full of surprises and complications is contraindicated for them. The described features are largely manifested not only in motor, but also in other types of activities.

Characteristics of temperament largely determine the individual style of activity of each person. An individual style of activity is a stable system of techniques, techniques, methods, determined by typological characteristics, which develops in an individual in the process of activity and is appropriate for achieving a successful result.

Temperament and character

"Temperament", and character, "personality" - these concepts initially contain a complex internal dialectic. We use them to determine human individuality - that which distinguishes this person from everyone else, which makes it unique. At the same time, we presuppose in this uniqueness features that are common to other people, otherwise any classification, and even the very use of the listed concepts, would lose meaning. What exactly are the features, aspects, qualities, characteristics of a person that each of these concepts reflects? We use the words “temperament”, “character”, “personality” constantly and everywhere, they are needed and fulfill their role. In everyday communication, each of them has a fairly specific meaning and with their help mutual understanding is achieved.

CHARACTEROLOGY

CHARACTEROLOGY is a branch of personality psychology (sometimes considered as an independent psychological science in the trunk of individual psychology in the tree of psychological science, the subject of which is character

The study of character - characterology has a long history of development. The most important problems of characterology for centuries have been the establishment of character types and their definition by their manifestations in order to predict human behavior in various situations. Since character is the lifetime formation of a personality, most of its existing classifications are based on grounds that are external, indirect factors in personality development.

CHARACTER

Literally translated from Greek, character means chasing, imprint. In psychology, character is understood as a set of individually unique mental properties that manifest themselves in a person under typical conditions and are expressed in his or her inherent ways of acting in such conditions. Character is an individual combination of essential personality traits that express a person’s attitude to reality and are manifested in his behavior and actions. Character is interconnected with other aspects of personality, in particular with temperament and abilities. Temperament influences the form of manifestation of character, uniquely coloring certain of its features. Thus, persistence in a choleric person is expressed in vigorous activity, in a phlegmatic person - in concentrated thinking. The choleric person works energetically and passionately, while the phlegmatic person works methodically, slowly. On the other hand, temperament itself is restructured under the influence of character: a person with a strong character can suppress some of the negative aspects of his temperament and control its manifestations. Abilities are inextricably linked with character. A high level of ability is associated with such character traits as collectivism - a feeling

an inextricable connection with the team, a desire to work for its benefit, faith in one’s strengths and capabilities, combined with constant dissatisfaction with one’s achievements, high demands on oneself, and the ability to think critically about one’s work. The flourishing of abilities is associated with the ability to persistently overcome difficulties, not to lose heart under the influence of failures, to work in an organized manner, and to show initiative. The connection between character and abilities is also expressed in the fact that the formation of such character traits as hard work, initiative, determination, organization, and perseverance occurs in the same activity of the child in which his abilities are formed. For example, in the process of labor as one of the main types of activity, on the one hand, the ability to work develops, and on the other, hard work as a character trait.

Physiological foundations of character.

The physiological basis of character is a fusion of traits such as the higher nervous

activities and complex stable systems of temporary connections developed as a result of individual life experience. In this fusion, systems of temporary connections play a more important role, since the type of nervous system can form all the socially valuable qualities of an individual. But, firstly, communication systems are formed differently among representatives different types nervous system and, secondly, these connection systems manifest themselves in a unique way depending on the types. For example, decisiveness of character can be cultivated both in a representative of a strong, excitable type of nervous system, and in a representative of a weak type. But it will be brought up differently and will manifest itself differently depending on the type.

Typical and individual in character.

From what has been said it is clear that character is not inherited and is not innate

property of a person, and is also not a constant and unchanging property. Character is formed and developed under the influence of the environment, a person’s life experience, and his upbringing. These influences are, firstly, socio-historical in nature (every person lives in the conditions of a certain historical system, a certain social environment and develops as a personality under their influence) and, secondly, an individually unique character (the living conditions and activities of each person, his life path original and unique). Therefore, the character of each person is determined both by his social existence (and this is the main thing!) and by his individual existence. The consequence of this is an endless variety of individual characters. However, in the life and activities of people living and developing in the same conditions, there is much in common, and therefore their character will have some common aspects and features that reflect the general, typical aspects of their life. The character of each person is a unity of the individual and the typical. Each socio-historical era is characterized by a certain general way of life and socio-economic relations that influence the worldview of people, shaping character traits.

TEMPERAMENT.

Temperament is the individual characteristics of a person that determine the dynamics of his mental processes and behavior. Dynamics is understood as tempo, rhythm, duration, intensity of mental processes, in particular emotional processes, as well as some external features of human behavior - mobility, activity, speed or slowness of reactions, etc. Temperament characterizes the dynamism of a person, but does not characterize his beliefs, views, interests, is not an indicator of the value or low value of a person, does not determine his capabilities. The following main components that determine temperament can be distinguished.

1. The general activity of a person’s mental activity and behavior is expressed in varying degrees of desire to actively act, master and transform the surrounding reality, and express oneself in a variety of activities. The expression of general activity varies from person to person.

There are two extremes: on the one hand, lethargy, inertia, passivity, and on the other, great energy, activity, passion and swiftness in activity. Between these two poles there are representatives of different temperaments.

Motor, or motor, activity shows the state of activity of the motor and speech-motor apparatus. It is expressed in the speed, strength, sharpness, intensity of muscle movements and speech of a person, his external mobility (or, conversely, restraint), talkativeness (or silence).

Emotional activity is expressed in emotional impressionability (susceptibility and sensitivity to emotional influences), impulsivity, emotional mobility (the speed of changes in emotional states, their onset and cessation). Temperament manifests itself in a person’s activities, behavior and actions and has external expression. By external stable signs one can, to a certain extent, judge some properties of temperament.

