Each person, representing a personality, is in a certain relationship with reality, with the people around him. These relationships determine the behavior, the moral character of the individual. It is clear that in the behavior of a person, in his practical reality, his attitude to phenomena and objects, to his comrades, to the team, to his duties, to himself is expressed. Thus, the individual originality of the relationship of a particular person to the world around him is due to social relations, the peculiarities of education and training.
Character is an individual combination of the most stable, essential mental properties of a person, which express his attitude to reality and are manifested in behavior and actions.
The formation of beliefs, ideals, worldview, various knowledge is one of the main conditions for the formation of character. Character combines the orientation of the intellectual, emotional and volitional qualities of the individual.
The scientific definition of character was first given by IP Pavlov. The great physiologist pointed out that the physiological basis of character is an "alloy" of stable systems of temporary first connections acquired in the process of life, and traits such as the higher nervous activity of a person. This "alloy" is formed in specific living conditions, in the process of human activity and changes in connection with changes in the conditions of life and activity. A change in external conditions also causes changes in the resulting system of neural connections. In response to the changed conditions of life and activity, a person reacts with actions adequate to the new conditions, actions that, repeating, are fixed. So, in the cerebral cortex, new, temporary, relatively strong, neural connections are formed, a system that ensures a stable interaction of the individual with the outside world.
Consider the definition of character by domestic scientists.
Character is a psychological warehouse of a person, expressing all directions (relationships to oneself, to people, activities, things and will).
N. D. Levitov
Character is a mental property, that is, a complex and stable formation of a personality, which includes innate (psychophysiological, biopsychic, and acquired (sociopsychological) properties of an individual.
V. V. Boyko
Character - these are individually pronounced and relatively stable psychological traits of a person that affect his behavior and actions.
K. K. Platonov
Structure and character properties
The character structure is a complex formation as a whole, it consists of a number of substructures that express the content and form of character and are manifested in such components as orientation, belief, needs, inclinations, interests, etc.
The content of the character is the orientation of the personality - beliefs, needs, motives, interests, inclinations, ideals, feelings, moral and volitional qualities of the personality. All these components determine the peculiarities of a person's attitude to the world around him - phenomena, events, a team, to himself. The ideological basis of the orientation of the individual is a system of views on nature, society, consciousness, that is, the worldview of the individual.
An important feature of the worldview is conviction. A person's conviction is manifested in such character traits as purposefulness, adherence to principles, exactingness, determination, perseverance.
Need is the need of the organism for certain conditions of life, without which the organism cannot do. The needs of a person, as they are realized, act as forces that impel to activity, that is, as motives for activity. Interests arise and develop on the basis of needs.
Interests are a special attitude of a person to objects and phenomena, expressed in the desire to know them. Interests are divided into material (for things, clothes, food, etc.) and spiritual (cognitive, aesthetic, etc.). Needs and interests are closely related. Interests are formed on the basis of needs, but at the same time, often persistent interests are the basis for the emergence of new needs.
Under the abilities understand the individual psychological characteristics of the individual, ensuring success in activities, in communication and ease of mastering them.
The foundation of the character structure is made up of character traits. There are several groups of character traits. Some of them express the moral orientation of the individual, that is, the attitude to society, the team, to comrades, to oneself. Others are the expression of a person's will. The attitude of a person towards other people is expressed by such character traits as collectivism, humanity, sensitivity, sincerity and justice.
A character trait is understood as those or other features of a person’s personality that systematically manifest themselves in various types his activities and by which one can judge his possible actions in certain conditions.
In the structure of character - there are 2 groups of traits.
character structure
I group of traits II group of traits
The first group of traits includes traits expressing the orientation of the personality (stable. The second group includes intellectual, needs, attitudes, interests, inclinations, ideals, goals), a system of relations to the surrounding volitional, and emotional traits of the character of reality, and representing individually peculiar ways of implementing these relations
In collective activity, new traits of people's character are brought up: mutual assistance, mutual assistance, camaraderie, patriotism.
Humanity is a character trait that expresses a cordial attitude towards a person. Humane attitude means love for a person, sincerity and a benevolent attitude in dealing with people. Humanity and sensitivity are closely related.
Sensitivity is an expression of humanity. Sensitivity means an attentive attitude towards a person, respect for him, sympathy for his experiences, aspirations.
The opposite features of collectivism and humanity are such negative traits character as individualism and selfishness.
Hard work is a character trait that manifests itself in the desire and desire of a person to work. In work, a person experiences a sense of joy, a sense of moral satisfaction. Joy from the process of labor and its results, satisfaction from the public assessment of labor in a particular person are necessary factors in shaping his need to work.
An important character trait that expresses a person's attitude to the results of his work and to the work of other people is thrift. A thrifty person realizes that every thing is created by the labor efforts of many people and one must carefully treat everything that the mind and hands of a person have created. A special concern of people is a thrifty attitude to the public domain, to state property.
A negative attitude towards work is expressed in such negative character traits as laziness, negligence, inertia.
Being in public relations with other people, each person is aware of himself as a person and in a certain way relates to himself, to his behavior, to his actions. Being fixed in practice, this certain attitude towards oneself turns into a trait of character. The main character traits that express the attitude towards one's personality are modesty, self-criticism, self-esteem.
In contrast, sometimes one can observe such negative character traits as arrogance, arrogance, arrogance, expressing exaggerated conceit.
Strong-willed character traits include purposefulness, independence, determination, perseverance, endurance.
The character of each person is a unity of the individual and typical (general).
Individual character traits are most clearly manifested in the characteristics of a person's educational and labor activity, in the characteristics of thinking, attention, memory, imagination and volitional qualities, in all the diversity of the individual's relationship with reality.
Individual character traits are especially clearly expressed in the originality of typical character traits. Each historical epoch and its socio-socialist groups create something in common in the worldview, orientation of people, in their behavior, which determines their character traits as typical for a given historical epoch, for a given social group.
All of the listed personality traits and a number of others, uniting and interdependent, make up a single whole - character. Completeness, integrity, concrete definiteness of character depend on the combination of various character traits, and hence on the conditions of life, upbringing and development. The combination of the formation of individual and typical character traits of the child creates the necessary conditions for the education of a comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality.
This explains the dynamism of the character structure. The structure of character changes, qualitatively rebuilding throughout the life of the individual.
3. Character properties
Character structure is the integrity of the organization of individual character properties that depend on each other and are related to each other.
In Russian psychology, there are 4 systems of character properties determined by various personality relationships:
Global properties of character have an effect on a wide range of behavioral manifestations. It is customary to distinguish 5 global character traits (A. G. Shmelev, M. V. Bodunov, W. Norman).
Local, private properties of character affect private, narrow situations.
Character properties
General (global) properties Private (local) properties self-confidence - insecurity sociability - shyness dominance (leadership) - subordination optimism - despondency consent, friendliness - hostility conscientiousness - shamelessness courage - caution impressionability - "thick-skinned"
conscientiousness - impulsiveness gullibility - suspiciousness daydreaming - practicality anxious vulnerability - calm serenity emotional stability - anxiety delicacy - rudeness independence - conformity (dependence on the group)
self-control - impulsiveness intellectual flexibility - rigidity peacefulness - aggressiveness originality - stereotyping demonstrativeness - modesty active activity - passivity passionate enthusiasm - apathetic lethargy ambition - unpretentiousness delicacy - rudeness flexibility - decisiveness
character accentuation
Accentuation of character is an exaggerated development of individual character traits to the detriment of others, as a result of which interaction with other people worsens. According to the famous German psychiatrist K. Leonhard, in 20-50% of people some character traits are so pointed (accentuated) that under certain circumstances this leads to the same type of conflicts and nervous breakdowns. Accentuation of character is an exaggerated development of individual character traits to the detriment of others, as a result of which interaction with other people worsens. The severity of accentuation can be different - from mild, noticeable only to the immediate environment, to extreme options, when you have to wonder if there is a disease - psychopathy. Psychopathy is a painful deformity of character (while maintaining the intellect of a person), as a result of which relationships with surrounding people are sharply violated; psychopaths can even be socially dangerous to others.
