Drawing up a psychological portrait

A psychological portrait is a personality described in psychological terms. In practical psychology, drawing up a psychological portrait may be required in a number of situations, for example:

Although a psychological portrait is described in psychological terms, this is usually done in understandable terms - so that the consumer understands it, so that there is no ambiguity in the descriptions.

A psychological portrait should be drawn up by a fairly experienced psychologist, because this requires deep knowledge and the ability to analyze data (for example, the results of psychological testing). If possible, you should use all the data you can get. You shouldn't rush to conclusions. If necessary, conduct additional research (repeated psychodiagnostics).

The genre of psychological portrait itself presupposes almost complete freedom of presentation. However, this freedom should not be abused. It is advisable to limit yourself to dry but understandable formulations and present the material in a systematic manner. If some data is of interest to the customer, but it is not available, then you can say so directly.

The facts presented in a psychological portrait may have varying degrees of reliability. First, it is better to describe reliable facts (which, at least for a psychologist, do not raise doubts).

It is necessary to distinguish between a psychological portrait and a psychological profile. The latter concept is used mainly to convey significant information about the client’s personality to another specialist who can understand the formal data. A psychological portrait is not a formalized characteristic; its task is to show the individual uniqueness of a person. If the reader of the psychological portrait does not have such an understanding, if he cannot rely on this new knowledge to predict the behavior of the person being described, such a psychological portrait should be considered unsuitable.

What psychological concepts can you rely on when drawing up a portrait? All these concepts (or parameters) can be divided into four categories (although this division is quite arbitrary):

Man as an individual is something that is quite closely related to natural characteristics:

- age,

– constitution,

– temperament,

– diseases and pathologies,

– emotional orientation, etc.

At the same time, in our psychological portrait we not only state, say, gender or age, but also describe various kinds of deviations, interesting points related to gender or age: how a person relates to his gender role, his sexual activity, mental age, etc. d.

In general, we do this with all parameters: we not only state, but also pay attention to characteristic deviations, individual uniqueness, creatively connecting them together.

A person as a person is something that influences, that is connected with the interpersonal communication of this person, his social role:

– interests,

– inclinations,

– character (attitude to certain aspects of existence),

– sociability,

- sincerity,

– conflict,

– loyalty,

– participation in certain social groups,

– preferred social roles,

– leadership qualities, etc.

A person as a subject (of activity) is those qualities that influence activities (educational, work, play and others):

– intellectual abilities,

– rationality (reason, reasonableness),

- Creative skills,

– other abilities,

- strong-willed characteristics,

- habitual ways of making decisions,

– motivation and self-motivation,

- attention,

– features of thinking,

– features of speech,

- imagination and imagination

– communicative competence,

- professional experience,

– professional plans and prospects,

– other general and professional competencies, etc.

A person as an individual – all other qualities that do not fall into other categories:

– self-concept and self-esteem,

– level of self-control,

– individual biography,

– characteristic behavioral features,

– characteristic features of the picture of the world,

– prejudices,

– beliefs and values,

– life strategy and current goals,

– intrapersonal conflicts,

– complexes (a jumble of ideas),

– personal achievements, etc.

There are many techniques in modern psychology; naturally, it is impossible to list them all. We will consider simple but effective methods that allow you to quickly draw up a psychological portrait of a person (at the same time, he himself should not guess about it, because these are methods of hidden psychodiagnostics), close to a 100% match with the person. They have been tested by time, and, most importantly, by practice, and bring results in any situation, as well as in the professional sphere: hiring, team building, etc. All these techniques are combined into several large groups:

1. Features of nonverbal behavior or body language:

Gestures, posture, facial expressions, eye contact are visual signs that are produced by the hand, head, body, conveying certain information, or reflect the emotions of people, as well as transmitting information through voice, timbre and vibration. People use more than 10,000 combinations of body movements and facial movements, which can almost be used to read thoughts. True, only professionals who have devoted a lot of time to studying these aspects can read minds. In our case, you need to quickly master the basics that will help you quickly draw up a psychological portrait of a person.

