The doctrine of temperament was first created by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-356 BC). It was from his teaching that the term “temperament” subsequently came into use, and the names of all four types were fixed.
According to the teachings of Hippocrates, the difference between people in temperament is explained by the different ratio of juices (liquids) in the human body. There are four types of liquids: bile, designed to maintain dryness; blood intended to warm; mucus, designed to cool, and black bile - dampness, moisture in the body.
According to Hippocrates, in each person one of the liquids predominates. Depending on what type of liquids predominates in this mixture, people differ in their temperament types.
What is temperament from a psychological point of view?
Temperament is an individual psychological feature of a person, which manifests itself in the degree of emotional excitability, the speed and energy of mental processes, the speed and expressiveness of movements, facial expressions and gestures, as well as in the peculiarities of mood changes.
One of the classifications connects the characteristics of temperament with the difference in the types of higher nervous activity. According to the teachings of physiologist I.P. Pavlov, types of higher nervous activity are characterized by such basic properties as strength, balance and mobility of the processes of excitation and inhibition. Strength refers to the performance of nerve cells, their ability to withstand strong stress without falling into an inhibited state.
(melancholic)
(choleric)
(sanguine) (phlegmatic)
Relationship between temperament and the type of higher nervous activity
Mobility is the speed of change from one process to another. It ensures adaptation to unexpected and drastic changes in circumstances, adaptation to a new team, and transition from one type of activity to another.
I. P. Pavlov gives 4 main typical combinations of the named properties in the form of 4 types of nervous activity. They correspond to the four classical temperaments, the names of which, as already noted, are associated with the works of the ancient Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates.
It should be borne in mind that temperament is little subject to change under the influence of environment and upbringing. This is an innate personality quality. Temperament properties can either favor or counteract the formation of certain personality traits. Currently, the generally accepted point of view is the equivalence of temperaments, since each of them has positive and negative qualities. Based on each temperament, with improper upbringing, negative personality manifestations can develop.
A manager needs to know the characteristics of the temperament types of his subordinates and take this into account when hiring, when distributing work, and when communicating with them personally. In addition, you should know the characteristics of your temperament and take them into account when establishing contacts with colleagues and business partners, which will allow you to avoid conflicts, as well as correctly select personnel and distribute work.
It is known that the same impact on workers with different temperaments can cause them to react differently. So, for example, a critical remark irritates a choleric person, pushes a sanguine person to take active action, leaves a phlegmatic person indifferent and unsettles a melancholic person. When communicating with a choleric or melancholic person, it is necessary to show maximum restraint and tact, since in the case of, for example, harsh expression of comments, a violent negative reaction on the part of the choleric person or resentment on the part of the melancholic person is possible. It is inappropriate to entrust work related to efficiency and new communication with people to a melancholic person, and to a choleric person - tasks that require special endurance, tact and patience.
A person’s temperament influences his work activity both positively and negatively. However, only extreme manifestations of one or another type of higher nervous activity, for example, excessive excitability or inhibition, mobility or inertia, adversely affect work.
For successful work activity, what is important is not some optimal temperament or the adaptation of the activity to the employee’s temperament. It is necessary to take into account the characteristics of temperament in such a way that it helps to better perform work tasks, so that a person’s temperament can be regulated. That is, use strong qualities of temperament. Knowing your capabilities and temperamental characteristics, it is not difficult to determine in which area you will be more successful. Then, by building on your strengths and developing your weaknesses, you can quickly achieve success in life.
For a long time, psychologists believed that temperament does not change throughout a person’s life. Recent research has shown that it can change, albeit slowly. Eastern psychologists even believe that as a result of certain exercises, a complete restructuring of temperament can occur. The so-called “law of seven” has been discovered, according to which more or less noticeable changes in a person’s temperamental structure occur during periods from one seven-year period to another. This is most clearly observed, for example, around 7 years old, when childhood ends, and between 14 and 21 years old, when a teenager becomes an adult. The next period, ending at 28 years old, marks social adaptation. The critical age is between 49 and 56 years. At this time, age-related changes occur.
Of course, these boundaries are fluid, but the trend is common to everyone. After all, temperament changes primarily because the body itself and its physical capabilities change. Over the years, a mobile choleric person can become outwardly indistinguishable from a phlegmatic person, and only special tests will help recognize the passions raging in him. And modern means of self-regulation can help a melancholic person acquire traits of a strong type.
Regarding the possibility of changing the type of temperament, I would like to emphasize that, in our opinion, only the external manifestation of temperament changes.
So, let's look at the psychological characteristics of temperament types.
Of the four known types of temperament, sanguine and choleric people are more common in life, melancholic people are less common, and phlegmatic people are even less common. Many people have a temperament that uniquely combines the features of several types of temperaments, but the features of one of them predominate. In accordance with this, you should determine what type of temperament you belong to. This can be done with the help of well-known psychological tests, including the Eysenck test, which, agreeing with the famous psychologist C. G. Jung, believes that there are two options for adapting to the world around us - extraversion and introversion. These concepts subsequently began to be considered the main characteristics of temperament. In addition, the Eysenck test determines the stability or instability of the nervous system.
Extraversion is manifested in the personality’s focus on the outside world: sociability, activity, optimism, self-confident and impulsive behavior. Extroverts are people who are open in their emotional expressions and love movement and risk. They are characterized by impulsiveness, behavioral flexibility, and social adaptability.
These are usually active, noisy people, “the life of the party”, ringleaders, excellent businessmen and organizers, have external charm, are straightforward in their judgments, and, as a rule, focus on external assessment, so they can pass exams well, they are drawn to new sensations , optimistic, good at work that requires quick decision making.
Where should extroverts work (cholerics and sanguines):
* investment planning;
* corporate finance;
* positions related to working with clients;
* sale;
* Public Relations;
* management, including work with personnel;
* marketing.
Introverts are characterized by a focus on the inner world of a person; an introvert is uncommunicative, passive, calm, thoughtful, reasonable.
Introverts are people for whom the greatest interest is in the phenomena of their own inner world; For them, their theories and assessments of reality are often more important than reality itself. They are prone to reflection, introspection, are withdrawn and experience difficulties in social adaptation, and are often socially passive. Typically, they are more sensitive to external stimuli, recognize colors and sounds better, are more careful, neat and pedantic, show better results on intelligence tests, and do better at school and university.
Introverts cope better with monotonous work. Bosses who hold high positions that do not require constant communication with people are most often introverts.
Introverts (phlegmatic and melancholic) more often work:
* financial analysts,
* accountants,
* auditors,
* simultaneous interpreters,
* dispatchers.
That is, they work where perseverance, attentiveness and concentration are required. It can also be precise work combined with diplomacy in relationships with people.
Let's consider the characteristics of temperament types.
Choleric temperament.
Representatives of this type are characterized by increased excitability, and as a result, unbalanced behavior. The choleric person is quick-tempered, aggressive, straightforward in relationships, and energetic in activity. Cholerics are characterized by cyclical work patterns. They are able to devote themselves to their work with all passion and get carried away by it. But their strength is exhausted, their faith in their abilities has dropped, a depressed mood has set in, and they do nothing. Such cyclicality is one of the consequences of the imbalance of their nervous system.
Sanguine temperament.
A representative of this type of temperament, I.P. Pavlov is characterized as an ardent, very productive figure, but only when he has an interesting business, i.e. constant excitement. When there is no such thing, he becomes boring and lethargic.
For a sanguine person, great mobility and easy adaptability to changing living conditions are common. He quickly finds contact with people, is sociable, and does not feel constrained in a new environment. In a team, a sanguine person is always cheerful, cheerful, willingly gets down to business, and is capable of passion. However, while developing vigorous activity, he can cool down just as quickly as he can quickly get carried away if the matter ceases to interest him, if it requires painstakingness and patience, if it is of an everyday nature.
For a sanguine person, emotions arise easily and are easily replaced. This is one of the conditions that he can quickly free himself from oppressive disorder, if it arises, and remain in a constant optimistic state of mind, if circumstances sufficiently excite him and attract him to one thing or another.
The ease with which a sanguine person forms and remakes new temporary connections and great mobility characterize the flexibility of the mind. A sanguine person is prone to wit, quickly grasps new things, and easily switches attention. He is productive in dynamic and varied work. Work that requires quick reactions, and at the same time balance, suits him best.
Phlegmatic temperament.
