For many years, various researchers have sought to build character typologies in psychology. One of the first authoritative attempts was made by the German psychologist and psychiatrist Kretschmer at the beginning of the 20th century. Later, his classification was developed by his American colleague Sheldon. Among recent studies, it is worth noting the work of Leonhard, Fromm, Lichko and several other scientists.
The principle of typologies
It should be noted that in determining the typology of character in psychology, almost all researchers proceeded from a list of general ideas. Among them were several main ones.
Most modern researchers base their theories on the fact that a person’s character is formed as early as possible, and then throughout the rest of his life he manifests himself as a more or less stable system. The combination of personality traits that are part of the character of a particular person cannot be considered random. Various types are formed from them, which allow one to build and display typologies of characters.
Finally, of great importance is the fact that almost all people in accordance with these typologies can be divided into certain groups.
Person's character
Modern scientists give a fairly accurate definition of the nature of man in psychology. It is believed that these are structures of relatively constant and persistent mental properties that determine the behavior of an individual and the characteristics of relationships.
Also, speaking of the human character, as a rule, they imply a certain combination of qualities and personality traits, due to which a certain seal is imposed on its actions and manifestations. This is how an individual character is formed in psychology.
It is important to understand what character traits are made up of. These are the essential properties of the individual that determine the way of life, this or that way of behavior. There is a special science that deals with the study of characters, it is called characterology. There is also a section, differential psychology, which studies the differences between characters.
How to determine the character?
Currently, to determine the psychological type of a person’s personality , psychology tests on character help. Now a large number of various questionnaires and tests are used that can give an answer with a greater or lesser degree of reliability.
The most common tests for determining types of human character in psychology are the Luscher color test, the Hans Eisenck test, the Leonard Schmishek questionnaire on character accentuation, and the Kettell test for 12-18 year olds.
Karl Leonhard
In this article we will look at some of the most common character typologies in psychology. One of the most famous classifications was developed by the German researcher Karl Leonhard. This is a psychiatrist who was the first in the world to actively use the term "accentuated personality." Despite the fact that his concept was based on previously formulated ideas of “latent psychopathies,” he developed them by creating an independent teaching.
Leonhard was born on the territory of the German Empire in 1904. At one time, his theory was a real scientific breakthrough, but now it is considered somewhat outdated. It was later replaced by several other typologies of character in psychology, but all of them were somehow based on the work of a German psychiatrist.
Leonhard lived to 84 years. He died in Berlin in 1988, when he was already living in the German Democratic Republic. His ideas are set forth in a monograph entitled "Accentuated Personalities," which consists of two parts. The first part provides a detailed clinical and psychological analysis of accentuated personalities, and the second, in fact, serves as an illustration, since it describes the characteristics of the heroes of classical world literature in accordance with one or another type of character. As a basis, Leonhard took the works of writers from different countries. Among them are Shakespeare, Cervantes, Goethe, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Stendhal and many others.
Classification of a German Psychiatrist
Leongard defined types of character in psychology, evaluating the person’s communication style with people around him. At the same time, he developed and represented independent types of characters.
- Hypertensive type. Such people are distinguished by talkativeness, extreme contact, the severity of facial expressions and gestures. A person can regularly deviate in communication from the original topic of conversation, he may constantly have episodic conflicts with other people due to the fact that he is too frivolous about family and official duties. As a rule, such people themselves become initiators of conflicts. Moreover, they have many positive features that attract partners for communication. This is a thirst for activity, energy, initiative, optimism. Of the repulsive traits, one can note a tendency to immoral acts, frivolity, and increased irritability.
- The disty type. The man is laconic, not contact, pessimistic about the surrounding reality, leads a maximally closed way of life. At the same time, he appreciates friends and is ready to obey them.
- Cycloid type. He is characterized by regular mood swings, which changes the way he communicates with people around him.
- Excitable type. Such a person is characterized by low contact in communication, slow non-verbal and verbal reactions. Such people are prone to abuse and rudeness, gloomy and boring, constantly provoke conflicts.
- Stuck type. These are moderately sociable people, prone to moralizing, very taciturn. In any case, they strive to achieve maximum performance, make themselves more demanding. Vulnerable and touchy, sensitive to social justice.
- Pedantic type. They practically do not enter into conflicts, as a whole they behave passively. At work, they make many claims and demands on others, behave like bureaucrats.
- Disturbing type. People from this group are characterized by timidity and low contact. They are mostly depressed mood, they feel insecure. They rarely come into conflict with others; they play an extremely passive role in them.
