Quality traits that have a social character. Human character traits

10.10.2019

For those who do not like their own "psychological portrait", there is consolation: the shortcomings of temperament can be made up for by positive character traits.

It is the understanding that one can change oneself for the better that is the most attractive feature as a science.

So, if temperament is an innate personality trait, then a person educates the character himself. When we perform an act, each time we strengthen or weaken some of its traits.

Thus, even the most bad temper can be corrected.

Regarding temperament, we can only recall that Hippocrates divided it into four types that are still used today:

Phlegmatic - unhurried and unperturbed;
Cholerics - quick-tempered and unbalanced;
Melancholic - impressionable and vulnerable;
Sanguine people are lively, mobile and cheerful.

Fixing the results

It is better to write down the results of your struggle. You can make a table, and record successes and failures there every day. Or do this: mark two cities on a geographical map. One will conditionally denote your current state, the second - the goal.

Every time you do something to improve your character, put a new point on the path between these cities. And if you miss something, go back a point.

In terms of very interesting it seems. Be sure to read about this great man, whose experience can be of invaluable help to you.

Surely the reader may have a question: do they influence the formation of personality and its individual features?

It is rather difficult to give an unequivocal answer to this question. A certain connection in the inclinations and characteristics of behavior between children and parents, of course, can be traced.

However, to claim that “I am like this and I can’t be different, because this is my mom or dad”, for an adult, at least not seriously.

It is believed that it is impossible to change the temperament, but character traits are within the power of anyone who wishes. You just need to be determined to do it.

character accentuation

Character accentuation is a character trait that is within the clinical norm, in which some of its traits are excessively enhanced, as a result of which selective vulnerability is found in relation to some psychogenic influences while maintaining good resistance to others.

You may find the definition of accentuation a bit complicated, but it's actually quite simple.

The very word "accentuation" (from Latin accentus - stress) means a pronounced emphasis on something.

In other words, this feature lies in the fact that some character traits are unusually developed, which causes the inferiority of other, less developed traits.

Probably everyone saw how small children, at the sight of strangers, settle down to one and begin to smile, and at the sight of others they frown and run away.

This is due to the fact that facial features are very closely related to our character traits. Children intuitively feel this, "scanning" the face of a stranger.

Yes, and adults at a deeply subconscious level can “feel” a good or bad person in front of them. This also happens because our brain is able to "read" information from characteristic features person's face.

It is important to understand that the character of a person largely determines how his life will turn out, whether he will succeed.

The 19th-century English writer William Thackeray wrote:

"Sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny."

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Each person has certain characteristics, which are expressed in emotional manifestations, the selection of specific actions and reactions. All this happens automatically and is defined by people as character traits. There are many personality types for quickly determining what kind of person is happening.

We all know what character is. This is a set of qualities that are inherent in a particular person. Character is developed throughout life. In childhood, he is flexible and quickly changing. Over the years, it acquires greater stability and at the end is fixed .. What is it and what features does this phenomenon have, the article will tell.

What is the nature of a person?

Each person faces the character of another person. What it is? This is a characteristic of the psyche, which combines permanent and stable qualities that determine the behavior and attitude of the individual. Translated from Greek, character means "feature", "sign". This is a stable characteristic that affects behavior, responses, activities and individual manifestations of a person.

We can say that the character of a person determines the whole life of a person, his fate. They say that fate is predetermined. In fact, a person who does not obey specific rules and strategies creates his own destiny, which he then lives.

By changing the character, you can change the fate, because the character determines the reaction, behavior, decisions of a person that he takes in a particular situation. If you look closely, you can see that people who are similar in character live the same life. Only the details differ, but their ways and behavior are the same.

Character is formed throughout a person's life. At any moment it can be changed, which in adulthood is possible only under the influence of own desire and willpower. If a person cannot change his character, then his life does not change and its development is predictable.

Personality traits

The character changes depending on the type of activity, society, social circle, attitude towards oneself and the world as a whole. If any of these aspects change, then this can affect the change in the quality of character. If everything in a person's life remains unchanged, then the character traits remain unchanged.

Personality traits

The character of a person is also formed under the influence of the values and moral beliefs that a person uses. The more stable they are, the more a person is fixed in his behavior and manifestations. Main Feature personal character is its certainty, where one can note the leading features, of which there are always several. The certainty of character disappears if there are no stable qualities.

Character is also based on the interests that a person has. The more stable and constant they are, the more a person becomes purposeful, persistent and whole in his manifestations.

You can determine the characteristics of the character of another person by his actions and their orientation. Both the actions and the results that he achieves at the end of their commission are important. They are what characterize a person.

Temperament and personality

The interrelation and character of the personality is looked through. Although these characteristics are determined by the human psyche, they are different values. Temperament is determined by the structure of the nervous system, which makes it an innate quality, the manifestations of which cannot be changed, but you can just do something.

Character is a flexible aspect that develops throughout life. A person can change it, which is determined by his life activity.

Character is formed on the basis of the temperament with which a person was born. Temperament can be called the basis on which the entire branch of his character traits is built. At the same time, the temperament does not change from external circumstances and the type of activity.