Physiological basis of temperament.

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived in the 5th century BC, described 4 temperaments, which received the following names: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic.

According to the teachings of I.P. Pavlov, individual behavioral characteristics and the dynamics of mental activity depend on individual differences in the activity of the nervous system. The basis of individual differences in nervous activity is the manifestation and correlation of the properties of two main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition

Three properties of the processes of excitation and inhibition were established:

the strength of excitation and inhibition processes,

balance of excitation and inhibition processes,

mobility (changeability) of excitation and inhibition processes.

The strength of nervous processes is expressed in the ability of nerve cells to tolerate long-term or short-term, but very concentrated excitation and inhibition. This determines the performance (endurance) of the nerve cell.

The weakness of nervous processes is characterized by the inability of nerve cells to withstand prolonged and concentrated excitation and inhibition. When exposed to very strong stimuli, nerve cells quickly go into a state of protective inhibition. Thus, in a weak nervous system, nerve cells are characterized by low efficiency, their energy is quickly depleted. But a weak nervous system has great sensitivity: even to weak stimuli it gives an appropriate reaction.

An important property of higher nervous activity is the balance of nervous processes, i.e. proportional ratio of excitation and inhibition. For some people, these two processes are mutually balanced, while for others this balance is not observed: either the process of inhibition or excitation predominates.

One of the main properties of higher nervous activity is the mobility of nervous processes. The mobility of the nervous system is characterized by the speed of alternation of processes of excitation and inhibition, the speed of their occurrence and cessation (when living conditions require it), the speed of movement of nervous processes (irradiation and concentration), the speed of appearance of the nervous process in response to irritation, the speed of formation of new conditioned connections, the development and changes in the dynamic stereotype.

Combinations of these properties of nervous processes of excitation and inhibition were used as the basis for determining the type of higher nervous activity. Depending on the combination of strength, mobility and balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition, four main types of higher nervous activity are distinguished.

Weak type. Representatives of a weak type of nervous system cannot withstand strong, prolonged and concentrated stimuli. The processes of inhibition and excitation are weak. When exposed to strong stimuli, the development of conditioned reflexes is delayed. Along with this, there is a high sensitivity (i.e., a low threshold) to the actions of stimuli.

Strong balanced type. Distinguished by a strong nervous system, it is characterized by an imbalance of the basic nervous processes - the predominance of excitation processes over inhibition processes.

Strong, balanced, mobile type. The processes of inhibition and excitation are strong and balanced, but their speed, mobility, and rapid turnover of nervous processes lead to relative instability of nerve connections.

Strong balanced inert type. Strong and balanced nervous processes are characterized by low mobility. Representatives of this type are always outwardly calm, even, and difficult to excite.

The type of higher nervous activity refers to natural higher data; this is an innate property of the nervous system. On this physiological basis, various systems of conditioned connections can be formed, i.e. in the course of life, these conditioned connections will be formed differently in different people: this is where the type of higher nervous activity will manifest itself. Temperament is a manifestation of a type of higher nervous activity in human activity and behavior.

Features of a person’s mental activity, which determine his actions, behavior, habits, interests, knowledge, are formed in the process individual life person in the process of education. The type of higher nervous activity gives originality to a person’s behavior, leaves a characteristic imprint on the entire appearance of a person - it determines the mobility of his mental processes, their stability, but does not determine either the behavior or actions of a person, or his beliefs, or moral principles.

Sanguine temperament.

A sanguine person quickly gets along with people, is cheerful, easily switches from one type of activity to another, but does not like monotonous work. He easily controls his emotions, quickly gets used to a new environment, and actively comes into contact with people. His speech is loud, fast, distinct and* accompanied by

expressive facial expressions and gestures. But this temperament is characterized by some duality. If the stimuli change quickly, the novelty and interest of impressions are maintained all the time, a state of active arousal is created in the sanguine person and he manifests himself as an active/active, energetic person. If the influences are long-lasting and monotonous, then they do not maintain a state of activity, excitement, and the sanguine person loses interest in the matter, he develops indifference, boredom, and lethargy.

A sanguine person quickly develops feelings of joy, grief, affection and hostility, but all these manifestations of his feelings are unstable, do not differ in duration and depth. They arise quickly and can disappear just as quickly or even be replaced by the opposite. The mood of a sanguine person changes quickly, but, as a rule, a good mood prevails.

Phlegmatic temperament.

A person of this temperament is slow, calm, unhurried, and balanced. In his activities he demonstrates thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and perseverance. As a rule, he finishes what he starts. All mental processes in a phlegmatic person seem to proceed slowly. The feelings of a phlegmatic person are poorly expressed outwardly; they are usually inexpressive. The reason for this is the balance and weak mobility of nervous processes. In relationships with people, a phlegmatic person is always even-tempered, calm, moderately sociable, and has a stable mood. The calmness of a person of phlegmatic temperament is also manifested in his attitude towards events and phenomena in life, a phlegmatic person is not easily enraged and emotionally hurt. It is easy for a person of phlegmatic temperament to develop self-control, composure, and calmness. But a phlegmatic person should develop the qualities he lacks - greater mobility, activity, and not allow him to show indifference to activity, lethargy, inertia, which can very easily develop in certain conditions. Sometimes a person of this temperament may develop an indifferent attitude towards work, towards life around him, towards people and even towards himself.

Choleric temperament.