But unlike psychopathy, character accentuations do not appear constantly; over the years, they can significantly smooth out, approach the norm. Leonhard distinguishes 12 types of accentuation, each of which predetermines a person's selective resistance to one life's adversities with increased sensitivity to others, to frequent conflicts of the same type, to certain nervous breakdowns.
In favorable conditions, when it is precisely the weak links of the personality that do not fall under attack, such a person can become outstanding; for example, the accentuation of character according to the so-called exalted type can contribute to the flowering of the talent of an artist, an artist.
Character accentuations are often found in adolescents and young men (50-80%). Often you have to deal with accentuated personalities, and it is important to know and anticipate the specific behavior of such people.
Here is a brief description of the behavioral features depending on the types of accentuation:
1) hyperthymic (hyperactive) - excessively high spirits, always cheerful, talkative, very energetic, independent, strives for leadership, risk, adventures, does not respond to comments, ignores punishment, loses the line of the unlawful, there is no self-criticism;
2) dysthymic - constantly depressed mood, sadness, isolation, reticence, pessimism, burdened by a noisy society, does not closely converge with colleagues, rarely enters into conflicts, more often is a passive side in them;
3) cycloid - sociability changes cyclically (high during a period of high mood and low during a period of depression);
4) emotive (emotional) - excessive sensitivity, vulnerability, deeply worried about the slightest troubles, overly sensitive to comments, failures, therefore he often has a sad mood;
5) demonstrative - expressed the desire to be in the spotlight and achieve their goals at any cost (tears, fainting, scandals, illness, boasting, outfits, unusual hobbies, lies). Easily forgets about his unseemly deeds;
6) excitable - increased irritability, incontinence, aggressiveness, gloom, "boring", but flattery, helpfulness (as a disguise) are possible. A tendency to rudeness and obscene language or silence, slowness in conversation. Actively and often conflicts;
7) stuck - “gets stuck” on his feelings, thoughts, cannot forget insults, “settles scores”, official and domestic intractability, propensity for protracted squabbles, is more often an active party in conflicts;
8) pedantic - pronounced boredom in the form of "experiencing" the details, in the service is able to torture visitors with formal requirements, exhausts the household with excessive accuracy;
9) anxious (psychasthenic) - lowered background of mood, fear for oneself, loved ones, timidity, self-doubt, extreme indecision, long experiences failure, doubts one's actions;
10) exalted (labile) - a very changeable mood, emotions are pronounced, increased distractibility to external events, talkativeness, amorousness;
11) introverted (schizoid, autistic) - low sociability, closed, aloof from everyone, communication out of necessity, immersed in himself, does not tell anything about himself, does not reveal his experiences, although increased vulnerability is characteristic. Restrained, coldly treats other people, even relatives;
12) extroverted (conformal) - high sociability, talkative to the point of talkativeness, has no opinion of his own, is very dependent, strives to be like everyone else, disorganized, prefers to obey.
Recognition of accentuation in the early stages of formation contributes to their softening and weakening. It is important to timely eliminate the circumstances that contribute to their emergence and development. Otherwise, an increase in accentuation may occur, and then the personality of a “difficult”, problem child is formed. He is prone to antisocial acts, conflicts with parents, teachers and peers.
DIAGNOSTICS OF CHARACTER FEATURES
TEST. CHARACTER IS FATE, or DO YOU MANAGE YOUR BEHAVIOR YOURSELF?
The proposed test will help you assess those features of your character that are of no small importance for the career of a business person. To do this, you will need to work with a test card. Take a close look at the 16 symbols depicted on the test card, which are grouped into four groups, conditionally named "movement" (I), "calm" (II), "confidence" (III), "uncertainty" (IV). In each of the groups, choose one symbol that best suits your ideas.
Letter designations Number of points for choosing symbols of symbols
“movement” “calmness” “confidence” “uncertainty”
TEST RESULTS
Differences in the properties of temperament do not exhaust the whole wide complex individual features. The differences that exist between people are diverse and concern all aspects of their lives. People differ not only in external data, but also in mental make-up, behavior, relationships that connect them with the world of other people and objects. Each person is characterized by the originality of the psyche and personality, originality. This shows the individuality of a person. Character is one of the main components of individuality.
The word "character" is widely used in life, in literature. When interacting with other people, each person shows his own character and evaluates it from others. Such definitions of character as “good*”, “bad”, “heavy”, “light*” are generally accepted. When a relationship breaks up, they often say: “We didn’t get along.” People with different characters behave differently in similar circumstances, react and experience differently. If we know the character of another person, we can better understand his actions, choose the optimal style of communication with him, and anticipate his behavior in certain situations.
For example, the class teacher considers which of the students it is more expedient to appoint the head of the class. One of the candidates is a good organizer, but often shows rudeness and harshness in dealing with his comrades. The other is honest, principled, but uncommunicative, it will be difficult for him to establish contacts with all the guys. The class teacher is looking for a student with leadership qualities, conscientious, executive, disciplined.
lined. The better he is able to understand the characteristics of his students, the more successful will be his choice.
Knowledge of character traits is important when hiring people, when they are appointed to a responsible position, and when recruiting groups to perform joint activities. Prevention of conflicts, the establishment of a positive psychological climate in the team, and an increase in the effectiveness of communication also largely depend on this. This fully applies to the management of the educational team and to pedagogical communication, during which the teacher solves important educational, educational and organizational tasks.
The formation of the first scientific ideas about character dates back to ancient times and is associated with the name of Aristotle, who described the differences in mores and ways of thinking in different people. His student, the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus (372-287 BC) systematized these differences and singled out 30 traits by which one can judge the type of person, for example, a flatterer, a pretender, a talker. He also introduced the term "character" into scientific use (Greek charakter - trait, chasing), writing a treatise "Ethical Characters". Subsequently, the French moralist writer J. La Bruyère (1645-1696), who for a long time observed the manners of the nobility, described more than a thousand typical character traits. Russian doctor and psychologist A.F. Lazursky (1874-1917), who considered the study of personality and character one of the main tasks of psychology, created characterology- a section of psychological science about the essence, structure, types and development of character.
At present, character as a holistic personality formation is studied in differential psychology, the subject of which are individual psychological differences between people. Under character is understood as a set of stable, individual characteristics of a person, which determine the typical ways of behavior for him in certain life situations and circumstances.
Unlike temperament, which depends on congenital, anatomical and physiological features, and above all on the properties nervous system, the character of a person is formed during life, in the process of socialization and education, as a person enters into a diverse system of relations with objective reality and other people. The theory of the formation of a person's character, depending on his relationship to reality, was developed by V.N. Myasishchev and B.G. Ananiev. First, the relationship is carried out on a concrete-emotional level. They define experiences
human perception, features of perception of reality, behavioral reactions to external influences. Positive or negative experience of relationships with people also forms the corresponding system of internal relations of the individual. Repeated emotional positive and negative reactions cause more long-term mental states, which are gradually consolidated and become stable personality traits, character traits.
K.K. Platonov identified three main features of character traits: they must be sufficiently pronounced, closely interconnected with other traits, and systematically manifest themselves in various activities.