Temperament is characterized by three directions, each of which has its own complex structure:

Mobility (activity). It manifests itself in vigorous activity, self-expression, manifestation of oneself, which can be both sluggish and overly active.
Emotionality. There is a variety of moods and flow of feelings. Defined:

Lability is the rate of change from one mood to another.
Impressibility - the depth of perception of external emotional stimuli.
Impulsivity - the speed at which an emotion transforms into a motivating force for taking actions without thinking about it and making a decision to carry it out.

Motility.

Personality character types

Psychologists of different times tried to identify types of personality characters to identify specific groups of people. E. Kretschmer identified 3 groups of people according to their body type:

Picnic people prone to set excess weight, low growth, with a large face, neck, plump. They are easily adaptable to the conditions of the world, sociable and emotional.
Athletic people, characterized by well-developed muscles, are tall and broad-shouldered, hardy and with a large chest. They are not impressionable, domineering, calm and practical, restrained in gestures and facial expressions, and do not adapt well.
Asthenic people, characterized by thinness and underdeveloped muscles, a narrow face, long arms and legs, a flat chest. They are stubborn and serious, withdrawn and poorly adapted to change.

K. Jung proposed another typology that divides people according to the type of thinking:

Extroverts. Very sociable and active people who tend to make many acquaintances. They are straight and open. They love to travel, have parties, be the soul of the company. They are guided by objective circumstances, and not by the subjective opinions of people.
Introverts. Very closed and fenced off from the world people. They have few friends as it is difficult for them to make contacts. Constantly analyze everything that is happening. They are very anxious and prefer solitude.

Another classification divides people into 4 psychotypes depending on their combination of character and temperament:

Cholerics are unbalanced, fast, impulsive, passionate people. They are quickly depleted due to the senseless expenditure of strength. Prone to emotional outbursts and mood swings.
Phlegmatic people are stable in their manifestations, emotions and views, unhurried, unflappable people. They are inclined to calmness and poise, perseverance in work. Outwardly they do not show emotions.
Melancholic people are vulnerable people who are prone to constantly experiencing emotions. Very impressionable, sharply react to external manifestations.
Sanguine people are lively, mobile and active people. Respond quickly to external circumstances and tend to get a lot of impressions. Productive at work. Easily tolerate failures and troubles.

The psychological nature of the personality

The changes that occur in the psychological character of a person are divided into regular (typical) and individual (atypical).

Regular changes occur as a person grows up and goes through certain changes in his body. Children's features disappear, being replaced by adults. Childish traits include capriciousness, irresponsibility, fears, tearfulness. For adults - wisdom, life experience, tolerance, reasonableness, prudence, etc.

Much here is determined by the situations that a person often encounters. Communication with people, various circumstances, successes and failures, tragedies determine the change of views and values in a person. This is why people in the same age group differ from each other, because everyone had their own life experience. Here individual traits are formed, which depend on the life circumstances through which each person passes.

Traits change faster if they are similar to or include previous traits.

The social nature of personality

The social character of a person is understood as those qualities that should be characteristic of absolutely all people of this or that society. Going into society, a person must show not only individual traits, but also those qualities that are considered acceptable, approved, normal. Such a set is formed by society, the media, culture, upbringing, educational institutions, religion, etc. It should be noted that parents raise their children also depending on the framework and norms that are accepted in society.

According to E. Fromm, the social character of a person is a way of adapting a person to the society in which he is located. This is an unpunished and free way of existence in a particular society. He believed that no society allows a person to realize himself in full force, since he always dictates his own rules and norms, which should be above individual characteristics and desires. That is why a person is always in conflict with society, when he must obey in order to be accepted, or tries to protest, which can be punished.

Society will never allow a person to express himself in full force, which prevents him from realizing his inclinations and harms the individual himself. There must be a distortion of character, when everyone adjusts himself to certain limits and norms accepted in society. Only by developing a social character in a person does society make him safe for himself. It is not the personality that is important here, but its safe manifestations, which will be acceptable in society. Otherwise, there will be punishment for any individual self-expression that does not fit into the framework.

Personal character accentuation

Under the accentuation of the character of the personality is understood a set of qualities that are clearly manifested by the individual within the normal range. It is divided into:

Hidden - traits that appear infrequently or never at all. However, under certain conditions, they can appear.
Explicit - features that appear to the extreme degree of the norm and are characterized by constancy.

K. Leongrad identified types of accentuation:

Hysterical - a thirst for attention, egocentrism, a need for reverence and approval, recognition of individual characteristics.
Hyperthymic - sociability, mobility, a tendency to mischief, excessive independence.
Asthenoneurotic - anxiety, high fatigue.
Psychosthenic - indecision, a tendency to demagogy, analysis and introspection, suspiciousness.
Schizoid - detachment, isolation, lack of sociability.
Excitable - periodic dreary moods, accumulation of irritation.
Sensitive - increased touchiness, sensitivity, shyness.
Infantile-dependent - a delay in childhood when a person does not take responsibility.
Emotionally labile - mood variability.
Unstable - a tendency to idleness, pleasure, entertainment, idleness.