People of this temperament are fast, excessively mobile, unbalanced, excitable, all mental processes occur quickly and intensely in them. The predominance of excitation over inhibition, characteristic of this type of nervous activity, is clearly manifested in the incontinence, impetuosity, hot temper, and irritability of the choleric person. Hence the expressive facial expressions, hasty speech, sharp gestures, unrestrained movements. The feelings of a person with choleric temperament are strong, usually clearly manifested, and arise quickly; the mood sometimes changes dramatically. The imbalance characteristic of a choleric person is clearly associated with his activities: he gets down to business with increasing intensity and even passion, showing impetuosity and speed of movements, working with enthusiasm, overcoming difficulties. But in a person with a choleric temperament, the supply of nervous energy can quickly be depleted in the process of work and then a sharp decline in activity may occur: rise and fall

inspiration disappears, mood plummets. In communicating with people, a choleric person admits harshness, irritability, and emotional incontinence, which often does not give him the opportunity to objectively evaluate people’s actions, and on this basis he creates conflict situations in the team.

Melancholic temperament.

Melancholic people have slow mental processes, they have difficulty reacting to strong stimuli; prolonged and strong stress causes people of this temperament to slow down their activity, and then stop it. In work, melancholic people are usually passive, often have little interest (after all, interest is always associated with strong nervous tension). Feelings and emotional states in people of melancholic temperament they arise slowly, but are distinguished by depth, great strength and duration; melancholic people are easily vulnerable, have a hard time withstanding insults and grief, although outwardly all these experiences are poorly expressed in them. Representatives of a melancholic temperament are prone to isolation and loneliness, avoid communicating with unfamiliar, new people, are often embarrassed, and show great awkwardness in a new environment. Everything new and unusual causes melancholics to become inhibited. But in a familiar and calm environment, people with this temperament feel calm and work very productively. Melancholic people can easily develop and improve their characteristic depth and stability of feelings, increased susceptibility to external influences.

Psychologists have found that weakness of the nervous system is not a negative property. A strong nervous system copes more successfully with some life tasks, and a weak one with others. A weak nervous system is a highly sensitive nervous system, and this is its well-known advantage. Knowledge of temperament, knowledge of the features of the innate organization of the nervous system, which influences the course of a person’s mental activity, is necessary for a teacher in his educational and educational work. It should be remembered that the division of people into four types of temperament is very arbitrary. There are transitional, mixed, intermediate types of temperament; traits are often combined in a person’s temperament different temperaments. “Pure” temperaments are relatively rare.

Experts call temperament a set of individual dynamic characteristics of behavior, which serves as the basis for the development and formation of character. Thus, in psychology, temperament and character are considered as complementary phenomena that also have a strong influence on each other. Of course, it is a mistake to believe that these concepts are synonymous, but at the same time their close relationship is obvious.

Temperament and character: main differences

To put it simply accessible language, then character is usually called the features of a person’s behavior that affect communication with him, and temperament is the features of the manifestation of this behavior, the strength and brightness of the emotional response. At the same time, it should be said that temperament is rather the individual properties of the human psyche, which determine the mental activity of the individual.

Thus, by temperament we mean the totality of a person’s innate properties, and by character we mean a generalization of qualities acquired during life. Temperament and character in psychology are also separated by definition: temperament is determined by various biological characteristics of a person, while character is determined, first of all, by the social environment in which it exists and develops.

Thus, we can generalize that in different social conditions people exhibit different character traits, which cannot be said about temperament: it, as a rule, remains unchanged in any conditions. Also, character is not least determined by upbringing and culture, while temperament is greatly influenced by the individual characteristics of the nervous system.

In addition, character traits can be assessed, but the properties of a certain type of temperament cannot be assessed. That is, to say that a person has a good or bad character, it is quite possible, but such a characteristic is not applicable to temperament. That is why in psychology, temperament and character, although they usually appear together, can sometimes be considered separately from each other.

The relationship between character and temperament: basic principles

To identify the relationship between character and temperament, it is necessary to consider the types of the latter:

• Sanguine;
• Phlegmatic person;
• Choleric;
• Melancholic.

A sanguine person is a type of temperament characterized by mobility and sociability. He reacts quickly to any events and endures various troubles and failures with relative ease. People of this type have very lively facial expressions, they are quite emotional, but their emotions replace each other too quickly. That is why sanguine people are often attributed to inconstancy and superficiality.

The properties of the temperament and character of a person belonging to the choleric type can often be characterized as constant impetuosity and passion. He is subject to sudden and frequent mood swings and violent emotional outbursts. Additional properties include imbalance, emotionality, increased excitability, and often irritability and aggression.

Phlegmatic people are distinguished by relative constancy both in their beliefs and aspirations, and in their mood. It is very difficult to piss off such a person or find out what is happening inside him: they have practically no external expressions of emotional experiences. The main properties of this type can be called calmness, endurance, sometimes laziness and indifference to surrounding events and people.

The temperament and character of a melancholic person are characterized by hypersensitivity, vulnerability and impressionability. People of this type experience any minor failures for a very long time and painfully; they often have problems with self-esteem and an inferiority complex. This type, as a rule, prone to anxiety and isolation.

As you can see, a person’s temperament and character are closely interconnected, however, as noted above, it is temperament that determines the dynamic features of the manifestation of character. This means that such a trait as, for example, sociability will have a different manifestation in a phlegmatic person and a sanguine person.

In addition, temperament can both greatly influence the development of individual character traits and hinder it in specific cases. Also, some features of a person’s character can restrain the manifestation of temperamental properties in various situations.

Character traits and temperament

It is a mistake to believe that character traits and temperament constitute a single whole and that specific traits can be used to judge the type of temperament. Rather, the latter simply affects the form of manifestation of certain features of the former.

