Psychological portrait of a personality: an example of writing according to Platonov. Psychological portrait of a personality: sample writing Temperament and its types

How to write a psychological portrait of a personality? Examples on this topic are quite varied, but before providing them, it should be remembered that each person has a certain choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic. It has been proven that in its pure form belonging to one or another type of nervous activity is rare. Most often, one individual combines a set of personal qualities that can be adjusted.

However, the basis of temperament remains constant. How can this be tracked in practice? Before assessing the psychological portrait of a person, the writing example should focus on how a person navigates society. One goes through life without deviating from clear rules, the other, on the contrary, is creative and resorts to innovative methods.

Psychologists are unanimous in their opinion that we should start with a description of temperament. Without this, it is impossible to create a psychological portrait of a person. A pattern of any characteristic primarily reflects the type of nervous system.

Sanguines and cholerics

Each type of temperament has its own characteristics, so each personality requires an individual approach. Sanguine people have a strong nervous system and easily experience changes in mental processes: their excitement quickly gives way to inhibition and vice versa. Because of this, they tend not to always fulfill their promises and need control.

But their positive traits usually outweigh the negative ones. Such individuals are endowed with sociability, sociability and optimism. In most cases, sanguine people are leaders and often occupy leadership positions in social life.

Cholerics are known for their unbalanced nervous system. The process of excitation in them prevails over inhibition. Cholerics feel the need to be busy all the time. They, like sanguine people, strive for leadership, but are often too assertive and hot-tempered.

Therefore, others often find choleric people aggressive and conflict-ridden. However, one can only envy their energy and determination. They are recommended to realize themselves in society as military personnel, rescuers, and doctors.

Phlegmatic and melancholic

During the research, scientists came to the conclusion that phlegmatic people are endowed with a strong type of nervous system. But, unlike sanguine people, these individuals are inert. They take a long time to make a decision and slowly assess their strength.

It is important not to push phlegmatic people, otherwise they will become very irritated and may quit what they started. Many believe that these individuals are often prone to succumbing to dark thoughts. But in reality they rarely become depressed. Their positive traits are consistency, reliability and thoroughness.

Melancholic people are the owners of a weak, unbalanced type of nervous system.
They are very sensitive and tend to get upset when pressured or given harsh instructions. Due to their softness, melancholic people often cannot resist the dictator and withdraw into themselves.

This eloquently reflects their psychological portrait of personality. An example from psychology shows that it is important for such individuals to master professions related to communication and caring for others. After all, the distinctive features of melancholic people are the ability to empathize and show mercy.

Psychological portrait of personality. Writing example

Perhaps many readers will think: “Is personality characteristics really that important today?” In fact, social life requires realization from the individual. Moreover, it is important that the activity is not only useful and well-paid, but also brings moral satisfaction to the person.

Platonov’s method can help a modern employer competently involve each team member in the process of activity. For example, the scientist emphasizes that a phlegmatic person works best with a melancholic person, and a choleric person works best with a sanguine person. In addition, Platonov identified important points from the structure of a person’s character:

• In this case, a person’s hard work, responsibility, and initiative are assessed. The main question is whether he realizes his natural potential or not.
• Attitude towards others. It is known that the production process is based on relationships, and the coherence of the work and the final result depend on how harmonious they are. Therefore, it is assessed how responsive, respectful and flexible an individual is in society.
• Attitude towards yourself. Today, the motto “love yourself” remains relevant. After all, a person who cares about his appearance and a healthy lifestyle not only evokes pleasant emotions, but is also able to attract positive events. That is why a newcomer is advised to pay attention to his appearance when he is going for an interview.

Example characteristics

Based on the above, we can conclude: everyone is able to create a psychological portrait of a person. An example of writing about yourself might look like this: “The basis of my temperament is melancholic. I am moderately hardworking and responsible. The downside is suspiciousness, which prevents me from achieving success. I act according to my natural potential and am able to develop self-confidence through psychological training. Relationships in the team do not always work out well. I am friendly, but shy, and have difficulty defending my opinion. I’m quite picky about myself, I doubt a lot of things, I have several bad habits, but I’m trying to get rid of them.”

This method helps an individual overcome psychological barriers, adjust their behavior and change a lot in their life for the better. The manager, in turn, often focuses on the psychological portrait of the individual. The writing sample usually assumes a free form, but there are large companies that provide a service sample.

How does Platonov's method work in psychology?

In fact, the described method is successfully used in the field of psychiatry and psychology. After all, before helping a person solve his problem, a specialist characterizes his personal qualities.

So, how to write a psychological portrait of a personality? Examples of this are quite varied. One of them implies, in addition to describing the type of temperament, also defining the emotional side of human character. For example, experts consider 4 types of emotions: demonstrative, pedantic, stuck, excitable.

The demonstrative type is distinguished by its emotionality. Such people vigorously express their emotions and often “play to the public.” But thanks to their artistry, they are able to understand their interlocutor well. Therefore, if a representative of the demonstrative type turned to a specialist for help with a request to help him decide on his choice of profession, then the most successful recommendation for him is to choose public activity. Or you can master a specialty

The pedantic personality type is prone to indecisiveness and a constant feeling of fear. He is characterized by hesitation and doubt. However, punctuality, prudence and accuracy are taken by the specialist as a basis and help to offer this type a certain method of resolving the situation.

Two difficult types

Are there any difficulties when drawing up a psychological portrait of a person? An example of writing according to Platonov shows: yes, this happens. For example, there are 2 personality types: stuck and excitable. At first glance they are similar.

