Social type of personality. Personality structure: social personality types

Soul ... Consciousness ... Personality ... Which only the highest minds did not puzzle over these concepts. The world-famous psychoanalyst Z. Freud first introduced the structural concept of personality as a dynamic entity.

Personality study

One of the main directions in sociology is to explore the personality as a social type. This is due to the fact that this definition makes it possible to understand how a society functions taking into account the interests and needs of each individual person, and it can also be used to judge the development of the environment.

In the study of the concept of "personality", scientists focused on the use of six approaches:

1. Dialectical-materialistic: initially, a person is a social being whose development depends on biology, upbringing, social environment and self-education skills.
2. Anthropological: personality is the bearer of universal human properties.
3. Normative: personality - a social being who has consciousness and the ability to act.
4. Sociological: a person is a person who embodies and realizes socially significant traits and qualities.
5. Personalistic: the main means of personality formation is "I - perception." Personality - a set of mental reactions of a person to the opinion of others around him.
6. Biological and genetic: a person’s bioprogram determines his behavior.

Thus, the concept of “personality” is multifaceted. It characterizes a person as a subject and an object of biosocial relations and as a unifying principle in him of individual, social and universal features. Those traits that are most often manifested in a member of society, and form a personality type.

Personality device

This definition includes three levels: biological, psychological and social. The first consists of the natural qualities of a person: this is the structure of the body, and temperament, and sexual characteristics. The second combines the psychological properties associated with heredity (will, memory, feelings, thinking).

The third level has sublevels described as follows:

1. Sociological: interests of the personality, its motives of behavior, life experience, goals and so on. The sublevel is in close connection with public consciousness.
2. Specifically cultural. This includes all values ​​and norms of human behavior.
3. Moral. This is the moral part of the personality.

Personality structure. Social personality types

Of course, the above system of levels is rather crude and abstract, but nevertheless is the basis for further study. Psychologist S. L. Rubinstein used three answers to research a person: “What does he want, what attracts and what does he strive for?” The answers open the door to the mystery of the individual’s personality.

K. K. Platonov identified four personality substructures:

1. Orientation, which includes beliefs, worldview, desires, drives, interests. At this level, moral qualities are manifested, as well as various human relationships.
2. Experience manifested in skills, knowledge, skills. Here is the development of individuality through accumulated historical experience.
3. Personal features of mental processes and functions.
4. Biological features (gender, age, type of nervous system, and so on).

A. N. Leontyev gives the definition of personality as a special quality only of social origin. A well-known psychologist says about the structure that it is “a stable configuration of the main, motivational, hierarchical lines within itself.

Thus, the core of the functioning of the personality is the core of motivational structures. The next level is the way to implement motives (personality traits, social roles, and so on). Features of a person’s relationship with himself and the world are enclosed in the third substructure. The connection of all human characteristics, constantly manifested by environmental influences, is the social type of personality.

Studies determining the type of individual

The concept of “personality as a social type” has attracted many researchers. For example, Aristotle grouped traits and thereby divided people into “virtues” and “vicious”. K. G. Jung described personalities who were converted into themselves ("Yin"), and focused on the outside world ("Yang"). In psychology, they began to be called introverts and extroverts. They also identified types of people - sensory, logic, emotive and intuition. The basis of the first type is sensation, the second is thinking, the third is emotions, and the fourth is intuition. D. Moreno and T. Parsons created a role theory of personality. It states that each individual in the social system takes its own specific place (status). Each status contains a series of roles performed by a person.

Typology of the individual

Through the system of upbringing and education, taking into account the requirements of society, a social type of personality begins to take shape. Sociology believes that personality is what connects mental processes and gives stability and consistency to behavior. The following theories played an important role in structuring the type: psychobiological (W. Sheldon), biosocial (G. Allport, C. Rogers), psychostatic (D. Eisenck, R. Kettel), psychosocial (K. Horney, K. Adler).

Typologies are different. For example, M. Weber has laid the foundation for his system of rationality. E. Fromm, determining the social type of personality, divides him into receptive, accumulative, exploitative, market.

Today in sociology it is customary to distinguish the following types of individuals:

1. Traditionalist. The main values ​​of such a person are duty, order, discipline. It lacks the desire for self-realization.
2. Idealist. A type with a denial refers to traditions, is independent, does not recognize authorities. Often engaged in self-development.
3. Frustrated. The person has a low self-esteem, often complains about health and depression.
4. Realist. People of this type are responsible, control their emotions, are engaged in self-realization.
5. Hedonist. Most often, such a person seeks to receive pleasure, to achieve his desires.

Also distinguish socio-psychological personality types:

1. "Figures." For representatives of this type, the main task is to change other people and themselves. They are active, self-sufficient, responsible.
2. The Thinkers. An example of this species is the image of a sage who is called to reflect and observe.
3. "Emotional". This includes individuals based on feelings, emotions, intuition. These are bright, creative personalities that can appreciate beauty.
4. "Humanists." This type has a very developed empathy. He perfectly senses the state of mind of a person.

Of course, the mixed social type of personality is most often found. We can say that in every person lives a sage, activist and humanist.

How to determine the type of personality. Test

There are many methods for researching your personality. The most common are:

1. Leonhard test. The questionnaire consists of 88 questions that must be answered “yes” or “no”. The result will be an accentuation of character, that is, the most characteristic feature for this individual will be revealed.
2. Dutch test. Here are 42 pairs of professions, from which it is necessary to choose the most preferred. The result is a definition of your type.
3. Typological Questioning Casey. Consists of 70 questions with suggested answers. You need to choose one statement. As a result, the definition of a personality profile.