So, all 4 types can have such a character trait as hard work, but it will be expressed differently in all of them:

• A sanguine person will take the initiative, take on new projects, easily experience troubles, quickly forget about them and again get carried away with a new business;
• The choleric person will devote himself to work with the passion characteristic of his type, but will either be irritated by trifles, then be inspired again and get angry again, reaching the point of real aggression;
• A phlegmatic person will prefer to calmly concentrate on the matter at hand, thoroughly understand its essence, think about and calculate all the nuances. Moreover, outwardly it may seem that he is not at all interested in his work. But in fact, he simply does not like to rush: this is how his concentration and balance are manifested;
• Characteristics and temperament of a melancholic person in this case will lead to him thinking about his task day and night, working hard, but at the same time reproaching himself for the slightest mistakes. This type is inclined to see possible mistakes and failures in any business, which he is insanely afraid of, which is due to his natural suspiciousness.

Thus, the relationship between character and temperament is not a given. Moreover, experts note: a clear type of sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic or melancholic with its characteristic properties can rarely be found in real life. Most often people have mixed type temperament, that is, they have inherent properties that are endowed Various types. Of course, it is possible that one type has an advantage over others, due to which a person, as a rule, belongs to a particular type.

The problem that will be discussed in this lecture has occupied humanity for more than 25 centuries. Interest in it is associated with the evidence of individual differences between people. The psyche of each person is unique. Its uniqueness is associated both with the peculiarities of the biological and physiological structure and development of the body, and with a one-of-a-kind composition social connections and contacts. The biologically determined substructures of personality include, first of all, temperament. When they talk about temperament, they mean many mental differences between people - differences in depth, intensity, stability of emotions, emotional sensitivity, pace, energy of actions and other dynamic, individually stable features of mental life, behavior and activity. However, temperament today remains a largely controversial and unresolved problem. However, with all the diversity of approaches to the problem, scientists and practitioners admit that temperament- the biological foundation on which the personality is formed as a social being. Temperament reflects the dynamic aspects of behavior, predominantly of an innate nature, therefore the properties of temperament are the most stable and constant compared to others mental characteristics person. Most specific feature temperament lies in the fact that the various properties of a given person’s temperament are not accidentally combined with each other, but are naturally interconnected, forming a certain organization that characterizes 3 temperaments.

So, under temperament one should understand the individually unique properties of the psyche that determine the dynamics of a person’s mental activity, which, equally manifested in various activities, regardless of its content, goals, motives, remain constant in mature age and in conjunction characterize the type of temperament.

Before we look at various types and characteristics of temperament, it should be noted right away that there are no better and worse temperaments - each of them has its own positive sides, and therefore the main efforts should be directed not at correcting it, but at the reasonable use of its advantages in specific activities. Man has long made attempts to identify and understand the typical features of the mental make-up of various people, trying to reduce all their diversity to a small number of generalized portraits. Since ancient times, such generalized portraits have been called types of temperaments. Typologies of this kind were practically useful, since with their help it was possible to predict the behavior of people with a certain temperament in specific situations. life situations.

Typologies of temperament

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (VXVIII century BC) is considered the creator of the doctrine of temperaments. He argued that people differ in the ratio of the 4 main “body juices” - blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile - that make up its composition. Based on his teachings, the most famous physician of antiquity after Hippocrates, Claudius Galen (II century BC), developed the first typology of temperaments, which he outlined in the famous treatise “De temperamentum” (Latin “proportionality”, “correct measure”) . According to his teaching the type of temperament depends on the predominance of one of the juices in the body. They identified temperaments that are still widely known today: sanguine(from Latin sanguis - blood), phlegmatic(from Greek phlegma - phlegm), choleric(from Greek chole - bile), melancholic(from the Greek melas chole - black bile). This fantastic concept has had a huge influence on scientists for many centuries.

A variety of typologies of temperaments emerged. Most Interest represent those in which the properties of temperament, understood as hereditary or innate, were associated with individual differences in body features. These typologies are called constitutional typologies. Among them are the typologies of E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon and others.

IN psychological science Most constitutional concepts have become the object of intense criticism. The main disadvantage of such theories is that they underestimate, and sometimes simply openly ignore, the role of the environment and social conditions in the formation of the psychological properties of an individual.

In fact, the dependence of the course of mental processes and human behavior on the functioning of the nervous system, which plays a dominant and controlling role in the body, has long been known. Theory of connection of some general properties nervous processes with types of temperament was proposed by I.P. Pavlov and was developed in the works of his followers.

I. P. Pavlov understood the type of nervous system as innate, relatively weakly susceptible to changes under the influence of environment and upbringing. According to I.P. Pavlov, the properties of the nervous system form the physiological basis of temperament, which is a mental manifestation of the general type of the nervous system. I. P. Pavlov proposed to extend the types of nervous system established in animal studies to humans.

Each person has a very specific type of nervous system, the manifestations of which, i.e. Characteristics of temperament constitute an important aspect of individual psychological differences. Specific manifestations of the type of temperament are diverse. They are not only noticeable in the external behavior, but seem to permeate all aspects of the psyche, significantly manifesting themselves in cognitive activity, the sphere of feelings, motives and actions of a person, as well as in the nature of mental work, characteristics of speech, etc.

Sensitivity is determined by the minimum force of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any psychological reaction.

Reactivity characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of equal strength (a critical remark, an offensive word, a harsh tone - even sound).

Activity indicates how intensely (energetically) a person influences the outside world and overcomes obstacles in achieving goals (perseverance, focus, concentration).

Relationship between reactivity and activity determines on what a person’s activity depends to a greater extent: on random external or internal circumstances (moods, random events) or on goals, intentions, beliefs.

Plasticity and rigidity indicate how easily and flexibly a person adapts to external influences (plasticity) or how inert and skeletal his behavior is.

Rate of reactions characterizes the speed of various mental reactions and processes, the pace of speech, the dynamics of gestures, and the speed of the mind.

Extroversion, introversion determines on what a person’s reactions and activities primarily depend - on external impressions arising at the moment (extrovert), or on images, ideas and thoughts associated with the past and future (introvert).