1. Features of verbal communication.

The psychological portrait of a person is built in the following way: features of sentence construction, marker words, intonation and tempo of speech, sudden change in the topic of conversation, double message, congruence, contradiction, etc. For example: a fast pace of speech sharply reduces the level of respect from other people, no matter how clearly and beautifully the person speaks. There are a number of understandings of why this happens, but most likely it is due to the fact that fast speech is usually associated in psychology with a state of nervousness and uncertainty. In general, verbal behavior, how and what a person likes to talk about, tells a lot about himself.

1. Cloth.

A fairly quick and efficient method of constructing a psychological portrait, however, it does not provide a 100% guarantee that the information you deduce from the way a person is dressed will correspond to reality. Therefore, it needs to be used in a system with other techniques or regularly observed how a particular person dresses for at least a month. By the way, this technique is successfully used by the female half, without automatically noticing it, often evaluating a person down to the smallest detail by his clothes. All comes with experience. If you start using in practice methods for constructing a psychological portrait of a person based on clothing, you will quickly learn to “see” a person in context, and immediately use other methods.

1. Operational graphological analysis.

Graphology is the science that studies handwriting. Graphological psychoanalysis is almost the most effective method of drawing up a psychological portrait of a person, but the only one that describes the personality with the same accuracy. This science was constantly used by the KGB, FBI, NSA, etc., and now all kinds of world intelligence services cannot imagine their work without graphological psychoanalysis. A handwriting specialist can tell literally everything about the individual who wrote it from a handwritten text, and the individual himself will never guess how strangers know such details about him that even his own mother has no idea about.

1. Facial features (physiognomy).

Physiognomy is a science that is more than five thousand years old. Since ancient times, all kinds of craftsmen, scientists, thinkers, philosophers have tried to read character and destiny by the face. There are still people in India who, looking at a person, will tell everything about a person, and not only what he is like, but also his past, and what awaits him in the future. Gradually, the methods developed in practice were combined into a system and turned into a number of scientific theories. On the basis of this, the modern science of psycho-physiognonomics emerged. Psycho-physiognomy is the psychodiagnosis of a person based on the face, the structure of the skull, and facial wrinkles. E. Kretschmer writes well about this in his works. Facial wrinkles make it possible to identify acquired features of a person’s psychological portrait. And by looking at the face, the structure of the skull, and the jaw, one can easily determine the genetic inclinations of a person, inherent in him from birth. Thus, a “square” powerful jaw, like that of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dolph Lungren, speaks of a strong strong type of nervous system of its owner. Based on this, such people are decisive, unyielding, and often use force in solving life’s problems. Most of the “brothers” walked with this physiognomic feature in the turbulent 90s, when the “law of the jungle” was in effect where normal money was circulating. Psychologists have been conducting research in this area for more than half a century, constantly improving this method of psychodiagnostics, using modern achievements of science and technology. So you can be sure of the veracity and effectiveness of methods based on this topic.

The tips and descriptions of psychotypes below will help you understand how to create a psychological portrait. All people have the ability to adapt to certain life situations, but each person adapts differently. Someone is focused on specific moments, therefore, easily adapts to any situation. Someone is focused on the past and can only act within strict limits - permissions, prohibitions, rules and responsibilities. Still others are focused on the future with non-standard situations, which is why they are the main generators of ideas.

Knowing yourself, others, determining your temperament, personality orientation, character is important for any person to be able to do. This is required in order to fully unleash your creative potential and understand how to draw up a psychological portrait of a person. Find out the details of the methods for drawing up a psychological portrait.

Psychological portrait of personality

One of the personality features is temperament. Temperament - thanks to it, people differ so significantly from each other - some are slow and calm, others are fast and active.