And some individuals are able to intertwine in character. But a professional in his field is still able to figure it out. For example, stuck-type individuals are distinguished by the fact that they are able not to demonstrate their negative emotions for a long time. “Revenge is a dish best served cold” is an expression that perfectly describes their condition. Such individuals are touchy and vindictive. First of all, they are offered programs to get rid of old grievances.

An excitable personality type manifests itself in constant dissatisfaction and irritability. These negative phenomena lead to the fact that the individual is in conflict with the outside world and himself. What leads to this condition? The psychologist carefully works with the applicant, trying to piece together all the details of life events, taking into account his temperament, genetic characteristics, social conditions and circle of acquaintances.

Platonov's method in society

Palatonov’s method is used in various creative shows, politics, and science. Indeed, in this activity, the psychological portrait is primarily important. It is impossible for a famous person, just like an ordinary person, to avoid such a characteristic. In this case, the scientist Platonov proposes to consider a person’s intelligence and orientation.

That is, does he have a certain talent and will he be able to realize it based on willpower? In addition, experts take into account a person’s ability to manage their emotions and control their moods and feelings.

Self-esteem is the basis of characteristics

Specialists pay special attention to the individual’s self-esteem. Many types of social activities place special emphasis on this when they compile a psychological portrait of an individual. Example of writing: “Ivan Stepanovich Korolev has high mathematical abilities, but low self-esteem. Can he manage a team? At present, no."

This is not the entire list of issues that Konstantin Platonov touches on in his works. The description of a person’s personal qualities depends on the circumstances and the field of activity that requires them. As a rule, a psychological portrait is individual and can be confidential.

Temperament is those innate human characteristics that determine the dynamic characteristics of the intensity and speed of reaction, the degree of emotional excitability and balance, and the characteristics of adaptation to the environment.

There are no better or worse temperaments - each of them has its own positive sides, therefore the main efforts should not be aimed at remaking the temperament (which is impossible due to the innateness of temperament), but at the reasonable use of its negative sides.

Humanity has long tried to identify the typical features of the mental make-up of various people, to reduce them to a small number of generalized portraits - types of temperament. Typologies of this kind were practically useful, since with their help it was possible to predict the behavior of people with a certain temperament in specific life situations.

Temperament translated from Latin means “mixture”, “proportionality”. The oldest description of temperaments belongs to the “father” of medicine, Hippocrates. He believed that a person’s temperament is determined by which of the four body fluids predominates: if blood (“sanguine”) predominates, then the temperament will be sanguine, i.e. energetic, fast, cheerful, sociable, easily endures life's difficulties and failures. If bile ("chole") predominates, then the person will be choleric - a bilious, irritable, excitable, unrestrained, very active person, with rapid mood swings. If mucus ("phlegm") predominates, then the temperament is phlegmatic - a calm, slow, balanced person, slowly, with difficulty switching from one type of activity to another, poorly adapting to new conditions. If black bile predominates ("melanchole"), then the result is a melancholic person - a somewhat painfully shy and impressionable person, prone to sadness, timidity, isolation, he gets tired quickly, and is overly sensitive to adversity.

Hippocrates generally correctly described the main types of temperament, but he could not provide a scientific basis for them.

The first classification of temperaments was proposed by the ancient Roman physician Gallen, and it has survived to this day in a relatively little changed form. The last known description of it, which is used in modern psychology, belongs to the German philosopher I. Kant, who, however, allowed a mixture of temperament and character traits in his interpretations.

The basis for the development of a truly scientific theory of temperament was developed by I.P. Pavlov (1849-1936) - the first Russian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Studying the work of the cerebral hemispheres, he established that all traits of temperament depend on the characteristics of a person’s higher nervous activity.

Pavlov and his students in their works identified three main properties of the nervous system: the strength of excitation or inhibition, mobility (the ability to quickly replace each other) and balance between excitation and inhibition. The combination of these properties leads to the formation of a certain type of temperament:

“uncontrollable” (strong, unbalanced, mobile type of nervous system (n/s), - corresponds to the temperament of a choleric person);

“lively” (strong, balanced, mobile type n/s - corresponds to the temperament of a sanguine person);

“calm” (strong, balanced, inert type n/s - corresponds to the temperament of a phlegmatic person);

“weak” (weak, unbalanced, sedentary type of n/s - determines the temperament of a melancholic person).

Psychological portrait of temperament types

Each individual type of temperament has its own characteristic features.

A sanguine person is a fast, active person who responds emotionally to all impressions; however, his joy, grief, sympathy and other feelings, although bright, are unstable and are easily replaced by opposite feelings. I.P. Pavlov characterized such people as follows: “A sanguine person is hot-tempered. A very productive worker, but only when he has a lot of interesting things to do, that is, there is constant excitement. When there is no such thing to do, he becomes boring and lethargic.”

A sanguine person is almost always the initiator in communication, immediately responds to the desire to communicate on the part of another person, but his attitude towards people can be changeable and fickle. He feels free in a large company of strangers; a new, unusual environment only excites him.

Examples include Stiva Oblonsky, the hero of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "Anna Karenina", M.Yu. Lermontov and Napoleon.

A phlegmatic person is a slow, balanced and calm person. He is not easily touched emotionally and cannot be enraged. His feelings are almost never expressed outwardly. In relationships with other people, a phlegmatic person is calm and stable in his emotions. I.P. Pavlov noted: “A phlegmatic person is a calm, always even, persistent and persistent worker of life.” Let us remember Pierre Bezukhov from the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". But under certain conditions, indifference to work, surrounding life, and lack of will may develop (for example, Oblomov in the novel of the same name by I.A. Goncharov). A phlegmatic person shows little of his feelings and does not notice for a long time that someone is looking for a reason to get to know him. But he is stable and constant in his attitude towards people, loves to be in a narrow circle of old acquaintances, in a familiar environment.