The terms "personality traits" and "character traits" are often used interchangeably, but they should be distinguished. Personality as psychological education wider than character, which is just one of its substructures. The need-motivational sphere serves as the central link of the personality. Dominant motives, values and goals determine the direction of the individual. The structure of personality traits includes properties that characterize its orientation. For the sake of the main values, a person can show different traits of his character or change them. In this sense, personality is a higher authority than character.
The life path of people, the relationships they enter into, the conditions of upbringing are characterized by originality. They also have different natural prerequisites for the development of individuality, therefore, each person develops a unique set of traits and manifestations of character peculiar only to him. However, along with individual characteristics, the character of each person also has features that are common with other people. This is due to the fact that similar circumstances in the lives of people living in the same social conditions form typical character traits. If earlier many people in our country were characterized by obedience, discipline, passivity, now people who are independent, independent, and enterprising are much more common. In addition, each member of society is also a member of other specific groups - families, study group, production team, various informal communities. Each of them also has its own specific effect on the character of a person. The essence of character lies in the unity of the individual and the typical.
character-forming are not all relationships, but only the most significant, related to the satisfaction of basic life
physical, material and spiritual needs of a person. First of all, these are attitudes to society and other people, to work, to oneself, to things. Currently, more than two thousand traits have been described that are interconnected and form a character structure - stable groups of traits that reflect various types of human relationships to reality.
Relationships with society and other people form moral character traits. Humanity, honesty, adherence to principles, justice characterize a high level of moral development. Selfishness, unscrupulousness, evil disposition, deceit, on the contrary, speak of the moral imperfection of character. In the system of relations with other people special group make up communicative features: benevolence, responsiveness, sensitivity, openness, sincerity, politeness. People with such traits communicate more effectively in a variety of situations: in the family, at work, with colleagues, friends. They are better able to overcome psychological barriers in communication, caused by socio-cultural differences, or negative feelings arising in the course of communication, such as distrust, envy, hostility.
Moral and communicative character traits are professionally significant qualities of a teacher. The manifestation of injustice, hostility, rudeness by a teacher in relation to students indicates his professional incompetence, inability for effective pedagogical communication, and his conflict. The development of professionally significant character traits is as important for a teacher as mastering subject knowledge and pedagogical skills.
In the system of human relations to work, diligence, conscientiousness, responsibility, discipline are formed. Teaching can also be considered as a special kind of labor - educational. Both work and study are connected with overcoming obstacles and require the development of strong-willed character traits - purposefulness, perseverance, independence, and patience. These character traits are important for achieving difficult goals in any kind of activity. Opposite qualities - laziness, irresponsibility, indiscipline, lack of concentration - disorganize activities, do not allow a person to set and solve educational or professional tasks that are important for him.
Self-attitude is formed in the structure of a person's self-consciousness as its cognitive, emotional and evaluative components. WITH early childhood and throughout life, people around him treat the child in a certain way, evaluate his actions
actions and deeds. These relations are internalized and become internal mental relations of a person to himself, traits of his character. Depending on the prevailing types of relationships, modesty or narcissism, self-criticism or self-confidence, pride or humiliation, self-esteem or a sense of inferiority are formed in the character.
Also important for a person are his attitudes towards things. From birth, a child uses a wide variety of things created by the labor of other people. The older he gets, the more he needs various things. Things are toys, and books, and clothes, and utensils, and much more. One child breaks a toy and is scolded for it, another is immediately bought a new one. Someone does not allow a friend to play with his typewriter, and someone distributes all the toys that belong to him. Gradually, the child develops such character traits as accuracy, thrift, generosity, or negative traits - carelessness, wastefulness, greed. In the future, these features will largely determine the lifestyle of a person, the arrangement of his housing, the content of the workplace. Sloppiness, untidiness cause the surrounding people a feeling of disrespect for a person, prevent him from establishing positive industrial and interpersonal relations.
In addition to the listed types of relationships that are most significant for a person, there are many others, for example, relationships to nature, to objects of art, creativity, which, repeating themselves in various life situations and becoming fixed in a way of life, turn into character traits.
In the character of each person there are both positive and negative traits, although their ratio may be different. Sometimes it is quite difficult to define this or that trait as positive or negative due to the existence of many facets and shades within each property. So, thrift can reach the point of stinginess, accuracy - to pedantry. Pride is sometimes perceived by others as arrogance and arrogance, self-confidence as self-confidence. It can be said unambiguously about a rare person that he is kind, evil, energetic or passive.
L.N. warned against this. Tolstoy: “We can say about a person that he is more often kind than evil, more often smart than stupid, more often energetic than apathetic, and vice versa; but it will not be true if we say about one person that he is kind or smart, but about
another that he is evil or stupid. And we always divide people. And this is not true. People are like rivers: the water is the same in all and the same everywhere, but each river is sometimes narrow, sometimes fast, sometimes wide, sometimes quiet, sometimes clean, sometimes cold, sometimes muddy, sometimes warm. So are people. Each person bears in himself the germs of all human qualities and sometimes manifests one, sometimes another, and is often completely unlike himself, remaining all the same one and himself*.
What traits a person often shows, and how other people perceive them, depends on his environment, attitude towards him, mutual understanding. In the processes of communication and education, one should rely on positive character traits. If a child is constantly told that he is bad, he will almost certainly become so. It is important to notice all the positive manifestations of his character and support their development.
Different character traits can be expressed in a person to varying degrees. Separate features are so sharply and excessively expressed that they begin to hinder his adaptation in society and personal development. Character traits that are pronounced, representing extreme variants of the norm, are called accentuations and traits that deviate from the norm - psychopathy. P.B. Gannushkin identified three criteria by which they can be differentiated: totality, stability, social maladaptation. .
The totality lies in the fact that psychopathy manifests itself always and everywhere, regardless of specific conditions, of the harm that this can bring to the person himself or to other people. Stability - that they are shown during many years, sometimes all life. A person constantly has difficulties in interacting with other people - in the family, and in school and at work, which indicates social maladaptation. Totality, stability and social maladjustment with character accentuations also take place, but to a lesser extent and are easier to correct. K. Leonhard and A.E. Lichko described various types of accentuations and psychopathy, for example, the hypertensive type (excessive excitability), asthenic (hypersensitivity and rapid exhaustion), hysteroid (demonstrative behavior), epileptoid (severe irritability, the formation of overvalued ideas), schizoid (violation of emotional contacts with people) and etc. People whose character structure contains accentuations require a special differentiated attitude towards themselves, taking into account their type and degree of severity. As a rule, they need counseling and help from a psychologist. Psychopathies are considered
are pathological character traits, and their treatment requires the professional competence of a psychoneurologist. Accentuations of character are often manifested in teenage schoolchildren. If one of them notices rapid fatigue, frequent affects for no apparent reason, significant difficulties in communicating with peers, failure to maintain distance in communication with adults, isolation and isolation from others, or other deviations in behavior, close attention should be paid to them with by teachers and school psychologists.
Every teacher should be able to observe the activities and behavior of students, determine their character traits and draw up a psychological and pedagogical description of the child's personality. It is advisable to do this from the moment the child enters school during all the years of study, which makes it possible to trace the individual path of his development. Theoretical and methodical work, conducting psychodiagnostic studies of character, developing and applying, if necessary, corrective measures - the tasks of a school psychologist.
11.2. Properties and manifestations of character
The character of a person is determined not only by the totality of his individual features, but also by the properties as a whole. Just as any whole is not equal to the sum of its elements, so the character as a whole acquires qualitatively new properties.
Certainty character is associated with the presence among his features of one or more, the most pronounced, dominant. If there are such traits, the character is called definite, and if they are especially pronounced, bright. In classical literature, many images of characters with bright positive or negative characters have been created. These are almost all the heroes of the comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit", a novel by N.V. Gogol " Dead Souls' and many other works. Some character types are named after one or more of their most striking features. It is enough to say that a person has a “powerful”, “sanctimonious” or “angelic” character in order to be able to judge his personality, actions and deeds. In people with an indefinite character, dominant features are weakly expressed or absent.