Temperament is the basis of a person’s personality, which is based on the structure of the human body, the characteristics of his nervous system, and metabolism in the body. Temperament traits cannot be changed; they are usually inherited. In order to effectively draw up a psychological portrait of a personality, you need to understand its characteristics. There is a special approach to each type of temperament.

• Sanguine people require constant monitoring and verification.
• Choleric people must constantly be engaged in some activity, otherwise their activity will be a burden to others.
• Phlegmatic people cannot stand being pushed on, because they are accustomed to relying only on their own strengths, and will definitely finish the job.
• Melancholic people cannot stand pressure, screams, sharp instructions, because they are vulnerable and sensitive. You can take a test to determine your temperament using modern methods.

Another important personality trait is character. Character is the stable characteristics of human behavior. The character structure is divided into 4 groups, expressing the individual’s attitude to activity.

• To work.
• To the team.
• To yourself.
• To things.

Knowledge of such a structure will also help in the question of how to draw up your psychological portrait. Character formation occurs on the basis of the moral and volitional qualities of the individual. It is customary to distinguish 4 types of character:

1. Demonstrative type – strongly expresses emotions and experiences them. These are artistic people who play with their feelings in public. They understand other people well, but all decisions are made impulsively.
2. The pedantic type is the antipode to the demonstrative type. They are indecisive and constantly fear for their lives. Decisions take a long time to take.
3. Stuck type. He holds on to his negative feelings, but also focuses on his successes for a long time. They are touchy and vindictive, never forgetting insults.
4. Exciting type. The normal state for them is irritability and dissatisfaction. They cannot control themselves and provoke conflicts.

Abilities can be distinguished separately as a feature. Personal abilities are the solution to certain problems. They come in two types: general - their formation occurs with the development of intelligence. In particular, these are adaptation, mental flexibility, composure, attentiveness, and efficiency. Special abilities are something that is developed for a specific type of activity. But we shouldn’t forget about other personality traits that help create psychological portraits:

• Direction is the vector where human activity is directed - towards communication, towards oneself, towards tasks.
• Intellectuality is the basis of intelligence, its core.
• Emotionality – divided into emotions and mind. Mind and will, that which is subordinate to a person, and emotions can arise in addition to his desires.
• Communication skills – verbal and non-verbal communication.

Now you know how you can create a psychological portrait of any person. In the future, this will help you build correct relationships with the people around you.

TOPIC: Psychological portrait of personality

Introduction

To the question of what personality is, different experts answer differently. It is in the diversity of their answers, and, consequently, in the divergence of opinions on this matter that the complexity of the personality phenomenon itself is revealed.

Almost all theories of personality are based on the assumption that personality as a socio-psychological phenomenon is a vitally stable formation in its basic manifestations. The stability of a person characterizes the sequence of her actions and the predictability of her behavior, giving her actions a natural character.

The concept of “personality” usually includes such properties that are more or less stable and indicate a person’s individuality, determining his actions that are significant for people. A sense of personal stability is an important condition for a person’s internal well-being and the establishment of normal relationships with other people. If personality were not relatively stable in some significant manifestations for communicating with people, then it would be difficult for people to interact with each other, to achieve mutual understanding: after all, every time they would be forced to adapt to the person anew, and would not be able to predict his behavior.

Based on these premises, it became possible to describe the main personality traits and draw up a psychological portrait of a person. And this, in turn, opens up opportunities for its systematic research, studying the manifestations of behavior in various life situations, and conducting psycho-correctional work when such a need arises.

1. Variety of approaches to determining personality

The main problems of personality psychology at the initial – philosophical and literary stage of its study were questions about the moral and social nature of man, about his actions and behavior. The first definitions of personality, given by such representatives of ancient thought as Aristotle, Plato and Democritus, were quite broad. They included everything that is in a person and that he can call his own, personal: his biology, psychology, property, behavior, culture, etc. This interpretation of personality has its grounds. After all, if we recognize that personality is a concept that characterizes a person and his actions as a whole, then everything that belongs to a person or concerns him should be included in it.