Phlegmatic people were I.A. Krylov and M.I. Kutuzov.

A choleric person is a fast, impetuous person, with strong feelings that are reflected in expressive facial expressions, gestures, and speech. He is often prone to violent emotional outbursts. Choleric people experience rapid mood swings and imbalance, which is explained by the predominance of excitation processes over inhibition. I.P. Pavlov defined this type of temperament as follows: “The fighting type, perky, easily and quickly irritated” (a striking example of this type is Prince Bolkonsky in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”).

Starting a business with enthusiasm, the choleric quickly cools down, interest in the work disappears, and he continues without inspiration, and sometimes even abandons it. People of choleric temperament can be difficult to communicate with.

A.S. Pushkin and A.V. Suvorov is choleric.

A melancholic person does not respond emotionally to everything. He has a small variety of emotional experiences, but these experiences differ in depth, strength and duration. She worries a lot, although she doesn’t express her feelings outwardly much (for example, Princess Marya in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”). I.P. Pavlov noted that a melancholic person, “finding himself in new living conditions, becomes very lost.” In a familiar, calm environment, people of this type work very productively and are distinguished by the depth and content of their emotional and moral behavior and attitude towards the people around them. Melancholic people are very touchy and have a hard time dealing with failures. They are prone to isolation, loneliness, feel awkward in a new, unusual environment, and are often embarrassed. P.I. Tchaikovsky is melancholic.

TEMPERAMENT

1. The concept of temperament.

2. Theories of temperament.

3. Psychological portrait of temperament types.

4. Temperament and problems of activity and education.

Temperament concept

Temperament is the biological foundation on which personality is formed.

Temperament- innate characteristics of an individual, manifested in the intensity, pace and rhythm of mental processes and states.

A person's temperament is reflected by:

On the speed of mental processes and their stability (for example, the speed of reproduction, the stability of attention and the speed of its switching, the mobility of thought processes).

Intensity of response to emotiogenic stimuli (sensibility, strength of emotional experiences, speed of change of emotional states);

Speed ​​and strength of motor reactions, processes (gait, facial expressions, pantomime, gestures, speech, etc.);

Selectivity of mental activity and behavior (based on the desire for communication, noisy companies or a tendency to solitude, isolation).

Man has long made attempts to identify and understand the typical features of the mental makeup of various people and reduce their diversity to a small number of generalized portraits. Generalized portraits based on similarities in behavior and ways of expressing feelings have been called temperament types since ancient times. The earliest known typology was proposed by the physician C. Galen (11th century BC). Hippocrates and Kant made a great contribution to the typology of temperaments and the compilation of their psychological portraits. Since then, temperament has attracted the attention of scientists.

Theories of temperament

There are three main theories that explain the essence of temperament.

l. Humoral theory. Its founders were K. Galen and Hippocrates, who associated temperament with the ratio of juices (liquids) in the body - blood, bile, black bile and mucus. In a sanguine person, blood predominates in the body, in a phlegmatic person - mucus, in a choleric person - bile, in a melancholic person - black bile.

2. Constitutional theory. Its founders were E. Kretschmer and Sheldon, who built a typology of personality based on differences in the structure of the body, the relationship between different parts of the body, i.e., the human constitution.

3. Theory developed by I.P. Pavlov, connects a person’s temperament with the properties of the nervous system: strength, mobility and balance. The combination of properties determines the type of higher nervous activity.

The number of such combinations may be large, but in the experiments of I.P. Pavlov, only four types of higher nervous activity were identified.

There are four main types of higher nervous activity:

Strong, unbalanced (with a predominance of excitation processes);

Strong, balanced, agile;

Strong, balanced, inert;

This typology by I.P. Pavlov connected the types of temperaments. A strong, unbalanced type of nervous system is found in choleric people; strong, balanced, agile - among sanguine people; strong, balanced, inert - among phlegmatic people; weak - among melancholic people. Choleric and melancholic types I.P. Pavlov considered extreme people in whom unfavorable situations and living conditions can cause psychopathic manifestations: neurasthenia in a choleric person, hysteria in a melancholic person. In the golden mean, according to I.P. Pavlov, there are sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments. Their balance is a manifestation of a healthy, truly viable nervous system.

But explaining temperament from the standpoint of the psychological characteristics of the nervous system is not enough. The central nervous system functions in interaction with the endocrine and humoral systems. An underactive thyroid gland, for example, causes slowness, monotony and lethargy. The activity of the gonads during puberty and aging significantly affects the functions of the whole organism, including the nervous system, which is reflected in the characteristics of temperament. Unmotivated actions of a teenager are often a dynamic manifestation of temperament under the influence of puberty.

The type of temperament is an innate property, but it can change somewhat under the influence of living conditions or changes occurring in the body.

V. D. Nebylitsin in the structure of temperament it distinguishes general, motor and emotional activity.

General activity - This is a person’s readiness for activity, for mastering everything new, the desire for transformation, and overcoming obstacles. A high level of general activity differs among choleric and sanguine people, a low level - among melancholic and phlegmatic people.

Physical activity - this is the speed, rhythm, strength of human movements (gaits, gestures, facial expressions), as well as the strength, speed and rhythm of speech. A high level of motor activity is characteristic of choleric and sanguine people (walk quickly, rhythmically, speak loudly, etc.). Low - for melancholic and phlegmatic people (walk smoothly, speech is calm, quiet, etc.).