- Emotive type. Such people prefer to communicate exclusively with the chosen ones. They carry grievances deep within themselves. People are attracted by compassion, kindness, and have a heightened sense of duty. At the same time they are very tearful and sensitive.
- Demonstration type. These people easily establish contacts with completely strangers, love to be praised, strive for leadership and power. Demonstrating high adaptability, prone to intrigue. At the same time, those around him are annoyed by their own self-confidence, boasting, hypocrisy. Attracted by exceptional artistry, courtesy, extraordinary deeds and thinking, they are able to captivate others with some kind of idea.
- Exalted type. Amorous and talkative people. They constantly argue, but rarely bring matters to conflict. They are attentive to friends, altruistic, ready to sympathize and show sincerity. They repel susceptibility to momentary moods, alarmism.
- Extraverted type. These are contact people with lots of friends and acquaintances. They always have many friends and close friends who are open to communication and any information. They attract others with their commitment, willingness to listen to another person. Many do not like because of their frivolity, passion for entertainment, rash acts, regularly participate in the spread of rumors.
- Introverted Type. These are closed people, divorced from reality. They love to be alone. They have strong beliefs about life, strict principles. At the same time, they are ready to stubbornly uphold their ideals, even if they are fundamentally wrong, stubborn.
It is worth emphasizing that this classification applies mainly to adults.
Andrey Lichko
In Russian psychology, a typology of character according to A.E. Lichko is very popular. This is a domestic psychiatrist, doctor of medical sciences. He was born in the Leningrad region in 1926. Graduate of the Leningrad Pavlov Medical Institute. His research interests included the treatment and diagnosis of mental disorders in adolescence.
He created his own typology of personalities based on the work of Leonhard and his compatriot Pyotr Borisovich Gannushkin. His monograph “Psychopathies and accentuations of character in adolescents” was popular, which was published in 1977. In fact, it still remains a reference book for domestic psychologists and psychiatrists.
Much attention was paid to the popularization of science. He was the executive secretary in the editorial board of the Journal of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, edited the Review of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology named after V. M. Bekhterev.
New theory
The theory developed by Leonhard quickly enough proved how useful and reliable it is, how it can effectively determine the typology of personality traits. However, there was a significant problem in it, which was that its use was limited by the age of the subjects. This questionnaire was designed exclusively for adults. Children and even adolescents who did not have the appropriate life experience simply could not answer a number of questions. As a result, it was not possible to classify character accentuations.
Lichko undertook to solve this problem. He finalized the test of the German psychiatrist, so that it became possible to use it for children and adolescents. Also changed descriptions of types of accentuation, changed some names and added new ones. According to Lichko, it is more advisable to study accentuations in adolescents, since most of them are already formed before adolescence, becoming brighter in a certain period of life. The description of these characters was as a result expanded by new data.
Personality accentuation
The author of a typology of character accentuations was the first to propose the use of this term in official scientific literature. He replaced it with the earlier concept of accentuation of personality. The main motive for this was the fact that the personality characteristics of a person cannot be generalized by this concept, since they are much wider, they also include worldview, education, perceptual characteristics, and reaction to external stimuli.
In psychology, character accentuation is a temporary change in the character of an individual that can disappear or radically change in the process of development and growth of a child. The fact is that character is an external reflection of the type of our nervous system; it becomes a specific characteristic of the characteristics of human behavior. Changes that occur with a teenager can last a lifetime or go into psychopathy. Moreover, the path of accentuation is determined by its severity, type and social environment.
As a result, this definition is finally entrenched in psychology. Character accentuation is a concept that for many years has determined the development of characterology.
At the same time, Lichko, like Leonard, considered accentuation to be only one of the options for character deformation, in which individual features acquire additional expression. All this increases the sensitivity of the individual to one type of influence, making adaptation difficult in other cases. As a result, a person has the ability to adapt at a fairly high level. At the same time, with some types of influences that do not hurt the place of least resistance, accented individuals cope much more successfully.
Lichko himself conceived the accentuation as a kind of borderline state between psychopathy and the norm. In this regard, the classification itself is largely based on the typology of psychopathy that existed at that time. In total, eleven varieties were identified by Soviet scientists.
Hypertensive and cycloid
The hypertensive type is characteristic of people who are poor strategists, but brilliant tactics. They are entrepreneurial, resourceful, active, easy to navigate in changing circumstances. Due to this, they can significantly improve their social and official position, move up the career ladder. But at a certain moment they tend to lose their position due to the inability to calculate certain actions in advance, often they are mistaken in people.