According to the characteristics of I.P. Pavlova, a phlegmatic person is a calm, balanced, always even, persistent and persistent worker of life. Balance and some inertia of nervous processes allow a phlegmatic person to easily remain calm in any conditions. In the presence of strong inhibition, balancing the process of excitation, it is not difficult for him to restrain his impulses, impulses, strictly follow the developed routine of life, the system at work, and is not distracted by minor reasons. A phlegmatic person can perform a task that requires an even expenditure of effort, prolonged and methodical effort (perseverance, sustained attention and patience).
The phlegmatic person is solid, he does not waste his efforts: having calculated them, he brings the matter to the end. He is equal in relationships, moderately sociable, and does not like to chat in vain.
The disadvantage of a phlegmatic person is his inertia and inactivity. He needs time to swing, to concentrate, to switch it to another object, etc. Inertia also affects his stereotypes, the difficulty of restructuring them, which leads to excessive fixedness of character and insufficient flexibility. However, this quality - inertia - also has a positive meaning. It ensures unhurriedness, thoroughness and, in general, constancy and certainty of character. Phlegmatic people are especially suited to work that requires method, composure and long-term performance.
Melancholic temperament.
Representatives of this type are distinguished by high emotional sensitivity, and as a result, increased vulnerability. Melancholic people are somewhat withdrawn, especially if they meet new people, are indecisive in difficult circumstances, and experience strong fear in dangerous situations.
The weakness of the processes of excitation and inhibition when they are unbalanced (inhibition predominates) leads to the fact that any strong influence inhibits the activity of the melancholic person, and he experiences extreme inhibition. Mild irritation also has a specific effect on a melancholic person; subjectively, it is experienced by him as a strong impact, and therefore the melancholic person is inclined to give himself over to worry about an insignificant reason. This was considered by psychologists as the ability of a melancholic person to experience strong feelings.
In a familiar environment, and especially in a good, friendly team, a melancholic person can be a fairly sociable person, successfully conduct the assigned task, show perseverance, and overcome difficulties.
So, temperament affects the nature of activity (in performance, communication or social contact), adaptation to changing conditions.
10.3. Concept and general characteristics of character.
Character is a holistic formation that determines the characteristics of a person’s activity and behavior and is characterized by a stable attitude towards various aspects of reality.
In character, personality is revealed from the side of its content. In temperament - from the side of its dynamic manifestations.
Character is an individually unique combination of constant, essential properties of a person, manifested in his behavior. Character expresses the most typical, essential characteristics of a person, knowledge of which allows us to some extent foresee how a person will act in certain situations.
Character arises and is formed in society. The typical features of society manifest themselves in the character of each person differently, depending on his interests, abilities, feelings, and motives.
The individual and the general in character acquire unity. Character is both “stable” and “changing.”
Character cannot be identified with temperament, and at the same time they are closely interrelated. Temperament can change qualitatively under the influence of character; temperament colors character traits in its own way and gives them unique forms; character can deeply influence temperament, subordinating emotional excitability to the content side of the personality, its orientation and will. Character is also interconnected with other aspects of personality: intelligence, special abilities.
Human character is multifaceted and diverse in its manifestations. At the same time, he is complete. Integrity is achieved by the core, most stable, dominant in strength and activity traits.
Character Structure
In the structure of character, several groups of traits are distinguished that express different attitudes of the individual to reality.
The first group includes traits that manifest themselves in activity: initiative, hard work, efficiency, etc.
The second group consists of traits that manifest themselves in relation to others: tactfulness, sensitivity, etc.
The third group is a system of a person’s relationship to himself: self-criticism, modesty, pride, etc.
The fourth group includes traits that characterize a person’s relationship to things: accuracy, thrift, generosity, stinginess, etc.
Character is inextricably linked with a selective attitude towards the environment; it is a specific combination of attitudes towards nature, society, and oneself. Like the entire mental life of people, relationships to the environment are deeply dynamic, dependent on changes occurring outside, in life, in human activity; some relationships are replaced by others - relationships of a different level.
Character is considered as the psychological makeup of a person’s personality, expressed in its direction and will.
Character is a socio-historical category. The basis of its formation is the socio-historical conditions of human life with the surrounding social environment. At different age stages, character formation occurs in different ways, depending on life experience, living conditions, prevailing forms of activity, conditions of upbringing and self-education. The formation of character begins in childhood and largely depends on the microworld with which the child interacts.
The system of constantly increasing the complexity of demands on the part of adults is of decisive importance for the formation of positive character traits. An important point is the objectivity of assessing people’s actions.
10.5. Character typologies.
In the history of sciences, there are known attempts to explain the character of various people depending on the structure and outline of their face, on the shape of the hands and folds of the skin of the palms, on the color of the eyes and hair, etc.
The so-called constitutional theories connecting the characteristics of a person’s character with his appearance have become widespread (I. Lombroso, E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon).
The character has the following expressive features:
1. Actions and actions (conscious and intentional actions allow us to judge what a person is like).
2. Features of speech (loud or quiet, fast or slow pace, verbosity and isolation, emotionality and dryness, etc.), all this expresses certain character traits.
3. Appearance (a smiling or gloomy face, the expression of the eyes, how a person walks: with sweeping or small steps, how he stands - all this also characterizes a person).
Accentuation character are extreme variants of the norm as a result of the strengthening of its individual traits.
1. Demonstrative type. Characterized by an increased ability to repress, demonstrative behavior, liveliness, mobility, and ease of establishing contacts. He is prone to fantasy, deceit and pretense, aimed at embellishing his person, to adventurism, artistry, and posturing. He is driven by the desire for leadership, the need for recognition, the thirst for constant attention to his person, the thirst for power, praise; the prospect of being undetected weighs him down. He demonstrates high adaptability to people, emotional lability (easy mood swings) in the absence of truly deep feelings, and a tendency to intrigue (with an externally soft manner of communication). There is boundless egocentrism, a thirst for admiration, sympathy, veneration, and surprise. Usually the praise of others in his presence causes him a particularly unpleasant feeling; he cannot stand it. The desire for a company is usually associated with the need to feel like a leader, to occupy an exceptional position. Self-esteem is very far from objectivity. He can irritate with his self-confidence and high claims; he systematically provokes conflicts, but at the same time actively defends himself. Possessing a pathological ability to repress, he can completely forget what he does not want to know about. This unchains him in his lies. He usually lies with an innocent face, because what he says is true for him at the moment; Apparently, he is not internally aware of his lie, or he is aware of it very shallowly, without noticeable remorse. Able to captivate others with his originality of thinking and actions.
2. Stuck type. He is characterized by moderate sociability, tediousness, a penchant for moralizing, and talkativeness. Often suffers from imaginary injustice towards him. In this regard, he shows wariness and distrust towards people, is sensitive to insults and grief, is vulnerable, suspicious, vindictive, worries about what happened for a long time, and is not able to easily move on from insults. He is characterized by arrogance and often initiates conflicts. Arrogance, rigidity of attitudes and views, and highly developed ambition often lead to persistent assertion of his interests, which he defends with particular vigor. He strives to achieve high results in any business he undertakes and shows great persistence in achieving his goals. The main feature is a tendency to affect (love of truth, resentment, jealousy, suspicion), inertia in the manifestation of affects, in thinking, in motor skills.
4. Pedantic type. It is characterized by rigidity, inertia of mental processes, and prolonged experience of traumatic events. He rarely enters into conflicts, acting as a passive rather than an active party. At the same time, he reacts very strongly to any manifestation of disorder. At work he behaves like a bureaucrat, making many formal demands on others. Punctual, neat, pays special attention to cleanliness and order, scrupulous, conscientious, inclined to strictly follow the plan, unhurried in carrying out actions, diligent, focused on high quality work and special accuracy, prone to frequent self-examinations, doubts about the correctness of the work performed, grumbling, formalism willingly cedes leadership to other people.
5. Excitable type. Insufficient controllability, weakening of control over drives and impulses are combined in people of this type with the power of physiological drives. He is characterized by increased impulsiveness, instinctiveness, rudeness, tediousness, gloominess, anger, a tendency to friction and conflicts, in which he himself is an active, provoking party. Irritable, quick-tempered, often changes jobs, and is difficult to get along with in a team. There is low contact in communication, slowness of verbal and non-verbal reactions, heaviness of actions. For him, no work becomes attractive, he works only when necessary, and shows the same reluctance to learn. Indifferent to the future, he lives entirely in the present, wanting to extract a lot of entertainment from it. Increased impulsiveness or the resulting arousal reaction is difficult to suppress and can be dangerous to others. He can be domineering, choosing the weakest for communication.