Emotional excitability characterized by how weak an impact is necessary for the occurrence of an emotional reaction and with what speed it occurs.

Taking into account all the listed properties, J. Strelyau gives the following psychological characteristics of the main classical types of temperament:

Sanguine

A person with increased reactivity, but at the same time his activity and reactivity are balanced. He responds vividly, excitedly to everything that attracts his attention, has lively facial expressions and expressive movements. He laughs loudly for a minor reason, but an insignificant fact can make him very angry. From his face it is easy to guess his mood, attitude towards an object or person. He has a high sensitivity threshold, so he does not notice very weak sounds and light stimuli. Having increased activity, and being very energetic and efficient, he actively takes on new work and can work for a long time without getting tired. He is able to concentrate quickly, is disciplined, and, if desired, can restrain the manifestation of his feelings and involuntary reactions. He is characterized by quick movements, flexibility of mind, resourcefulness, fast pace speeches, quick integration into new work. High plasticity is manifested in the variability of feelings, moods, interests, and aspirations. A sanguine person easily gets along with new people and quickly gets used to new requirements and surroundings. Without effort, he not only switches from one job to another, but also responds to a greater extent to external impressions than to subjective images and ideas about the past and future, an extrovert.

Choleric

Like a sanguine person, he is characterized by low sensitivity, high reactivity and activity. But in a choleric person, reactivity clearly prevails over activity, so he is unbridled, unrestrained, impatient, and quick-tempered. He is less plastic and more inert than a sanguine person. Hence - greater stability of aspirations and interests, greater perseverance, difficulties in switching attention are possible, he is more of an extrovert.

Phlegmatic person

The phlegmatic person has high activity, which significantly prevails over low reactivity, low sensitivity and emotionality. It is difficult to make him laugh and sadden - when people laugh loudly around him, he can remain calm. In big troubles he remains calm. Usually he has poor facial expressions, his movements are not expressive and are slow, as is his speech. He is not resourceful, has difficulty switching attention and adapting to a new environment, and slowly rebuilds skills and habits. At the same time, he is energetic and efficient. Characterized by patience, endurance, self-control. As a rule, he has difficulty meeting new people, responds poorly to external impressions, and is an introvert.

Melancholic

A person with high sensitivity and low reactivity. Increased sensitivity with great inertia leads to the fact that an insignificant reason can cause him to cry, he is overly touchy, painfully sensitive. His facial expressions and movements are inexpressive, his voice is quiet, his movements are poor. Usually he is unsure of himself, timid, the slightest difficulty makes him give up. A melancholic person is unenergetic and unstable, gets tired easily and has little capacity for work. It is characterized by easily distracted and unstable attention, and a slow pace of all mental processes. Most melancholic people are introverts.

Temperament and activity

A person’s work productivity is closely related to the characteristics of his temperament. Thus, the special mobility (reactivity) of a sanguine person can bring an additional effect if the work requires a change in objects of communication or occupation. A false impression may be created that inert people do not have advantages in any type of activity, but this is not true: it is they who carry out slow and smooth movements especially easily. For psychological and pedagogical influence, it is necessary to take into account the possible type of human temperament. Advice from R. M. Granovskaya: it is useful to monitor the activities of a choleric person as often as possible; when working with him, harshness and lack of restraint are unacceptable, as they can cause a negative response. At the same time, any of his actions must be strictly and fairly assessed. At the same time, negative assessments are necessary only in a very vigorous form and as often as required to improve the results of his work or study. A sanguine person should be constantly given new, if possible interesting, tasks that require concentration and tension from him.

Phlegmatic need to be involved in active activities and interested. It requires systematic attention. It cannot be quickly switched from one task to another. In relation to a melancholic person, not only harshness and rudeness are unacceptable, but also simply a raised tone and irony. It is better to talk to him alone about the action committed by a melancholic person. He demands special attention, you should praise him in time for his demonstrated success, determination and will. Negative assessment should be used as carefully as possible, softening it in every possible way negative impact. Melancholic- the most sensitive and vulnerable type. You have to be extremely soft and friendly with him.

It can be considered already firmly established that a person’s type of temperament is innate; what specific properties of his innate organization it depends on has not yet been fully clarified. Innate characteristics of temperament are manifested in a person in such mental processes that depend on upbringing, social environment and the ability to control one’s reactions. Therefore, a specific reaction to a situation can be determined both by the influence of characteristic differences in the nervous system and as a result of training and professional experience. However, the limits of possible development are determined by the innate properties of the nervous system. Professional selection helps to identify applicants with the most suitable for a given specialty.

Four types of temperament

Temperament (lat. Temperamentum- proper correlation of parts) is a stable combination of individual personality characteristics associated with dynamic rather than substantive aspects of activity. Temperament is the basis of character development; in general, from a physiological point of view temperament is a type of higher nervous activity of a person.

Temperament is an individually unique property of the psyche that reflects the dynamics of a person’s mental activity and manifests itself regardless of its goals, motives and content. Temperament changes little throughout life, and, in fact, it is not even the temperament that changes, but the psyche, and the temperament is always stable.

Four temperaments in the form of visual emoticons (phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, melancholic) are shown in Fig. 7.

The magic of numbers in the Mediterranean civilization led to the doctrine of four temperaments, while in the East a five-component “world system” developed. The word “temperament” and the Greek word “krasis” (Greek hraots; “merging, mixing”), which is equal in meaning, were introduced by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. By temperament he understood both the anatomical, physiological, and individual psychological characteristics of a person. Hippocrates, and then Galen, explained temperament, as behavioral characteristics, by the predominance in the body of one of the “vital juices” (four elements):

• the predominance of yellow bile (“bile, poison”) makes a person impulsive, “hot” - choleric;
• the predominance of lymph (“phlegm”) makes a person calm and slow - phlegmatic;
• the predominance of blood (“blood”) makes a person active and cheerful - sanguine;
• the predominance of black bile (“black bile”) makes a person sad and fearful - melancholic.

