Temperament
Definition 1
Temperament is a system of individual characteristics of a person that reflect the emotional and dynamic side of his life.
Temperament influences the speed of emergence of mental processes, as well as their stability. The pace and rhythm of a person’s activity and behavior is also determined by temperament. It is worth noting that temperament also affects other mental characteristics of the individual.
The basis of temperament is the type of human nervous system. After all, people differ from each other, and even from birth.
People may differ in:
- the strength of excitation and inhibition processes
- balance of excitation and inhibition processes
- alternation of excitation and inhibition processes
Such differences indicate how resilient the nerve cells in a particular organism are. In other words, they determine how mentally tough a person is.
Note 1
The identification of four types of temperament helped explain and classify the characteristics of an individual's behavior.
Too lazy to read?
Ask a question to the experts and get an answer within 15 minutes!
Ask a Question
Temperament types
Note 2
The creator of temperament types was Hippocrates. He was an ancient Greek philosopher and physician. Hippocrates classified people according to the fluid that predominates in their body.
Hippocrates identified four types of temperament:
- Sanguine (blood)
- Choleric (bile)
- Phlegmatic (mucus)
- Melancholic (black bile)
Currently, the idea of temperament has changed. But the names of its types still remained the same.
A sanguine person is understood as a rather mobile and balanced personality type. This type is characterized by very rapid excitability. They very quickly change from excitation to inhibition. Sanguine people love life, are quite active, sociable, and are always ready to help. They do not stand still, try to develop and strive for leadership. It is very easy for them to get used to new living conditions. Sanguine people are not prone to long experiences. They do everything well in work, study, friendship and love. They can switch very quickly from one thing to something completely different. If a sanguine person does not feel external stimuli, then he becomes bored. Sanguine people have vivid feelings and emotions, but they are not distinguished by their stability. They may laugh and smile often. But anything can make them angry, even the most insignificant trifle.
Too lazy to read?
Ask a question to the experts and get an answer within 15 minutes!
Ask a Question
Phlegmatic people are strong and inert. But this type is also balanced. A phlegmatic person is always passive, thinks everything through carefully and thinks a lot. Sometimes such people seem very boring and boring. But phlegmatic people love the people around them and wish them only the best. It is very easy to manage and control phlegmatic people. Sometimes they are very stingy in expressing their feelings and emotions. But you can always trust them and ask for help. A phlegmatic person has high efficiency and perseverance. He doesn't like change and wants things to stay the same.
Cholerics are a very mobile and unbalanced personality type. Their excitation processes are much stronger and faster than their inhibition processes. Cholerics are aggressive and easily excitable. They are very restless and changeable in life. They are characterized by inconstancy and impulsiveness. But in life they are distinguished by their optimism. The movements and actions of choleric people can be too abrupt and unrestrained. They may scream often and lose control of their emotions. It is worth noting that choleric people often change their mood.
Melancholic people are an unbalanced and weak personality type. They often talk about various topics and are prone to anxious thoughts and ideas. They are distinguished by their pessimistic attitude towards life. A melancholic person takes everything to heart, is afraid to communicate, and is very emotional. He is distinguished by his inhibition and passivity. Melancholic people are very easy to offend or hurt their feelings. Such people are afraid of many things, are not confident in their own abilities, and are too touchy. But melancholic people have a very deep inner world that is well developed. It is difficult for such people to adapt to new conditions.
Moscow State University of Printing Arts
5.
Chapter 5. TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER
Temperament and dynamics of personality activity Character: types of characters
5.1.
Temperament and dynamics of personality activity
Temperament is a combination of stable innate mental properties that determine the dynamics of human activity.
Already in the 5th century BC. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates tried to explain the differences in the dynamics of human activity. True, he explained the differences between people by different ratios of fluids in their bodies. The views of Hippocrates were shared by the ancient Roman physician Galen (2nd century BC). According to the concept of ancient physicians, a person has four types of fluids in the body: blood (“sangvis”), yellow bile (“chole”), black bile (“melanchole”) and lymph (“phlegm”). The predominance of one of these liquids determines a person’s temperament. Thus, since the times of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, an idea has developed about four main types of temperament: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic. Each of these temperaments corresponds to a certain type of nervous activity.