6. Hyperthymic type. People of this type are distinguished by great mobility, sociability, talkativeness, expressiveness of gestures, facial expressions, pantomimes, excessive independence, a tendency to mischief, and a lack of a sense of distance in relationships with others. They often spontaneously deviate from the original topic of conversation. They make a lot of noise everywhere, love the company of their peers, and strive to boss them around. They almost always have a very good mood, good health, high vitality, often a flourishing appearance, good appetite, healthy sleep, a tendency towards gluttony and other joys of life. These are people with high self-esteem, cheerful, frivolous, superficial. At the same time, they are businesslike, inventive, energetic, and proactive. A great desire for independence can be a source of conflict. They are characterized by outbursts of anger and irritation, especially when they encounter strong opposition and fail. They are prone to immoral acts, increased irritability, and projectism. They do not take their responsibilities seriously enough. They find it difficult to endure conditions of strict discipline, monotonous activity, and forced loneliness.
7. Dysthymic type. People of this type are distinguished by seriousness, depressed mood, slowness, and weak willpower. They are characterized by a pessimistic attitude towards the future, low self-esteem, as well as low contact, reticence in conversation, and silence. Such people are homebodies and individualists. They usually avoid society, noisy company, and lead a secluded lifestyle. They are often gloomy, inhibited, and tend to fixate on the shadow sides of life. They are conscientious, value those who are friends with them and are ready to obey them, have a heightened sense of justice, as well as slow thinking.
8. Anxious type. People of this type are characterized by low communication, minor mood, timidity, timidity, and lack of self-confidence. Children of the anxious type are often afraid of the dark, animals, and are afraid to be alone. They avoid noisy and lively peers, do not like excessively noisy games, experience a feeling of timidity and shyness, and have a hard time with tests, exams, and inspections. They are often embarrassed to answer in front of the class. They willingly submit to the tutelage of their elders; adult lectures can cause them remorse, guilt, tears, and despair. They early develop a sense of duty, responsibility, and high moral and ethical requirements. They try to disguise the feeling of their own inferiority in self-affirmation through those types of activities where they can reveal their abilities to a greater extent.
The touchiness, sensitivity, and shyness characteristic of them since childhood prevent them from getting close to those with whom they want. A particularly weak link is the reaction to the attitude of others towards them. Intolerance to ridicule and suspicion are accompanied by the inability to stand up for oneself, to defend the truth in the face of unfair accusations. They rarely enter into conflicts with others, playing a mainly passive role in them; in conflict situations, they seek support and support. Friendly, self-critical, efficient. Due to their defenselessness, they often serve as scapegoats and targets for jokes.
9. Exalted type. A striking feature of this type is the ability to admire, admire, as well as smiling, a feeling of happiness, joy, and pleasure. These feelings can often arise in them for a reason that does not cause much excitement in others; they are easily delighted by joyful events and in complete despair by sad ones. They are characterized by high contact, talkativeness, and amorousness. Such people often argue, but do not lead to open conflicts. In conflict situations, they are both active and passive parties. They are attached to friends and loved ones, altruistic, have a sense of compassion, good taste, and show brightness and sincerity of feelings. They can be alarmists, subject to momentary moods, impulsive, easily move from a state of delight to a state of sadness, and have mental lability.
10. Emotive type. This type is related to the exalted one, but its manifestations are not so intense. They are characterized by emotionality, sensitivity, anxiety, talkativeness, timidity, and deep reactions in the area of subtle feelings. Their most strongly expressed feature is humanity, empathy for other people or animals, responsiveness, kindness, they rejoice at the successes of others. They are impressionable, tearful, and take any life events more seriously than other people. Teenagers react sharply to scenes from films where someone is in danger; scenes of violence can cause them a strong shock that will not be forgotten for a long time and can disturb their sleep. They rarely enter into conflicts, they carry grievances within themselves without spilling out. They are characterized by a heightened sense of duty and diligence. They take care of nature, love to grow plants and care for animals.
11. Cyclothymic type. Characterized by alternating hyperthymic and dysthymic states. They are characterized by frequent periodic mood swings, as well as dependence on external events. Joyful events cause pictures of hyperthymia in them: thirst for activity, increased talkativeness, racing ideas; sad ones - depression, slowness of reactions and thinking, their manner of communication with people around them also often changes.
In adolescence, two variants of cyclothymic accentuation can be found: typical and labile cycloids. Typical cycloids in childhood usually give the impression of being hyperthymic, but then lethargy and loss of strength appear; what was previously easy now requires exorbitant effort. Previously noisy and lively, they become lethargic homebodies, there is a decrease in appetite, insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness. They react to comments with irritation, even rudeness and anger, in the depths of their souls, however, at the same time falling into despondency, deep depression, suicidal attempts are not excluded. They study unevenly, make up for any omissions with difficulty, and create in themselves an aversion to studying. In labile cycloids, the phases of mood changes are usually shorter than in typical cycloids. Bad days are marked by more intense bad mood than lethargy. During the period of recovery, the desire to have friends and be in company is expressed. Mood affects self-esteem.
TOPIC 11. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ABILITIES.
11.1. Concept, types, structure of abilities.
B.M. Teplov includes three characteristics in the concept of “ability”:
1. Abilities are understood as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another.
2. Abilities are not called all individual characteristics, but only those that are related to the success of performing any activity or many activities.
3. The concept of “ability” is not limited to the knowledge, skills and abilities that have already been developed by a given person.
An essential indicator of abilities is the high quantitative and qualitative productivity of a person, even despite the unfavorable conditions of his development and activity.
Types of abilities.
Abilities are divided according to their breadth, the uniqueness of their combination (structure) and the degree of development.
By breadth, general and special abilities are distinguished
By studying specifically the psychological characteristics of various abilities, we can identify general qualities that meet the requirements of not one, but many types of activity, and special qualities that meet a narrower range of requirements of a given activity. In the structure of the abilities of some individuals, these general qualities can be extremely clearly expressed, which makes it possible to talk about the presence of versatile abilities in people, about general abilities for a wide range of different activities, specialties and occupations.
General abilities are studied by different researchers. So, L.S. Leites calls general abilities activity And self-regulation.
Menchinskaya included in her general abilities:
- high level of analytical and synthetic activity;
- flexibility of thinking;
- harmonious relationship between verbal-logical and visual-figurative thinking.
Special abilities are understood as such a system of personality properties that helps to achieve high results in any special field or specific activity.
For example, they distinguish between constructive-technical, organizational, pedagogical, mathematical, musical and other abilities.
Structure of abilities.
Each activity places certain demands on the human psyche. The success of an activity does not depend on any one ability, but on their combination.
The structure of abilities is determined by the requirements of a specific activity. It is different for different types of activities.
Thus, the structure of abilities for foreign languages includes the following components:
Auditory differential sensitivity;
Amount of RAM;
The ability to derive a language rule;
Flexibility of transformation processes (translation from one language to another and back);
Verbal fluency.
The structure of teaching abilities includes other components:
Academic ability (subject knowledge);
Organizational skills;
Didactic abilities (the ability to present material clearly and clearly);
Communication skills;
Love for children;
Pedagogical tact;
Artistic abilities;
Oratorical skills
The structure of each specific ability as an individual’s readiness for a given activity is characterized by significant complexity and includes a set of qualities, among which there are leading and auxiliary ones.
General and special abilities are closely interrelated. The higher the development of general abilities, the more internal conditions are created for the development of special abilities. The development of special abilities has a positive effect on general mental abilities.
Ability levels.
In their development, abilities comprise a number of levels: at the lowest level are the abilities themselves, then comes giftedness, talent, and genius completes the development of abilities.
So, capabilities– these are individual psychological characteristics of a person that ensure the ease and success of performing activities.
Giftedness- a qualitatively unique combination of abilities on which the possibility of success in activity depends. Individual abilities do not simply exist side by side and independently of each other. Each ability changes and acquires a qualitatively different character depending on the presence and degree of development of other abilities. Giftedness is a systemic manifestation of abilities.
Talent– high level of development of abilities. Talent is a combination of abilities that gives a person the opportunity to successfully, independently and originally perform any work activity. Talent provides the opportunity to acquire mastery. In the development of talent, work and daily practice of relevant activities are of great importance.
Genius– the highest level of development of abilities, both general and special. We can speak of the presence of genius if a person achieves such results of creative activity that constitute an era in the life of society and in the development of culture.
