Dynamic features of an individual’s mental activity. Types of human temperament. On style characteristics in adulthood
dynamic characteristics of human mental activity; behavioral features determined primarily by the general type of higher nervous activity.
Let us describe those aspects of temperament that determine the typical characteristics of people’s behavior in a communication situation.
Choleric – a restless, impatient person, with a huge supply of nervous and mental energy, which determines his high performance, mobility, and activity in all spheres of life. It is these people that we are accustomed to calling “temperamental,” meaning indomitability and vivid external expression of feelings, speed of reactions, general emotionality and mobility. Such a person speaks very quickly, with rich facial expressions and gestures, his face is mobile (as a result of which it sometimes becomes covered with early wrinkles).
Cholerics are people who are fast in everything: they walk quickly, they make decisions quickly. They are characterized by impulsiveness. First they will say, then they will think, first they will do, and then, alas, they will regret it. They are highly emotional, passionate, affective, have poor control over their feelings, are angry and touchy in communication, and their state of anger and resentment persists for a long time. Due to their high excitability, impulsiveness and their inherent harshness, they are conflict-ridden, aggressive, and do not know how and cannot wait. If such a person has an appointment, but for some reason the partner is delayed, then the choleric person’s impatience reaches a climax, which is expressed in motor restlessness, fussiness, and verbosity.
In general, the communication style of a choleric person in terms of emotional and volitional coloring is distinguished by high expressiveness, brightness and a wealth of means used (Fig. 22.1), and the main features of this style - activity, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, touchiness, restlessness - do not depend on the position and status of the interlocutor or partner . If a person is calm and compliant at work, but angry, irritable and aggressive at home, in this case we are not talking about temperament, but about character, since manifestations of character are always consistent with a specific social situation.
Sanguine – fast, sociable, balanced, lively, as a rule, with a constantly even good mood. It seems that the art of communication is given to such a person by nature. It’s not for nothing that sanguine people are sometimes called “sunny people.” Such a person is quick-witted, quickly switches both emotionally and intellectually; sometimes too quickly, without finishing one thing, he grabs onto another, without strengthening one relationship, he makes new acquaintances. Such people easily navigate new environments and quickly make contacts. Having moved to a new place of residence, within a week a sanguine person gets to know all the inhabitants of the house, knows their names, where their children study, etc.
Phlegmatic person– balanced, calm, reserved, peaceful, unemotional. No matter how funny what was said, he will only smile at the corners of his lips. The peacefulness of a phlegmatic person often turns into a kind of peacemaking: when such a person is in a team, clashes over trifles and quarrels arise less often. A phlegmatic person, as a rule, is reliable in everything: in work, in human relationships. Slow, but plans everything very well. In contacts he is selective and uninitiative. If you are traveling with such a person on a train, then until you speak to him, you may not hear the sound of his voice: he will be looking out the window, reading a newspaper. But if you start talking, he may turn out to be a pleasant companion.
Rice. 22.1. Expressiveness in communication
Such people are very patient, calm, and difficult to anger; they are real “masters of waiting.”
Melancholic – vulnerable, sensitive, impressionable person; Due to high sensitivity, he gets tired faster and is irritable. If he puts a wristwatch under his pillow, he may not fall asleep, since its ticking will disturb him, while a sanguine or phlegmatic person can easily tolerate the hourly chime of a large wall clock.
In the sphere of human relationships, the sensitivity of a melancholic person turns into a rare and wonderful human property - delicacy. Such a person takes everything to heart, but will not offend another person with a careless or awkward word.
Melancholic people are characterized by “vocal” and “expressive” restraint - a quiet voice, taciturnity, isolation and secrecy in relationships; stiffness and poverty of gestures and facial expressions; shyness, indecisiveness, constant doubts; V contacts – high selectivity and caution.
Such a person does not adapt well to a new environment; having moved to a new house, even a year later he does not know who lives on his landing; loves unchanging order in the environment and everyday life, does not tolerate changes and disruptions of what was planned. A melancholic person is characterized by irritable weakness in difficult situations or during emotional overexcitation, impressionability, dependence on mood, and anxiety; he often overestimates troubles and misfortunes. At the same time, there is no better worker in occupations that require high concentration and meticulous execution. Such people are prone to introspection and self-blame if something goes wrong or does not go according to plan.
So, in a communication situation, representatives of certain types of temperament exhibit different properties: choleric - sociable, expansive, quick-tempered, aggressive; sanguine – sociable, easy-going, flexible; phlegmatic – passive, peace-loving, reliable, unemotional; melancholic – irritable, vulnerable, withdrawn, anxious.
Temperament types also manifest themselves differently in situations decision making– official or personal. The choleric person is characterized by hasty decisions, the sanguine person - flexible, the phlegmatic person - justified, the melancholic person - rigid (he does not change his decisions when the situation changes; in addition, he does not have final decisions - they are constantly revised and discussed).
In a situation conflict a choleric person often escalates, usually blaming others rather than himself, and more often resorts to the method of “explosion” (in the terminology of A. S. Makarenko), that is, he strives to aggravate contradictions, identify them and, if possible, eliminate them.
A sanguine person in a conflict situation is characterized by flexibility, sufficient compliance, and the search for common positions and agreement. A phlegmatic person tends to delay a decision and discuss the situation comprehensively; in a team, such a person prefers methods of collective psychotherapy or the path of self-regulation.
For a melancholic person, a conflict situation is very significant and difficult; More often there is an avoidance of decisions, a desire for compromise, passivity, and shifting responsibility to others.
Of course, significant adjustments to behavior in a conflict situation are made by education and self-education, as well as a person’s character.
Extroversion - introversion. The intensity of communication, the need for it, and some external features of the communication style depend on extrovert or introvert is this person. These two types of people differ in their orientation either to external impressions and activities, or to internal life and introspection. Choleric and sanguine people are, as a rule, extroverts, melancholic and phlegmatic people are introverts.