Sanguine temperament is characterized by balance, rapid mental processes, and a cheerful mood. Sanguine people are characterized by lively and active activity, rapid adaptation to changes in the external environment. They are proactive, willingly take on new things, and easily switch their attention.
People with choleric temperament have increased emotional excitability. Facial expressions are expressive. Movements and gestures are fast and abrupt. The mood is usually cheerful with sudden changes.
Cholerics are characterized by the ability to engage in work with all passion. But they often get carried away, waste their energy, not knowing how to calculate it, and quickly get tired mentally and physically. Too hasty in actions and in making decisions.
People with a phlegmatic temperament have reduced emotional excitability. Their movements and gestures are slow and inexpressive. They usually have an even, stable mood.
Phlegmatic people are characterized by a serious attitude towards any work. Before doing anything, they carefully consider the program of action. If they are offered a new task, they spend a lot of time thinking about it. They carry out the decisions they make methodically and relentlessly. The work started is always completed. In a team, phlegmatic people tend to have smooth relationships with colleagues and are moderately sociable. Usually unperturbed. They adapt poorly to changes in the external environment due to inertia. Phlegmatic people have excellent self-control.
People with a melancholic temperament have weak emotional excitability. Their movements and gestures are usually slow, their facial expressions are weak. The mood is sad, lyrical.
Melancholic people are characterized by shyness and isolation. They have difficulty making contact with people, do not believe in themselves, and constantly feel offended. They are easily vulnerable and whiny. In difficult situations, melancholic people often get lost, show insufficient self-control, and are fussy. In a calm environment they usually cope well with their responsibilities.
Temperament, as a rule, permeates all aspects of the personality and manifests itself in cognitive activity, in the sphere of feelings, in motives and actions. Thus, temperament relates to the entire characteristic of a person’s personality. However, it should be remembered that there are often people with a mixed type of temperament.
There is another classification of the mental makeup of people. In particular, one of the modern trends in this regard is the study of extraversion and introversion, i.e. the study of differences between people depending on their method of thinking, attitude to information and contacts with the external environment.
An extrovert - “outward facing” - is open to the world, sociable, and easily navigates a new environment. He always has a lot of plans and plans. He is in dire need of a constant supply of external information. He is distinguished by his easy adaptability to the surrounding world, constantly increases contacts with others, is actively involved in work, easily remembers faces, numbers, is easy-going, etc. Such a person likes the job of a manager, because he loves to constantly be surrounded by people, a whirlpool of affairs and events.
An introvert - “turned inward” - limits contacts with others, withdraws into himself. He avoids news and events. Such a person has difficulty adapting to a new environment. He is usually suspicious: he is constantly bothered by some unpleasant sensations. It’s easy to see that the job of a manager is contraindicated for such a person. But his temperament is very suitable for the profession of an accountant, expert or economist.
Between these two psychological types of people there may also be transitional ones, in which the characteristics of “extra” and “intro” are approximately equal. Such people are classified as ambaverts.
Thus, the characteristics of temperament give the uniqueness of the personality. It should be noted that this or that temperament in itself is neither bad nor good. Each of them has its own positive or negative sides. The liveliness and responsiveness of a sanguine person, the calmness and prudence of a phlegmatic person, the energy of a choleric person, the depth and stability of the feelings of a melancholic person - all these are valuable qualities of different temperaments.
The properties of temperament should be considered in connection with other personality properties, and primarily with the characteristics of character and abilities.
5.2.
Character: character types
Character is a set of basic mental properties of a person, manifested in his behavior. A person’s character is manifested in his attitude to work, to his responsibilities, to the people around him, and to himself.
The content side of character is its orientation, i.e. the needs, interests, ideals and beliefs of an individual that determine his life goals.
Direction determines the formation of such core character traits as will, determination, optimism, etc.