P E D A G O G I K A
Temperament should be understood as natural behavioral characteristics that are typical for a given person and manifest themselves in the dynamics, tone and balance of reactions to life influences. Behavior depends not only on social conditions, but also on the characteristics of the natural organization of the individual. Temperament is precisely determined by the biological organization of the individual, and therefore is detected quite early and clearly in children in play, activities and communication.
Temperament colors all mental manifestations of an individual; it affects the nature of the flow of emotions and thinking, volitional action, and affects the pace and rhythm of speech. At the same time, we must remember that neither interests, nor hobbies, nor social attitudes, nor the moral upbringing of an individual depend on temperament.
The doctrine of temperament arose in ancient times. Doctors Hippocrates and then Galen, observing the individual characteristics of people's behavior, made an attempt to describe and explain these characteristics. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is considered to be the founder of the doctrine of temperament. Hippocrates believed that there are four fluids in the human body: blood, mucus, yellow and black bile. When these liquids are mixed correctly, a person is healthy; when mixed incorrectly, a person is sick. One of the liquids predominates, which determines a person’s temperament. The names of the temperaments, given by the names of the liquids, have survived to this day. Thus, choleric temperament comes from the word chole (bile), sanguine - from sanguis (blood), phlegmatic - from phlegma (mucus), melancholic - from melan chole (black bile).
Hippocrates believed that temperament to a certain extent depends on a person’s lifestyle and climatic conditions. Thus, with a sedentary lifestyle, phlegm accumulates, and with an active lifestyle, bile accumulates, hence the corresponding manifestations of temperament. Hippocrates correctly described the types, but could not explain them scientifically.
Subsequently, in addition to humoral theories, chemical, physical, anatomical, neurological and purely psychological theories were put forward. However, none of them provides a correct and complete explanation of the nature of temperament.
The scientific solution to the question of the fundamentals of temperament was first given by I.P. Pavlov in his teaching on the types of nervous systems of animals and humans. I. P. Pavlov and his colleagues, studying the conditioned reflex reactions of dogs, paid attention to individual differences in their behavior, which are manifested primarily in the speed and accuracy of the movement of conditioned reactions - positive or inhibitory, their intensity, and the ability to adequately respond to changes in stimuli , general behavior in experimental situations. I.P. Pavlov, proving the existence of a certain pattern in the manifestation of individual differences, put forward the hypothesis that they are based on the fundamental properties of nervous processes - excitation and inhibition, their balance and mobility.
The strength of the nervous system determines its performance. It manifests itself primarily in functional endurance, i.e. the ability to withstand long-term or short-term, but strong stimulation. The balance of nervous processes is the balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition, and their mobility is the rate of change of excitation and inhibition. The mobility of nervous processes is manifested in the ability to change behavior depending on conditions, to quickly move from a passive state to an active one, or vice versa. The opposite quality to mobility is the inertia of nervous processes. The nervous system is more inert when it takes more time and effort to move from one process to another.
These qualities of nervous processes form certain systems, combinations, which predetermine the type of nervous system.
I. P. Pavlov identified four main types of the nervous system, close to the traditional typology of Hippocrates - Galen. Comparing his types of nervous system with the typology of Hippocrates - Galen, the great Russian physiologist describes them as follows:
Strong, balanced, agile type - sanguine;
Strong, balanced, inert type - phlegmatic;
Strong, unbalanced type - choleric;
The weak type is melancholic.
According to I.P. Pavlov, temperament is the most important characteristic of the human nervous system, which in one way or another affects all the activities of each individual. I.P. Pavlov understood the type of nervous system as innate, relatively weakly susceptible to changes under the influence of environment and upbringing. He called it genotype. Based on each type, different systems of conditioned neural connections are formed. The process of their formation depends on the type of nervous system. Thus, the type of nervous system provides uniqueness to human behavior, leaves a characteristic imprint on the entire essence of a person - determines the mobility of mental processes and their stability. However, it is not a decisive factor in behavior, actions, and beliefs that are formed in the process of a person’s individual life and in the process of upbringing.
IP Pavlov's typology has become the source of many studies of temperament. So, at the end of the 50s of the XX century. Laboratory studies were carried out under the leadership of B. M. Teplov, V. D. Nebilitsin, V. S. Merlin, who supplemented I. P. Pavlov’s typologies with new elements. Many techniques have been developed for studying the human nervous system, which have made it possible to better understand the role of individual temperamental characteristics in human activity.
10.1. Approaches to the study of temperament and their use in domestic and foreign penitentiary psychology
Temperament determines differences in people's behavior, primarily in dynamic aspects. It is based on a type of higher nervous activity.
There are different approaches to characterizing temperament. The humoral theory of individual differences linked the state of the body with the ratio of various juices (liquids). In this regard, four types of temperament were distinguished: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic (Hippocrates, Galen, Kant). J. Strelyau noted that “the influence that the teachings of ancient doctors and philosophers had on the further development of the typology of temperaments can be judged at least by the fact that until the middle of the 18th century. almost all researchers saw the anatomical and physiological basis of temperament in the structure and functioning of the nervous system” (Ya. Strelyau. The role of temperament in mental development. - M., 1982. P. 20.).
Constitutional theories of temperament were based on differences in the constitution of the body - its physical structure, the relationship of its individual parts, various tissues (E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon). On this basis, E. Kretschmer identified three types of temperament: schizothymic, ixothymic and cyclothymic. A schizothymic person has an asthenic build, is closed, prone to fluctuations in emotions, stubborn, difficult to change attitudes and views, and has difficulty adapting to the environment. An ixothymic person, on the contrary, has an athletic build, is calm, unimpressive, distinguished by restrained gestures and facial expressions, low flexibility of thinking, and pettiness. The cyclothymic has a picnic physique, is sociable and realistic, his emotions are dynamic.
W. Sheldon distinguishes types of temperament depending on the functions of certain organs of the body: viscerotonia (from lat. viscera– viscera), somatonia (from Greek. soma– body) and cerebrotonia (from lat. cerebrut- brain). The differences between temperaments lie in the predominance of certain properties.
The main disadvantage of these theories of temperament can be considered that they judge temperament by the systems of the body that are least associated with temperament.
The dependence of the course of mental processes and human behavior on the functioning of the nervous system was determined by I.P. Pavlov. He and his students identified three main properties of the nervous system: the strength of excitation and inhibition, their mobility (the ability to quickly replace each other) and balance. Based on the doctrine of the properties of the nervous system I.P. Pavlov developed the doctrine of types of higher nervous activity (HNA).
Excitation is a property of living organisms, the active response of excitable tissue to irritation, the process of transferring information about the properties of irritations coming from outside.
Inhibition is an active process inextricably linked with excitation, leading to a delay in the activity of nerve centers or working organs.
The typology of GNI included four main types and coincided with the ancient classification of temperaments: sanguine, with a strong, balanced and mobile type of nervous system; choleric – a strong, mobile, but unbalanced type of nervous system; phlegmatic - a strong, balanced, but inert type of nervous system; melancholic – a weak type of nervous system.
K. Cooper gave characteristics of different types of temperament (Table 8).
Table 8
| Sign | Sanguine | Choleric | Phlegmatic person | Melancholic |
| Speech, movements, facial expressions | Joyfully animated | Energetic, determined, alive | Calm, slow, heavy | Slow, lethargic |
| Features of life attitudes | A joyful manifestation of inner life. Always cheerful, happy and cheerful. Cares and the tragic, as well as the unpleasant, are swept aside. Loves fun, bustle and would like to always live without complications | Lives energetically, asserting his will. Activity is combined with a strong will. Irritable, quick-tempered, quick in business. Hates laziness, slowness and stiffness. Wants to quickly achieve the goal and is not afraid of dangers | Slow in feelings. Calm and cool. Has difficulty losing balance, avoids vigorous activity and effort, is never in a hurry | He thinks and thinks for a long time. Dissatisfied if he is distracted from internal experiences or disturbed. He takes everything seriously, so he doesn’t find real joy in life. Loves loneliness and thinks about bad things that can happen or have happened |
| Social roles | Trade workers, merchants, actors and workers | Officers, executives, mechanics, drivers, business people | Employees, lawyers | Philosophers, scientists, poets |
In the works of followers of I.P. Pavlov, while studying the neurophysiological foundations of temperament and individual differences in people, ideas about the properties of the human nervous system were clarified and developed. B.M. Teplov (1956) and V.D. Nebylitsyn (1972) considered it inappropriate to reduce all typological variations to four main types. They also discovered new properties of the nervous system, which in various combinations are included in the corresponding temperament:
1. Speed and intensity of mental processes, mental activity.
2. Extraversion or introversion.
3. Adaptability, plasticity, adaptation to external changing conditions or reduced adaptability, inflexibility.
4. Sensitivity, emotional excitability or weakness of emotions, emotional instability.
Table 9
Types of temperament and their corresponding mental properties
| Mental properties | Types of temperament and corresponding properties of GNI | ||||
| Sanguine | Choleric | Phlegmatic person | Melancholic | ||
| strong, balanced suspended, mobile |
strong, excitable, agile | strong, balanced suspended, inert |
weak, unbalanced suspended, nervous processes are poorly vision |
||
| 1. Speed and strength of mental reactions |
speed | high | very high | slow | average |
| force | average | very big | big | big | |
| 2. Extraversion /introversion |
extrovert | extrovert | introvert | introvert | |
| 3. Plastic /rigidity |
plastic | plastic | rigid | rigid | |
| 4. Sensitivity |
excitability | moderate | high | weak | high |
| strength of emotions | average | very big | weak | big | |
| expression | moderate | increased Naya |
reduced Naya |
increased Naya |
|
| sustainability | stable | unstable | very stable | very unstable | |
It is important to know the relationship between a person’s biological properties, his organic basis and the psychological content of temperament. In the works of B.M. Teplova, V.D. Nebylitsyna, V.S. Merlin developed a concept, the essence of which is to highlight the subject-substantive and formal-dynamic aspects in the human psyche.
The subject-content aspect is represented by images, ideas, motives, relationships, values; formal-dynamic - traits and properties of the human psyche that underlie his activity, regardless of its specific motives, goals, methods and relationships and manifested in the “external picture of behavior” (I.P. Pavlov). The dynamic features of the psyche are determined by the neurophysiological properties of the human body.
The formal-dynamic features of the human psyche constitute temperament. They highlight two characteristics of temperament: general mental activity and emotionality.
Activity is, first of all, the dynamic-energetic intensity of human behavior (tempo, rhythm, speed, intensity, plasticity, strength, endurance, energy, etc.), manifested in his relationships with the outside world.
Emotionality includes all the richness of a person’s emotional manifestations and moods: impressionability, sensitivity, emotional excitability and stability, lability, joy, sadness, anger, fear. Emotionality is a sign or character of a person’s attitude towards the objective world, himself, and other people.
Thus, temperament can be defined as a formal-dynamic component of human behavior, manifested in the general activity of his interaction with the outside world and emotional attitude towards the process of interaction and its results (V.I. Slobodchikov, E.I. Isaev, 1995; M.I. . Enikeev, 1996).
B.M. Teplov, V.D. Nebylitsyn, V.S. Merlin, N.S. Leitis, E.A. Klimov considers it impossible to draw definitive conclusions about the number of types of the nervous system, as well as about the number of typical temperaments. Nevertheless, for studying the personality of the convict and determining an individual approach to it, the classification of temperament types we presented can be of great help.
Let's consider the psychological characteristics of the convicts' temperaments.
1. A sanguine person is an impressionable, lively, moderately excited person who responds to everything that attracts his attention. He is extremely active and energetically takes on any task. At the same time, his activity and reactivity are balanced with each other, so he quite easily restrains the manifestation of his feelings. He has an accelerated gait, rapid movements and rate of speech. He easily gets used to a new environment and switches from one job to another. Extroverted. However, the emotional experiences of a sanguine convict, as a rule, are shallow, and his mobility, activity and reactivity under negative educational influence can lead to a lack of proper concentration, haste, and sometimes to amateurism.
2. A choleric person is an impetuous, carried away person who easily becomes extremely excited and loses his temper. He is unrestrained, impatient, quick and harsh, because in him reactivity prevails over activity. His movements are swift, his speech is heated, rich in emotional shades, his facial expressions and pantomimes are varied and bright. He is able to perform work for a long time and with concentration, and at the same time shows increased perseverance. His interests and hobbies are quite constant. He does not get lost when difficulties arise and overcomes them with ease. Quite extroverted. His lack of balance and slight excitability can, under unfavorable upbringing conditions, result in incontinence, hot temper, and inability to self-control.
3. A phlegmatic person usually has a relatively low level of behavioral activity and low reactivity. He is characterized by equanimity, unexpressive facial expressions and pantomimes. He is quite stable in his desires, aspirations and hobbies. He slowly gets involved in the work and, having entered into its rhythm, calmly, without unnecessary hesitation or retreat, strives to bring it to completion. Somewhat closed, introverted, emotionally low-excitable, rigid. Under unfavorable influence, a phlegmatic convict may develop lethargy, poverty and weakness of emotional states, and a tendency to habitual actions and behaviors.
4. A melancholic person is characterized by changes in mood even for a very minor reason, touchiness and slight vulnerability. He quickly withdraws into himself and easily gets lost, does not complete the work he has begun if difficulties and obstacles are encountered. His facial expressions and pantomime are sluggish, his speech is slow. He experiences troubles and joys for a long time, although outwardly it is almost imperceptible. Unsociable, introverted. In the absence of appropriate upbringing conditions, a melancholic person may develop painful emotional vulnerability, isolation and alienation, and a tendency to difficult internal experiences of minor life circumstances.
Thus, when working with convicts, one must not transform one temperament into another, but strive to develop the positive traits inherent in each temperament and try to weaken the influence of negative ones. It should be borne in mind that the temperament of a convicted person does not characterize the content side of a person (worldview, interests, attitudes, ideals, beliefs), but only the dynamics of mental phenomena (tempo, speed, rhythm, intensity).
Temperament should not be confused with the character of the convicted person, which is inextricably linked with the content side of the personality. Temperament does not determine a person’s values, nor does it set a limit for a person’s ability to achieve success in a particular area. The formation of temperament depends on the development of character, the will of the individual, and its orientation. The same initial properties of temperament can determine different properties of will and character. With appropriate upbringing and activity, a person with a weak type of nervous system can develop a strong character and strong will.
10.2. Manifestations of temperament in convicts. Diagnosis of temperament
Correctional officers often have to deal with numerous intermediate and transitional types of temperament in a convict. Incontinence depends on the strength of nervous processes. The imbalance of convicts is due to the predominance of strong excitation over less strong inhibition or weak excitation over even weaker inhibition. Moreover, in the first case we are dealing with passionate uncontrollability, and in the second - hysterical imbalance.
How can a correctional officer determine the temperament of a particular convict?
According to I.P. Pavlov, “temperament is a general characteristic of each individual person, the most basic characteristic of his nervous system, and this latter puts one or another stamp on the entire activity of each individual...” (Pavlov I.P. Physiological doctrine of the types of the nervous system, temperaments. – 2nd ed. Book 1. – M., 1951. P. 375.). This means that temperament manifests itself in activity.
Indicators of the basic properties of the nervous system help to get an idea of the types of temperament.
The traits of temperament, determined by the strength-weakness of nervous processes, can be judged by how the convict overcomes obstacles, what is his endurance in work, whether he is able to maintain active tension in himself for a long time, whether he can perform work with concentration in the presence of extraneous stimuli or needs calm environment, silence, how to behave in dangerous situations. When determining the traits of temperament associated with the balance or imbalance of nervous processes, it is necessary to establish: how the convict behaves under normal conditions, what his mood is (even, calm or rapidly changing), whether he is balanced or shows irritability, how irritability manifests itself (flares up sharply or accumulates) gradually). Balance can be judged by how the convict behaves when forced to wait: calmly or impatiently.
Temperamental traits, determined by the mobility-inertia of nervous processes, are found in the prisoner’s easy adaptability to changing conditions, quick switching and distribution of attention.
Under normal conditions, each temperament has its own advantages and disadvantages. With good upbringing and self-control, a sanguine person is characterized by high responsiveness, a phlegmatic person is characterized by endurance and self-control, the absence of impulsive and rash actions, a choleric person is characterized by passion and high activity, a melancholic person is characterized by deep experiences, an emotional response, and great impressionability.
Among convicts, negative qualities of temperament are emphasized: in a sanguine person - superficiality, carelessness, frivolity; in a phlegmatic person - emotional dullness, indifference, suspicion, passivity; in a choleric person - affectivity, explosiveness, aggressiveness; in a melancholic person - pessimism, isolation, gloominess, anxiety, suspiciousness. Thus, a state of emotional outburst and anger in a choleric convict can arise with a single strong impact, and in a phlegmatic person - only with repeated, separated in time impacts.