Wholeness character is manifested in the internal unity of the orientation of the personality, the dominant character traits and mode of action of a person. People with such a character have goals in life.
and the principles they follow. They usually have no discord between thoughts, feelings and actions, between their aspirations and duty. They are natural in communication, their actions and deeds can be foreseen. Their behavior can change according to circumstances. However, they do not compromise their principles and do not go against their convictions.
The property of character, the opposite of wholeness, is inconsistency. A contradictory character is characterized by a discord of beliefs, principles and actions. The thoughts and feelings of such people, their motives and goals are multidirectional. Depending on the situation or on their mood, they show different traits of character, sometimes directly opposite. Therefore, their actions and actions are often unpredictable. For example, if one of the parents has a conflicting character, this manifests itself in a conflicting parenting style. The child is sometimes overprotected, then left to himself, then he is overcharged, then he is punished without good reason. As a result, he loses orientation for his actions, each time he tries to adapt to new requirements or to the mood of his parents. A kind of contradictory character - character dual, manifested in a double manner of behavior. For example, the head of the production team, who allows rudeness in relations with his subordinates, behaves ingratiatingly with his superior. The inconsistency and duality of character indicate a person's lack of deep convictions, the incompleteness of the moral development of the individual.
Strength or firmness character is determined by the degree of development of a person's volitional traits: purposefulness, determination, perseverance, courage, endurance, which prevail over others. A person with a strong character is able to achieve his goals, show stamina, and resist external circumstances. Weakness is manifested in the inability to uphold one's principles, achieve the intended goals, and complete the work begun.
originality character is expressed in originality, independence, dissimilarity to others. People with such a character are distinguished by bright individual traits, peculiar thinking, and creative abilities. Studies of the lives of prominent people have provided a wealth of material on the characteristics of their character. The original character was noted by Peter the Great, A.S. Pushkin, A. Einstein, K.E. Tsiolkovsky and many other outstanding personalities.
Sustainability character is manifested in the fact that a person over a long period of life retains a tendency to act in a certain way in similar situations. The relative stability of character does not exclude its variability. Character reflects the specifics of life relationships. But the circumstances of a person's life and the types of his relationship to reality can change, which entails a change in character. In some people, the tendency to stability of character prevails, the features of conservatism appear. This is not always favorable for a person, as it can make it difficult to adapt to new conditions. With a sharp change in life circumstances, such people remain committed to the old forms of behavior that do not correspond to new circumstances. The optimum ratio of stability and variability of character is determined by the extent to which a person comprehends the changed circumstances and strives to comply with them by virtue of his convictions, and not mercantile interests.
Character leaves its mark on all forms of behavior and activity. It manifests itself in actions, deeds, verbal and non-verbal communication. In activity, character is expressed in relation to its process and result, in the ability to overcome difficulties and obstacles. Character determines the style of business and interpersonal communication of a person, the ways of his influence on other people. In speech, such character traits as self-confidence, shyness, frankness, intemperance and many others are manifested. If speech, although not to the full extent, lends itself to conscious regulation, then it is much more difficult to mask certain character traits in non-verbal behavior. They can be traced in facial expressions, gestures, in the entire external appearance of a person. Popular wisdom says that character is second nature, and it really is.
11.3. character building
The formation of character begins from the moment a child is born and continues throughout life. The years of early childhood are especially important when its foundations are laid, such traits and properties through which all subsequent educational influences will be refracted as through internal conditions. Purposeful education is decisive for the formation of character. The basis of education is moral
development, persuasion, personal example, the inclusion of a person in various forms of communication and increasingly complex activities - gaming, educational, labor and others, as well as taking into account natural inclinations, individual and age characteristics - The importance of the personality of the educator, his character and examples of behavior that he shows others. The efforts of parents or teachers in educating any character trait may be in vain if it is not inherent in them.
The first sprouts of a person's character are formed in the family. The family is a small social group where the main forms of the child's relationship with other people are formed. In the family, the assimilation of social experience, the development and expansion of the child's relationship to the world around him, people, living and inanimate nature. In some families, these are relationships from the standpoint of goodness and beauty, in others they are based on malice and envy. Depending on the style of family education, children's needs for love, respect, recognition are satisfied to varying degrees, as well as their desire for independence. The character of each child reflects all the features of the family, family relationships and the style of education. For example, hyperprotection contributes to the formation of a pampered, non-independent character; with an authoritarian style, harsh forms of influence on people will be assimilated. A psychologically justified and recommended style of character education is a democratic style with an average, necessary level of care, psychological support for the child, strengthening his faith in his own strengths and abilities.
Further, the child's social contacts expand. He becomes a member of other social groups: educational, sports, etc. He develops a system of business and informal relations in which character continues to develop.
The main condition for the formation of character in the activity is a high level of motivation, understanding of its importance and the need for implementation. What is interesting always causes strong and vivid emotions. Difficult, but interesting task, makes you want to solve it. An interesting question encourages an independent search for an answer. Experience positive emotional states when overcoming difficulties, it will be fixed in the character as his activity, independence, perseverance, perseverance. Reading, classes play an important role in educating the character of schoolchildren. artistic creativity, sports, tourism. Their inclusion in a variety of activities, the expansion of social contacts forms new types of relationships and new character traits.
The formation of many character traits is influenced by the properties of the nervous system and temperament as integral form individual characteristics that characterize the dynamic and emotional side of the psyche and human behavior. The properties of the nervous system serve as a prerequisite for the formation of those character traits, both positive and negative, which depend on the dynamic side of emotional, volitional and other processes. But temperament affects the formation of character is not fatal. A person with a strong character is able to learn to control his temperament. impulsive behavior caused by high dynamism of movements and mental processes, can be overcome at the expense of vitally formed mechanisms of endurance and self-control. In this sense, L.S. Vygotsky called temperament the actual prerequisite of the educational process, and character - its end result.
Character is formed under the influence of many factors, but the main and decisive role in its formation belongs to the person himself. In character education, it is important to include children in the process of self-education as early as possible. It has been established that when the requirements for the child become his own requirements for himself, it is much easier to achieve the desired forms of behavior from him and they soon become stable, turning into character traits. Self-education of character involves orientation to a certain model, the formation of desired traits and properties and overcoming negative ones, for which one has to solve a difficult task - to understand the internal structure of one's character. The path to this lies through the awareness of one's own actions and deeds, through the analysis of their motives and meanings. The main psychological condition for self-education of character is a high level of personal development. The progressive American psychologist D. Dewey wrote: "The deepest aspects of a person's spiritual structure are determined by how he himself relates to the problems of behavior and relationships with others." For self-education of character, it is necessary to have a special motive for self-improvement, which speaks of the maturity and high spirituality of the individual.
© Control questions
1. Why is it said that a person's character is a unity of the individual and the typical?
2. What are the main types of character-forming relations of a person to reality?
3. What are the differences between personality traits and character traits?
4. What basic character traits do you know?
5. What is the relationship between temperament and character?
6. How can one formulate the basic patterns of education and self-education of character?
1. Creator of characterology how Sciences about the character is considered ...
A. Theophrastus.
B.A.F. Azure.
B.B.G. Ananiev. G.K.K. Platonov.
2. What are the sharply pronounced character traits, which are extreme variants of the norm, called?
A. Psychopathy. B. Accentuation.
B. Maladaptation. D. Deviation.
3. Which of the following statements is wrong?
A. Character is manifested in the speed and strength of the assimilation of knowledge. B. Character is manifested in the ability to overcome difficulties.
