Our character is the subject of study by psychologists from the very beginnings of the development of science psychology. Dozens, or even hundreds of attempts to create a classification of types of person's character did not lead to a single correct method of determination. As a result, we have reached the point that we confuse the concept of temperament, character , personality, and all this we call it as we please. Let us make at least a little clarity in the definition of the main types of character if not on the scale of psychology, then at least for their own personal use in the lexicon.
What is character?
Let's start with the definition. Character is a set of more or less stable personality traits, that is, our sudden reaction, and rash actions are not 100% evidence of the type of character. The character manifests itself through the deliberate realization of the goals , in contrast to the innate temperament, the character is formed and improved. The traits and types of character are influenced by culture, environment, everyday life and innate qualities of temperament and physiology.
Synonyms for character can be dedication, will, and consistency, resulting in a contradictory term - "spinelessness." Uninspiring person is guided not by his life's attitudes, but by coincidence, by the will of other people, he floats with the flow. That is, in the life of such a person, the decisive role is played not by his internal qualities, but by external circumstances.
Types of character
The most detailed description of the types of character in psychology was given by Kretschmer, an American psychotherapist. Although attempts were made by other experts of personal psychology - Sheldon, Fromm, Personally, Leonhard.
Kretschmer related the constitution of the body and the types of personality, although, as it later turned out, this was only a good guess, because the author had no scientific and experimental support. So, let's look at the constitutions of the body:
- asthenic type - thin skin, thinness, narrow shoulders, poorly developed musculature;
- Athletic type - wide chest, shoulders, well developed muscles, medium or above average growth;
- picnic type - short neck, powerful head, with low physical activity obesity.
These three types were divided into two, according to their propensity for mental illness.
There are schizotimics and cyclotomics. Schizotimics are people prone to schizophrenia. To this psychological type of character is considered athletic and asthenic people. Schizotimics are distinguished by aristocracy, subtlety of feelings and egoism. They like to talk about the high, do not show emotions, look dry, cold and alienated.
Cyclotimics are people who, with mental disorders, are most often diagnosed with manic-depressive psychosis. In life they are picnic type - chatty, sociable, humorous and love intimate gatherings.
All other classifications were based on Kretschmer's original theory. It turned out that really people with a certain structure are prone to a certain set of mental disorders that arise when a certain set of qualities is accentuated in the character of a person.
It turns out that our congenital complexion is the verdict of a future diagnosis of schizophrenia or manic-depressive disorder? By no means. Units acquire these diseases, because in the power of each of us to keep a hand on the pulse of harmonious development of the psyche and a satisfactory state of complexion.