Moral character traits are directly dependent on orientation. They reveal different personality attitudes: towards people (kindness, responsiveness, arrogance, etc.); to things (neatness, thrift, wastefulness, etc.); to work (hard work, conscientiousness, laziness, etc.); to oneself (modesty, pride, vanity, etc.).
Strong-willed character traits determine constancy and firmness in achieving goals (decisiveness, perseverance, courage, independence).
Emotional character traits are formed under the influence of temperament (hot temper, tenderness, passion, etc.).
Thus, a person's character has a certain structure. The structure of character is manifested in the natural dependence between its individual traits. Thus, a person devoid of strong principles and beliefs is unlikely to be selfless and constant. But one can fully expect from him the manifestation of such qualities as servility and hypocrisy, greed and deceit.
There are many character traits that are recorded by human experience and found designation in language, but in psychology there are nine most striking types of characters and approximately 55 - 60% of personnel in enterprises fall under these definitions.
Hyperactive, or hyperthymic, type. These people are characterized by enthusiasm and increased goodwill. They react painlessly to comments and easily experience troubles and difficulties. This type of people is characterized by superficial judgments and the inability to complete the work they have begun. Therefore, they cannot be trusted with work that requires perseverance and concentration, refusal to take initiative and extensive contacts with others.
- The autistic type is characterized by low sociability and cold formality in relations with colleagues. People of this type do well the work of controllers, experts, and researchers.
- Labile type. Such people are characterized by rapid mood changes, rudeness plunges them into despondency, praise inspires them. Ideal job: librarian, archivist, accountant, programmer.
- Demonstrative type. Owners of this character strive for success, always want to look good, and cannot be critical of themselves and their actions. Area of activity: advertising agents, lawyers, representatives, etc.
- The psychasthenic type is distinguished by conscientiousness, punctuality, and a penchant for deep analysis. However, such people are characterized by eternal doubts; their intuition and emotions are poorly developed. These are reliable helpers.
- Stuck type. He is characterized by a lust for power with elements of despotism, selfishness, the desire to show off, callousness, and vindictiveness. It is dangerous to trust such people with power and it is better to entrust them with a variety of work.
- The conformal type is characterized by lack of independence and lack of composure. People of this type quickly get lost and give up. Therefore, they can act effectively only with the support of colleagues, even if they themselves are highly qualified. But they are disciplined and efficient. This allows them to be used as substitutes.
- The unstable type manifests itself in the absence of firm internal principles and beliefs, in the absence of a sense of duty, and in the desire for momentary pleasures. Such people need constant monitoring. But they are mobile and contactable.
- The cycloid type is characterized by mood swings and business activity. It is better not to burden people of this type with work that requires a high pace and coordinated rhythm.
The remaining 40 - 45 percent of the personnel do not fit into the “classic” character models and are combinations of the listed character types.
In practical psychology, for assessing personality, character accentuation is of great importance, i.e. extreme variants of the norm as a result of strengthening of individual character traits.
5.3.
Summary
The most important individual typological characteristics of a person are temperament and character.
Temperament is a combination of stable mental properties that determine the dynamics of human activity. Since ancient times, four types of temperament have been distinguished: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Currently, depending on the method of thinking, attitude to information and contacts with the external environment, it is customary to distinguish two types of temperament - extrovert and introvert. This or that temperament in itself is neither bad nor good. Each type of temperament has its positive and negative sides. However, the characteristics of the employee’s temperament should be taken into account when entrusting him with certain work.
In the process of adaptation of an individual to a team, along with temperament, the character of the employee plays an important role. Character is a set of basic mental properties of a person, manifested in his behavior. In psychology, nine of the most striking character types are identified (hyperthymic, autistic, labile, demonstrative, psychosthenic, stuck, conformal, unstable, cycloid). It is believed that 55 to 60 percent of the workforce falls into these classic character types. The remaining 40 - 45 percent of the staff are combinations of the listed character types.
5.4.
Self-test questions
What are the individual typological characteristics of personality?
What is temperament?
Features of sanguine temperament.
4, Specifics of choleric temperament
5, Similarities and differences between phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments.
6.What do extraversion and introversion mean?
7. Essence and structure of character.
8.Types of characters.