Emotional activity - the ease with which emotions become the motivating force of action. A low level of emotional activity is typical for sanguine and phlegmatic people. High - for choleric and melancholic people. Cholerics and melancholics are impressionable, but cholerics are impulsive, melancholics are not. Choleric people experience rapid changes in emotional states, while melancholic people do not.

The combination of general, motor and emotional activity characterizes a person’s temperament.

Psychological portrait of temperament types

I. Kant was the first to draw up a psychological portrait of temperament types. Further research clarified these portraits.

Portrait of a sanguine person: high activity, rich facial expressions, expressive gestures. Alive, agile, striving for frequent changes of impressions, quickly responding to surrounding events, quickly navigating in an unfamiliar environment, adapts well, is proactive, and experiences failures and troubles relatively easily. A sanguine person is very productive if the activity interests him. If he is indifferent to an object or activity, then he becomes lethargic and boring. He tends to skim the surface, avoid difficulties, and rush to make decisions. “Trust, but verify” is the principle of approach to a sanguine person, because he lacks thoughtfulness in his decisions, constancy in his interests, and perseverance in his actions.

Portrait of a phlegmatic person. He has relatively low neuropsychic activity, even facial expressions and speech. The phlegmatic person is unperturbed, calm even in the most difficult situations, and his mood is even. Balanced and calm in business and actions, carefully plans activities, strives for system, and is thorough. Moderately sociable. At the same time, he is inert and slowly switches from one job to another. “Don’t rush” - this should be the approach to a phlegmatic person.

Portrait of a melancholic man. Low level of activity, muffled facial expressions, speech, gets tired quickly. He is easily vulnerable, tends to deeply experience even minor events, but outwardly reacts sluggishly to them. He is characterized by asthenic, easily arising experiences, increased impressionability, and shyness. He feels truly good in a familiar environment, in which he is able to show perseverance, perseverance, and be active. Feels awkward around new people, lacks self-confidence, and is anxious. However, he is a sensitive, prudent person and a devoted friend. “Do no harm” is the principle of approach to a melancholic person.

Portrait of a choleric person. High level of neuropsychic activity, movements are sharp, rapid, impulsive. A choleric person, under the influence of passion, displays remarkable strength in activity, energy and perseverance. The strength of his feelings - pride, ambition, vindictiveness - knows no limits if he is under the influence of passion. He thinks little, acts quickly and impulsively. He is prone to sudden changes in mood, is often quarrelsome, straightforward, has poor self-restraint. Being carried away by some task, a choleric person spends his energy wastefully and becomes more exhausted than he should. “Not a minute of peace” - this is the principle of the approach to a choleric person.

Each temperament has its own advantages and disadvantages. So, with good upbringing and self-control, a sanguine person is characterized by responsiveness, a phlegmatic person - endurance and self-control, a choleric person - activity, passion in work, a melancholic person - impressionability. The disadvantages of temperament are: in a sanguine person - superficiality, scatteredness; for a phlegmatic person - indifference to others, “dryness”; in a melancholic person - isolation, shyness; A choleric person has impulsiveness.

It should be borne in mind that in life clearly defined types of temperament do not occur so often; usually one or another combination of them is characteristic of a person. The manifestation of temperaments is more clearly expressed in young people; with age it becomes less bright and muted, as a person’s behavior is increasingly regulated by character traits.

In the middle of the twentieth century. The interest of scientists and practitioners in types of temperament has awakened with renewed vigor, which has made it possible to clarify and expand ideas about the influence of temperament on human behavior and activity. Thus, scientists from the school of B.F. Teplov, it was discovered that the strength of the nervous system associated with performance has not only positive, but also negative aspects. The low performance of the weak type is compensated by high sensitivity, which allows for a more subtle response to environmental changes. The imbalance of a choleric person negatively affects activities that require quick reactions and mobility. The influence of temperament on performance is enhanced under extreme conditions.

Researchers have shown that the type of temperament leaves an imprint on the formation of production skills. Thus, in sanguine people, motor skills are formed very quickly, although at first chaotic activity is observed through trial and error. The developed skills of sanguine people are durable and resistant to interference. In choleric people, motor skills are more difficult to develop than in sanguine people. Extraneous interference significantly affects their activities, sometimes completely disrupting them.

Phlegmatic people have slow but highly coordinated movements. Thanks to their accuracy, consistency, and, in some cases, great persistence, they largely compensate for their inertia by showing high labor productivity. In melancholic people, skills are difficult to develop and are easily inhibited. After exercise, they can reach a satisfactory level, but only in a familiar environment. Work full of surprises and complications is contraindicated for them. The described features are largely manifested not only in motor activities, but also in other types of activities.

Characteristics of temperament largely determine the individual style of activity of each person. Individual style of activity - this is a stable system of techniques, methods, methods, determined by typological features, which develops in an individual in the process of activity and is appropriate for achieving a successful result.

In the process of activity, a person chooses such techniques and ways of performing actions that best suit his temperament. For example, on the basis of the inertia of nervous processes, punctuality arises, a tendency not to break away from the task at hand, smooth movements and stereotypical ways of accomplishing tasks are easily carried out. And on the basis of mobility, opposite traits spontaneously develop. From the totality of such involuntary forms of response, quite consciously applied and purposeful systems of actions and techniques are formed that characterize the individual style.

To carry out an individual approach to students, it is necessary to know their temperament. To determine a person's temperament, you should pay attention to his activity.

Psychology, which is more than a field for the idle exercises of learned bookworms, a psychology that is worth a person's life and strength, cannot limit itself to the abstract study of individual functions; it must, passing through the study of functions, processes, etc., ultimately lead to actual knowledge of real life, living people.