Outcome

The nature of a person often helps in understanding the person himself, since everything revolves around his inner world, which has manifestations in the form of reactions, emotions, behavior, actions, and even achievements that are currently available. Consideration various types character can lead to the following result - a quick and easy understanding of people.

Character is a flexible characteristic that can be changed at any time. It can change both unconsciously and under the influence of the willpower of a person who controls the manifestation of a particular quality. How longer man exhibits a specific quality, the more it is fixed and becomes one of its characteristics that affect the future development of life.

Behavior largely depends on what kind of characters a person has. Each has its own characteristics. Character is a combination of a number of psychological properties (there are more than five hundred in total). But there are also certain nuances that appear in different situations and relationships. Character traits are divided into positive and negative, congenital and acquired. Each can tell a lot about a person.

What is the nature of a person

Correct evaluation begins with determining what types of character people have. All traits are divided into five main groups:

Social

It includes features due to the relationship:

To yourself;

Labor and I will sell it;

Society.

emotional

It includes:

expressiveness;

Impressionability;

cheerfulness;

Increased and low emotionality;

Impulsiveness;

Impressiveness;

Unstable emotionality.

Strong-willed

It includes:

purposefulness;

Determination;

persistence;

Uncertainty;

Courage;

Discipline;

Independence.

intellectual

It includes:

prudence;

Depth and flexibility of intellect;

Resourcefulness;

Mindset (practical or theoretical);

Frivolity;

Wits;

Curiosity;

Thoughtfulness.

Moral

It includes these features:

Rigidity;

Kindness;

Responsiveness;

Honesty and similar qualities.

To draw up a psychological portrait, certain qualities are noted.

What are the personality traits of a person

The positives include:

Adequacy, altruism, activity;

Fearlessness, thrift, prudence, nobility;

Generosity, good breeding, politeness, attentiveness, cheerful disposition, will, high morality;

Humanism, gallantry, harmony;

Friendliness, delicacy, conscientiousness, discipline, foresight, diplomacy, efficiency, kindness, good nature;

Naturalness;

Femininity, cheerfulness;

Caring, thrift;

Ingenuity, initiative, diligence, sincerity, intelligence;

Creativity, sociability, correctness, culture, competence, collectivism, eloquence;

Curiosity, affection, ease of communication;

Wisdom, masculinity, peacefulness, daydreaming;

Tenderness, independence, reliability, observation, resourcefulness;

Experience, sociability, charm, education, caution, responsibility, neatness, responsiveness, giftedness, objectivity;

Decency, positivity, practicality, understanding, friendliness;

Decisiveness, romance, cordiality;

Self-criticism, modesty, intelligence, conscientiousness, independence;

Tact, diligence, craving for creativity, patience;

Smiling, perseverance, poise, respectfulness, perseverance, courtesy, perseverance;

thriftiness, charisma, courage;

Chastity, purposefulness;

Sincerity, honesty, sensitivity;

Generosity, playfulness;

Energy, economy, enthusiasm, empathy, erudition.

Negative qualities include all the antipodes of the listed traits.

For example:

Aggressiveness;

Vulgarity;

Impudence;

Envy;

Arrogance;

deceitfulness;

commercialism;

Narcissism;

Touchiness;

Selfishness;

Callousness, etc.

Each positive trait has an opposite meaning. However, there are some qualities that can be called neutral:

Shyness;

Silence;

assertiveness;

modesty;

Dreaminess.

For some people this positive traits, may be negative for others. For example, assertiveness. In business, it is sometimes necessary, but in personal relationships it sometimes interferes greatly. Shyness is good for a girl, but is negatively perceived when it appears in a young man. When compiling a psychological portrait, all of the above positive qualities, their antipodes and other features are taken into account.

A person's character is not formed instantly, but until old age. The social environment is of great importance. For example, the volitional qualities inherent in a person are manifested in emergency situations when endurance, courage, stubbornness, etc. are required. Emotionality is a mental manifestation that occurs in certain situations. At the same time, feelings can be negative or positive, dynamic or stable, neutral. If we talk about intelligence, then this includes individual characteristics and the quality of an individual's thinking. For example, criticality, stupidity, breadth of soul, flexibility in any relationship, etc.

The nature of people greatly affects their perception of the environment. Some consider everyone good or bad, others - only themselves. Each person has a certain attitude:

To oneself (self-esteem, self-criticism, self-respect, etc.);

Labor (punctuality, accuracy, negligence, etc.);

Environment (politeness, isolation, sociability, rudeness, etc.).

As a result, a certain temperament is formed. It includes qualities that are constant for a particular person:

1. Sanguine people are very mobile, efficient, but they quickly get tired of hard work. They have bright facial expressions and a strong display of emotions. They are sociable, responsive, balanced. They look at everything from a positive point of view, optimistic. They have a cheerful disposition.

2. Cholerics are characterized by sharp mood swings, hysteria, impetuosity. They have frequent outbursts of anger, irascibility, but quick appeasement.

3. Melancholic pessimists, overly worried for any reason, are often in an anxious state. Such people are very distrustful of others, vulnerable, restrained, they have good self-control.

