Interrelated psychological concepts, one of which complements the other, have a certain effect on each other. We are talking about personality and character, formed under the influence of the social environment in which a person exists.
Personality is constantly formed, with awareness of its place in the surrounding society and state, throughout life. Character is represented by a certain set of qualities inherent in an individual, whose traits appear from childhood. When studying these terms, family, environment, level of intelligence and self-awareness, desire for self-improvement and additional education are important.
Concept of personality
Modern science defines personality as a combination of acquired habits, mood, life experience and acquired knowledge, taking into account the psychophysical characteristics of the individual. The general tone, features of everyday behavior, the presence of verbal masks of communication for each specific situation, generally concretize and characterize this concept, in any of its features.
A person interacts with other individuals, has his own point of view on various social processes, relies on his acquired consciousness, and is able to accurately express his thoughts, desires and emotions.
This concept in psychology is represented by the following structure:
- The ego is the entity between the outer and inner world. This is the essential "I".
- Self is the psychological integrity of the individual. Unites the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche.
- Persona is the role that an individual plays in society, according to the requirements of other people. May be perceived by society as a public figure.
- Anima and animus are a gender combination of male and female qualities in the psyche that are unconscious.
- Shadow is the optical perception of the surrounding world through the presence of existing mental characteristics.
Each personality is represented by stable qualities, which researchers include:
- Character is the mental and spiritual properties of an individual, present in his behavior, and reflecting the quality of interaction with society.
- Temperament is a combination of mental properties that reflect the degree of mental excitability, manifested in people’s actions.
- Abilities are a certain set of qualities of an individual that help him achieve his goals in study, work and scientific activity, characterized by the depth and speed of mastering various knowledge.
- Motivation is an internal drive and need for action and organization, with the desire to best meet one’s needs.
A person is capable of constant development and improvement, but the environment, social relationships, self-knowledge, as well as processes that occur in the family and the state have a great influence on it. Personality is closely related to one’s ability – character.
The main feature of such interaction is that the personality is able to smooth out some character traits, due to which a particular person will be valued only by his deeds and actions.
This will allow the individual to take a worthy place in society, successfully build a career, family and relationships with other people. And then personal character will become a purely individual characteristic, which will allow you to behave correctly and respond adequately to various life situations.
A person becomes a person only when he is fully aware of his actions - what is good and what is bad, when the measures of what is permitted and permitted are determined. A person is capable of making conclusions and his own beliefs; he is always distinguished by: uniqueness, individuality and originality.
Patterns of formation
Character is formed during life and undergoes transformations throughout life. The formation of characterological characteristics occurs under the influence of the thoughts and feelings of the individual. An important role in the process of personality formation is played by the motives that motivate activity and the existing way of life. Influencing factors:
- Lifestyle.
- Living conditions (laws and norms adopted in a social group).
- Circumstances of life (events in which the individual consciously or involuntarily becomes a participant).
The development of personality is influenced by the environment, in particular, the individual’s relationships within a small social group - in the family, a group of friends, school, and in a work team. The degree and vector of influence depend on which social group is the reference group, serving as the standard, the source of the formation of norms and values.
Character concept
As mentioned above, character refers to a stable ability of an individual. This concept is defined by a set of traits that always reflect exactly how an individual exists in society. Some researchers believe that human character is laid down by nature at the genetic level, therefore, in their behavior and attitude towards society, people differ from each other.
But most scientists are inclined to think that character is formed during a person’s life, and therefore depends on the type of his activity, occupation, communications and existing relationships with other individuals. Each person has an individual set of characteristic traits, which always reflects actions in the form of natural methods and chosen direction. This set helps to achieve your goals and take a certain place in the social ladder - status, prestige, rank, title.
There are a large number of character traits that can be positive or negative in meaning.
The positive ones include:
- cheerfulness;
- punctuality;
- humanity;
- compassion;
- kindness;
- modesty;
- altruism;
- courage;
- bravery;
- wit, etc.
Negative character traits include the following:
- greed;
- greed;
- flattery;
- impudence;
- arrogance;
- self-confidence;
- cowardice;
- laziness;
- extravagance, etc.
Character, as a concept, has one feature - it is the basis for a weak personality and a tool for a strong one. It can be strengthened not only by changing one’s own attitude in the head (consciousness), but also by constant training of the spirit and body. It is physical exercise, in this case, that has a direct impact on a person’s mental state, making him healthy, strong, cheerful, resilient, concentrated, and disciplined.