Based on psychological literature, one can draw a generalized portrait extrovert. This is, as a rule, an impulsive person who gives in easily, but sometimes he is unreasonably stubborn and cocky. He is always on the move; playful, superficial, vain, intemperate, expansive, tends to exaggerate. Such a person is very prone to public speaking, telling jokes and stories, and laughing a lot; easily makes friends and comrades, does not tolerate loneliness well.
Introvert – calm, persistent, sedate, reserved, reserved, reliable; subject to introspective thoughts, laughs little, has depressive tendencies, and is not inclined to bodily pleasures. He is never bored with himself, he does not tolerate noisy companies, and gravitates towards solitude.
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1. Higher nervous activity
2. Dynamic features of the psyche
3. Historical aspect of the study of temperament
4. Properties of temperament
Bibliography
1. Higher nervous activity
In order for a person’s behavior to be successful, it is necessary that his internal states, the external conditions in which the person finds himself, and the practical actions he takes correspond to each other.
At the physiological level, the unification function is provided by the nervous system.
The process of interaction of the organism with the environment is the result of the formation of a complex system of temporary connections between various centers of the nervous system.
Perception, processing of information coming from outside and the development of an adequate response of the body are carried out due to the processes of brain activity.
The main processes occurring in the nervous system are the processes of excitation and inhibition; their dynamic alternation leads to certain reactions of the body.
The physiology of higher nervous activity occupies an important place among biological disciplines and is essential for understanding the physiological mechanisms of certain mental phenomena and complex forms of adaptive man.
This section of psychophysiology was created by the outstanding scientist I.P. Pavlov and his school. They identified several basic types of nervous systems through numerous experiments on dogs. Pavlov I.P. was the first to propose a strictly substantiated approach to the study of mental processes that underlie complex forms of behavior and are the result of brain activity.
According to Pavlov's definition, internal activity is the forms of activity of the organism aimed at the interaction of the organism with the external environment. GND is carried out due to the dominant influence of the cerebral cortex on increasingly ancient nervous structures, i.e. The cerebral cortex is the highest coordination center.
Pavlov considered the conditioned reflex to be the functional unit of GNI. The concept of reflex and reflex activity was introduced into biology by R. Descartes, who discovered the reflex nature of simple motor acts.
An unconditioned reflex is an innate reaction of the body that reflexively arises in response to the specific influence of a stimulus, the influence of a stimulus, the influence of a biologically significant stimulus that is adequate for a given type of activity.
A conditioned reflex is an individually acquired reaction of the body to a previously indifferent stimulus, reproducing an unconditioned reflex.
The conditioned reflex is based on the formation of new or modification of existing neural connections that occur under the influence of changes in the external and internal environment.
In 1863, the work of the brilliant physiologist I.M. appeared in Russia. Sechenov “Reflexes of the Brain”, where the idea was first expressed that the basis of mental processes is the reflex principle, a person is a psychophysiological unity.
A special place in the science of behavior is occupied by the concepts of Pavlov’s student, P.K. Anokhin, called the theory of functional systems. Anokhin considers a living organism as a functional system that works to obtain a result. Currently, this theory is the leading one in explaining the principle of nervous regulation and organization of an integral behavioral act.
2. Dynamic features of the psyche
In individual psychological differences between people, dynamic features of the psyche occupy a significant place.
Dynamic properties mean the degree of intensity of mental processes and states, one or another speed of their occurrence.
An individually unique, naturally determined set of dynamic manifestations of the psyche is called human temperament. Speaking about the manifestation of temperament in different spheres of the psyche, there are three spheres of manifestation of temperament: general activity, characteristics of the motor sphere and properties of emotionality.
General activity determined by the intensity and total volume of human interaction with the environment - physical and social. According to this parameter, a person can be inert, passive, calm, proactive, active, impetuous.
Manifestations of temperament in motor sphere can be considered as particular expressions of general activity. These include tempo, speed, rhythm.
When they talk about emotionality as a manifestation of temperament, they mean impressionability, sensitivity, impulsiveness.
The history of the study of higher brain functions is closely connected with the study of mental activity, the beginning of which dates back to ancient times. The first generalizations concerning the essence of the psyche can be found in the works of ancient Greek scientists. For modern ideas about the work of the brain, the discovery of I.P. was decisive. Pavlov’s principle of conditioned reflex communication - the conditioned reflex - is this unique functional unit, the main and most characteristic type of brain activity, the basis on which the GNI, almost all behavior of a highly developed organism, is ultimately built.
VND is the conditioned reflex activity of the leading parts of the brain, ensuring adequate and most perfect relations of the whole organism to the outside world, i.e. behavior.
However, temperament today remains a largely controversial and unresolved problem. However, with all the variety of approaches to the problem, scientists and practitioners recognize that temperament is the biological foundation on which the personality is formed as a social being, temperament reflects the dynamic aspects of behavior, mainly of an innate nature, therefore the properties of temperament are the most stable and constant in comparison with other mental characteristics of a person.
Temperament should be understood as individually unique properties of the psyche that determine the dynamics of a person’s mental activity, which, equally manifested in a variety of activities, regardless of its content, goals, motives, remain constant in adulthood and in interconnection characterize the type of temperament.
The four main types of temperament are four types of behavior.
They are divided not only by quantity, but also by basic characteristics and correspond to 4 classic types of temperament:
Strong, balanced, agile - sanguine;
Strong, balanced, inert - phlegmatic;
A strong, unbalanced type with a predominance of excitement - choleric;
The weak type is melancholic.
Typology I.P. Pavlova was supplemented with new elements, numerous methods were developed for studying the properties of the human nervous system, and two more properties of nervous processes were experimentally identified and described: lability and dynamism.
Lability is the rate of emergence and cessation of nervous processes.
Dynamism - the ease and speed of formation of positive (dynamic excitation) and inhibitory (dynamic inhibition) conditioned reflexes.
Currently, many facts about the properties of the nervous system have been accumulated. Nowadays, greater importance is attached to the study of the properties of the nervous system, the manifestations of which, i.e. Characteristics of temperament constitute an important aspect of individual psychological differences.