4. Phlegmatic people have very low activity. However, they are very reasonable, cold-blooded and prudent. Any business is always brought to an end.

Separately, it is worth paying attention that each nationality has its own characteristics of character, although there are many common features. The greatest diversity is among the Russians.

Their character is very different from other nationalities.

Main criteria:

a) Spiritual generosity, which most peoples do not have.

b) Compassion.

in) Craving for justice.

G) Patience, endurance, perseverance.

e) Negative qualities include pessimism, foul language, laziness, hypocrisy. To the positive - responsiveness, loyalty, compassion, humanity.

A Russian is easily distinguished by a combination of character traits, one of which is a special sense of humor that other nationalities are not always able to understand. The set of qualities is so diverse that most people have an excessive manifestation of emotions. Some traits may change throughout life. At the same time, other qualities remain unchanged. However, negative traits are not always regarded as negative. Sometimes they emphasize dignity.

For example:

1. Selfishness is not only ignoring other people, but also the observance of one's own interests in the first place. Such a person has his own opinion and will not be led by others.

2. Self-confidence can improve productivity and performance. Then a person feels self-satisfied, which ultimately brings positive results for society.

3. Envy sometimes pushes a person to work better, to achieve the best result.

4. Stubbornness helps to achieve any set goals.

The character of any person consists of positive and negative qualities. As a result, a certain type is formed. For example, a person can be lazy, but kind and sympathetic. The other is evil, but very hardworking and striving. At the same time, women are always more emotional, selfless, good-natured, patient. Men are most often restrained, decisive, responsible.

Characters of people and problems

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Psychologists call character a combination of personality traits that determine its behavior. You can make many lists with traits of human characters. If two people are given the task of characterizing a third, their lists will differ from each other. People don't think about how character affects their success or failure. But, considering the individual qualities that make up the character, it is easy to understand how they affect the personality as a whole. Character traits of a person develop depending on the type of nervous activity, heredity, and the environment of education. They form throughout life. The predominance of certain traits determines a person's lifestyle.

Human character traits: list

Many psychologists divide all character traits into 4 main groups:

Attitude towards others;
attitude towards oneself;
Attitude to material values;
Attitude towards work.

Within each group, many qualities can be distinguished.

For example, the list of traits of the "attitude towards others" group:

compassion;

respect;
reliability;
flexibility;
politeness;
the ability to forgive;
generosity;
gratitude;
hospitality;
justice;
meekness;
obedience;
loyalty;

sincerity;
tolerance;
truthfulness.

Character traits: list of the group "attitude towards oneself":

Caution;
Contentment (understanding that true happiness does not depend on material conditions);
Creation;
Determination;

Courage;
Attentiveness;
Endurance;
Faith;
Honour;
Initiative;
Self control.

“Attitude towards material values” can be characterized by the following qualities:

Thrift;
organization;
Generosity;
Wisdom.

"Attitude towards work" demonstrates the qualities of character:

industriousness;
Enthusiasm;
Initiative;
Punctuality;

Psychologists also have a classification of character traits according to volitional, emotional and intellectual characteristics. Personality properties appear in combinations. For example, benevolence, generosity and hospitality, as a rule, are characteristic of the same person. Characterizing a person, others highlight the leading features or a set of features. Saying, “He is a kind and sincere guy” or “She is lazy and disorganized,” people emphasize the main thing. This does not mean that a lazy girl cannot be kind and honest. It's just that these traits do not dominate her behavior.

Positive and negative character traits

For harmonious interaction in all four areas (with society, material values, work and oneself), a person must demonstrate his best qualities and minimize the worst. Traditionally, it is customary to single out “pluses” and “minuses” in characterizing a person. Every positive trait has its opposite. Even children easily name antonyms: “kind - evil”, “hard-working - lazy”, etc. It is difficult to define unambiguously positive character traits. For example, for the professions of a teacher, seller, doctor, waiter, such traits as benevolence, politeness, tolerance are important. These qualities are not essential for the work of a programmer, accountant, draftsman, who need organization, punctuality, and responsibility more.

There is a special concept of "professional character traits". A pronounced quality, suitable for a particular job, helps a person achieve great professional success. At the same time, character is formed throughout life. The profession leaves its mark on the personality. Therefore, when they say “he is an exemplary policeman”, everyone understands that we are talking about a disciplined, courageous, fair person. The expression "teacher from God" means a kind, wise, tolerant person. A person who dreams of a good career should develop in himself the best qualities of his profession.

Good character traits are controversial in the ordinary sense. Being generous is good, but if a person distributes necessary property because of generosity, his family and himself suffer. Obedience, for which a child is praised at home and in kindergarten, can harm him and form a weak-willed, passive personality.

Much easier for people to understand negative traits character. We can say that these qualities are universal. Anger, envy, deceit, laziness, greed are included in the list of deadly sins of Christians. But such properties are negatively perceived by people of all faiths. Muslims consider hypocrisy to be the worst sin. Equally dislike hypocrites in all countries, among all peoples. The negative character traits of a person, if they appear in a complex, make the person very unattractive to others. Negative characters - quarrelsome neighbors, quarrelsome colleagues, evil relatives. These are people who have brought the negative aspects of their nature to the extreme.