During the clinical period of studying personality, the focus of attention of specialists was on specific features that are moderately expressed in almost all people, but are especially pronounced in a sick person. This definition in itself was correct for solving psychotherapeutic problems, but it was too narrow for a holistic description of a normal personality. It did not include, for example, such personality qualities as decency, conscience, honesty and a number of others.

The experimental period in personality research is associated primarily with the names of G. Eysenck and R. Cattell, and in Russia - with the name of A.F. Lazursky. These scientists developed a technique and methodology for conducting systematic observations and an experimental procedure in which it was possible to obtain and summarize data concerning the psychology and behavior of a healthy individual. As a result of this, a theory was laid down, called the “trait theory,” in which real-life factors, or personality traits, were identified, described and defined.

As a result of the active differentiation of research areas, by the second half of the twentieth century, a large number of different approaches and theories of personality had developed in personality psychology. These include: psychodynamic theories that describe a personality and explain its behavior based on its internal, subjective characteristics; sociodynamic, in which the main role in determining behavior is assigned to the external situation; interactionist - theories based on the principle of interaction of internal and external factors in the management of actual human actions. Each of the personality theories described in the literature and supported by practical research deserves to be considered and used in the search for the most complete definition of personality.

The word “personality,” like many other psychological concepts, is widely used in everyday communication today. However, when using this term, no strict distinction is usually made with the concepts of “person”, “individual”, “individuality”. Some psychologists believe that any adult is an individual. According to K.K. Platonov, personality is a specific person or subject of transformation of the world on the basis of cognition, experience and attitude towards it. With this approach, the question of the difference between an individual and a personality is practically removed. According to the definition of A.V. Petrovsky, personality in psychology denotes a systemic quality acquired by an individual in objective activity and communication and characterizing the degree of representation of social relations.

In our opinion, the most generalized definition can be considered given by R.S. Nemov: Personality is a person taken in the system of his psychological characteristics that are socially conditioned, manifest themselves in social connections and relationships by nature, are stable, determine the moral actions of a person that are of significant importance for himself and those around him.

2. The concept of a psychological portrait of a personality

Approaches to personality structure in different theories are different. In S. Freud's theory, these are the unconscious, consciousness, and superconscious. In social learning theory, these are abilities, cognitive strategies, expectations, values, and behavioral plans. Some theories deny the existence of a stable personality structure. Most researchers studying this phenomenon include in the personality structure: abilities, temperament, character, volitional qualities, emotions, motivation, social attitudes.

Abilities are understood as individually stable properties of a person that determine his success in various activities. Temperament includes qualities that influence a person's reactions to other people and social circumstances. Character contains qualities that determine a person’s actions towards other people. Volitional qualities cover several special personal properties that influence a person’s desire to achieve his goals. Emotions and motivation are, respectively, experiences and motivations for activity, and social attitudes are people’s beliefs and attitudes. These concepts are relatively constant in humans and, taken together, represent a psychological portrait of the individual.

Some researchers (Kudryashova S.V., Yunina E.A.) offer a slightly different idea of ​​the psychological portrait of a person.
They include:

1) socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, occupation);

2) socio-psychological characteristics (needs, motives, attitudes towards others, levels of understanding);

3) individual-personal (attention, memory, type of thinking, psychosomatic type or temperament).

Let's consider the psychological portrait of a personality using a specific example.

3. Drawing up a psychological portrait using a specific example

Alexander B., a young man of 25 years old, agreed to become a test subject for drawing up a psychological portrait of a person. He has a higher education in management and currently works as a sales representative for one of the commercial companies in Novosibirsk. The psychological portrait was compiled after several conversations with Alexander and his colleagues and testing with Cattell’s 16-factor personality questionnaire.

