The characters of people in psychology: description, types, personality traits, features

Speaking about the character of a person, we usually mean the individual’s reactions to various events occurring in his life, as well as to those people who surround him. But from the point of view of psychology, this concept is even more complex. The fact is that scientists counted more than five hundred different character traits. Moreover, not all of them are only positive or negative. During their assessment, much depends on the context. In this regard, any person who has gathered certain qualities in one or another proportion can be considered truly unique.

Thus, the character of a person is concrete, inherent in only one combination of ordered and personal psychological traits, nuances and features. Its formation lasts throughout life and finds its manifestation in the process of labor activity, as well as social interaction.

Assessing the character of a particular person and describing him is not an easy task. The fact is that some personality traits, both good and bad, are not shown to others and remain in the shadows.

Character concept

What do we mean by this term? The word "character" in Greek means "seal". In psychology, this concept means a set of personality traits that are formed during the period of growing up and are clearly manifested in the future in the personal and public life of a person. The result of this process is a stable and uniform behavior of the individual in certain situations.

However, the permanent traits of a person’s character in psychology are not identical to the personality traits of the person. A simple example can serve as confirmation of this. A person in a stressful situation showed rudeness and restraint. But we are well aware that such behavior does not mean that he has just such a character. One can speak about personality traits only with the regular manifestation of such incontinence.

To determine the concept of "character of people" in psychology, a lot of transcripts and deep definitions are used. But most often this term means the following:

• a system of sustainable behavior that promotes the formation of personality type;
• the line located at the junction between the inner world of the individual and the surrounding reality in which he is, or a way of adapting the personality to the outside world;
• a pronounced system of behavioral reactions to specific stimuli.

Character formation

The characteristics of a person are greatly influenced by the activity of the nervous system, or more precisely, its type. The dynamics of its manifestation is dictated by the environment.

In psychology, the formation of a person’s character is considered during the period when he grows, develops and interacts with the outside world. Moreover, this process directly depends on the lifestyle of the individual, in which there is not only a physical component, but also a spiritual one, that is, impulses, feelings, thoughts, etc.

The character of a person gradually changes in a natural way. Moreover, this process depends primarily on age. So, the youthful impulsiveness is replacing the childish reaction of immediacy, which, in turn, after a dozen or two years, turns into adult judgment. In addition, with age, the character becomes not so positive. In old age, he is usually pronounced negative. Is it possible to change the character of a person? In psychology, there are different opinions on this. It is likely that specialists will argue for a long time on this topic.

In short, the character of a person in psychology is a complex relationship that exists between the orientation of the individual and social influence. Its main components are spiritual and material needs, as well as interests, beliefs and the like.

Personality traits

Based on the opinion of experts in the field of psychology, the characters of people are formed under the influence of the social group, which includes a specific individual. This can be a family, work collective, friends, etc. The group that is dominant for a person will contribute to the formation of certain character traits. An important role will be played by the position of the individual, as well as the degree of his interaction with those people who, like him, are members of this collective.

When considering the characteristics of a person’s character in psychology, several groups of personality traits are identified that represent an unchanging and stable stereotype of behavior. In a general sense, they can be classified into leading and secondary. The first of them reflect the essence of character. Moreover, they show the most important and basic manifestations of it. Minor character traits are expressed only in certain conditions. However, they are not decisive.

The characters of people in psychology are divided into 4 groups. The first of them includes those personality traits that make up its foundation, or, as they say, the core. This includes, for example, insincerity and honesty, cowardice and integrity, cowardice, courage, etc.

The second group includes traits that are manifested in a person during his communication with other people. This can be contempt and respect, anger, kindness, etc. Some personality traits that indicate a desire for active communication are included in this group. This corresponds to such qualities as collectivism, respect for others, kindness to others and sensitivity. But opposite manifestations are also possible, indicating the individual's desire for limited communication. Related to this is restraint and soullessness, contempt for others, and so on.

The third group includes those traits that characterize a person’s attitude to himself. This is modesty and pride, vanity and arrogance, self-criticism, etc.