Each person is to some extent deceitful, envious, quick-tempered, but reasonable people try not to demonstrate their negative qualities to others. Negative aspects of character can be corrected. If others often say: “You are too rude”, “It is difficult to communicate with you because of your arrogance”, you need to draw conclusions and start working on yourself. Psychologists advise you to write down the negative qualities of your character on a piece of paper and work with each one individually. For example, you can remember among your acquaintances a person who behaves exactly the opposite of you - not rude, but correct, not quick-tempered, but patient. You need to imagine yourself in a certain situation in the place of this person. At the same time, it is important to conjure up a real picture and real emotions. Such psycho-emotional training helps to reconfigure behavior and develop the desired quality in oneself.

Adaptation of character to society

Any culture, people and civilizations have certain limits of behavior. Man cannot exist outside of society. From childhood, the child has to adapt to the requirements of the environment - family, kindergarten, school. An adult is influenced by many social forces, from spouses to politics, religion, social stratum. The character of a person involuntarily adapts to the requirements of society. At the same time, many of the natural inclinations of the individual are subjected to pressure.

History knows many examples when brilliantly gifted people came into conflict with the environment because of the impossibility of leading the lifestyle that their nature demanded. At the same time, social norms allow a person to lead a safe life in the society around him. Such social traits as loyalty, tolerance, politeness allow painless contact with others. The rejection of social norms, above all, laws and morality, creates an asocial personality.

In modern psychology there is a term "national character traits". Each nation forms some common, typical features of behavior among its representatives. For example:

The peoples of Northern Europe and the Americans are self-confident, honest, practical, stubborn, freedom-loving. The conservatism and subtle humor of the British, the punctuality of the Germans, and the taciturnity of the Scandinavians are well known.
Residents of Southern Europe and Latin America are energetic, temperamental, emotional, cheerful, sensual. A romantic Italian, a passionate Spaniard, a charming Frenchwoman, restless Brazilians - there is a lot of reality in these stereotypes;

Representatives of Eastern Europe (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs) love constancy, are generous, generous, selfless, responsive, prone to repentance and forgiveness. A common stereotype - the "mysterious Russian soul" has many reasons.
The peoples of the East are much more respectful of their parents and, in general, elders than Europeans. For Eastern societies, much more than for European ones, hospitality, family honor, dignity, modesty, benevolence, tolerance are characteristic.

Features that have a social character are inextricably linked with religious norms. Christian moral standards include the following qualities:

Lack of envy;
Chastity;
Meekness;
Generosity;
Sociability;
Compassion.

The influence of religious culture in the history of society is very strong. Even modern atheists in European countries consider the main Christian value, love for people, to be the best personality trait.

Islamic society forms the following features in people:

Respect for elders;
Hospitality;
Modesty;
Courage;
Humility.

Features of the character of men and women

A huge role in the formation of character is played by the gender of a person. Not only the characteristics of sex develop certain qualities, but also public opinion. Standard character traits of a man:

Leadership;
The ability to protect;
inner strength;
Reliability;
Loyalty;

Women are guided more by intuition and feelings than by reason, they are more talkative, soft in communication, cunning. Of course, in most cases, women and men correspond to their gender characteristics. But it has not yet been studied in detail, which has more influence on the formation of gender traits - nature or upbringing. Often men and women have to fulfill the role that society imposes on them. For example, medieval society ordered a woman to be modest, obedient to her parents and husband. Modernity demands more independence from a woman.

The world is full of men and women who do not fit the accepted characteristics. Many girls have leadership and organizational skills. And vice versa, a large number of men are delicate, not aggressive and emotional.

At what age is character formed

Any mother who has raised several children will tell you that all her babies were completely different from infancy. Even infants react differently to food, bathing, and play. There are temperamental, noisy babies, there are quiet and inactive ones. Here heredity affects, as well as natural temperament, which depends on the physique, health and conditions of education.

The character traits of the child develop under the influence, first of all, of the family. Responsible loving parents already at the age of three or four years see what type of temperament the baby has inherited from nature: choleric, sanguine phlegmatic or melancholic. Depending on innate qualities, it is possible to form a positive, socially acceptable character. If there is no love and attention to children in the family, they are less likely to grow up to be friendly and hardworking. On the other hand, the examples of many prominent politicians, writers, artists who grew up in disadvantaged conditions confirm the importance of innate character traits and self-education.

Was last modified: August 2nd, 2016 by Elena Pogodaeva

Nevertheless, it is widely recognized that the boundary between temperament and character is rather arbitrary.

A common understanding of character for all is a feature as individual originality, manifestation in activity and communication, social conditioning. To know a person's character means to reveal his essential features, which are manifested mainly in actions. A person is not born with character, but in the manifestations of character - features of the innate qualities of a person, his hereditary qualities, genotype.

Temperament and character are brought together by their general dependence on the physiological characteristics of the subject, such as the nervous system. They are organically connected and interact with each other in a single, integral image of a person, forming a characteristic of his individuality. However, which of the sides of temperament will become a character trait depends on the conditions of its formation and the characteristics of the influence of the environment.