For a choleric convict, a state of depression and uncertainty arises as a result of severe overwork, while for a melancholic convict, this occurs due to a strong and sudden single impact or in the event of a radical change in circumstances.
Some features of convicts are related to the type of crimes committed. Thus, those convicted of violent crimes have high reactivity, rigidity, low ability for adaptive forms of behavior, and aggressiveness; Those convicted of selfish crimes are characterized by impulsiveness, emotional instability, and a certain ability to reflect. Among those who have committed crimes against the person, the choleric type of temperament predominates, and among those who have committed property crimes, the phlegmatic type predominates. In this regard, the situational role attitudes of those convicted of selfish crimes may be more susceptible to change than the attitudes of those convicted of violent crimes.
At the same time, one cannot give a criminal assessment of a person based on temperament, because he can be neither criminal nor non-criminal. It manifests itself in a person’s criminal behavior in an organic connection with the direction of his moral qualities, mental development and only gives it an appropriate coloring.
The temperament of convicts must be taken into account in the process of their correction and resocialization. Employees must be able to correctly determine an individual approach (methods and means of influence); manage temperament, taking into account its positive and negative properties, and at the same time remember that they can be equalized, as I.P. believed. Pavlov, over time through slow, repeated exercises; know that temperament is disguised (thus, lack of self-control as a character trait can easily be mistaken for a property of choleric temperament).
1 When studying the temperament of convicts, it is necessary to establish: sensitivity (the ability to respond to the least force of external influences); reactivity (the degree of emotional reaction to external or internal influences of the same force); activity (the degree of energy in achieving a goal); the ratio of reactivity and activity (the degree of dependence on the situation and the ability to resist it); reaction rate (speed of mental processes); plasticity or rigidity (ease or difficulty of adapting to changing conditions); extroversion or introversion.
Of great importance for further work with a convicted person is his diagnosis directly in quarantine, which is carried out using the Luscher, Eysenck, Leary, MMPI tests, etc.
A study using the Eysenck circle (Fig. 7) and indicators of extraversion-introversion made it possible to identify the frequency of manifestation of various types of temperament among convicts in correctional institutions (N.D. Del, 1996).
During the experimental study of nonverbal manifestations of temperament and testing them with tests, models-matrices of visual criteria were identified (O.Yu. Shabalin, 1997).
Choleric convict: the gait is fast, does not stop at the threshold in front of the door to the office, walks into the middle of the room; his step is confident, firm and wide; sits freely on a chair, without leaning against the back of the chair; prone to short range; legs widely spaced; the gaze is darting, at the first stage of the conversation it examines the objects in the room; mobile facial expressions, frequent movements of the eyebrows, rolls the eyes if thinking, to the right, left or up; arm movements are sweeping, sharp and intense, with frequent changes of positions on the chair; taps both feet (tap dance); often and sharply turns his head in different directions; when defending his point of view, he sharply leans towards his opponent, sometimes pointing his index finger at himself; speech is fast, intermittent, often turning into a scream, uneven; patience is weak; mood changes suddenly; often brings his hands to his face; rubs chin, cheeks, lips; squints, rubs his eyes, while biting his lips or index finger; during a conversation, he rarely looks at the interlocutor, attention is scattered to surrounding objects; frequently rubs hands; when any object appears in his hands, he begins to twist it, shift it, and is distracted by it; trembling is very noticeable; very sociable.
Sanguine convict: gait is confident, light, firm; the chest moves forward, the head is raised high, does not linger at the door of the office, walks into the middle of the room or close to the table (chair); sits freely on a chair (occupies the entire chair, armchair, leans on the back); verbose, his speech is loud, lively, smooth; the gaze is directed towards the interlocutor; attention is focused on the topic of conversation; lively facial expressions; frequent changes in emotional states, eyebrow movements, smiling; thinking, he looks up, biting his lower lip; often changes body position on a chair; during a confidential conversation, the legs are spread wide apart, the body leans forward towards the interlocutor; when in doubt, crosses legs, hands clasped in front of chest, treats interlocutor in a friendly manner; sometimes straightens her hair; rubs his hands; his laughter is loud and infectious; body movements are frequent but smooth; in unfavorable conditions, he frowns and takes a defensive-wait-and-see position.
Phlegmatic convict: measured gait, sedate step; balanced behavior; stable, poor facial expressions, often frowns; weak expression of emotions; speech is monotonous, slow, judicious; uncommunicative, reserved, cold-blooded, unperturbed, not subject to eccentricity and frivolity; sits upright in a chair, rarely leaning on the back; in conversation tends to take a long distance; places his legs directly in front of the chair, crosses his arms, rests his forearms on his hips; does not change his position on the chair, makes inexpressive movements with his hands (raises, lowers either his right or left hand); focuses attention on the interlocutor; rubs his fingers during a conversation; when changing posture, takes a closed position (legs crossed, arms crossed in front of the chest, gaze directed at one point); unsociable.
Melancholic convict: the gait is heavy, he shuffles his feet, his head is lowered, his body is hunched; facial expressions are more flexible than those of a phlegmatic person, but an expression of bitterness or dissatisfaction often appears on the face; before entering, he stops at the threshold, gives his face an expression of readiness to completely submit; sits on the edge of the chair, hands are lowered, palms down, resting on the knees, legs together; his eyes are downcast, his head is tilted, his chin rests on his chest, his speech is quiet with noticeable breathing; distracted attention; characterized by deep and lasting emotional experiences; gesticulation is practically absent; the eyes are, as it were, in a tear membrane; is reluctant to answer questions and make contact; impatient; mood is unstable, it may change frequently; pessimism prevails; anxiety, absent-mindedness, depression; very suggestible; often rubs eyes with hands; agrees with everything he is told; adaptation is difficult; closed.
Accentuated traits of temperament in a correctional facility require correction. One of its methods is autogenic training, during which it is necessary to take into account extroversion, anxiety, neuroticism, volitional self-control, well-being, activity, and mood. Thus, extroverted convicts are more adaptive in stressful conditions, in which an introvert may experience depressive states. In a situation with weak stimuli, on the contrary, the introvert’s behavior is more adequate. Anxiety is defined as an individual’s tendency to experience an emotional state that manifests itself in anticipation of an unfavorable development of events for oneself. Situational anxiety is associated with a specific situation, while personal anxiety indicates dissatisfaction, indecision, and confusion of the individual.
A psychologist can determine the effectiveness of autogenic training by analyzing the self-reports of convicts compiled by them after each lesson.
10.3. Taking into account the psychological characteristics of the temperament of convicts in the process of correction and resocialization
The peculiarities of the temperament of convicts should be taken into account by penitentiary staff when choosing methods of correctional influence and means of influence in order to resocialize the criminal. Thus, educational work with a choleric convict is aimed at developing self-control and discipline in him, since he is quick-tempered, irritable, easily excitable, affective, conflict-ridden, and requires frequent changes of activity and constant monitoring. The impetuosity of a choleric person must be countered with tactful restraint and correctness. If he complains about something, you need to give him the opportunity to calm down and then sort out the situation. If an employee gets excited and begins to prove the convict wrong, then resentment, mistrust, and sometimes a long-term conflict are inevitable.
The educational impact on a sanguine convict is the requirement to complete the work started. His behavior and activities require constant and careful monitoring, since he quickly gets involved in work and just as quickly turns off from it. He constantly needs perspective. He is sociable and easily gets along with people, which must be used to involve him in the activities of public organizations.
A phlegmatic convict is slow and prone to calm, so he should not be given the opportunity to withdraw into himself. It is necessary to create an environment that requires activation and energy. It is important to help him overcome his indifference and laziness, to develop focus and dedication.
In the process of educational work, one should not speak to a melancholic convict in a raised and especially irritated tone, since he may withdraw into himself and become depressed. He requires systematic psychological help and must be constantly in public. To build his confidence in his own strengths and capabilities, you need to celebrate his successes more often.
Convicts with different types of higher nervous activity are characterized by unequal adaptation times to the conditions of a penitentiary institution. When a person moves from one social environment to another, the existing stereotype has to be completely or partially changed. It coincides with convicts who have repeatedly served criminal sentences in places of deprivation of liberty. To form a new stereotype, a certain time is needed, during which it is necessary to adapt to new conditions, the requirements of the regime, and the environment of the convicts. The adaptation of first-time convicts with melancholic and phlegmatic types of temperament is more difficult and longer than for persons with choleric and sanguine traits.