Rice. 7. Four temperaments

This system still has a profound influence on literature, art and science.

A truly turning point in the history of the natural scientific study of temperaments was the teaching of I.P. Pavlova about the types of the nervous system (types of higher nervous activity) common to humans and higher mammals. I.P. Pavlov proved that the physiological basis of temperament is the type of higher nervous activity, determined by the relationship between the basic properties of the nervous system: strength, balance and mobility of the processes of excitation and inhibition occurring in the nervous system. The type of nervous system is determined by the genotype, i.e. hereditary type. I.P. Pavlov identified four clearly defined types of the nervous system, i.e. certain complexes of basic properties of nervous processes.

The weak type is characterized by weakness of both excitatory and inhibitory processes - melancholic.

The strong unbalanced type is characterized by a strong irritability process and a relatively strong inhibition process - choleric, “uncontrollable” type.

A strong, balanced, mobile type is a sanguine person, a “living” type.

Strong, balanced, but with inert nervous processes - phlegmatic, “calm” type.

Strength is the ability of nerve cells to maintain normal performance under significant stress in the processes of excitation and inhibition, the ability of the central nervous system to perform certain work without the need to restore its resources. A strong nervous system is able to withstand a heavy load for a long time and, conversely, a weak nervous system cannot withstand a large and long-term load. It is believed that people with a stronger nervous system are more resilient and more resistant to stress. The strength of the nervous system in terms of excitation is manifested in the fact that it is relatively easy for a person to work in unfavorable conditions, a short rest is enough for him to recuperate after tiring work, he is able to work intensively, does not get lost in an unusual environment, and is persistent. The power of the nervous system to inhibit is manifested in a person’s ability to restrain his activity, for example, not to talk, to show calmness, self-control, to be restrained and patient.

The balance of nervous processes reflects the ratio, balance of excitation and inhibition. In this case, balance means the same expression of nervous processes.

The mobility of the nervous system is expressed in the ability quick transition from one process to another, from one activity to another. Persons with a more mobile nervous system are characterized by flexible behavior and adapt more quickly to new conditions.

Describing the characteristics of different temperaments can help to understand the traits of a person’s temperament if they are clearly expressed, but people with clearly expressed traits of a certain temperament are not very common; most often people have mixed temperament in various combinations. Although, of course, the predominance of traits of a particular type of temperament makes it possible to classify a person’s temperament as one or another type.

Temperament and human abilities

A person with any type of temperament can be capable and incapable - the type of temperament does not affect a person’s abilities, just one life tasks problems are easier to solve by a person of one type of temperament, others - of another. The following depend on a person’s temperament:

• the speed of occurrence of mental processes (for example, speed of perception, speed of thinking, duration of concentration, etc.);
• plasticity and stability of mental phenomena, ease of their change and switching;
• pace and rhythm of activity;
• intensity of mental processes (for example, strength of emotions, activity of will):
• the focus of mental activity on certain objects (extraversion or introversion).

From the point of view of psychologists, four temperaments - just one of the possible systems for assessing psychological characteristics(there are others, for example, “introversion - extraversion”). Descriptions of temperaments vary quite widely among different psychologists and seem to include quite a large number of factors.

Attempts have been made to provide a scientific and experimental basis for the theory of temperaments (I.P. Pavlov, G.Yu. Eysenck, B.M. Teplov, etc.), however, the results obtained by these researchers are only partially compatible with each other. Of interest is the study by T.A. Blyumina (1996), in which she attempted to compare the theory of temperaments with all psychological typologies known at that time (more than 100), including from the point of view of methods for determining these types.

In general, the classification by temperament does not satisfy modern requirements for factor analysis of personality and at the moment is more interesting from a historical point of view.

Modern science sees in the doctrine of temperaments an echo of the ancient classification of four types of mental response in combination with intuitively noticed types of physiological and biochemical reactions of the individual.

Currently, the concept of four temperaments is supported by the concepts of “inhibition” and “excitation” of the nervous system. The ratio of “high” and “low” levels for each of these two independent parameters gives a certain individual characteristic of a person, and, as a result. - a formal definition of each of the four temperaments. On emoticons (see Fig. 7) you can interpret a smile; as the ease of inhibition processes, and frowning eyebrows - as a manifestation of the ease of excitation.

The work of scientists on the human genome creates conditions for revealing the functions of human genes that determine temperament through hormones (serotonin, melatonin, dopamine) and other biochemical mediators. Biochemistry and genetics make it possible to establish and formalize the psychological phenotypes of people, noticed even by doctors of antiquity.

The original concept of temperament is presented in the books by Y. Feldman “The Theory of Levels and the Model of Man” (2005) and “The Philosopher on the Beach” (2009). They consider the situation of “a person in a stream of similar tasks.” It turns out that a person is involved in the solution gradually, the number of errors and the time to solve one problem gradually decreases. Then they say that “performance is increasing” or “heating is increasing.” Then a maximum occurs (plateau), then the warming up drops to zero (refusal of the decision, rest). It is believed that for each person such a curve is repeated periodically; this is his individual characteristic. If randomly selected people are placed in the same task flow, their warm-up curves will fall into four groups. These four types of warm-up curves correspond exactly to the four temperaments:

• rapid rise - high and short plateau - rapid decline (choleric);
• moderately fast rise - moderately high and short plateau - moderately fast decline (sanguine);
• slow rise - low and long plateau - slow decline (phlegmatic);
• a very slow rise - a high surge in the middle and a return to a low point - and then a slow decline to zero (melancholic).