The fourth group is the attitude to their achievements and their own work. It is known that people look at the process and results of their work with a wide variety of emotions. And it depends on the industriousness of a person, his organization, responsibility and creativity. Such feelings are manifested in the case of a positive attitude to their work. If the individual is lazy, then there is sloppiness, dishonesty and so on. This takes place with an indifferent (negative) attitude towards work.

Among the character traits of people in psychology, another group is additionally distinguished. It indicates the attitude of the individual towards things. It can be, for example, accuracy or, on the contrary, sloppiness.

Typological properties of various character traits are divided into abnormal as well as normal. The owners of the first of them are people who have certain mental illnesses. Normal character traits are inherent in someone who has no mental abnormalities. Sometimes personality traits from this classification can be both abnormal and normal. A concrete conclusion can be made by the degree of their severity. An example of this is healthy suspiciousness. But in the case when she begins to go through the roof, a similar character trait is called paranoia.

Character and temperament

It is believed that both of these concepts mean the same thing. For the correct answer to the question, it is necessary to turn to the explanations that exist in psychology. In this scientific direction, there are four official views on the interaction of character and temperament:

1. Identification. These two concepts are considered equal in meaning.
2. The contrast. This position underlines the fundamental difference between the two concepts.
3. Acknowledgment that temperament is part or even core of character.
4. The opinion of temperament as the actual foundation for the development of character.

As you can see, scientific views on these concepts are fundamentally different from each other. Nevertheless, the character and temperament have a general dependence on the physiological abilities of the individual. That is, from those that the human nervous system possesses. Moreover, it is temperament that has the main influence on the formation of certain personality traits. Among them, a calm reaction, an adequate perception of a specific situation, poise, etc. However, temperament for character formation is not a predetermining factor. Confirmation of this can serve people with the same temperament and different personality traits.

Character types

In the arsenal of psychology there are many theories of various orientations. Some of them relate to the character of a person, who at the same time is divided into various types.

Consider the most common of these scientific ideas.

Kretschmer Theory

The personality and character of man in psychology, this German scientist divided into three main groups. To each of them he attributed people with different physiological data:

1. Asthenics. Such people have a thin physique, thin legs and arms, and also quite weak muscles. In Kretschmer psychology, such an individual corresponds to the personality and character of a person of the schizotymic type. These are people who are inherent in stubbornness and poor adaptation to a changing environment, as well as isolation.
2. Athletics These people have a fairly strong muscular body and an xixotic type of character. Such an individual stands out for his calm, practicality, power, restraint.
3. Picnics. The figures of such people are quite dense and in most cases are overweight. Picnics can be distinguished by a large head, a short neck and fine features. Their character stands out for sociability, quick adaptation to changing conditions and emotionality.

Karl Gustav Jung's Theory

This famous Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist created at first glance a fairly simple classification of characters, but at the same time quite deep.

In the theory of K. G. Jung, the interaction of the conscious and the unconscious is considered. The scientist identified the following types of people in psychology and character:

1. Extraverts. The activities and reactions of these people largely depend on the outside world, on surrounding people and events. Extroverts are pleasant and sociable interlocutors, funny and open, with a lot of friends. They try to take everything from life, with little concern for their own health.
2. Introverts. People with this type of character are more guided by their own feelings and feelings. It is quite difficult for others to understand them. Introverts are constantly uncommunicative and closed, suspicious, distinguished by the desire to analyze everything, have very few friends.
3. Ambiverts. In psychology, the character and individuality of a person belonging to this type is considered as a combination of the two previous ones. Moreover, the ambiverts borrowed all the best from extroverts and introverts. Such people are great analysts. They have a subtle soul and are periodically prone to the desire to remain alone. At the same time, ambivers have such charisma, humor and wit that they can easily become the soul of a large company.