Temperament should be understood as individually unique properties of the psyche that determine the dynamics of a person’s mental activity, which are equally manifested in a variety of activities, regardless of its content, goals, motives, remain constant in adulthood and in their mutual connection characterize the type of temperament.
Temperament is a stable relationship between a person’s characteristics, characterizing various aspects of his mental activity.
It represents a general characteristic of human higher nervous activity and expresses the basic natural properties of the nervous system.
The structure of temperament is traditionally divided into three leading components related to the areas of general activity, motor skills and emotionality. The first component has the broadest significance, the essence of which is the individual’s tendency to self-expression, effective mastery and transformation of reality. The second component, the motor component, is closely related to it. Among the dynamic qualities, which are distinguished, such as speed, strength, rhythm, amplitude and a number of other signs of muscle movement. Manifestations of muscle and speech motor skills appear most clearly and therefore often serve as the basis for judging the temperament of a particular person. The third main component of temperament is emotionality; it is characterized by the peculiarities of the emergence and course of various feelings, experiences and moods. This is the most complex component of temperament, having its own branched structure.
The named components form in acts of human behavior a unique unity of motivation, action and experience, which acts as a holistic manifestation of temperament.
To give a complete psychological description of all types of T., it is necessary to highlight the following basic properties of T.:
- Sensitivity is determined by the minimum force of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any mental reaction in a person, the speed of occurrence of this reaction.
- Reactivity characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of equal strength
- Activity indicates how intensely a person influences the outside world and overcomes obstacles in achieving goals.
Temperament is a set of formal dynamic characteristics of behavior. First of all, the energy level of behavior: its intensity, speed, pace, emotional characteristics of behavior. General activity and emotionality are one of the main properties of temperament. A distinctive feature of temperament is its stability. Temperament is the result of the interaction of two factors: hereditary and environmental.
3. Historical aspect of the study of temperament
In the history of the doctrine of personality, three main systems of views on the question of the factors that determine the manifestations of temperament can be distinguished. The oldest are humoral theories that connect temperament with the properties of certain fluids in the body. This group of theories was most clearly represented by the classification based on the teachings of Hippocrates. The idea and doctrine of temperament in its origins go back to the works of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. He described the main types of temperament with the relationship of various fluids in the body: blood, lymph and bile.
The first classification was proposed by the physician Claudius Galen. According to his teaching, the type of temperament depends on the predominance of one of the juices in the body. They identified temperaments that are still popular today: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic.
Since ancient times, a significant diversity of behavior has been observed, coinciding with differences in physique and physiological functions, and attempts have been made to streamline them. Temperament properties, understood as hereditary or congenital, were associated with individual differences in body composition. These typologies are called constitutionals.
The typology proposed by E. Kretschmer became the most widespread; in 1921 he published the work “Body Structure and Character.” The main idea was that people with a certain body type have certain mental characteristics. After taking many body measurements, I identified 4 constitutional types. Morphological theories of temperament also include the concept of the American psychologist W. Sheldon, who, like Kretschmer, defends the idea of the bodily conditioning of various personality traits.
The last known description of it, used in modern psychology, belongs to the German philosopher I. Kant. In this classification of temperaments according to Kant, properties are repeatedly mentioned that relate not only to the dynamic characteristics of a person’s psyche and behavior, but also to the nature of the typical actions he performs. The properties of temperament exist and are manifested not by themselves, but in a person’s actions in various socially significant situations.
A person's temperament definitely influences the formation of his character, but character itself expresses a person not so much as a physical being, but as a spiritual being.
Each of the presented types of temperament in itself is neither good nor bad. Manifesting itself in the dynamic characteristics of the human psyche and behavior, each type of temperament can have its own advantages and disadvantages.
The type of person’s temperament must be taken into account where the work makes special demands on the specified dynamic features of the activity.
The properties of temperament include those distinctive features of a person that determine the dynamic aspects of all his types of activity, characterize the peculiarities of the course of mental processes, are more or less stable in nature, persist for a long time, appearing soon after birth. It is believed that the properties of temperament are determined mainly by the properties of the human nervous system.
4. Properties of temperament
The properties of temperament include those distinctive individual characteristics of a person that determine the dynamic aspects of all his types of activity, characterize the peculiarities of the course of mental processes, are more or less stable in nature, persist for a long time, appearing soon after birth. It is believed that the properties of temperament are determined mainly by the properties of the human nervous system.
The psychological characteristics of temperament are not the properties of the nervous system themselves or their combination, but the typical features of the course of mental processes and behavior that these properties give rise to.
A certain combination of temperamental properties, manifested in a person’s cognitive processes, actions and communication, determines his individual style of activity.
It is a system of dynamic characteristics of activity, depending on temperament, which contains work techniques that are typical for a given person.
There are no better or worse temperaments, each of them has its own positive sides, so the main efforts should not be aimed at correcting it, but at the reasonable use of its advantages in specific activities.
Features of an individual style of activity may either coincide or diverge from temperament.
Personality and temperament are also interconnected.
Personality is a stable system of socially significant traits that characterize an individual as a member of society and community.
The personality structure includes abilities, temperament, character, volitional qualities, emotions, motivation, and social attitudes.
Temperament includes qualities that influence a person's reactions to other people and social circumstances. Personality is a formation that is vitally stable in its basic manifestations. The stability of a person characterizes the sequence of her actions and the predictability of her behavior, giving her actions a natural character. A sense of stability of one’s own personality and the personality of another is an important condition for a person’s internal well-being and the establishment of normal relationships with other people.
The most stable are the dynamic features associated with innate anatomical and physiological inclinations and the properties of the nervous system. These include temperament, emotional reactivity, extroversion-introversion, etc.
For the practical study of personality, the division into four main types of temperament and their psychological characteristics provide a good basis. Therefore, it should be noted that the sanguine temperament is characterized by fairly high neuropsychic activity, variety and richness of facial expressions and movements, and emotional sensitivity.
Choleric temperament - a high level of neuropsychic and energy of action, sharpness and swiftness of movements, strength, impulsiveness and vivid expression of emotional experiences.