B. Character is manifested in the actions and deeds of a person.
D. Character is manifested in verbal and non-verbal behavior.
4. Of decisive importance for the formation of character is ...
A. Training. B. Education.
B. Encouragement. D. Punishment...
PSYCHOLOGY OF SENSORY AND PERCEPTIVE PROCESSES
12.1, Feelings in the structure of the psyche and personality
In addition to orientation, self-awareness, abilities, temperament and character, the mental makeup of a person includes a substructure features of mental processes and states. These are the features of various forms of mental reflection, different aspects of a holistic image of the world. We proceed to a consistent description of the vast psychological substructure of the personality, emphasizing two generalized and theoretically important circumstances.
Firstly, it is a reminder of the forced, traditional conventionality of the accepted decomposition of the psyche and personality into separate processes, states and properties. Psychological and personal realities are integral. Nothing in our psyche exists on its own. It's just that sometimes in a particular situation or activity, some aspect of the subjective image becomes the leading one and, as it were, includes all the others. Such an analnti-co-synthetic technique is necessary for the practice of direct psychological research. At the same time, it is also necessary to take into account all other forms of reflection that affect the integrated effectiveness of the process under study. Secondly, when describing each mental process or state, there is always the task of dividing and correlating the particular and the general, the individual and the universal. Any separate property of perception in an individual, for example, can be the same as in all people, and can also act as an essential individual, purely personal feature.
The phenomenon of sensations, the space of human sensitivity (sensory) is extremely rich and carefully studied. In this area of psychology, the experiment is traditionally widely used - psychological and psychophysiological, the mathematical equipment of research is high.
Feeling is a reflection of individual simple signs (or qualities) of objects of the objective world with their direct impact at the moment on the organs of sensitivity.
Let us explain this classical definition. The image of sensation reflects a certain singular, necessarily elementary(not composite, not complex) phenomenon: sound, light, color, pain. Feels something red, light, but not the object itself with these characteristics. Let's say a person feels pain in the liver, but not the liver itself. The everyday expression “feeling of joy” is considered conceptually incorrect, because in this case we are talking about emotions, experiences, but not about sensations. The sensation is characterized by some incompleteness, artificiality, because in real life there is no "pure" work only sensations. They are always "superimposed" by other mental processes.
As stated in the definition, sensation exists precisely at the moment of the corresponding external influence. Otherwise, it cannot be psychologically distinguished, for example, from the image of memory, imagination, hallucinations.
There are many theories of sensations, significant for their relevance not so much to the sensations themselves, but to the understanding of the entire psyche. For instance, receptor the theory states that for the occurrence of a sensation, it is sufficient to have an external influence on the corresponding receptor. The latter is a special device, an organ located on the periphery of the body (in the eye, ear, skin, tongue), in which the physical influence of the environment is converted into a nerve impulse. In the receptor, the material effect is simply "imprinted" in accordance with its anatomical and physiological specifics. reflex theory convincingly proves that for the emergence of sensation it is necessary to have "counter activity" of special reflective movements in the receptor. Such special movements take place in each receptor and are realized at a purely physiological level. These are special "perceptual actions", their whole system, confirming the active nature of the psyche.
The variety of sensations is evidenced by a large number of their classifications on various grounds. The main one is the classical gradation of sensations according to physical modal-
bones stimulus, i.e. on the aspect of the reflected external influence. Here are the following types of sensitivity:
vision as the most important source of information, operating in a huge range of angular values of reflected objects (from 0.5 arc seconds), their brightness (from 10 ~ 7 to 10 s nnt), in a wide range of electromagnetic wave lengths (from red to violet);
hearing, which subtly distinguishes three basic physical characteristics of sound: intensity, pitch and timbre. In addition, the duration of the sound and its spatiality are reflected, and among the complex parameters of the sound sensation, such as volume, density, brightness, and others are distinguished, which are the result of the interaction of sensations of different modalities;
skin sensitivity (touch) includes three different types sensations: tactile (touch and pressure), temperature and pain;
taste sensations that have four main qualities: sweet, sour, bitter and salty, although their real combination is incomparably wider;
■ sense of smell distinguishes six main odors in quality: fruity, floral, resinous, spicy, putrid, burnt. The practical variety of human olfactory sensations is much wider.
Since an individual lives in a world of really integral objects and interacting properties, through-sights are formed in his sensory, or intermodal, sensations, synesthesia. We say: “warm color, heavy look, spicy food”, denoting the result of the joint work of various analyzers, our sensory and life experience.
The second common basis for classifying sensations is their participation in building subjective image of the world:
■S exteroception reflects the properties of the external, surrounding world;
f interoception reflects signals from the internal environment of the body, which the great Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov (1829-1905) called "dark feelings";
S proprioception (or kinesthesia) is the reflection of signals from muscles and tendons, necessary for the regulation of any movements.
As we see, the need for the participation of diverse sensations in the creation and functioning of the psyche is not subject to special proof.
WITH measurements of sensations and sensitivity in many ways began modern experimental psychology. Therefore, we present some basics of psychophysics.
Sensitivity called the ability of a person to have sensations. There are two types of sensitivity: absolute and difference (differential, relative), each of which is measured by thresholds. The measurement of sensitivity thresholds is a rather complex, methodologically multivariate, carefully developed, statistical procedure.
Lower absolute threshold- this is the minimum physical intensity of the stimulus at which it can cause (in more than 50% of cases of presentation) a barely noticeable sensation. Upper absolute threshold- this is the maximum intensity of the stimulus at which it can still be perceived in its modality (without turning into pain) or even perceived.
The difference between the threshold values is called the dynamic range and describes the extreme limits of all kinds of human sensitivity.
Differential sensitivity is, as a rule, of greater importance in the life and practical activities of a person, in professions that place high demands on sensitivity (artist, musician, taster). difference threshold- this is the minimum change in the intensity of the stimulus (or in the strength of two adjacent stimuli) that can be perceived under given conditions of perception.
However, a person perceives not the difference between the two stimuli (L/), but its relation to some initial, background value (/). In its minimum expression, the ratio D / / / = const (constant value for each type of stimulus and sensitivity). This analytical expression is called Weber's law, on the basis of which T. Fechner derived the "basic psychophysical law":
S= k In/ + s,
where 5 - the value of the subjective sensation in conventional units; / - the intensity of the stimulus in physical units; k- coefficient of proportionality, depending on the modality of the stimulus; 1p - natural logarithm; With is the constant of integration.
In psychology, the concept of character (from the Greek character - “seal”, “chasing”) means a set of stable individual characteristics of a person that develops and manifests itself in activity and communication, causing typical behaviors for her.
When they determine the character of a person, they do not say that such and such a person showed courage, truthfulness, frankness, that this person is courageous, truthful, frank, i.e. named qualities - properties this person, traits of his character, which may appear under appropriate circumstances. Knowing the nature of a person makes it possible with a significant degree of probability to foresee and thereby correct the expected actions and deeds. It is not uncommon to say about a person with character: "He should have done just that, he could not have done otherwise - such is his character."
but characteristic can not be considered all the features of a person, but only significant and sustainable. If a person, for example, is not polite enough in a stressful situation, then this does not mean that rudeness and restraint are a property of his character. Sometimes, even very cheerful people can experience a feeling of sadness, but this does not make them whiners and pessimists.