So, temperament is the most general formal-dynamic characteristic of individual human behavior.

There are rockers who attract fans like a magnet.

Temperament And character

Since ancient times, it has been customary to distinguish four main temperament: choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic.

Temperament are called individual characteristics of a person, expressed by:

1) in emotional excitability (the speed of occurrence of feelings and their strength),

2) in a greater or lesser tendency to strong expression feelings outside (in movements, speech, facial expressions, etc.),

3) in the speed of movements, general mobility of a person.

Choleric temperament characterized quickly arising and strong feelings, sanguine - quickly arising, but weak feelings, melancholic - slowly arising, but strong feelings, phlegmatic - slowly arising and weak feelings. For choleric and sanguic temperaments characteristic, in addition: 1) speed of movements, general mobility and 2) a tendency to strongly express feelings outwardly. For the melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments, vice versa, characteristic: 1) slowness of movements and 2) weak expression of feelings.

Typical representatives of each of temperaments is it possible about characterize in the following way.

Choleric- a fast, sometimes impetuous person, with strong, quickly igniting feelings, clearly reflected in speech, facial expressions, gestures; often hot-tempered, prone to violent emotional outbursts.

Sanguine- a fast, agile person who gives an emotional response to all impressions; his feelings are directly reflected in external behavior, but they are not strong and are easily replaced.

Melancholic- a person distinguished by a relatively small variety of emotional experiences, but their great strength and duration; he doesn’t respond to everything, but when he does, he experiences it strongly, although he expresses little of his feelings outwardly.

Phlegmatic person- a slow, balanced and calm person, who is not easily emotionally affected and cannot be enraged; his feelings hardly manifest themselves on the outside.

Characteristic representatives of four temperaments four characters from Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve” can serve as: Insarov (choleric temperament), Shubin (sanguine), Bersenev (melancholic), Uvar Ivanovich (phlegmatic). Prominent representatives choleric temperament - old prince Bolkonsky ("War and Peace") and Tchertop-hanov, the hero of two stories from Turgenev's "Notes of a Hunter" ("Tchertop-hanov and Nedopyuskin" and "The End of Tchertop-hanov"). The complete type of sanguine person is Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky (“Anna Karenina”). Contrast between sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments clearly depicted by Gogol in the images of Kochkarev and Podkolesin (“Marriage”). Contrast between sanguine and melancholic temperaments stands out clearly when comparing the two female images in "War and Peace": Liza, the wife of Prince Andrey ("little princess"), and Princess Marya.

Characteristic features temperaments are explained by those properties of higher nervous activity, which form the basis for the division of types of higher nervous activity:

1) the strength of nervous processes,

2) balance or imbalance of the processes of excitation and inhibition,

3) mobility of nervous processes.

So, for example, the hot temper of a choleric person, his tendency to violent affective outbursts are explained by the lack of balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition, the predominance of excitation over inhibition. This type of nervous system is called the "excitable" or "uncontrolled" type. The difference between the emotional liveliness and general mobility of a sanguine person, on the one hand, and the emotional equanimity and general slowness of a phlegmatic person, on the other, is explained by differences in the degree of mobility of nervous processes.

We know that the type of nervous system is not something completely immutable. Is not immutable and temperament. Often temperament changes with age; it can change “under the influence of life’s upbringing.” But, in any case, temperament- a fairly stable property related to the number characteristic mental properties of the individual. It would be a mistake to think that all people can be divided into four main temperaments. Only a few are pure representatives of the choleric, sanguine, melancholic or phlegmatic types; in the majority we observe a combination of individual features of one temperament with some features of the other. The same person in different situations and in relation to different spheres of life and activity can display traits of different temperaments.

So, for example, in Pierre Bezukhov ("War and Peace"), in most ordinary everyday manifestations, the features of phlegmatic temperament: slowness, good-natured calm, equanimity. But in rare, extraordinary circumstances, he displays a temper typical of a choleric person and not only gives violent emotional outbursts, but also commits extraordinary actions under their influence. At the same time, we can notice features in him characteristic for the melancholic temperament: slowly arising, but strong, stable and almost invisible feelings.

Each of them temperaments has its positive and negative sides. Passion, activity, energy of a choleric person, mobility, liveliness and responsiveness of a sanguine person, depth and stability of a melancholic person, calmness and lack of haste of a phlegmatic person - these are examples of those valuable personality traits, the inclination towards which is associated with individual temperaments. But not every choleric person is energetic and not every sanguine person is responsive. These properties must be developed in oneself, and temperament only makes this task easier or more difficult. It is easier for a choleric person than for a phlegmatic person to develop speed and energy of action, while it is easier for a phlegmatic person to develop restraint and composure.

To use the valuable aspects of your temperament, a person must learn to own it, to subjugate it to himself. If, on the contrary, temperament will own a person, control his behavior, then for any of temperaments there is a danger of developing undesirable personality traits. Choleric temperament can make a person unrestrained, abrupt, and prone to constant “explosions.” Sanguine temperament can lead a person to frivolity, a tendency to scatter, insufficient depth and stability of feelings. With melancholic temperament a person may develop excessive isolation, a tendency to become completely immersed in his own experiences, and excessive shyness. Phlegmatic temperament can make a person lethargic, inert, often indifferent to all the impressions of life. Awareness of the positive and negative sides of your temperament and developing the ability to own and manage them constitute one of most important tasks education character person.

What are different people afraid of? temperaments.

Sometimes life circumstances develop in such a way that one or another person of a certain temperament either he is forced to play a role that is not his own, or, despite all his efforts, he does not achieve what he wants. That's when it might break. What are these circumstances?

This can happen to a choleric person if he is forced to be non-choleric.

· If everything he does is in vain, no matter how much effort he makes.