The temperament of a phlegmatic person is characterized by a relatively low level of behavioral activity and difficulty in switching, slowness and calmness of actions, facial expressions and speech, significant reactivity, depth and stability of feelings with weak external expression.
Since the formation of temperamental characteristics is a process that depends on the development of volitional personality traits, the formation of moral and volitional aspects of character is of paramount importance for the education of temperament. Mastering your behavior will mean the formation of positive qualities of temperament.
But temperament must be strictly distinguished from character.
Temperament does not characterize the content side of a person (worldview, views, beliefs, interests, etc.), does not determine the value of an individual or the limit of achievements possible for a given person. It relates only to the dynamic side of mental activity. Character is associated with the content side of personality. In the process of character development, temperament properties undergo changes, due to which the same initial properties can lead to the formation of different character properties depending on living conditions and activities.
In all its manifestations, temperament is determined by the specific content of a person’s life.
Temperament directly manifests itself in the fact that it is easier for one person and more difficult for another to develop the necessary behavioral reactions; different people need different methods for developing certain mental qualities.
With any temperament, you can develop all valuable personality traits. However, specific methods for developing these properties significantly depend on temperament.
Wilhelm Wundt “In the everyday joys and sorrows of life one must be sanguine, in important events of life - melancholic, in relation to impressions that deeply affect our interests - choleric, in the execution of a once made decision - phlegmatic.”
Bibliography
1. Rossolimo T.E., Rybalov L.A. Physiology of higher nervous activity. Reader. - M. Moscow Psychological and Social Institute; NPO "MODEK". 1999. - 336s.
2. Ponomarenko L.P., Belousova R.V. Fundamentals of psychology for high school students - M. VLADOS, 2001. - 224 p.
3. Nemov R.S. Psychology. In 2 books. K. 1. General fundamentals of psychology. - M.: Education: VLADOS, 1994. - 576 p.
4. Belous V.V. Temperament and activity. Tutorial. Pyatigorsk, 1990. - 153 p.
5. Danilova N.N., Krylova A.L. Physiology of higher nervous activity: Textbook. M.: Educational literature, 1997. - 432 p.
6. Chaichenko G.M., Kharchenko P.D. Physiology of higher nervous activity. Kyiv, 1981. - 243 p.
7. Rogov E.V. General psychology: A course of lectures for the first stage of teacher education. - M.: VLADOS, 1995. - 448 p.
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Let's analyze each of the selected characteristics.
Age periods of human development.
In psychology, there are different approaches to the periodization of human mental life. The various age classifications can be divided into two groups. Private classifications are devoted to individual periods of life, often childhood and school years. General classifications cover the entire life course of a person. Particular classifications include the development of intelligence in childhood, R. Selman, G. Dupont, the development of children's emotionality, D.B. Elkonin, etc. General classifications include the theories of E. Erikson, V.I. Slobodchikov.
Let's consider the well-known classification of age development by E. Erikson, an American psychologist. He drew attention to the development of the human “I” throughout life, to changes in personality in relation to the social environment and to oneself, including both positive and negative aspects. If a person’s development proceeds along a normal line, safely, then positive new formations arise, which seem to raise a person to a new, higher level of development, and if development occurs unfavorably (along an abnormal line), then a person acquires a lot of problems that inhibit his growth and development .
Constitution is the structure (morphology, anatomy) of the body. In psychology, there have been attempts to establish a connection between the structure of an individual’s body and his psychological characteristics.
E. Kretschmer (1888 - 1984), a German psychiatrist and psychologist, in his work “Body Structure and Character” tried to link psychological characteristics, primarily mental illness, with the structural features of the human body.
He argued that a certain constitution corresponds to a certain psychological make-up of a person.
E. Kretschmer identified three types of body structure: athletic, asthenic, picnic.
The asthenic type is a thin, thin person, with narrow shoulders, dry, thin-muscular arms, thin-walled bones, a long, flat chest, a thin, fat-free belly, and thin arms and legs.
The athletic type is characterized by strong development of the skeleton and muscles.
The picnic type is characterized by medium height, a dense figure, a large belly, a round head and a small dense neck.
W. Sheldon, an American scientist, also identified three body types.
1) Characterized by softness, a large belly, a lot of fat on the shoulders and hips, a round head, large internal organs, flaccid arms and legs, undeveloped bones and muscles.
2) Characterized by broad shoulders and chest, muscular arms and legs, a minimal amount of subcutaneous fat, and a massive head.
3) This is a thin person, with an elongated face, a high forehead, thin long arms and legs, a narrow chest, undeveloped muscles, the absence of a subcutaneous fat layer, and a well-developed nervous system. Each of the identified somatotypes in W. Sheldon's typology had an adequate type of temperament.
Type 1 (endomorphic body type) - viscerotonic type of temperament.
Type 2 (mesomorphic physique) - somatotomic type of temperament.
Type 3 (exomorphic physique) - cerebrotonic type of temperament.
According to W. Sheldon, viscerotonia is the functional predominance of the digestive organs; somatotonia - functional and anatomical predominance of the motor system; cerebrotonia - predominance of activity of higher nerve centers.
The differences in behavior of these types are shown in Table 4.
Human Temperament
Temperament is an individual characteristic of a person. Temperament is understood as the dynamic characteristics of mental activity. There are three areas of manifestation of temperament.
1. General activity. It is determined by the intensity and volume of human interaction with the environment - physical and social. Regarding this characteristic, a person can be calm, proactive, active, impetuous.
2. Features of the motor sphere. Pace, speed, rhythm and total number of movements.
3. Properties of emotionality. This refers to the level of impulsiveness, sensitivity, and impressionability of a person.
The study of temperament has an interesting history. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was the first to describe temperaments in detail. He believed that differences between people were explained by the ratio of different fluids in their bodies. Hippocrates believed that blood predominates in sanguine people; choleric people have yellow bile; for phlegmatic people - mucus, or lymph; melancholic people have black bile.