S. L. Rubinstein

Man differs from all other living beings on planet Earth primarily in his desire for knowledge. The desire to learn, to discover something new is what made him unique. This desire is characteristic of each of us, it is clearly noticeable in any human being from the very moment of birth. And among everything that a person would like to know, the most attractive and most limitless mystery is, of course, himself.

Most sciences are directly or indirectly related to the knowledge of human nature. But only one science is engaged in the targeted study of the human psyche - psychology. Its name itself speaks for itself: psycho- translated from ancient Greek means “soul”, logo- “speech, word.”

So, psychology is the science of the soul, or, as modern dictionaries define it, the science of mental processes, properties and states, as well as the patterns of development and functioning of the human psyche.

The special place of psychology among other human sciences is that in it the subject and object of research coincide. What does this mean? The fact that in psychology the object of study is the mental activity of a person, but we study this object with the help of it - our own psyche.

This is the particular difficulty of psychological research. It is a mistake to think that psychologists are people who, at first glance, can determine why a person behaves the way he does. And even more so, not a single psychologist will give you instant, unmistakable advice on how to improve your own life.

The book brought to your attention aims to introduce the reader to the basics of psychological knowledge. Surely at least from time to time you ask yourself questions: “Why do people behave differently in the same situation?”, “How to understand what another person is feeling?”, “Where do abilities and talents come from?”, “How to act to convey to my interlocutor an idea that is important to me” - and so on, and so on. All these questions, of course, can be resolved on the basis of common sense and simple everyday experience. But often the decisions made turn out to be incorrect, and then we feel the need for more complete and objective knowledge.

In this book we have tried to give an idea of ​​the various areas of the human psyche. The first two chapters focus on innate individual differences (temperaments and personality types). The third chapter is about the emotional sphere.

In the fourth chapter we will talk about what self-esteem is, how it is formed and what factors influence its adequacy.

The next, fifth, chapter of the book is devoted to the study of abilities, as well as one of the important practical problems of psychology - the choice of a professional path. The sixth chapter (“Motivation and will”) talks in detail about the motivating forces and causes of human behavior, and in the seventh we will take a brief excursion into the psychology of communication between people.

Finally, the final eighth chapter will give you an idea of ​​how a person develops and changes throughout life, what difficulties and opportunities he encounters at different stages of development.

We hope that this book will become for you the starting point from which to begin your long and fascinating acquaintance with the most human of all sciences - psychology.

Chapter 1
Temperament types

Each person has a unique identity from the moment of birth. Any nurse working in a maternity hospital can confirm this: all newborns behave differently: one toddler sleeps twenty-two hours a day, the other, violating all the rules of behavior for “normal” babies, stays awake for a long time, interestedly and carefully examining those bending over him adults, the third does not allow them to forget about themselves for a second, emitting piercing screams...

These differences, thanks to which already in the first days of life one cannot confuse Masha with Dasha, and Petya with Seryozha, are nothing more than a manifestation temperament. The attitude of parents, upbringing, life experience will further influence how these quietly sniffling (or loudly screaming) bundles grow up, but temperament will remain more or less unchanged “factory setting”.

Temperament is a manifestation of the type of nervous system in human activity, individual psychological characteristics of a person, which express the mobility of his nervous processes, their strength, and balance.

The study of different types of temperament has a long history. The founder of this teaching is the great ancient Greek physician and scientist Hippocrates. As this learned man believed, four types of fluid (juices) circulate in the human body: blood, yellow bile, black bile and mucus (phlegm). Each of them has its own special properties, and in each person these four “juices” are combined in the body in a certain proportion. This combination determines the characteristics of the body’s activity, as well as its susceptibility to certain diseases. And besides, the characteristics of human behavior also depend on how exactly the four liquids are combined and which one predominates.

The names of the four types identified by Hippocrates appeared, however, several centuries later, as did their detailed psychological descriptions. What Hippocrates called by the Greek word “krasis” (“mixing”), in Ancient Rome began to be called by the Latin word temperamentum (“proper relationship of parts, proportionality”).

The Roman physician Galen was the first to create a detailed classification of temperaments, which was based on the idea of ​​​​mixing four liquids. However, in Galen’s classification there were as many as thirteen types (including four Hippocratic ones). As Galen believed, the predominance of yellow bile (lat. chole) determines choleric temperament, blood ( sanguis) – sanguine, mucus ( phlegma) – phlegmatic, and black bile ( melanos hole) – meloncholic. Galen's actual psychological description of these four types was not detailed, but over time it expanded and became more and more detailed.

You are probably very familiar with these terms themselves - choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic - and at least their approximate meaning. Before we dive into the four types in detail, try to identify which temperament is being described in each of the passages below:

WHO IS WHO?

1. “...temperament is much more characteristic of northern peoples, for example the Dutch. Visit Rotterdam and you will see them. A thick, tall blond man with an unusually wide chest is coming towards you. You can conclude that he has strong lungs, a big heart, and good circulation. No, those voluminous lungs are compressed by excess fat. They receive and process only a very small amount of air. Movements are sluggish and slow. As a result, the small and agile Gascon beats the huge Dutch grenadier.