Acting as a lifetime education of a person, character is determined and formed throughout a person's life. The way of life includes the way of thoughts, feelings, impulses, actions in their unity. Therefore, as a certain way of life of a person is formed, the person himself is formed. They play a big role here social conditions and specific life circumstances in which life path man, on the basis of his natural properties and as a result of his deeds and deeds. However, the actual formation of character occurs in groups of different levels of development (family, friendly company, class, sports team, work team, etc.). Depending on which group is the reference group for the individual and what values it supports and cultivates in its environment, the corresponding character traits will develop among its members. Character traits will also depend on the position of the individual in the group, on how he integrates in it. In the team, as a group of a high level of development, the most favorable opportunities are created for the development of the best character traits. This process is mutual, and thanks to the development of the individual, the team itself develops.
Character content, reflecting social influences, influences, constitutes the life orientation of the individual, i.e. her material and spiritual needs, interests, beliefs, ideals, etc. The orientation of the personality determines the goals, the life plan of a person, the degree of his life activity. The character of a person implies the presence of something significant for him in the world, in life, something on which the motives of his actions depend, the goals of his actions, the tasks that he sets himself.
Decisive for understanding character is the relationship between socially and personally significant for a person. Every society has its own major and essential tasks. It is on them that the character of people is formed and tested. Therefore, the concept of "character" refers more to the relationship of these objectively existing tasks. Therefore, character is not just any manifestation of firmness, perseverance, etc. (formal persistence can be just stubbornness), but focus on socially significant activities. It is the orientation of the personality that underlies the unity, integrity, strength of character. Possession of the goals of life is the main condition for the formation of character. A spineless person is characterized by the absence or dispersion of goals. However, the nature and orientation of a person are not the same thing. Good-natured and cheerful can be both a decent, highly moral person, and a person with low, unscrupulous thoughts. The orientation of the individual leaves an imprint on all human behavior. And although behavior is determined not by one impulse, but by an integral system of relations, in this system something always comes to the fore, dominating it, giving a peculiar flavor to the character of a person.
In the formed character, the leading component is the persuasion system. Conviction determines the long-term direction of a person's behavior, his inflexibility in achieving his goals, confidence in the justice and importance of the work he performs. Character traits are closely related to the interests of a person, provided that these interests are stable and deep. The superficiality and instability of interests are often associated with great imitation, with a lack of independence and integrity of a person's personality. And, conversely, the depth and content of interests testify to the purposefulness and perseverance of the individual. The similarity of interests does not imply similar features of character. So, among rationalizers one can find people cheerful and sad, modest and obsessive, egoists and altruists.
Indicative for the understanding of character can also be the affections and interests of a person related to his leisure. They reveal new features, facets of character: for example, L. N. Tolstoy was fond of playing chess, I. P. Pavlov - towns, D. I. Mendeleev - reading adventure novels. Whether a person's spiritual and material needs and interests dominate is determined not only by the thoughts and feelings of the individual, but also by the direction of his activity. No less important is the correspondence of a person's actions to the set goals, since a person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by how she does it. Character can only be understood as a certain unity of direction and mode of action.
People with a similar orientation can go completely different ways to achieve goals and use their own, special, techniques and methods for this. This dissimilarity also determines the specific character of the individual. Character traits, having a certain motivating force, are clearly manifested in a situation of choosing actions or ways of behaving. From this point of view, as a character trait, one can consider the degree of expression of an individual's achievement motivation - his need to achieve success. Depending on this, some people are characterized by the choice of actions that ensure success (showing initiative, competitive activity, striving for risk, etc.), while others are more likely to simply avoid failures (deviation from risk and responsibility, avoiding manifestations of activity, initiative, etc.).
Teaching about character - characterology has a long history of development. The most important problems of characterology for centuries have been the establishment of types of character and their definition by its manifestations in order to predict human behavior in various situations. Since character is a lifetime formation of a personality, most of its existing classifications proceed from grounds that are external, mediated factors in the development of a personality.
One of the most ancient attempts to predict human behavior is to explain its character. date of birth. A variety of ways to predict the fate and character of a person are called horoscopes.
No less popular are attempts to connect the character of a person with his name.
Significant influence on the development of characterology had physiognomy(from the Greek Physis - “nature”, gnomon - “knowing”) - the doctrine of the relationship between the external appearance of a person and his belonging to a certain type of personality, due to which the psychological characteristics of this type can be established by external signs.
Palmistry has no less famous and rich history than the physiognomic trend in characterology. Palmistry(from the Greek Cheir - “hand” and manteia - “fortune-telling”, “prophecy”) - a system for predicting a person’s character traits and his fate according to the skin relief of the palms.
Until recently scientific psychology invariably rejected palmistry, however, the study of the embryonic development of finger patterns in connection with heredity gave impetus to the emergence of a new branch of knowledge - dermatoglyphics.
More valuable, in diagnostic terms, in comparison, say, with physiognomy, can be considered graphology- a science that considers handwriting as a kind of expressive movements that reflect the psychological properties of the writer.
At the same time, the unity, versatility of character do not exclude the fact that in different situations the same person manifests different and even opposite properties. A person can be both very gentle and very demanding, soft and compliant and at the same time firm to the point of inflexibility. And the unity of his character can not only be preserved in spite of this, but it is precisely in this that it manifests itself.
The word "character" in Greek means "seal", "chasing". In the character, as it were, the main, most essential features of a given personality are imprinted, minted, which are steadily manifested in behavior. Thus, character can be defined as an ordered set of stable individual psychological characteristics of a person, which are formed in the process of life and manifest themselves in the ways of a typical reaction of a person in activity, behavior and communication. Character traits are manifested in the educational and professional activities of a person, in his actions in specific life situations, in the features of communication with various people and in various situations. Depending on the characteristics of the character, people can react differently, for example, to failure in a particular type of activity.
One, having failed, will fall into despondency, the other will simply refuse to solve the problem and happily set to something else, the third will only be spurred on by failure, and he will take up the matter with even greater energy and perseverance. When we say that character traits are stable personality traits, we certainly should not understand this as immutability of character traits. In the process of life, certain character traits can undergo certain, sometimes significant changes. However, character traits cannot change quickly and easily, such as, for example, a person's mood.
Change of character is most often a complex and lengthy process. The character can change under the influence of a new experience of human life, as well as as a result of purposeful education and self-education of the individual.
Character is closely connected with the system of relations of the individual to the world, to the surrounding reality. Sometimes they even say that character is a certain system of human relations, only these relations have become quite stable. Still, there is an important difference between the character and attitude of a person to something. Human relationships are, in general, more dynamic, more mobile, and character traits are more unchanged, more static and stable.
In the psychology of character, along with the concept of "character traits", "character traits", there is also the concept of "character accentuation". The concept of "accentuation" was first introduced by the German psychiatrist and psychologist Karl Leonhard. He also developed and described the well-known classification of types of personality accentuation. In our country, another classification has become widespread, proposed by the famous child psychiatrist A. E. Lichko. However, in both approaches, a common understanding of the meaning of accentuation is preserved. In the most concise form, accentuation can be defined as the disharmony of character development, the hypertrophied severity of its individual features, which causes an increased vulnerability of the individual to certain types of influences and makes it difficult to adapt to some specific situations.
At the same time, it is important to note that selective vulnerability to certain types of influences, which occurs with one or another accentuation, can be combined with good or even increased resistance to other influences.
Similarly, difficulties with the adaptation of the personality in some specific situations (associated with this accentuation) can be combined with good and even increased abilities for social adaptation in other situations. At the same time, these “other” situations themselves can be objectively more complex, but not associated with this accentuation.
In the works of K. Leonhard, both the phrase “accentuated personality” and “accentuated character traits” are used, and the concept of “accentuation of personality” remains the main one. The very classification of K. Leonhard is a classification of accentuated personalities. In turn, some psychologists believe that it would be more correct to talk about character accentuations, because in reality it is precisely about the features and typology of character that we are talking about here. Most likely, it is fair to use both combinations - both "accentuated personality" and "accentuation of character."