An interesting psychological description of temperaments was given by the famous German philosopher of the 18th century I. Kant. He said that a sanguine person’s main desire is the desire for pleasure, enjoyment. He is interested in everything that pleases him. His inclinations are fickle and one cannot count too much on them.
In a melancholic person, the dominant inclination is towards sadness. His desires have a sad tint, his suffering seems unbearable to him and beyond all consolation.
The choleric temperament displays a remarkable force of activity, energy and perseverance when under the influence of any passion. His passions are quickly ignited by the slightest obstacle; his pride, ambition, and the strength of his feelings know no bounds when his soul is under the influence of passion. He thinks little and acts quickly.
Phlegmatic feelings do not overcome quickly. He doesn't have to make much effort to keep his cool. He is difficult to irritate, rarely complains, endures his suffering patiently and is little indignant at the suffering of others.
The most successful attempt to connect temperament with the characteristics of the human body was made by the famous Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov (1849-1936). He suggested and proved in experiments with animals that temperament is a manifestation of the characteristics of higher nervous activity.
Features of the nervous system:
1. Strength of the nervous system - the efficiency of the nerve cell and the ability of the nervous system to withstand heavy loads.
2. Balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition. From this point of view, nervous processes can be either balanced, i.e. of approximately equal strength, or one of them dominates.
3. Mobility - the ability of nervous processes to quickly replace each other.
Based on the relationship between these features, I.P. Pavlov identified four classical types of temperament:
1. Strong, balanced, agile - sanguine;
2. Strong, balanced, inert - phlegmatic;
3. Strong, unbalanced type, predominance of excitement - choleric;
4. Weak - melancholic.
Yu.B. Gippenreiter identifies five provisions, in accordance with
which can be considered temperament in the light of Pavlov's theory.
1) The key to understanding the individual behavioral characteristics of animals and humans should be sought in the properties of the nervous system.
2) These properties should be studied using conditioned reflex procedures.
3) Such properties of the nervous system as strength, balance and mobility are innate and constant for the body.
4) Their basic combinations form four types of the nervous system and four types of higher nervous activity.
5) These types of higher nervous activity correspond to the four classical types of temperament, i.e. represent the physiological basis of psychological portraits in the typology of temperament.
The following main properties of temperament are distinguished.
1) Sensitivity - is determined by what is the least strength of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any mental reaction in a person and what is the speed of occurrence of this reaction.
2) Reactivity - characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of the same strength (critical remark, offensive word).
3) Activity - determined by the extent to which a person intensively influences the outside world, overcoming obstacles to achieving a goal.
4) The ratio of reactivity and activity determines what a person’s activity depends on to a greater extent: on random circumstances (mood, random events) or on goals, intentions and beliefs.
5) Plasticity and rigidity. Characterizes how easily and flexibly a person adapts to new situations.
6) Rate of reaction - the speed of various mental processes (speed of speech, speed of intelligence).
7) Emotionality is characterized by how weak an impact is necessary for an emotional reaction to occur.
8) Extraversion, introversion.
INTRODUCTION
Temperament is a set of properties that characterize the dynamic features of the course of mental processes and human behavior, their strength, speed, occurrence, and cessation. The properties of temperament can only be classified conditionally among the actual personal qualities of a person; they rather constitute his individual characteristics, since they are mainly biologically determined and innate. However, temperament has a significant impact on the formation of a person’s character and behavior, sometimes determines his actions, his individuality, so it is impossible to completely separate temperament from personality. It acts as a connecting link between the body, personality and cognitive processes.
Personality structure is a system of ideas about personality that generalizes the procedural-hierarchical substructures of personality with the subordination of lower substructures to higher ones, including substructures of abilities and character superimposed on them.
Temperament (from the Latin Temperamentum - the proper balance of traits, from tempero - I mix in the proper state) is a characteristic of an individual from the dynamic characteristics of his mental activity, i.e. tempo, speed, rhythm, intensity, the mental processes and states that make up this activity.
Temperament is a personality quality formed in a person’s personal experience on the basis of the genetic determination of his type of nervous system and largely determines the style of his activity. Temperament refers to the biologically determined substructures of personality. There are four main types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic.
GENERAL CONCEPT OF TEMPERAMENT.
When they talk about temperament, they mean many mental differences between people - differences in depth, intensity of emotions, emotional sensitivity, pace, energy of actions and other dynamic, individually stable features of mental life, behavior and activity. However, temperament today remains a largely controversial and unresolved problem. However, with all the diversity of approaches to the problem, scientists and practitioners recognize that temperament is the biological foundation on which the personality is formed as a social being.
Temperament reflects the dynamic aspects of behavior, mainly of an innate nature, therefore the properties of temperament are the most stable compared to other mental characteristics of a person. The most specific feature of temperament is that different
The properties of a given person’s temperament are not accidentally combined with each other, but are naturally interconnected, forming a certain organization and structure.
The properties of temperament include individual characteristics that:
1) regulate the dynamics of mental activity as a whole;
2) characterize the peculiarities of the dynamics of individual mental processes;
3) have a stable and permanent nature and remain in development over a long period of time;
4) are in a strictly natural relationship, characterizing the type of temperament;
5) are determined by the general type of nervous system.
Using certain signs, it is possible with sufficient certainty to distinguish the properties of temperament from all other mental properties of a person.
MAIN COMPONENTS OF TEMPERAMENT.
Analysis of the internal structure of temperament presents significant difficulties due to the lack of a single content and a single system of external manifestations in temperament (in its usual psychological characteristics). Attempts at such an analysis lead to the identification of three main leading components of temperament, related to the areas of the individual’s general activity, his motor skills and his emotionality. Each of these components, in turn, has a very complex multidimensional structure and different forms of psychological manifestations.
Of particular importance in the structure of temperament is that component that is designated as the general mental activity of the individual. The essence of mental activity lies in the individual’s desire for self-expression, effective mastery and transformation of external reality; Of course, the direction, quality and level of implementation of these tendencies is determined by other characteristics of the individual: his intellectual and characterological characteristics, the complex of his relationships and motives. The degree of activity extends from lethargy, inertia and passive contemplation at one pole to the highest degree of energy, powerful swiftness of action and constant ascent at the other.