The behavior of convicts with different types of temperament also depends on the type of correctional institution. The conditions of a closed space (pretrial detention center, prison) are most difficult for those with choleric and sanguine temperament types; In the cell they show anxiety, and on walks they show increased motor activity.
Convicts of melancholic and phlegmatic types of temperament, especially in the initial period of serving a sentence, exhibit anxiety, gloominess, pessimism, and isolation, which often leads to suicidal attempts and auto-aggression. The so-called maladaptive type stands out - these are convicts who have a mainly melancholic type of temperament; they have difficulty adapting to the conditions of the social environment.
Convicts of choleric and sanguine temperament types, being extroverts, adapt to the conditions of a correctional institution faster than introverts (melancholic and phlegmatic). However, this adaptation can have both a positive and negative direction. These psychological patterns of convicts' temperament appear before release, when the conditions of serving a criminal sentence change.
Features of temperament must be taken into account in the conditions of work, general education and professional training.
Any activity (individual, group) places special demands on the formal-dynamic side of the personality. The main characteristic of temperament is manifested in the style of work, that is, a set of behavior patterns in work (commitment, interest, duration of work, labor productivity, rhythm of the work and educational process). Thus, a convicted student with a choleric type of temperament can show haste in everything: without listening to the explanation, ask a question, without understanding the essence of the task, begin to complete it. Having not achieved the desired result, he begins to show dissatisfaction with himself or the conditions of study.
A convict with a sanguine type of temperament can be reliable both in work and in educational activities. But she must demand from him ingenuity, resourcefulness and activity. He gets used to any business relatively quickly. However, if interference occurs from someone else, he becomes indifferent to work.
The phlegmatic features of a convict are most consistent with educational and production work, which does not require the rapid execution of dexterous and varied actions. The phlegmatic person is in no hurry to start work and prepares for it in detail. It takes a long time to get into a normal rhythm. The pace of his work is relatively low, but his labor productivity can be quite satisfactory. Demanding of himself, does not strive to do more or better than is required of him. Not inclined to change the type of activity and its goals, disposed to monotonous, well-mastered work. He is an average student and does not stand out among others. Purposeful, persistent, works with tension, which manifests itself in some stiffness and slowness. A phlegmatic convict has to be hurried, but he cannot be reproached for slowness. He needs help and encouragement.
A melancholic convict, in terms of emotional excitability and impressionability, is the complete opposite of a phlegmatic convict. Their some similarity is manifested only in a sluggish response to certain stimuli and in the slowness of actions. However, the reasons for their lethargy and slowness are different. A melancholic person can work successfully in a calm and safe environment that does not require him to react quickly and frequently change the nature of his activity. However, he endures grievances for a long time and even minor “injections” inflicted on his pride, he is inattentive, and makes mistakes. In this regard, it becomes accustomed to the normal rhythm of work slowly and does not retain it for long as a result of periodic appearances of apathy and lethargy. The productivity of labor can be high when you are in a cheerful mood and low when you are depressed.
A melancholic convict usually does not set himself the goal of achieving high quality work. He often works and studies just to avoid getting into trouble; he tends to work in. alone. In order for his work and educational work to be successful, it is necessary to have a favorable attitude towards him from teachers, the foreman and comrades, which would exclude sudden swings in his mood and instill confidence in him.
The peculiarities of the temperament of convicts must be taken into account when staffing cells and teams, as well as when organizing psychological adaptation in places of deprivation of liberty and preparing them for release.
Key terms and concepts
Theoretical approaches to characterizing temperament, accentuation of types of temperament in convicts, types of temperament and corresponding mental qualities, type of temperament and type of crime, methods for diagnosing temperament in convicts, visual psychodiagnostics of temperament in convicts, extroversion and introversion.
Psychological self-education
Questions for discussion and reflection
1. Analyze which theories of temperament are presented in the “Salerno Code of Health” (Vilanovo, 1480):
Every sanguine person is always a merry fellow and a joker by nature;
Hungry for any rumor and tirelessly ready to delve into it;
Bacchus and Venus are his delight, food and fun;
Amorous, generous, laughing, ruddy-faced,
Song-loving, meaty, truly brave and kind.
Bile exists - it is unbridled in people.
A person like this strives to surpass everyone and in everything,
Always disheveled, crafty, irritable, bold and unrestrained,
Full of passion and cunning, he is dry and has a saffron face.
Phlegm gives only meager strength, width, short stature,
Fat also gives rise to lazy blood.
Sleep is nothing to do, the phlegmatic devotes his leisure time to his movements,
Always sleepy, and lazy, and with profuse saliva.
He is slow in mind, usually white-faced.
Black bile gives rise to silent and gloomy people,
They are always awake in their labors and their minds are not given over to slumber,
Firm in intentions, but only danger awaits from everywhere,
They are greedy, sad, envy gnaws at them, they will not miss theirs.
They are timid, they are no stranger to deception, and their faces are earthy in color.
2. Explain how people with different types of temperament perceive each other:
– a melancholic person perceives a sanguine person as a lightweight, superficial person, he is at odds with all cheerful people;
– a sanguine person considers a melancholic person to be a lost person who is wasting time worrying;
- the choleric person considers the phlegmatic person to be lazy and always expresses this to him in a sharp form, with irritation, in turn, the phlegmatic person considers the choleric person to be an excited, hot-tempered person.
Two phlegmatic people, like two melancholic people, can easily maintain good relationships or, conversely, separate due to their great similarities.
Two sanguine people, like two choleric people, behave actively in life together (when the goals correspond).
Two choleric people are quick-tempered and often quarrel.
3. What, in your opinion, causes the accentuation of the temperament of convicts and how do they manifest themselves in behavior and activities in correctional institutions?
4. Do you think employees can use audiovisual diagnostic methods to determine the type of temperament of convicts? If you think they can, please justify your answer.
Audiovisual psychodiagnostics of convicts. – Ryazan, 1997.
Vasilyev V.L. Legal psychology. – St. Petersburg, 1997.
Eshkeev M.I. Fundamentals of general and legal psychology. – M., 1996.
Correctional labor psychology. – Ryazan, 1985.
Psychology. Pedagogy. Ethics/Ed. Yu.V. Naumkina. – M., 2002.
Pozdnyakov V.M. Domestic penitentiary psychology: history and modernity. – M., 2000.
One of the mental properties that characterize the mental sphere of an individual and precisely its constitutional level is temperament.
Temperament is a set of properties that characterize the dynamic features of the course of mental processes and human behavior, their strength, speed, occurrence, cessation and change. 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.
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 temperaments, gave them characteristics, but connected temperament not with the properties of the nervous system, but with the ratio of various fluids in the body: blood, lymph and bile. The first classification of temperaments was proposed by Galen, and it has survived to this day in a relatively little changed form. The last known description of it, which is also used in modern psychology, belongs to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). This is what we will use.
I. Kant divided human temperaments (manifestations of temperament can also be seen in higher animals) into two types: temperaments of feeling and temperaments of activity. In general, “only four simple temperaments can be established:
- sanguine;
- melancholic;
- choleric;
- phlegmatic.
Of these four types of temperament, the feeling temperaments include sanguine and its opposite, melancholic. The first is characterized by the fact that with it sensations arise in the nervous system and in the human mind quite quickly and outwardly manifest themselves strongly, but internally they are not deep enough and long-lasting. With a melancholic temperament, external manifestations of sensations are less vivid, but internally they are quite deep and lasting.
The sanguine temperament of activity characterizes a person of a very cheerful disposition. He seems to be an optimist, full of hope, a humorist, a joker, a jokester. He quickly ignites, but cools down just as quickly, losing interest in what just recently excited him and attracted him to himself. The Sanguine person promises a lot, but does not always keep his promises. He easily and gladly comes into contact with strangers, is a good conversationalist, all people are his friends. He is distinguished by kindness and willingness to help. Intense mental or physical work quickly tires him.
The melancholic temperament of activity, according to Kant, is characteristic of a person of the opposite, mostly gloomy, mood. Such a person usually lives a complex and intense inner life, attaches great importance to everything that concerns him, has increased anxiety and a vulnerable soul. Such a person is often reserved and especially controls himself when making a promise. He never promises what he is unable to do; he suffers greatly from the fact that he cannot fulfill this promise, even if its fulfillment depends little on him directly.