In Russian psychology, a tradition has developed to clearly and sometimes sharply emphasize the difference between the concepts of "personality" and "character". This means that the concept of personality is broader, including orientation, motives, attitudes, intellect, abilities, and so on. Meanwhile, Western psychologists, speaking of "personality", often mean its characterology. There are certain grounds for this, since character is not only the basis of personality (many people think so, although this is debatable), but above all, integrative education. The system of personality relations, its attitudes, orientations, and so on find their expression in the character. If we turn specifically to the descriptions of various accentuations (it does not matter in what typology - K. Leonhard or A. E. Lichko), then it is easy to see that a significant part of them characterizes the personality in its various aspects. Obviously, it is indeed quite acceptable to use both terms equally and in an equal sense - an accentuated personality and an accentuation of character.
One of the common practical mistakes that we would like to warn against is the interpretation of accentuation as an established pathology. Very often, such an interpretation can not only be heard in oral presentations and lectures, but also found in very respectable publications. However, the identification of accentuations with the psychopathology of character is wrong.
It is possible that this erroneous stereotype was consolidated and became so widely spread because the very concept of "accentuation" appeared and at first was used mainly in clinical psychology.
However, already in the works of K. Leonhard it was specially emphasized that an accentuated personality is not synonymous with a pathological one. Otherwise, only average mediocrity should be considered the norm, and any deviation from it should be considered as a pathology.
K. Leonhard even believed that a person without a hint of accentuation, although not inclined to develop in an unfavorable direction, is just as unlikely that he is any different in a positive direction.
Accentuated personalities, on the contrary, are characterized by a readiness for special development, whether it is socially positive or, on the contrary, socially negative. Summarizing what has been said, we can conclude that accentuation is not a pathology, but an extreme version of the norm. According to various sources, the prevalence of accentuations in society varies greatly and depends on many factors, such as sociocultural characteristics of the environment, gender and age differences, and others.
According to K. Leonhard and his collaborators, the proportion of accentuated personalities in the adult population (empirical data for Germany) is approximately 50%. At the same time, the authors specifically emphasize that in other countries the ratio of accentuated and non-accentuated people may be different.
Although in general the question of the dynamics of accentuations has not yet been sufficiently developed, one can already definitely speak about the sharpening of the features of an accentuated character in adolescence. In the future, obviously, they are smoothed or compensated, as well as the transition of explicit accentuations to hidden ones. In addition, the proportion of accentuated adolescents varies depending on the type and characteristics of the educational institution.
Accent types:
Hyperthymic type. A noticeable feature of the hyperthymic personality type is the constant (or frequent) stay in high spirits, even in the absence of any external reasons for this. Elevated mood is combined with high activity, thirst for activity. Hyperthyms are characterized by sociability, increased talkativeness. They look at life optimistically, without losing this quality even when obstacles arise. Difficulties are often overcome without much difficulty, due to their inherent activity and activity.
According to the available data (A. E. Lichko), the hyperthymic type is among the five most "risky" in terms of delinquency. Along with the unstable type close to him, he firmly occupies a leading position in this criterion. The hyperthymic type, together with the unstable one, is the most significant risk factor for the occurrence of delinquent behavior compared to other accentuations.
Stuck type. The stuck type of personality is distinguished by a high stability of affect, the duration of the emotional response of experiences. An insult to personal interests and dignity is usually not forgotten for a long time and is never forgiven just like that. In this regard, others often characterize them as vindictive and vindictive people. There are reasons for this: the experience of affect is often combined with fantasizing, carrying out a plan of revenge on the offender. The painful resentment of these people is most often clearly visible. They can also be called sensitive and vulnerable, albeit in combination with the above.
Emotive type. Main Feature emotive personality is high sensitivity and deep reactions in the area of subtle emotions. Kindness, kindness, sincerity, emotional responsiveness, highly developed empathy are characteristic. All these features, as a rule, are visible and constantly manifest in the external reactions of the individual in various situations. A characteristic feature is increased tearfulness (as they say, "eyes in a wet place").
Pedantic type. Well-marked external manifestations of this type are increased accuracy, craving for order, indecision and caution. Before doing anything, think long and carefully about everything. Obviously, behind the external pedantry is the unwillingness and inability to change quickly, to accept responsibility. These people do not change jobs unnecessarily, only in the most extreme cases, and then with great difficulty.
Anxious type. The main feature of this type is increased anxiety about possible failures, concern for their own fate and the fate of loved ones. At the same time, as a rule, there are no objective reasons for such concern or they are insignificant. They are distinguished by timidity, sometimes with a manifestation of humility. Constant alertness to external circumstances is combined with self-doubt.
cyclotymic type. The most important feature of the cyclothymic type is the change of hyperthymic and dysthymic states. Such changes are frequent and systematic. In the hyperthymic phase of behavior, joyful events cause not only joyful emotions in cyclothymes, but also a thirst for activity, increased talkativeness, and activity. Sad events cause not only grief, but also depression. In this state, slowness of reactions and thinking, slowing down and decrease in emotional response are characteristic.
Demonstrative type. The central feature of a demonstrative personality is the need and constant desire to impress, attract attention, be in the center. This manifests itself in vain, often deliberate behavior, in particular in such traits as self-praise, perception and presentation of oneself as the central character of any situation. Much of what such a person says about himself often turns out to be a figment of fantasy or a greatly embellished account of events.
excitable type. A feature of an excitable personality is a pronounced impulsive behavior. The manner of communication and behavior largely depends not on logic, not on the rational understanding of one's actions, but is due to impulse, attraction, instinct or uncontrollable impulses. In the field of social interaction, representatives of this type are characterized by extremely low tolerance, which can also be regarded as a lack of tolerance in general.
According to various psychological studies, this type is the second or third most common in the group of delinquents. It is important to note not only that the excitable type is one of the most common among delinquents, but also that it is excitable accentuators who are the most frequent participants in violent offenses, that is, those illegal actions that are especially dangerous from a social point of view and have, moreover, the most severe legal consequences.
Dysthymic type. The dysthymic personality is the antipode of the hyperthymic one. Dystimics tend to focus on the dark, sad side of life. This is manifested in everything: in behavior, and in communication, and in the peculiarities of the perception of life, events and other people (socio-perceptual features). Usually these people are serious by nature. Activity, and even more so hyperactivity, is completely uncharacteristic of them.
exalted type. The main feature of an exalted personality is a violent, exalted reaction to what is happening. They are easily delighted with joyful events and despair with sad ones. They are distinguished by extreme impressionability about any event or fact. At the same time, inner impressionability and a tendency to experiences find a vivid external expression in their behavior.
In psychology, the concept of "character" (Greek "seal", "chasing") means a set of stable individual characteristics of a person that are formed and manifested in activity and communication, causing her typical behaviors.
The basis of character develops gradually, strengthens in the process of life and becomes typical for a given person, and specific manifestations of character can change depending on the situation in which a person is, under the influence of people with whom he communicates.
Structure:
Most researchers single out two sides in the structure of the existing character: content and form. They are inseparable from each other and constitute an organic unity. Character content constitutes the life orientation of the individual, i.e. its material and spiritual needs, interests, ideals and social attitudes. The content of the character is manifested in the form of certain individual-peculiar relations that speak of the selective activity of a person. In different forms of character expressed various ways manifestations of relationships, temperament, fixed emotional-volitional characteristics of behavior.