The group of qualities that make up the first component of temperament is closely adjacent to the group of qualities that make up the second - motor, or motor - component, the leading role in which is played by qualities associated with the function of the motor (and special speech-motor apparatus). Among the dynamic qualities of the motor component, one should highlight such as speed, strength, sharpness, rhythm, amplitude and a number of other signs of muscle movement. The set of features of muscle and
Speech motor skills constitute that facet of temperament that is easier to observe and evaluate than others and therefore often serves as the basis for judging the temperament of their carrier.
The third main component of temperament is “emotionality,” which is a broad complex of properties and qualities that characterize the emergence, course and cessation of various feelings, affects and moods. The main characteristics of “emotionality” are impressionability, impulsiveness and emotional lability. Impressiveness expresses the subject’s affective sensitivity, his sensitivity to emotional influences, his ability to find the basis for an emotional reaction where such soil does not exist for others. The term "impulsivity" refers to the speed with which emotion becomes the motivating force behind actions and actions without prior thought and a conscious decision to carry them out. Emotional lability usually refers to the speed with which a given emotional state ceases or one experience changes to another.
The main components of temperament form in acts of human behavior that peculiar unity of motivation, action and experience, which allows us to talk about the integrity of manifestations of temperament and makes it possible to relatively clearly limit temperament from other mental formations of the personality - its orientation, character, abilities, etc.
TEMPERAMENTS OF FEELINGS.
1. Sanguine temperament of a person of cheerful disposition.
The way a sanguine person feels can be recognized by the following manifestations. This is a carefree person, full of hope; He attaches great importance to every thing for a moment, and then stops thinking about it a minute later. He honestly promises, but does not keep his word, because... he had not yet thought deeply enough about whether he was able to contain it. He is good-natured enough to help others, but he is bad
The debtor always demands a deferment. He is a good conversationalist, jokes, is ready not to attach much importance to anything in the world, and all people are his friends.
He is not usually an evil person, but he is a sinner who is not easily reformed. True, he repents greatly, but he soon forgets his repentance (which never turns into grief for him). His work soon tires him, but he tirelessly engages in what is essentially only a game. For play is always associated with change, and endurance is not his thing.
2. Melancholic temperament of a person of gloomy disposition.
A person disposed to melancholy (not melancholic, for this already means a state, and not just a disposition to the state), attaches great importance to everything that concerns him, finds reasons for fear everywhere and pays attention, first of all, to difficulties. He will hardly make a promise, because he does not
may not fulfill it, but doubts whether he is able to fulfill it. And all this for him is explained not by moral reasons (for here we are talking about sensual motives), but by the fact that the opposite gives him trouble, and that is why he becomes preoccupied, distrustful, full of doubts and unresponsive to fun. However, when this disposition of spirit becomes habitual, it contrasts with the disposition of the spirit of a philanthropist, which is more characteristic of a sanguine person, at least by impulse, for one who himself must do without joy is unlikely to wish it on another.
TEMPERAMENTS OF ACTIVITY.
3. Choleric temperament of a hot-tempered person.
They say about him that he is hot, flares up quickly, like straw, but with the compliance of others he soon cools down. There is no hatred in his anger, and he loves another the more strongly the sooner he yields to him. His activity is fast, but short-lived. He is active, but is reluctant to take on tasks precisely because he lacks self-control; that is why he willingly becomes a boss who manages affairs, but does not want to lead them himself. Therefore his dominant passion is ambition; he willingly takes on public affairs without wanting to be loudly praised. He willingly takes others under his protection and is seemingly generous, not out of love, but out of pride, for he loves himself more. He keeps order and seems smarter than he is. He likes to have means; he is polite, but loves ceremony and is tense. Pompous in
He is courteous and willingly has with him some flatterer who serves as a target for his wit, and is more worried when his proud claims are met with rebuff. A little bit of caustic wit is enough for the aura of importance to instantly disappear. In a word, the choleric temperament is the most unfortunate of all temperaments, because it causes self-reluctance more than others.
4. Phlegmatic temperament of a cold-blooded person.
Phlegm means absence of affect, not inertia (lifelessness),
And therefore, a person who does not have phlegm cannot be called a phlegmatic person and under this nickname be included in the category of lazy people.
Phlegm as a weakness is a tendency to inactivity, a reluctance to get down to business, even if the motivation to do so is very strong. Insensitivity to impulses represents a contented uselessness, and his tendencies are directed only towards satiety and sleep.
Phlegm as a force is the ability to move, not easily or quickly, but for a long time. Someone who has a good dose of phlegm in their blood warms up slowly, but retains heat for a long time. He does not get angry easily, but at first hesitates whether he should be angry.
A cold-blooded person has nothing to regret about the fact that he has a completely ordinary share of reason, but at the same time he is naturally gifted with this phlegm; although he lacks brilliance, he proceeds from principles, and not from instincts. Its lucky
temperament replaces wisdom for him, and even in everyday life he is often called a philosopher. With his temperament he surpasses others without hurting their vanity. He has an unyielding but prudent will and knows how to adapt the will of those around him to his own.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
TYPES OF TEMPERAMENT.
Currently, science has enough facts to give a complete psychological description of all types of temperament according to a certain harmonious program. However, to compile the psychological characteristics of the traditional 4 types, the following basic properties of temperament are usually distinguished:
Sensitivity is determined by what is the least force of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any mental reaction in a person, and what is the speed of occurrence of this reaction.
Reactivity is characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of the same strength (critical remarks, an offensive word, a harsh tone, even sound).
Activity indicates how intensely (energetically) a person influences the outside world and overcomes obstacles in achieving goals (perseverance, focus, concentration).
The ratio of reactivity and activity determines what a person’s activity depends on to a greater extent: on random external or internal circumstances (mood, random events) or on goals, intentions, beliefs.