Alexander is tall and has a normal build. Has the ability for prolonged physical exertion. According to him, he really likes to walk with fast, wide steps, which may be due to professional necessity. All his movements are well coordinated, fast and accurate.

Alexander's facial expressions can be called somewhat monotonous, but at the same time quite expressive, always corresponding to his experiences. He has a relaxed smile. Gesticulation, like his other movements, is more expressive and more animated than facial expressions. All his movements are very simple and natural. One of Alexander’s favorite gestures is the “conducting” gesture. He likes to lower his hand down, beat the beat with a short movement of his wrist, and stroke his head with his hand against the hair. When it comes to business, he often diligently suppresses his mental and emotional manifestations.

Alexander B. speaks very clearly and clearly, in a rather low voice, somewhat drawlingly, very clearly, expressively, with good diction. He said he took part in amateur performances at school, which had an impact on his speech and voice, but he never had the desire to pursue these activities more seriously.

He does not regularly engage in gymnastics or sports. He likes to watch different games, but rarely takes part in them. As a child, I loved games that involved risk - climbing steep, steep rocks or trees.

Strives for privacy, does not like noisy companies. Quite secretive - he prefers not to openly express his thoughts and does not show his feelings. He speaks warmly about his friends, noting that he had close friends at the institute, but now he does not often meet with them. When asked about the existence of his beloved girl, he answered that he had not yet seriously fallen in love, there were only light hobbies.

In clothing he has his own individual style, although he does not like drastic changes - rather he complements, deepens, and improves what was previously developed.

The character is close to sanguine.

According to the data obtained as a result of testing using the Cattell method, Alexander B. has the following character traits, the most developed in his personality structure: asceticism, nobility, conservatism, isolation, organization, practicality, integrity, rationalism, self-sufficiency, restraint, cooperation, patience, dedication, honesty.

Each person has a certain type of nervous system, behavioral characteristics, personality and a set of individual qualities. Knowing this, you can write a psychological portrait of a person or correct deviations. It helps to find reflection inner world person, captures all the feelings and actions of that moment. Each person is an individual, has his own mental world, and can independently regulate and analyze his behavior.

Characteristics of a person as an individual

A correctly compiled psychological portrait will help a teenager with the choice of profession, the employer with the selection of personnel, the investigator with the capture of the criminal, and the psychologist with the development of the correct line of therapy.

There are examples of writing a psychological portrait of a person in many teaching aids. And there are many approaches to compiling it. However, all experts in the concept of personality include temperament, character traits, abilities, self-esteem, emotions, motivation and social attitudes. All these features speak about a person’s individuality, determine his significant actions and the conditions for his internal well-being.

Temperament and its types

A person’s lifestyle and behavior in certain circumstances are determined by the characteristics of their temperament. This is the most significant factor of all on which a psychological portrait is built.

Modern psychology uses the term “temperament” to mean the characteristics of the nervous system and individual psyche. This concept includes: the pace, intensity of such processes and their deep content. This is a kind of biological foundation of personality, the characteristics of which are inherited and difficult to correct.

Today there are four main types of temperament: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. But there are practically no people in the world who have pure type of temperament. Usually they are mixed in personality, but one always predominates:

1. A sanguine person is a person with a strong character and a tempered nervous system. But this does not prevent him from remaining active and mobile. For such a person, excitement is easily replaced by complete calm. He quickly adapts to changing surrounding circumstances.
2. A choleric person is an easy-going person, but it is very difficult for him to complete a task. This is an energetic, emotional person who flaunts his feelings like a small child.
3. A phlegmatic person is always calm and a little inhibited. However, if the situation makes the phlegmatic person angry, then no force will stop this “hurricane”.
4. A melancholic person is a particularly sensitive person and very unstable emotionally. He easily becomes depressed, even over the most insignificant things.

Character traits

Unique, individual combination stable psychological personality traits and the totality of a person’s individual characteristics is called character. It shows a person’s attitude to the world and is expressed in behavior and actions. Its structure is divided into groups of traits, expressed in the individual’s attitude towards himself, work activity, society and things.