Common to character and temperament is their dependence on the physiological characteristics of a person, and above all on the type of nervous system. Temperament determines in character such traits as balanced behavior, ease or difficulty of entering a new situation, mobility of reaction, etc. (however, it does not predetermine character). The properties of temperament can, to some extent, even come into conflict with the character (for example, a tendency to melancholy and working capacity). In a person with a formed character, temperament ceases to be an independent form of personality manifestation. It becomes the dynamic side of the character and determines the emotional orientation, the speed of the course of mental processes and the manifestation of personality. Ultimately, the traits of temperament and character are organically linked and interact with each other in a single holistic image of a person, forming an inseparable alloy - an integral characteristic of his personality.
The character has long been identified with will person. The expression "man of character" was considered as a synonym for the expression "strong-willed man". Will is associated with the strength of character, its firmness, determination. On the one hand, in volitional deeds, character develops and manifests itself in them - volitional deeds in situations significant for the individual pass into the character of a person, fixing themselves in it as relatively stable properties of it; on the other hand, these properties determine the behavior of a person, his volitional actions. Volitional character is distinguished by certainty, constancy and independence, firmness in the implementation of the intended goal.
A number of researchers (A.G. Kovalev, V.V. Bogoslovsky, L.N. Shcherbakov) distinguish beliefs as one of the components in the character structure. They believe that conviction determines the principled behavior of a person, confidence in the justice and importance of the cause to which he devotes his strength. Conviction is manifested in such character traits as purposefulness, adherence to principles, optimism, exactingness to oneself and others.
The peculiarity of character is also reflected in the peculiarities of the flow of human feelings. When talking about character, they usually pay attention to emotional properties of personality. What a person loves and what he hates, what he is indifferent to - all this in a certain way characterizes him as a person. Thus, there is a relationship between feelings and character traits. On the one hand, the level of development of moral, aesthetic and intellectual feelings depends on the nature of a person's activity and communication, as well as on the character traits formed on this basis. On the other hand, these feelings themselves become characteristic stable features of the personality, thus constituting the character of a person.
Character is an inseparable whole. However, it is impossible to study and understand such a complex whole as character without highlighting individual aspects or typical manifestations in it, the so-called character traits. Character traits are understood as individual habitual forms of human behavior in which his attitude to reality is realized. Character traits must be considered and evaluated in relation to each other. Each character trait acquires its own meaning, often completely different, depending on its relationship with other traits. For example, caution without a combination of decisiveness can make a person inactive.
In the structure of character, researchers distinguish the following groups of traits.
The first group includes traits expressing the orientation of the individual. These are stable needs, interests, inclinations, goals and ideals, as well as a system of relations to the surrounding reality. These traits are individually peculiar ways of realizing the relationship of the individual to reality.
The second group includes intellectual, strong-willed and emotional character traits.
In the most general form, all character traits can be divided into main, leading ones, which set the general direction for the development of the entire complex of its manifestations, and secondary ones, determined by the main ones. For example, if the leading feature is indecisiveness, then a person first of all fears "no matter how something happens", so even if he tries to help his neighbors, it will end in inner feelings and self-justifications. If the leading feature is altruism, then the person does not hesitate to help his neighbor. Knowledge of the leading features allows you to reflect the essence of the character, to show its main manifestations.
Properties:
There are four systems of character properties determined by various personality relationships.
1. Properties that express the attitude towards the team and individuals (kindness, responsiveness, exactingness, arrogance, etc.).
2. Properties expressing the attitude to work (industriousness, laziness, conscientiousness, responsible or irresponsible attitude to work, etc.).
3. Properties that express the attitude towards things (neatness or carelessness, careful or careless handling of things, etc.).
4. Properties that express the attitude towards oneself (self-love, ambition, vanity, pride, conceit, modesty, etc.).
32. Specificity of individual work in psychocorrectional practice.
Psychological correction (psychocorrection)- one of the types psychological help(among the others: psychological counseling, psychological training, psychotherapy); activities aimed at correcting the features of psychological development that do not correspond to the optimal model, using special means psychological impact; as well as - activities aimed at developing the necessary psychological qualities in a person to increase his socialization and adaptation to changing living conditions.
Psychocorrective influences can be of the following types: persuasion, suggestion, imitation, reinforcement. Distinguish between individual and group psychocorrection. V individual the psychologist works with the client one on one in the absence of unauthorized persons. V group- work takes place immediately with a group of clients with similar problems, the effect is achieved through the interaction and mutual influence of people on each other.
The advantage of individual psycho-correction is that it provides confidentiality, secrecy, and, by its result, is deeper than group one. All attention of the psychologist is directed only to one person. Individual psycho-correction is convenient because it better reveals the characteristics of the client, removes his psychological barriers that inevitably arise and are difficult to overcome when a person has to speak frankly in the presence of other people.
But this type of psychocorrection is ineffective in solving interpersonal problems that require work in a group.
The necessary conditions for individual psychological correction are the following:
voluntary consent to receive such assistance;
client's trust in the psychologist;
the activity of the client and his creative and research attitude to his own problems;
the right of the client to accept or not accept the assistance provided;
the right of the client to decide for himself the issues in his life.
An important personal prerequisite for effective work is the desire of the psychologist himself for self-actualization and personal growth. The development of psycho-correction must begin with oneself, with constant work on the development of flexibility, spontaneity and courage. Personal growth implies a realistic attitude towards oneself, constant openness to new experience, readiness to change internally, explore and create oneself, take responsibility for one's decisions and actions.
The form of individual psycho-correction is chosen in the following cases:
When the client's problems are individual, not interpersonal;
When sufficiently strong methods of psychological influence are used and the client must be constantly kept under supervision and control;
When a client has severe anxiety;
When severe inhibition is detected;
With self-doubt;
With unreasonable fears;
With problems of insufficient self-awareness;
With the loss of the meaning and purpose of life.
Sometimes it also happens that, due to the nature of the problem, the client needs group work, but he categorically refuses to work in the group. Then, as a first step towards rehabilitation, individual work can be used. And gradually, as far as readiness, bring the client to the realization of the need to be included in group work.
Contraindications for group psycho-correctional work can be severe excitability and emotional imbalance of the client, difficult character, physical illness, insufficient level of intellectual or moral development, etc. With potent psycho-corrective procedures, such people may experience emotional stress or an emotional breakdown.
For other reasons, the client may consciously or unconsciously interfere with the work of other members of the group.
Individual psychocorrection helps only those who have real psychological or behavioral problems. The presence of such problems can be established by a professional psychologist or realized by the client himself. Sometimes it seems to a person that he has problems, although in fact they are not. Sometimes, on the contrary, it seems that there is no problem, although in fact it exists.
Psychocorrection can do little to help people whose psychological or behavioral abnormalities are caused by serious organic diseases. For such people, the help of psychotherapists or psychiatrists is needed.
The main methods of individual psycho-correctional influence
1. Persuasion. Mainly applied to people with high level intellectual development and the ability to independently cope with their psychological problems. These are, as a rule, people with sufficiently developed willpower, but before the start of the psychocorrectional impact, they are not convinced that they really have problems that are worth working on, or simply do not believe that with the help of a psychologist they will be able to solve these problems. .
2. Suggestion. “This is a simpler, and for the client - less effective way of influencing than persuasion, since the client's will is not involved in suggestion, which can enhance the psycho-corrective effect. But on the other hand, using suggestion, you can quickly achieve the desired result, since this method does not require lengthy explanations and lengthy discussions between the psychologist and the client. But on the other hand, an influence based on pure suggestion disappears faster than an influence based on persuasion. The basis of suggestion is the mechanism of the psychologist's direct influence on the client's subconscious, on the use of not only the mind, but also feelings and emotions. Suggestion is usually used in conditions when the client's attention and consciousness are distracted by something. best condition for suggestion is a situation in which the client is introduced into a state of complete relaxation. This can only be done by specialists who have the appropriate education and are professionally proficient in technology.