Levels of character development are formed gradually, under active actions in society or inaction. The chosen life goals of each individual are individual, therefore some people, thanks to their character traits, achieve greater benefits and position in society than others.
With genetic characteristics, character manifests itself only under the influence of events and surrounding people, from childhood. The child, forming the worldview and consciousness in the family, determines for himself moral values, morality and communication skills.
Personal character is directly related to the system of moral values, beliefs, and the search for stable and deep interests. The concept is determined by purposefulness, temperament, the individual’s desire for self-expression, degree of activity, emotional lability, accentuation, and is divided into typologies of psychotypes (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic).
Character can be flexible and changing in different age categories of the individual. If in childhood it is soft and pliable, then in adulthood it becomes more stable and consolidated.
Impact on life
Character consists of certain traits that are formed under the influence of the laws of existence. Satisfaction with one's own life correlates with such criteria as personal growth, the ability to make volitional choices, and character traits. Philosophers' reflections on the essence of life made it possible to draw conclusions about the role of the individual in creating the conditions of his own existence.
Some scientists imagined fate as an unchangeable life path destined from above. Other scientists assumed the ability of an individual to correct his fate with the help of volitional decisions and character traits. Long-term observations show that the presence of fundamental principles in an individual predetermines high productivity and integrity of nature.
Principles are the basis of objective reality, which helps manage the well-being and satisfaction of the individual. Natural principles do not require proof; they are accepted as an indisputable fact. Fundamental principles influencing the formation of character and life in general:
- Justice, justice.
- Equal rights, human dignity.
- Honesty, sincerity, trust.
A socially significant principle is serving common interests in the context of the entire society. Joint work aimed at solving a common problem is more effective than individual efforts, regardless of how much effort the individual makes. By making a contribution to the overall activity, the individual feels his own importance.
The principle of self-improvement and personal growth presupposes the development of natural opportunities and abilities. In the context of personal growth, traits and properties that are difficult to develop are identified. For example, it is difficult to become cheerful and purposeful if you are gloomy and inert, phlegmatic.
However, a person can become neat, organized, disciplined, and punctual. Every person can develop physical and intellectual abilities, improve in the emotional and spiritual sphere. Dominant traits are manifested within the framework of preferred activities.
Some people prefer to overcome difficulties, others look for simple tasks that do not involve obstacles. For some people, the achieved work result plays an important role in the formation of self-awareness and self-esteem. Others, within the framework of any activity, are content with average, mediocre results, not perceiving them as a criterion for assessing the productivity of their personality.
Characteristic personality traits are considered to be only conditionally stable and significant. For example, cheerful, cheerful people are characterized by moments of sadness, which does not allow them to be generally called pessimists and bores. Certain properties appear within typical situations. For example, timidity or courage manifests itself in moments of danger, sociability or reticence, isolation - during periods of communication.
Interaction of personality and character
Both concepts have their own classification, strengths and weaknesses. They are characterized by content and expression (accentuations). Strong qualities are always visible, especially in leaders, but weak ones are not visible - they can be recognized either by the closest person or by a psychologist. The human essence is such that an individual immediately shows his strengths, but hides his weaknesses, since they speak of the vulnerability of a particular person.
If people in relationships with each other are competent and delicate, then weaknesses in this case rarely appear. Each requires an approach in communications. There are open people with whom it is easy to build a dialogue, but there are closed ones - you need to find a “key” to them. There are no ideal people in the world. Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses that shape the character of any individual.
Based on knowledge about character and personality traits, they can be assessed. For example, there are famous brilliant people - outstanding personalities, but their character will be terrible. And, conversely, ordinary individuals may have a “golden” character. Or another example: there are people with a high sense of responsibility who have high moral demands not only for themselves, but also for others.
As soon as a person becomes an individual, he will choose his own line of behavior and decide on the character traits that he will need to exist in society. The high level of awareness that is present in this helps the individual to use his character only in those situations where it is needed, and to discard it when it gets in the way. Thus, personality traits determine a behavioral stereotype.
At the same time, the features set the direction, being leading, and are distributed along the main directions, becoming secondary. The leading ones show the essence of a person’s character with its important manifestations, and the secondary ones support them in various situations. For example, an individual will react aggressively to a constant irritant, but this does not mean that he is evil by nature.