· Circumstances forcing compromises.

· For a choleric person, a sanguine boss is dangerous; a phlegmatic boss irritates him.

Temperament And character

A phlegmatic person can be broken by circumstances that force him to not be a phlegmatic person.

· Invincible injustice.

· An unexpected misfortune that cannot be avoided and cannot be corrected.

· When you run out of strength to endure endlessly.

· For a phlegmatic person, a choleric boss is dangerous, since he will demand a quick response to his orders.

The sanguine person is less dangerous, but he will cleverly exploit the phlegmatic person. A sanguine person can be broken by circumstances that force him to lead the life of a non-sanguine person.

· Unexpectedly numerous troubles that cannot be overcome.

· Everything that fetters his freedom.

· If he is required to carefully perform every detail.

· When life constantly forces him to exert his strength to the utmost.

For a sanguine person, a choleric boss is dangerous; with a phlegmatic person it is a little easier for him, because he can find an approach to him.

Character.

In a word " character" denotes a set of core mental properties of a person that leave an imprint on all his actions and actions, those properties on which, first of all, depends how a person behaves in various life situations.

Knowing character a person, we can foresee how he will act in such and such circumstances and what should be expected from him. If a person’s individuality is devoid of internal certainty, if his actions depend not so much on himself as on external circumstances, we speak of “demons.” characteristic"man.

Mental properties of personality that make up character and which allow one to predict with a certain probability a person’s behavior under certain conditions are called traits character. Courage, honesty, initiative, hard work, conscientiousness, cowardice, laziness, secrecy are examples of various traits character. Considering that one person has courage, and another is characterized by cowardice, we thereby say what should be expected from both when faced with danger. By indicating a person’s initiative, we want to say what kind of attitude to a new business should be expected from him.

Temperament in itself cannot be bad or good; there can only be good or bad ability to own one's temperament, to use him. In relation to character we constantly use the expression "good character", "bad character". This shows that by word " character"we denote those features of a person that are directly reflected in his behavior, on which his actions depend, which therefore have a direct vital meaning. Many of the traits character We always evaluate as positive - courage, honesty, conscientiousness, modesty, others - as negative - cowardice, deceit, irresponsibility, boasting, etc.

Character manifests itself both in the goals that a person sets for himself and in the means or ways in which he achieves these goals. Human personality, according to Engels, characterized not only by what he does, but also by how he does it. Two people can do the same thing and pursue the same goal. But one will work with enthusiasm, “burn” with what he does, while the other will work conscientiously, but indifferently, guided only by a cold sense of duty. And this difference in the way two people perform the same task is often profound. characterological meaning, reflecting the enduring characteristics of the individuality of these two people.

Character A person is primarily determined by his attitude towards the world, towards other people, towards his work and, finally, towards himself. This attitude finds its conscious expression in a person’s worldview, in his beliefs and views, and is experienced by a person in his feelings. This makes clear the close connection character with a person’s worldview and beliefs. From firm convictions comes clarity of goals that a person sets for himself, and clarity of goals is a necessary condition sequences of actions. Character associated with all aspects of mental life. Features character there may be individual characteristics and cognitive processes, and feelings, and will, if only they acquire significant significance in the mental makeup of a given person, if they influence his line of behavior, determine his characteristic method of action.

Signs such as observation or criticality of mind are often not just features of the processes of perception or thinking in a given person, but essential features of his personality. The criticality of the mind of Onegin or Andrei Bolkonsky is undoubtedly a feature character. It is even more obvious that the features character There may be individual differences in the area of ​​feelings. Manilov's sentimentality, the rapid dullness of Onegin's and Pechorin's feelings - all this is vivid pronounced features character. However, the predominant importance in character have the characteristics of will, as that side of the psyche that is directly expressed in actions and deeds. All the volitional qualities that we discussed above acquire the meaning of traits character, if they constitute stable personality traits. It is possible, of course, to show special case decisiveness or persistence without being either a decisive or persistent person. But as soon as determination becomes a permanent sign of a given person’s volitional actions, it thereby becomes a trait character.

A significant part of the features character has a complex nature and includes features of the cognitive, emotional, and volitional spheres. This applies to, for example, traits such as courage, hard work, initiative, modesty and others. Analysis of individual traits character and their classification constitute one of the most difficult problems in psychology. Here we will point out some of the most important groups of traits character.

Firstly, most common features character, forming mental make-up of personality. These are, for example, the following most important traits: integrity, consistency, courage, honesty, discipline, activity.

Secondly, the features in which it is expressed a person's attitude towards other people. This includes such traits as sociability (and its opposite trait - isolation), frankness (and its opposite trait secrecy), sensitivity, ability to comradely (the trait that is meant when they say about a person: “he is a good comrade”) , politeness and whole line others.

Thirdly, traits expressing a person's attitude towards himself. These are: self-esteem, modesty (and its opposites - conceit, arrogance), resentment, shyness (which is sometimes the result of great modesty, and sometimes the result of great pride), egocentrism (i.e. the tendency to constantly have oneself in the center of attention and their experiences), selfishness (i.e. the tendency to care primarily about one’s own personal good) and others.

Fourthly, traits expressing a person’s attitude to work, to his business. These include: initiative, perseverance, hard work (and the opposite trait - laziness), love of overcoming difficulties (and the opposite trait - fear of difficulties), conscientiousness, accuracy and others.

Character even less than any other personality traits is an innate and unchangeable property. Traits character not only manifest themselves in actions and deeds, they are also formed, formed in them. To become neat, you must systematically act carefully; to become polite, you must constantly behave politely. Courage is formed in the process of performing courageous actions, and the trait character it becomes when such actions cease to be random episodes in a person’s life and turn into a habitual, normal way of action for him.