Hippocratic Theory

This ancient physician and thinker is considered the creator of one of the main ideas that examine the human essence. In those days, the basis of his theory was the physiological component of people. However, the concept developed by Hippocrates was constantly being revised, and a couple of centuries ago, began to study the 4 types of human character proposed by him and psychology. Among them are the following:

1. Choleric. People with this type of character are quite passionate, quick-tempered, and sometimes aggressive. It is difficult for them to control their emotions, as well as reactions that manifest themselves on the influence of irritating factors in the outside world. Choleric people are prone to frequent outbursts of anger, sudden changes in mood and other sudden changes in behavior. They spend their energy very quickly and deplete their supply of strength.
2. Sanguine. This type of character includes cheerful and moving people. They, like choleric people, are characterized by sudden mood swings. But at the same time, they have a stable and quick response to external factors. Sanguine people are purposeful and productive.
3. Phlegmatic person. These are rather reserved people who practically do not show their emotions. They are unhurried, have a balanced psyche, are persistent and persistent in work.
4. Melancholic. Such people are impressionable and very vulnerable. They are keenly experiencing their own failures. In the presence of external stimuli, melancholy exhibit sharp reactions.

Psychology considers four types of human character proposed by Hippocrates today. They are considered basic and at the same time rarely appear in their pure form. Each person may have features of each of these types, but only those belonging to one of them will be dominant. From this, it can be concluded that each of us is an individual, complex, multifaceted and unusual person.

Can I change my character?

Many people believe that personality traits are what is given to us once and for all. However, it is not. The character of a person is not some kind of rigid system. It merely determines the individual’s tendency to act in one way or another. A person is able to start acting in different situations in a completely different style. What needs to be done for this? Change your habits, the combination of which is character. This can be done, for example, by copying the behavior of other people. This method is the most natural and simple.

If there is no person nearby whose character would become a good example for changing one’s traits, one should look for the necessary types in literary works or films. Finally, you can come up with the perfect hero. After that, it will be necessary to imagine the behavior of this person in the current situation as often as possible, pondering what he would say or do to solve the problems that arose.

As we see, in the question of whether it is possible to change the character of a person, in psychology an affirmative answer can be found.

What is our interlocutor like?

How to find out the character of a person? In psychology, several techniques are proposed, the use of which will allow to find out the main personality traits of the interlocutor.

This will help to find an approach and build the right relationship with it even before you can get to know it well.

How to determine the character of a person? In psychology, it is recommended to do this according to the following parameters:

1. Appearance. In psychology, the nature of a person’s face is recommended to be determined by the eyes of the interlocutor. It is necessary to pay attention to their location relative to the bridge of the nose, as well as color. People with dark eyes, as a rule, have an explosive and quick-tempered character. They are smart, sensitive, witty and quite selective in the choice of friends. Bright eyes give out a romantic, sentimental and sensitive person. The rich colors of the iris indicate a person arrogant and arrogant. Small eyes belong, as a rule, to people gloomy, silent and closed. But the big-eyed are sensual and courageous, because of which they most often become leaders. If the interlocutor’s eyelids are somewhat swollen, then he is likely to be tempestuous.
2. Behavior. It is specific actions in a given situation that are the key to unraveling the nature of man. If the individual is active, then he is most likely a sanguine person or choleric. The first of them are quickly carried away by business, but they can also suddenly lose interest in him. Cholerics are scattered, impulsive and unrestrained. Secretive interlocutors can be phlegmatic or melancholic. The first of them will certainly begin to ponder each of their actions, showing extreme slowness. Frequent depression is not surprising for melancholic people, during which they enjoy self-pity. An enclosed person is usually an introvert. He will certainly prefer solitude and loneliness. The opposite of such people are extroverts who prefer large and fun companies.
3. Appearance and figure. Chubby and short people are mostly talkative and sociable. It’s easy to talk with them. , . , .
4. Handwriting. When writing energetic people, all letters tend to go up. Moreover, their handwriting is straightforward. If the individual is ambitious, then he makes the capital letters disproportionately large. If they are in the written text only slightly higher than lowercase, then about such a person we can say that he is unpretentious and modest.