Character can be defined as a set of stable and essential forms of individual personality traits that reflect the diversity of its relationship to itself, people and work.

The essence of character is well revealed by describing its main types.

Using the degree of their severity as a criterion for the typology of characters, the American psychologist C. Leonhard developed a classification that includes characters of three main types:

absolutely normal character;
a character with a pronounced accentuation, i.e. with excessive strengthening of individual character traits:
character with strong deviations from the norm (psychopathy).

a character can be regarded as psychopathy if its corresponding qualities manifest themselves stably over time and change little during life;
the totality of the manifestation of character pathology is determined by that. that a person discovers the same character traits everywhere: at home, at work, on vacation, among acquaintances and strangers. If a person is alone in some conditions, and in others it turns out to be completely different, then he is not a psychopath;
social maladaptation is a sign that is the most revealing evidence of pathology. It manifests itself in the fact that a person loses the ability to adapt in society, from which both he and the people around him suffer.

Problem accentuated characters belongs not to the field of psychiatry, but to the field of general psychology. In the case of character accentuations, all three of the above signs of psychopathy are not present. A personality with an accentuation is characterized by vulnerability only to those traumatic influences that create an excessive load on the “places of least resistance.” For example, among the 12 types of accentuations identified Leonhard, there is a hyperthymic type, which is characterized by a high vitality, excessive activity, a desire for leadership, etc. For a person with this type of character, a situation will seem difficult in which his behavior will be strictly regulated, where there will be no conditions for showing initiative, where monotonous work prevails, etc.

The character of a person is manifested in the following systems of relations:

with other people. It is in these relationships that such character traits as truthfulness or deceit can manifest themselves; politeness or rudeness, sociability or isolation;
to work. Here traits such as laziness or diligence are found. responsibility and irresponsibility;
in self-esteem. Such qualities as self-criticism, self-confidence, selfishness are manifested;
to things. Traits such as frugality or extravagance, generosity or greed are manifested.

In the character, its most striking, stable features stand out - . This is essential properties a person, from which a certain line of behavior is formed that distinguishes this person, for example, tolerance, adherence to principles, etc. Being connected to each other, actions form the main character traits of this person.

Certain traits, positive or negative, prevail in the character of people under the influence of life circumstances and upbringing. society's requirements.

The character of a person is one of the substructures of personality, and the substructure is subordinate. A developed mature personality has a good command of its character and is able to control its manifestations. On the contrary, impulses of character, when a person acts according to the logic of what certain character traits induce him to do, are typical of psychologically immature individuals or psychopaths. Character is formed not only in the process of education, but also in the process of self-education. A person can consciously correct the negative manifestations of his character.

The problem of the nature and conditions of its formation and development is one of the urgent psychological problems. In psychology, questions about the role of heredity in the formation of character, the relationship between temperament and character, the possibility of changing character, etc. are constantly discussed. The answer to these questions by the domestic psychologist A.V. Petrovsky: “Character is not given to man by nature. There is no character that cannot be corrected. Link to that. that “I have such a character and I can’t help myself” is psychologically completely untenable. Each person is responsible for all manifestations of his character and is able to engage in self-education.

Classification of character traits

The whole variety of manifestations of character is divided into four groups on the following grounds: 1) the orientation of the individual, the system of his relations in society; 2) features of volitional regulation; 3) emotional features; 4) intellectual features.

In the system of human relations in the social environment, four varieties are distinguished: 1) the relation of a person to society, to other people; 2) to himself; 3) to work and other types of activity; 4) to weights as products of labor.

The relation of a person to society, to other people determines the fundamental qualities of a person and the character of a person, his morality.

Morality is the moral consciousness of the individual, realized in his behavior, the subordination of the individual's behavior to social norms, standards and values. The level of a person's morality is determined by the measure of the coincidence of general social and internal motivational requirements for his behavior. Morality is the free self-compulsion of the individual to socially adapted, socially valuable behavior.

The concept of morality is a concept borderline between sociology, ethics and psychology. In the sociological aspect, it is associated with the concept of social mores, the functioning of social norms that regulate the behavior of society. By psychological essence morality is a system of stereotyped forms of behavior based on the internalization (appropriation) of social norms. Personal morality- the main indicator of its socialization, social self-identification.

Morality as a whole is the behavioral culture of society. The morality of an individual is the measure of his involvement in this culture. General standards of morality meet the objective conditions of human society, the basic needs of mankind.

The formation of morality is associated with the cultural and historical traditions of a given society, the development of moral ideology in it, the level of social control and social expectations.

In ethical terms, the morality of an individual is the sphere of his moral relations with other people, his moral activity, classified according to the content, form and method of interpersonal relations. According to the content, the moral relations of individuals are subdivided on the basis of their social obligations (civil, labor, family, professional, etc.). Specific moral obligations arise in relation to people in a special position (to children, the elderly, women, the sick, those in dire need), to people with whom the individual is in a special relationship (to parents, children, loved ones, friends). A number of moral requirements the individual is obliged to present to himself as to a certain value in itself (pride, self-respect, etc.).