Mental properties: anxiety, from which great deeds arise that attract others, is completely alien. His usual state is calm, quiet well-being. He is characterized by softness, slowness, laziness, dullness of existence.<…>

2. Mental properties: increased impressionability, sudden, impetuous movements. The flame that devours a person... temperament gives rise to thoughts and desires that are self-sufficient and exclusive. It gives him an almost constant feeling of anxiety. The feeling of mental well-being that is easily given to another is completely unfamiliar to him: he finds peace only in the most intense activity. A person... of temperament is destined for great deeds by his bodily organization.<…>

3. ...distinguished by tightness in movements, hesitation and caution in decisions. His feelings are devoid of spontaneity. When he enters the living room, he makes his way along the walls. These people manage to express the simplest thing with hidden and gloomy passion. Love is always a serious matter for them.

One young man... put a bullet in his forehead because of love, but not because she was unhappy, but because he did not find the strength to confess to the object of his feelings. And death seemed to him less painful than this explanation.<…>

4...a man with a dazzling complexion, quite plump, cheerful, with a wide chest, which contains capacious lungs and indicates an active heart, therefore, rapid blood circulation and high temperature. Mental properties: elevated state of mind, pleasant and brilliant thoughts, benevolent and tender feelings; but habits are fickle; there is something lightweight and changeable in mental movements; the mind lacks depth and strength. He cannot be entrusted with the protection of an important fortress, but he should be invited to the role of a kind courtier. The overwhelming majority were French... and therefore there was no order in their army during the retreat from Russia.”

(These “portraits” are taken from Stendhal’s book “The History of Painting in Italy.” Quoted from: Gippenreiter Yu. B. Introduction to General Psychology. M., 2008.)

If you were not able to identify each of the presented “portraits” at first glance, do not be discouraged - now we will get acquainted in detail with the psychological uniqueness of various types of temperament. However, the information presented below will probably seem interesting to you even if you can easily distinguish a sanguine person from a choleric person. It is important not only to know exactly what these types “look” like.

In practical life, it will not be superfluous to understand what the strengths and weaknesses of different types of temperament are, what is psychologically comfortable for them, and what, on the contrary, can cause stress. This information is useful for self-analysis and for greater confidence in relationships with people around you. Let us also add this: in the past, many attempts were made in psychology to connect the psychological characteristics of temperaments with certain types of physical structure (human constitution). Strictly speaking, it was not possible to construct reliable evidence of such a connection. And yet we will give corresponding descriptions of the “typical” appearance of choleric people, sanguine people, phlegmatic people and melancholic people. For the sake of curiosity, you can try these descriptions on yourself and your friends - perhaps some truth will still be found in them?

Choleric temperament

If we say about a person that he has an “explosive temperament,” then we undoubtedly mean choleric. This is a tornado man, a walking grenade with the pin pulled. He can’t even dream of peace – and anyone who finds himself next to him will also have to forget about calm and stability.

The energy reserves that a choleric person possesses are amazing. It seems that he manages to be in several places at once and do a variety of things at the same time. A choleric person at work is a whirlwind and fireworks. It seems that in his hectic social activities he should have spent at least part of his charge, but no: returning from work in the evening, he does not enter, but bursts into the house and during dinner, which he devours, without sitting down on a chair for a second, manages to report family about everything that happened to him during the day, dump on them a whole mountain of plans for the coming weekend, vacation and next Christmas, ask a hundred questions and answer them - and, we emphasize, all this happens not in order, but simultaneously! How he succeeds is known only to the lucky owner of an “explosive temperament.”

With all this, the choleric person is extremely purposeful. He instantly (how could it be otherwise?) makes decisions and rushes to their implementation at full speed. Because of the mind-blowing speed with which he thinks, speaks and acts, because of his desire to be in time everywhere and everywhere, one may get the impression that he is a disorganized, frivolous and inattentive person. But this is not true at all. The choleric person forms his goals not only very quickly, but also extremely clearly. He may, of course, not have enough time to devote others to his plans, but he himself knows very well what exactly he is striving for.

Communication with choleric people is often difficult because they do not accept any compromises and are generally prone to a contrasting perception of the world - only black and only white, no shades or halftones! For the sake of a loved one, a choleric person, without hesitation, will go into fire and water, but he also demands the same from the object of his feelings. He is led through life not by reason, but by passion, and passion, as we know, is blind. Calm, reasonable arguments and unhurried development of relationships are unacceptable to him.

Portrait of a choleric person

Excitable, impulsive; energetic, decisive, purposeful, persistent; straightforward, demanding, prone to maximalism, uncompromising; pragmatic, selectively sociable.

How to communicate with a choleric person:

– if he yells at you, remember: he’s not really yelling at all, he’s just talking like that;

- if during the conversation the choleric interlocutor slammed his fist on the table several times, threw a lighter on the floor, stamped his foot - this does not mean at all that further dialogue with him is impossible; A person needs to relieve tension somehow!

- if you need something from him, tell him about it immediately, openly and clearly: lengthy “preparing the ground”, hints and verbose introductions that precede a conversation on the merits, deprive him of the last remnants of patience and make him furious before you have time finally speak out;

– deceiving a choleric person (even over trifles) is life-threatening! He himself is practically incapable of lying and does not forgive his loved ones for deception and insincerity;

- remember, believe and accept: he can not sit in one place for a long time, talk about one thing for a long time, “show patience” and “control yourself.” He will always react with irritation to delays, slowness, monotony and will never stop waving his arms and running around the room during an important conversation...

- but if you do not betray his trust, you show sincere attention and interest in him, and even better - approval and even admiration, he will apply all his fantastic energy and extraordinary creative abilities to achieve your common goals.

Advantages and disadvantages:

Choleric people usually achieve the greatest success in all areas related to communication: the “human factor” is of particular importance for choleric people due to their increased emotionality. A choleric person does not get tired of countless conversations; on the contrary, the emotions and attitudes of those around him charge him with energy. Of course, the violent temper of a choleric person often causes conflicts, but a choleric person who is passionate about some business or idea is always ready to neglect his personal interests in favor of the common good - it is only unacceptable for him to remain in the shadows and inactivity.