Plasticity and rigidity indicate how easily and flexibly a person adapts to external influences (plasticity) or how inert and rigid his behavior is.
Extraversion and introversion determine what a person’s reactions and activities primarily depend on - on external impressions arising at the moment (extrovert), or on images, ideas and thoughts associated with the past and future (introvert).
Taking into account all the listed properties, J. Strelyau gives his psychological characteristics of the main classical types of temperament.
Sanguine. A person with increased reactivity, but at the same time his activity and reactivity are balanced. He responds vividly, excitedly to everything that attracts his attention, has lively facial expressions and expressive movements. For an insignificant reason he laughs, but an insignificant fact can make him angry. From his face it is easy to guess his mood, attitude towards an object or person. He has a high sensitivity threshold, so he
does not notice faint sounds and light stimuli. Possessing increased activity and being very energetic and efficient, he actively takes on new work and can work without getting tired. He is able to concentrate quickly, is disciplined, and, if desired, can restrain the manifestations of his feelings and involuntary reactions. He is characterized by quick movements, mental flexibility, resourcefulness, a fast pace of speech, and quick integration into new work. High plasticity is manifested in the variability of feelings, moods, interests and aspirations. A sanguine person easily gets along with people and quickly gets used to new requirements and surroundings. Without effort, he not only switches from one job to another, but also relearns, mastering new skills. As a rule, he responds to a greater extent to external impressions than to subjective images and ideas about the past and future ( extrovert).
For a sanguine person, feelings arise easily and are easily replaced. The ease with which new temporary connections are formed and remade in a sanguine person, the greater mobility of the stereotype is also reflected in the mental mobility of sanguine people, revealing a certain tendency towards instability.
Choleric. Like the sanguine person, it is characterized by low sensitivity, high reactivity and activity. But in a choleric person, reactivity clearly prevails over activity, so he is unbridled, unrestrained, impatient, and quick-tempered. He is less plastic and more inert than a sanguine person. Hence, greater stability of aspirations and interests, greater persistence, and possible difficulties in switching attention ( extrovert).
Phlegmatic person. It has high activity, significantly prevailing over low reactivity, low sensitivity and emotionality. It is difficult to make him laugh and sadden - when people laugh loudly around him, he can remain calm. In big troubles he remains calm. Usually he has poor facial expressions, his movements are inexpressive and slow, just like his speech. He is not resourceful, has difficulty switching attention and adapting to a new environment, and slowly rebuilds skills and habits. At the same time, he is energetic and efficient. Characterized by patience, endurance, self-control. As a rule, he finds it difficult to get along with new people and responds poorly to external impressions ( introvert).
Melancholic. A person with high sensitivity and low reactivity. Increased sensitivity with great inertia leads to the fact that an insignificant reason can cause him to cry, he is overly touchy, painfully sensitive. His facial expressions and movements are inexpressive, his voice is quiet, his movements are poor. Usually he is unsure of himself, timid, the slightest difficulty makes him give up. A melancholic person is not energetic, unstable, gets tired easily and is not very productive. It is characterized by easily distracted and unstable attention and a slow pace of all mental processes ( introvert).
TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER.
Temperament must be strictly distinguished from character. Temperament in no way characterizes the content side of a personality (worldview, views, beliefs, interests, etc.), does not determine the value of an individual or the limit of achievement for a given person. It relates only to the dynamic side of activity.
Although temperament cannot determine a person’s relationships, his aspirations, interests, ideals, i.e. of all the richness of the content of a person’s inner life, however, the characteristics of the dynamic side are essential for understanding the complex pattern of behavior and character of a person. The extent to which a person shows balance in behavior, flexibility, dynamism and expansiveness in reactions speaks about the qualitative characteristics of the individual and his capabilities, which in a certain way affect the individual’s work activity. Thus, temperament is not something external in a person’s character, but is organically included in his structure. Life impressions, upbringing and training on the natural basic fabric of temperament - the type of higher nervous activity - gradually weave patterns.
The attitude of the individual, his beliefs, aspirations, consciousness of necessity and duty allow him to overcome some impulses and train others in order to organize his behavior in accordance with social norms.
Temperament does not determine the path of development of specific character traits; temperament itself is transformed under the influence of character qualities. The development of character and temperament in this sense is an interdependent process.
Introduction……………………………………………………….3
General concept of temperament…………………………………3
Main components of temperament…………………………..4
Temperaments of feeling………………………...5
Temperaments of activity……………………………………………………….6
Psychological characteristics of temperament types……….7
Temperament and character……………………………………………………9
References………………………………………………………10
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Nemov R.S. Psychology: Textbook for higher education students. textbook establishments. In 3 books - Book 1. M.: VLADOS, 1997 - 688 p.
General psychology. / Comp. E.I. Rogov. M.: VLADOS, 1995.
Psychology of individual differences. /Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreider, V.Ya. Romanova. M.: Publishing house. – at Moscow State University, 1982.
Psychology for students. / Ed. E.N. Rogova. M.: MarT, 2004.
Temperament - Dynamic characteristics of an individual’s mental activity. It manifests itself first of all in his impressionability, that is, the strength and stability of the impact that the impression has on a person. Temperament also affects emotional excitability, manifesting itself in the strength of emotional arousal, the speed with which it covers the personality, and the stability with which it is maintained. The expression of temperament is impulsiveness, which is characterized by the strength of impulses, the speed with which it masters the motor sphere and goes into action, and the stability with which it retains its effective force.
Choleric temperament is characterized by strong impressionability and great impulsiveness; sanguine - weak impressionability and great impulsiveness; melancholic - strong impressionability and low impulsiveness; phlegmatic - weak impressionability and low impulsiveness.
Temperament finds a particularly clear expression in the strength, as well as the speed, rhythm and tempo of all motor manifestations of a person - his practical actions, speech, expressive movements.
The dynamic characteristic of mental activity (i.e., the manifestation of temperament) does not have a self-sufficient character; it depends on the content and specific conditions of the activity, on the individual’s attitude to what he does and to the conditions in which he finds himself.