The moral self-improvement of the individual is one of the main meanings of his being. The system of higher moral requirements of the individual forms his moral ideal. The morality of an individual is always a spiritual overcoming of the difficulties of being.

One of the highest manifestations of human spirituality is compassion for other people (altruism), readiness for self-restraint and even self-denial for the benefit of other people. The ability to self-suppress selfish impulses is one of the highest manifestations of a noble character. The categorical imperative (unconditional requirement), the "golden rule" of human behavior is the requirement: treat people as if they were yourself; the benefits of some people cannot be paid for by the suffering of others.

The system of relations adopted by the individual towards other people can be reduced to four main schemes.

"I am good and all people are good"- a value-oriented scheme inherent in socially adapted individuals who are distinguished by benevolence, high social communicativeness, cheerfulness, an adequate level of claims, mental stability in difficult situations. This is a highly socialized, mentally stable personality type. The system-forming qualities of his character, and, consequently, his behavior are social identification, altruism, and a heightened sense of social responsibility. The behavior of such a person is characterized by openness, honesty, consistency.

"I'm bad, but all people are good"- a life scheme inherent in people with a low level of claims, indecisive, constantly doubting their abilities, showing mental instability in difficult situations, making it difficult to establish social contacts. As a rule, these are people with a weak type of nervous activity.

"I'm good, but all people are bad"- a scheme inherent in people with an overestimated level of claims. Arrogance, selfishness, firmness, turning into cruelty, appropriation of the right to exceptional actions - these are distinctive features character of people of this orientation.

"I'm bad and all people are bad"- the position of incorrigible pessimists who expect nothing but trouble from life. Like the previous one, this type of social orientation gives rise to conflicts between the individual and the social environment. But unlike the third life scenario, this life scenario does not lead to self-affirmation, but to self-demobilization, withdrawal from the joys of life, and sometimes from life itself. Not hoping for the best in real life, a person with such a life concept goes into a world of dreams, fruitless dreams and unrealistic hopes.

Every person has a setting in relation to oneself - self-concept. The self-image consists of a number of components:

cognitive - image of appearance, moral qualities, mental characteristics, social significance;
emotional - self-respect, complacency, self-abasement, etc.;
pretentiously strong-willed- the desire for self-affirmation, recognition of merits by other individuals.

Along with the real I, there is an ideal I and a dynamic, self-developing I.

A person cognizes himself in interaction with other people who are at different socio-cultural levels. And if the reference (reference) for a given personality social group has an objectively high status, this stimulates the individual to self-development.

A person builds his life strategies, weighing various alternatives, composing compositions of possible actions. This internal dialogue- the main mechanism of self-regulation: a person, as it were, looks at himself from the side, from the positions of other people. He formulates acceptable compromises for himself, puts forward self-justifying motives, tries on his inner world to reality.

However, the less socialized the individual is, the less painful is his dialogue with himself. This dialogue may or may not exist. And then the individual essentially ceases to be human. The absence of an inner life, a system of critical self-assessments, poverty of spirit, extreme primitivism in sanctioning responsible decisions - such is the level of self-consciousness of most malicious criminals. External actions that have not been tested by the inner work of the spirit acquire a soulless energy, manifesting themselves in cruelty, sadism and violence.

A socialized person has problems of reconciliation, harmonization of the inner and outer world. How to reconcile devotion to one's principles with the conflicting demands of life? In these situations, the character of a person is manifested - his hardness and plasticity, civil courage and tolerance.

The attitude of the individual to work and other activities determines diligence, overcoming difficulties in work, conscientiousness, etc. This group of relationships also includes inclinations, vocation and talent as characterological qualities of a person.

The negative qualities of this group include parasitism, loafing, vagrancy, and so on.

Attitude to things as products of labor it is expressed in accuracy, frugality, etc. In this group, some qualities are of a criminogenic nature: self-interest, greed, immeasurable consumerism, an irresistible attraction to the standards of "luxurious life".

The value orientations of the individual to a certain extent determine and volitional regulation his behaviour.

Volitional character traits- stable individual-typological features of conscious regulation of behavior. The most essential ability of an individual in difficult, conflict circumstances is to make well-founded decisions in a timely manner and execute them. The opposite quality is indecision, manifested in excessive hesitation, delay in making a decision, or excessive haste in a decision when a person seeks to avoid the tension associated with the struggle of motives. Decisiveness is also expressed in the ability of a person to stop performing an action when the situation changes, when it ceases to be appropriate.

Especially important are such qualities of a person as endurance and self-control- the ability of an individual to control his own behavior in difficult conflict conditions, refrain from unnecessary actions, control his emotions and feelings, prevent impulsive actions, regulate mood, not lose his presence of mind in difficult and even dangerous situations, endure hardships, failures, physical suffering.

In the life of every person are essential courage and courage. Opposing negative qualities- cowardice, cowardice - hypertrophied fear for one's life and well-being, neglect of principles and moral feelings in dangerous situations.

Volitional personality traits determine the basic qualities of character: integrity, strength, firmness and balance.

Wholeness character - stability of positions and views in various situations, consistency of words and deeds; force character - the energy of a person, the ability for prolonged stress, overcoming difficulties in difficult situations; hardness character - strength of character combined with personal integrity; equilibrium character - evenness, restraint in behavior and self, emotional and volitional stability of the personality.