The unpredictability and impulsiveness of a choleric person can be, depending on the situation, both a strength and a weakness: he may not do what was expected of him, but it is choleric people who act as generators of ideas, since they are not afraid of novelty and are able to see the problem in a problem before others. a completely new perspective.

A choleric person easily and quickly adapts to new conditions and switches from one task to another. But with the formation of stable skills and the ability to perform routine work, to act according to approved instructions, things are much worse for him. Having given out brilliant new ideas, the choleric person quickly loses interest in them and is not inclined to carefully work through them, bringing them to perfection.

"Typical" appearance

Thin, often even fragile, long arms and legs, narrow chest, protruding joints; the skull is slightly cone-shaped, tapering upward, a pointed chin, a slightly developed or sloping lower jaw, a “protruding” nose - rather long, pointed.

Personalities

A. S. Pushkin, A. V. Suvorov

Sanguine temperament

Sanguine people are everyone's favorites: sociable, cheerful and immensely charming. They often say about such people: “A surprisingly easy person!” But the lightness of sanguine people is not only their advantage, but also a certain disadvantage. You feel quite happy, basking in the rays of his smile... until you discover that exactly the same, warm and sincere smile can be addressed to your cat, and to all your friends and acquaintances, and to the cashier at the department store , and to the electrician who came to repair the wiring - in a word, to any living creature that comes into the field of view of this glorious lover of life.

It is almost impossible to ruin a relationship with a sanguine person. In response to all your reproaches, he will smile and laugh it off, advise you “not to take such nonsense into your head” and will nullify any attempts to talk seriously. And the point, of course, is not that he is stupid or indifferent. He just always strives for balance and puts emotional comfort above all else. If necessary, he is capable of demonstrating remarkable diplomatic abilities, but his goal is always the same: for everything to be fine.

In theory, this position is very attractive and quite worthy, there is only one problem: if a sanguine person is convinced that very serious efforts are required to maintain harmony, he will most likely go to look for this “good” somewhere else. Unlike a choleric person, a sanguine person switches quite easily from one goal to another and is not inclined to make sacrifices.

Portrait of a sanguine person

Sincere, open, sociable, talkative; optimistic, cheerful, emotional; ready to compromise, easily switches from one problem to another; flexible, able to adapt, enterprising.

How to communicate with a sanguine person:

– do not expect to gain exclusive ownership of his charming smile and attentive, interested attitude;

– a sanguine person feels especially good if everyone without exception likes him; be prepared for his almost unconscious desire to charm everyone;

– in general, maintaining a good relationship with a sanguine person is quite simple, since he always votes for world peace and is ready to make concessions in order to maintain harmony, but you should not abuse this: he will not withstand boredom, routine and indifference;

– do not demand depth or strong emotional involvement from a sanguine person – he prefers comfort. He not only loves, but also knows how to create it, and with proper appreciation by others, this talent will manifest itself to the fullest.

Advantages and disadvantages:

Sanguine people are distinguished by good switchability from one task to another and high efficiency. A sanguine person who is passionate about work does not pay attention to external interference and irritants, quickly develops and retains the necessary new skills and abilities for a long time - but where energetic volitional efforts or careful monotonous work are required, sanguine people often lose to choleric and phlegmatic people.

As for choleric people, the most significant for sanguine people is the “human factor”. Consequently, the optimal areas of activity for them are everything related to communication. A sanguine person can win over, convince, and charm. But the role of a strong leader, as a rule, is worse for him.

"Typical" appearance

Short stature, rounded shape, tendency to be overweight, short limbs, wide and convex chest; round head, “potato”, “duck” or snub nose, short thick neck.

Personalities

M. Yu. Lermontov, Napoleon Bonaparte

Phlegmatic temperament

At first glance, a phlegmatic person is the exact opposite of a choleric person. Upon careful examination, many similar traits are revealed in the owners of these temperaments. This is, first of all, their persistence and desire to always achieve their goals. The only difference is the speed at which they do it. If a choleric person always overcomes obstacles on his way “at once,” quickly and recklessly, then a phlegmatic person acts very slowly and carefully, having carefully weighed all the pros and cons before doing so. Plans never “emerge” in his head, he painstakingly builds them, then nurtures them for a long time, and only then, after praying and rolling up his sleeves, he begins to implement them.

A phlegmatic person is not a warrior, but a creator. He is very peaceful, or at least too passive to enter into conflict. But this does not mean that he will obey all the demands of those around him: in terms of stubbornness, phlegmatic people are perhaps superior to representatives of any other temperament. If you express your dissatisfaction with his actions and try to change his plans, he will not argue or bicker with you - he will simply silently and persistently continue to follow his chosen path.

It is very difficult to make a phlegmatic person angry, and we do not advise you to even try to do this: if your attempt is crowned with success, then this “success” will be not only the first, but also the last - an angry phlegmatic person will not leave a wet spot on you. A slow and complacent, awkward and slightly funny phlegmatic person in a state of rage is transformed beyond recognition; he will simply crush the one who dares to disturb his peace. Fortunately, it is almost impossible to bring a phlegmatic person to such a state.

Portrait of a phlegmatic man

Closed, reserved, silent; peaceful, reliable, constant; slow, conformist; purposeful, patient, persistent, stubborn, pragmatic.