In all its manifestations, temperament is transformed in the process of character formation, and the properties of temperament turn into character traits, the content of which is associated with the orientation of the individual.
A child’s temperament is based on the properties of his nervous system - strength and lability, the specifics of the processes of excitation and inhibition. Temperament is rarely found in its pure form, but nevertheless leaves an imprint on the educational activity of the student. Children with a weak and mobile nervous system (usually called melancholic) are especially sensitive to the teacher’s comments and get upset over little things that others don’t pay attention to. Their increased impressionability may prevent them from adapting to school. From a phlegmatic person with his strong, sedentary nervous system, one can hardly expect a quick answer or instant involvement in written work. It is worth considering his slow reactions, the right to his own pace. Violent emotional reactions and restlessness of a choleric person may be a consequence of his temperament, strength and mobility of the nervous system, and not bad manners, as the teacher sometimes believes. It should be noted that with age, upbringing and increasing self-control of a growing child smooth out all these manifestations; they become less pronounced and bright. Breaking and eradicating inconvenient features of a child’s temperament is not only pointless, but also harmful.
The activity and daily behavior of a person depends on the social conditions in which the personality was formed, and on the characteristics of the natural organization of a person.
Temperament is a set of typological characteristics of a person, manifested in the dynamics of his mental processes: in the speed and strength of his reactions, in the emotional tone of his life.
Temperament is a manifestation in the human psyche of an innate type of nervous activity.
Three main properties of nervous processes have been established - strength, balance and mobility. Various combinations of these properties form the following four types of higher nervous activity:
I. Strong, balanced (the process of excitation is balanced with the process of inhibition), mobile (the processes of excitation and inhibition easily replace each other). This type of higher nervous activity corresponds to the sanguine temperament.
II. Strong, unbalanced (the process of excitation prevails over the process of inhibition), mobile. This type of higher nervous activity corresponds to choleric temperament.
III. Strong, balanced, inert (the processes of excitation and inhibition are little mobile). This type of higher nervous activity corresponds to a phlegmatic temperament.
IV. Weak (the nervous system cannot withstand heavy and prolonged stress), unbalanced, inert. This type of higher nervous activity corresponds to a melancholic temperament.
The names of temperaments were first introduced by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (IV century BC), who associated the types of temperaments with the predominance of various fluids in the human body: blood (sanguis) - in a sanguine person, yellow bile (chole) - in a choleric person, mucus (phlegm ) - in a phlegmatic person and black bile (melaina chole) - in a melancholic person. The word "temperament" comes from the Latin "tempero" - mixed in the proper proportion.
Along with the totality of properties of nervous activity that determine a particular temperament, we can distinguish the following mental characteristics, which in various combinations are included in the corresponding temperament.
1. Speed and intensity of mental processes, mental activity.
2. The predominant subordination of behavior to external impressions - extraversion or its predominant subordination to the inner world of a person, his feelings, ideas - introversion.
3. Adaptability, plasticity, adaptation to changing external conditions, flexibility of stereotypes. (Reduced adaptability, inflexibility - rigidity).
4. Sensitivity, sensitivity, emotional excitability and strength of emotions, emotional stability.
Characteristics of behavior indicating a wide variability of behavioral reactions, deft adaptation to the conditions of a problem situation, and the low role of stereotypical reactions in behavior. The meaning is the opposite of complex behavior. Temperament type: calm, unimpressive, low flexibility of thinking. Characteristics of the higher nervous activity of an individual, reflecting how quickly mental processes occur: thinking, attention, memory and others. A typology of stable dynamic properties of activity, including the following types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. A subject who has one of the four main types of temperament, characterized by a low level of mental activity, slowness of movements, restraint of motor skills and speech, and rapid fatigue. Melancholic people are distinguished by high emotional sensitivity, depth and stability of emotions with weak external expression, and negative emotions predominate. Characteristics of a person’s temperament are the degree of tendency to imbalance the processes of excitation and inhibition. A gross indicator of human activity, including the intensity of mental processes, physical activity, and the number of operations performed per unit of time. One of the primary properties of the nervous system is the ability to quickly respond to changes in the environment. Characteristics of the nervous system, reflecting the speed of the onset and cessation of nervous processes, the switchability of the nervous system. (from Latin rigidus - hard, solid) - difficulty (up to complete inability) in changing the program of activity planned by the subject in conditions that objectively require its restructuring; insufficient plasticity in mental activity and behavior, difficulty switching to something new, resistance to change, a kind of impenetrability (N.D. Levitov). A subject with one of the main types of temperament, characterized by high mental activity, energy, efficiency, speed and vivacity of movements, variety and richness of facial expressions, fast pace of speech; strives for frequent changes of impressions, easily and quickly responds to surrounding events, is sociable, emotions are predominantly positive. Summary of the main properties of temperament used by different authors. Character is often compared with temperament, and in some cases these concepts are replaced with each other. An indicator of the endurance of an individual’s nerve cells, the amount of work they are capable of performing per unit of time. Characterizes the ability of the human nervous system to withstand heavy loads and stimuli. This is a natural individual feature that shows endurance and performance. A gross characteristic of higher nervous activity, reflecting how quickly the mental processes of an individual occur. Character (the system of a person’s relationship to the world) and temperament (a stable combination of dynamic characteristics of behavior). Group psychological training procedure. Participants describe the behavior of people they know to each other; they are required to guess the temperament based on this behavior. Characteristics of how balanced the processes of excitation are with the processes of inhibition in the nervous system of an individual. A subject with one of the types of temperament, characterized by a low level of mental activity, slowness, and inexpressive facial expressions; a phlegmatic person has difficulty switching from one type of activity to another and adapting to a new environment; feelings and moods are constant. A subject who has one of the main types of temperament, characterized by a high level of mental activity, vigor of action, sharpness, swiftness, force of movements, their fast pace, impetuosity; choleric people are quick-tempered, impatient, prone to emotional breakdowns, and sometimes aggressive. Temperament type - frequent and deep changes between sadness and joy, good and bad mood, activity and depression.