Volitional, active self-regulation of an individual, the system of his volitional qualities are determined by the breadth, hierarchization and dynamism of his motivational sphere. The breadth and content of a person's needs and interests are one of his main mental qualities. It is also essential that the motives lower level obeyed higher motives. The individual must have well-developed means of suppressing base impulses. The hierarchy of the motivational sphere of an individual depends on what motives and in what situations were actualized especially often and strongly, what desires were realized at the same time and what qualities of the individual were oppressed.

Many behavioral impulses of people arise spontaneously, at the subconscious level, at the level of attitudes and habits, due to their emotional characteristics. In the subsequent explanation of their behavior, people look for the most acceptable excuses for them.

Emotional features of the character of the individual- the most obvious, directly perceived indicator of his mental properties. A person manifests itself in the fact that he laughs and pleases, makes him admire and sad, causes anger and stress in him, makes him calm down and come to tenderness. Emotions, as noted above, direct, impulsive reaction of an individual to influences that are significant for him. All evaluative activity of the individual is emotionally colored - from the elementary tone of sensations to the emotional experience of one's worldview, attitude to the world. Emotions are involuntary reactions of an individual to acts of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of his needs, expressed in certain neuropsychic and humoral-vegetative states.

Emotions come into play in any suddenly arising vital situation. They dominate all complex conflict situations, mobilizing reserves of mental and physical energy.

According to the emotional characteristics of the character, individuals differ in a number of parameters: emotional reactivity, excitability, depth, duration and stability of emotional processes, dominant feelings and their subject relatedness. The emotional mood of an individual is an indicator of the tone of his entire life activity.

Success-oriented individuals prefer those activities that lead to a quick and prestigious result. They are characterized by an increased level of claims, and in many cases - defects in self-criticism, moral integrity. Individuals who are predominantly focused on avoiding failure are distinguished by increased demands on themselves, more subtle introspection, and in some cases, excessive timidity and indecision. They in every possible way avoid situations in which behavioral failures and personal losses are possible. Such people are distinguished by another extreme - an underestimated level of claims. The first failures extinguish their interest in this type of activity. They tend to regard their success as an accident.

Evaluation of one's mental capabilities is one of the characteristic features of a person. It is associated with a certain level of anxiety characteristic of a given individual. Highly anxious people are especially sensitive to dangerous situations and tend to disorganize their behavior in these situations.

A person's emotions are associated with his moral positions, honor and conscience, the ability for moral self-control, energy mobilization in directions that are significant for a given personality, the ability to aesthetically enjoy the beautiful and angrily reject the ugly.

The emotionality of the individual is characterized content, quality and dynamics of his emotional processes. The content side of the emotional sphere is responsible for value orientations, general mental orientation. The qualitative side of emotions testifies to the predominant positive or negative modality of the emotional states inherent in this individual. The dynamic emotional properties of an individual include the features of the emergence, course, modification and termination of emotional processes, their external manifestation - expression.

The emotional sphere of an individual is a mechanism for an emergency, spontaneous balancing of his internal states with sudden changes in environment. By the emotional reactions of a person (outwardly expressed or carefully concealed), one can judge the subtle nuances of her vital connections with reality.

Emotional qualities differ natures impressive- emotionally impressionable (increased emotional reactivity), sentimental(increased passive-contemplative emotionality), expressive(increased emotionality associated with violent, impetuous activity) and unemotional.

Intellectual Traits— stable individual-typological features of the intellect.

According to intellectual qualities, natures with a theoretical or practical mindset, varying degrees of flexibility and depth of intellect, and the speed of thought processes are distinguished.

Of decisive importance for the development of human intellect are the system of mental stimulation, the increasingly complex system of socio-cultural communication. Children develop harmoniously, having the opportunity to communicate with constructively thinking people, manipulate a variety of objects, master more complex knowledge and skills from the zone of proximal development.

Among the qualities that characterize the intellectual warehouse of the personality, the productivity of the mind, its originality, the possession of generalized ways of thinking, the stable intellectual orientation of the personality (curiosity), prudence, thoughtfulness, etc.

So, the character of each person is a rich palette of colors and halftones, a unique, unique personal identity. But in the variety of character traits, what stands out is what stands out noticeably on foreground in the regulation of the individual's behavior: the volitional side of his psyche, expressed in an increased ability to control himself in difficult life situations. In these cases, it appears strength of character, which together with integrity and sustainability is basic dynamic qualities of character. Its value quality is determined morality and cognitive orientation.

For an adequate perception and assessment of the various qualities of an individual, it is necessary to observe him in various life situations, especially in situations of difficulties, mental stress. However, one should also remember that it interferes with the adequate perception of a person by a person. To name a few factors of distortion of social perception: misunderstanding of the mental state of people, their true motives and goals, susceptibility to bias, generalization of individual negative manifestations of the personality, search for confirmation of a priori negative assessments, inability to see positive changes in the personality in connection with its exit from crisis states, interpretation of random phenomena as the causes of personality behavior.