How to communicate with a phlegmatic person:

The last type of temperament that we will discuss, dear friends, is choleric people; people with predominantly this type of character are more confident than others, sometimes even too self-confident. In principle, choleric people are quite active people in life, they strive for leadership and dominance everywhere, they are able to withstand great mental stress, which allows them to be constantly charged with fighting. But choleric people are very irritable and unrestrained people, this is actually their quite noticeable weakness, they have what is called an explosive character, and this is not very good for high ambitions. Types of temperament are compared with such properties of the nervous system as strength - this is the degree of resistance of the nervous system to mental stress, mobility - it shows the speed of alternation of nervous processes and poise - this is the ratio of excitation-inhibition processes. Having an ideal balance of all these properties, a person can achieve a lot, and in principle, special training and special mental preparation allow one to get closer to this ideal.

Cholerics, in principle, are people aimed at winning, but they are hot-tempered people, they are not very good strategists, their increased level of testosterone, which allows them to constantly be on edge, interferes with composure. It is very difficult for these people to give in and retreat, but in life you need to be able to do this, and although hypothetically a person with any type of temperament, any character and personal qualities can come to power, very few can stay at the top, and choleric people are not among the people who play long game. They have strength of temperament, mobility is also excellent, but balance is the problem, and if at least one mechanism in the system is faulty, then such a system is known to be very unstable and malfunctions. In the life of a choleric person, disruptions may not be the most unpleasant; if, figuratively speaking, a scythe strikes a stone, which often happens in the lives of such people, then the question may arise bluntly - victory or defeat, so to speak, hit or miss. But in life you need to be a more flexible person, and everything that cannot be broken with your forehead can be successfully circumvented. The fact that pronounced types of temperament are rare, it is even believed that there are no such types at all, this is of course understandable. But the more pronounced the choleric type of temperament is in a person, the more aggressive and unbridled he is, he is a kind of wild beast, sometimes in a good, sometimes in a bad sense of the word, which few people arouse sympathy. However, some people like hot blood, so they are more attracted to this personality type than others.

If we talk about communicating with a choleric person, then here you should take a softer position, you should not enter into an obvious argument with a choleric person, a head-on attack is not very effective here, it is much easier to give in to the choleric person, softening his pressure, rather than standing in front of him like a stone, reflecting everything wall. In this case, the choleric person will quickly calm down and become more constructive, these people cannot maintain a conflict for a long time, they are bad strategists, as I already said. In addition, people who are characterized by ardent behavior are often able to stand their ground only because of principle, therefore, blinded by their own self-image, they do not allow the possibility of their own wrong. It is not difficult to distinguish a choleric person from other people; they are usually quite energetic and active people, with fairly sharp movements; such people like to demonstrate their strength and superiority, but they never show weakness. But this does not mean at all that they do not have these weaknesses; as we have found out, everyone has them, and choleric people, although to a greater extent are subjects, nevertheless also depend on external circumstances, to varying degrees, of course. Let's say the performance of a choleric person is very dependent on external factors, and therefore is very unstable, personal interests of course prevail over public ones, but let's say you can confuse a choleric person by artificially linking his interests with public ones.

So, in this case, external factors quite strongly influence the opinion and behavior of a choleric person, and this is already characteristic of the object, although in choleric people this manifests itself, let’s say, not obviously. Choleric people are impatient, and this, along with their hot temper, puts them in the middle row of the food chain; such people rarely make it to very big bosses, well, of course, if we are talking about a pronounced choleric person, in combination with other qualities, these people can rise quite high . A choleric person is someone who hits the table with his fist with the words: “It will be as I said,” and this evokes sympathy only among mentally weak and insecure people who want such strong individuals, from their point of view, to decide for them. But I would not call choleric people responsible people; they are far from this; high emotional excitability sometimes forces them to act even against their own interests. Managing choleric people is based primarily on an idea, and if you skillfully impose your idea on them, then the choleric person’s personal interest in this idea will make him a good worker for this idea, but he must believe in it strongly, otherwise he may give up everything when disappointed.

Choleric people love to lead and be first in everything, and this is an excellent opportunity to make so-called watchdogs out of them, combined with a good idea and intolerance of choleric people, even the most insignificant position, which allows the choleric person to rise above others, makes him dependent on this position. So it wouldn’t hurt choleric people themselves to be a little more prudent and restrained, and of course, objectivity in their views and rationality wouldn’t hurt them either. In addition, choleric people are very sociable, easily make contact and are always dominant in the communication process, almost always. Therefore, in principle, choleric people have a lot of strong qualities, by correcting which they can achieve simply unprecedented heights, because the most important thing that choleric people have is the desire to subjugate, control and see rivals in everyone, these are very necessary qualities. The only thing missing is the vision of partners in everyone, which can be achieved by working on oneself, then the capabilities of these people will increase significantly.

The disadvantage of choleric people, I believe, is the obviousness of their intentions. Namely, the desire to control, dominate, subjugate. Being second persons, such people may not rise higher, due to the obviousness of their intentions, since other people, seeing these intentions, can interfere with them. Some leaders, seeing a potential rival in one of their subordinates, can significantly ruin his life, or get rid of him altogether, in order to thus protect themselves from possible danger. Therefore, of course, choleric people sometimes need to be more flexible and secretive, after all, there are a lot of people with ambitions, more than it seems, but when another gray mouse comes to the fore, no one can understand how this could happen, because all their lives being at his beck and call, this man did not stand out in any way? And all thanks to secrecy, with the help of which a person gets very close to those who can subsequently give him power. I ask you not to draw any parallels, but I recommend that you think about this, especially for choleric people, who, in addition to thinking, should also draw appropriate conclusions in order to become even stronger, having a good basis for great opportunities.