Choleric temperament of activity characterizes a hot-tempered person. They say about such a person that he is too hot, unrestrained. At the same time, such an individual quickly cools down and calms down if they yield to him or meet him halfway. His movements are impetuous, but short-lived.
The phlegmatic temperament of activity refers to a cold-blooded person. It expresses a tendency towards inactivity rather than towards intense, active work. Such a person slowly comes into a state of excitement, but for a long time. This replaces his slowness in getting to work.
Note that 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. This is not accidental, since in the psychology of an adult it is difficult to separate temperament and character. In addition, the properties of temperament exist and are manifested not on their own, 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 (if you do not connect temperament and character). Manifesting itself in the dynamic characteristics of the human psyche and behavior, each type of temperament can have its own advantages and disadvantages. People of sanguine temperament have a quick reaction, easily and quickly adapt to changing living conditions, have increased performance, especially in the initial period of work, but towards the end they reduce their performance due to rapid fatigue and loss of interest. On the contrary, those who are characterized by a melancholic type of temperament are distinguished by their slow entry into work, but also by greater endurance. Their performance is usually higher in the middle or towards the end of work, rather than at the beginning. In general, the productivity and quality of work of sanguine people and melancholic people are approximately the same, and the differences relate mainly only to the dynamics of work in different periods.
The choleric temperament has the advantage that it allows one to concentrate significant efforts in a short period of time. But when working for a long time, a person with such a temperament does not always have enough endurance. Phlegmatic people, on the contrary, are not able to quickly gather and concentrate their efforts, but in return they have the valuable ability to work long and hard to achieve their goal. 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.
Conditioning of temperament by the properties of the nervous system
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, have a more or less stable nature, persist for a long time, appearing soon after birth (after the central the nervous system takes on specifically human forms). It is believed that the properties of temperament are determined mainly by the properties of the human nervous system.
Soviet psychophysiologist V.M. Rusalov, relying on a new concept of the properties of the nervous system, proposed on its basis a more modern interpretation of the properties of temperament. The theory of the functional system of P.K. Anokhin included four blocks of storage, circulation and processing of information:
- afferent synthesis block;
- programming block (decision making);
- execution block;
- feedback block.
Based on this, Rusalov identified four related properties of temperament that are responsible for the breadth or narrowness of afferent synthesis:
- the degree of tension in the interaction of the organism with the environment;
- ease of switching from one behavior program to another;
- speed of execution of the current behavior program;
- sensitivity to the discrepancy between the real result of an action and its acceptor.
In accordance with this, the traditional psychophysiological assessment of temperament changes and instead of two parameters - activity and sensitivity - already includes four components:
- energy (endurance);
- plastic;
- speed;
- emotionality (sensitivity).
All these components of temperament, according to V.M. Rusalov, are biologically and genetically determined. Temperament depends on the properties of the nervous system, and they, in turn, are understood as the main characteristics of functional systems that provide integrative, analytical and synthetic activity of the brain and the entire nervous system as a whole.
Temperament is a psychobiological category in the sense that its properties are neither completely innate nor dependent on the environment. They, as the author puts it, represent a “systemic generalization” of the initially genetically specified individual biological properties of a person, which, “being included in a variety of activities, are gradually transformed and, regardless of the content of the activity itself, form a generalized, qualitatively new individually stable system of invariant properties.” .
In accordance with the two main types of human activity - objective activity and communication - each of the identified properties of temperament should be considered separately, since it is assumed that they manifest themselves differently in activity and communication.
One more circumstance characterizing the connection between temperament and the properties of the nervous system should be paid attention to. 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.
Let us consider these properties in relation to cognitive processes, objective activity and human communication. Relevant properties may include:
- activity;
- productivity;
- excitability;
- inhibition;
- switchability
The active side of perception, attention, imagination, memory and thinking is characterized, respectively, by the extent to which a person is able to concentrate, concentrate his attention, imagination, memory and thinking on a certain object or its aspect. Pace is manifested in how quickly the corresponding mental processes work. For example, one person remembers, recalls, considers, imagines, thinks about solving a problem faster than another.
The productivity of all of the listed cognitive processes can be assessed by their products, by the results obtained over a certain period of time. Productivity is higher where you manage to see, hear, remember, remember, imagine, and decide more in the same amount of time. Productivity should not be confused with performance. A person who has highly productive (in the indicated sense of the word) cognitive processes does not necessarily have increased performance, i.e. ability to maintain a given pace of work for a long time.
Excitability, inhibition and switchability characterize the speed of occurrence, cessation or switching of a particular cognitive process from one object to another, the transition from one action to another. For example, some people take longer than others to engage in mental work or switch from thinking about one topic to another. Some people remember or recall information faster than others. It should also be kept in mind here that these differences do not define people's abilities.
In relation to objective activity, activity means the strength and amplitude of the movements associated with it. They are instinctively wider in an active person than in a less active person. For example, increased temperamental activity in sports gives rise to wider and stronger movements in an athlete, included in various exercises, than in someone whose temperamental property is weakly expressed. A more active person has a more extensive handwriting, his letters are taller, and the distance between them is greater than that of a less active individual. A person with increased activity finds it more difficult to perform weak, subtle, small-amplitude movements, while a person with reduced activity finds it more difficult to perform strong and sweeping movements.
The pace of work in subject activity is determined by the number of operations, actions, movements performed per unit of time. One person prefers to work at a fast pace, another at a slow pace.
The productivity of actions related to movements depends on the activity and pace of work, if no additional requirements, other than frequency and intensity, are imposed on the corresponding actions.
In human communication, the discussed properties of temperament manifest themselves in a similar way, only in this case they relate to verbal and non-verbal interaction between person and person. In an individual with increased activity, speech, facial expressions, gestures, and pantomime are more pronounced than in a person with reduced activity. More active people tend to have a stronger voice. The rate of their speech, as well as the rate of emotionally expressive movements, is quite high.
The communication style of highly and weakly excitable people differs significantly. The former react faster, make contact more easily, and adapt better in communication than the latter. Inhibited individuals stop communicating more easily and are less talkative than those whose inhibitory reactions are slow. These latter are often distinguished by the fact that they talk a lot, do not let go of the interlocutor and create the impression of being annoying. They have difficulty switching in communication from one topic to another, from one person to another. The “productivity” of their communication, i.e. the ability to communicate and perceive information per unit of time is also greater than that of people of the opposite type - inactive and slow-paced.
Temperament and personality
Personality and temperament are interconnected in such a way that temperament acts as a common basis for many other personal properties, especially character. He, however, determines only the dynamic manifestations of the corresponding personal properties.
Personality traits such as impressionability, emotionality, impulsiveness and anxiety depend on temperament. Impressiveness is the strength of influence of various stimuli on a person, the time they are retained in memory and the strength of the reaction to them. The same stimuli have a greater impact on an impressionable person than on an insufficiently impressionable person. An impressionable person, in addition, remembers the corresponding influences longer and retains his reaction to them longer. And the strength of his corresponding reaction is much greater than that of a less impressionable individual.
Emotionality is the speed and depth of a person’s emotional reaction to certain events. An emotional person attaches great importance to what happens to him and around him. He is much more likely than a unemotional person to have all sorts of bodily reactions associated with emotions. An emotional individual is one who is almost never calm, is constantly in the grip of some kind of emotion, in a state of heightened excitement or, on the contrary, depression.
Impulsivity is manifested in unrestrained reactions, in their spontaneity and appearance even before a person has time to think about the current situation and make a reasonable decision about how to act in it. An impulsive person first reacts and then thinks whether he did the right thing, often regretting premature and incorrect reactions.
An anxious person differs from a low-anxious person in that he too often experiences emotional experiences associated with anxiety: fear, apprehension, fears. It seems to him that much of what surrounds him poses a threat to his own self. An anxious person is afraid of everything: strangers, phone calls, exams, tests, official institutions, public speaking, etc.
The combination of the described properties creates an individual type of temperament, therefore, in characterizing it, it is no coincidence that we were forced from time to time to deviate from purely dynamic descriptions and include characterological personal qualities in them. Those manifestations of temperament that ultimately become personality traits depend on training and upbringing, on culture, customs, traditions, and much more.
Temperament to some extent influences the development of human abilities, especially those that include movements with such essential characteristics as pace, reaction speed, excitability and inhibition. First of all, these are abilities that include complex and precise movements with a complex trajectory and uneven pace. These also include abilities associated with increased performance, resistance to interference, endurance, and the need for long-term concentration.