People with a hyperthymic type are sociable, active, entrepreneurial, they are always in a good mood, at least in public. Children are restless, mobile, often indulge and play pranks. Teenagers learn unstable, discipline is lame in them. Because of this, conflicts arise with representatives of the older generation. They always have a lot of superficial hobbies, none of which really interest them. In life, they constantly overestimate their capabilities.
Cycloid accentuation is inherent in apathetic and irritable people. In childhood, they constantly want to stay alone, do not like to play with peers. Any trouble is very difficult, in response to any comments are very annoyed, even if they are the most harmless. In adolescents with cycloid accentuation, mood changes dramatically.
In adulthood, the sharpest corners are smoothed out, but some can get stuck on their complexes, turning into melancholy and oppressed individuals. Often their mood depends on the time of year.
Sensitive, schizoid and hysteroid types
Representatives of the sensitive type are characterized by high sensitivity to any events, both frightening and joyful. Teenagers shun mobile and active games, do not like big companies and leprosy. With strangers they are bashful and fearful, give the impression of closed people. Moreover, for truly close ones they become loyal and good comrades. They do not like to communicate with peers, preferring people much older or younger than themselves. They treat their parents with love, they are afraid to upset them, therefore they are always obedient.
All this leads to the likelihood of the development of the inferiority complex, it is difficult for them to adapt in the new team. They make high moral demands on themselves and others. With reverence, they are complex activities that are very responsible.
Teenagers of the schizoid type prefer loneliness to communication with peers, in extreme cases - the company of older people. They are not interested in communicating with other people, remaining demonstrably indifferent to him. They often do not understand their feelings and feelings, they do not show sincere sympathy for others. They also hide their own emotions, as a rule, they lack mutual understanding with their peers, which is why they are hostile to them.
Representatives of the hysteroid type love that all attention be paid to them, they are artistic and demonstrative in nature. When in their presence they praise someone else, they strive to occupy an exceptional position, to draw general attention to themselves, to influence others as much as possible. They often become the organizers of some projects and events. At the same time, their organizational abilities are extremely undeveloped, it is difficult for them to earn authority from their peers, to become their informal leaders, although they constantly want this.
Conformal, psychasthenic and paranoid types
Conformal type minors do not have their own opinions, they are not critical of themselves, are not initiative. They are very easy to subordinate to any authority or group of people. The lifestyle of most of them in any situation can be characterized by the words "be like everyone else." Moreover, they are very conservative and prone to moralizing. To protect their interests, they are even ready for very unseemly acts, which are explained and justified.
Adolescents of a psychasthenic type are prone to deep introspection, reflection, assessment of the behavior of the people around them. In terms of their intellectual development, they are ahead of their peers; their indecision is combined with peremptory views and judgments, self-confidence. When they need attention and prudence, they are often prone to impulsive actions. With age, the representatives of the psychasthenic type change little. Often this results in drug or alcohol use. In relationships, they are petty and oppressive, this prevents them from normal communication with people around them.
Interestingly, the paranoid type is not always included in the Lichko classification. The fact is that its main manifestations appear only after 30, or even 40 years. In adolescence and especially childhood, its representatives are usually attributed to schizoid or epileptoid accentuation. In adulthood, overestimated self-esteem begins to come to the fore, the idea of ​​one's own exceptionalism. They differ from crazy ideas only in that they are perceived by others as quite real, albeit unreasonably high.
Unstable, emotionally labile and epileptoid types
Teenagers with an unstable personality type constantly gravitate to idleness and entertainment. They have no life goals and interests in life, they are of little concern to the future. Surrounding in most cases they are characterized as people swimming with the flow.
Children with an emotionally labile personality type are characterized by strong and regular mood swings, their behavior is unpredictable to others. It is noteworthy that any trifles can become the reason for such mood changes. For example, an unfriendly phrase or an oblique look. When they are in a bad mood, adolescents with an emotionally labile personality type feel the need to support loved ones. They feel well how others relate to them.
At an early age, representatives of the epileptoid type are very tearful. But when they grow up, they begin to offend the little ones themselves, they prefer to scoff at those who are not able to fight back. They are characterized by cruelty, power and pride. In a society of other children, they strive not only to become leaders, but real rulers. In groups that take control, they establish the most rigid, sometimes even autocratic orders. Able to please management, often occupy influential posts due to this.