Character is closely related to temperament, which determines the characteristics of an individual’s behavior in various situations. However, temperament is an innate feature, and character changes throughout life.

Self-characterization is important character descriptions person. An example of this is the numerous profiles on social networks. Using a self-portrait, you can understand a person’s relationship to most areas of life and to others.

Capabilities

Abilities are those mental qualities that enable a person to easily acquire knowledge, skills and abilities. In psychology, abilities are considered as a special property of a psychological system, which is expressed in the level of its productivity: accuracy, stability and speed. functioning.

These parameters are measured by solving problems of varying degrees of complexity, finding ways to resolve conflict situations, speed of thinking, effectiveness, etc. The most successful option for using abilities is when there is an inclination towards a certain field of activity coupled with an interest in this activity.

Abilities are divided into special and general:

• General ones are expressed as predetermination to a wide field of activity. They are shaped by intellectual strengths and personality traits.
• Special abilities act as a socio-psychological basis for the development of a craving for a certain field of activity. This could be science, music, teaching, technology and much more.

Self-esteem

It is almost impossible to characterize a person without knowing his self-esteem. Therefore, experts pay special attention to this parameter of the individual. Many sociological services They place special emphasis on this when they are writing a psychological portrait of a person.

For example: “Vasily Petrovich Godov has high abilities in the field of physics, but has low self-esteem. For this reason, he will not be able to take over the management of the laboratory team at this time.”

At the same time, the description of a person’s personal qualities directly depends on the circumstances and the field of activity that requests them. Often the psychological portrait is strictly confidential.

Emotionality

Human mental life is based on will, emotions and mind. The will and mind can still obey a person, but emotions arise regardless of desire. They are a reflection of personal significance, assessment of the situation, experiences, feelings and inspiration. This reveals subjectivity and involuntary feelings. The ability to manage emotions is necessary primarily to maintain health and ambition. This concept means the ability to hide them, that is, to pretend, to save face and special status.

Motivation

Motivation as a process of motive formation and the motives themselves have a number of stable features in different people. Some people have developed motivational processes, while others have hidden or superficial ones. Some subjects may have a motive very strong reaching the point of excitement, while in others it is weak and unstable.

It is known that people's needs are expressed to varying degrees and in different ways. Biological needs are based on physique, constitution, health and temperament. For some, ensuring that physiological needs and safety are met is enough. But for others, spiritual values, high social needs, the need for self-expression and the realization of creative abilities are more important.

Social attitudes

An example of the most obvious of the functions of communication is the transfer of information. This is most often an exchange of information, content and meaning. This side of communication is called semantic or semantic. The transfer of information influences human behavior, his actions, organization, internal state and actions.

Communication is a very delicate and subtle process of interaction between people. Only through communication can the individual characteristics of each participant be revealed in a qualitative and multifaceted way. This characteristic is extremely important for such interpretation as drawing up a psychological portrait of a person.

Sample of writing a psychoportrait

A ready-made psychological portrait of a personality can be observed in the example of a student of the Faculty of Psychology, Institute of International Relations - Sergei Yu., 21 years old.

To describe the psychoportrait, individual data, a conversation with friends, the subject, and testing with the 16-factor Cattell Personality Inventory were used.

Sergey Yu. has a standard build, tall height and striking appearance. He enjoys physical activity, sports training and cycling. Has excellent coordination, accuracy and strength. He studies in the archery section, reads and analyzes a lot.

Sergei's facial expressions are lively, emotional and moving. The smile is open and friendly. The young man actively gestures in conversation and quickly switches from one topic to another. At the same time, his voice is quite loud and slightly hoarse.

The boy spent his childhood surrounded by elderly relatives. Since she and her mother lived with two grandparents. The young man has no brothers or sisters. Mom was actively involved in raising her son, and grandfather passed on his woodcarving experience. Therefore, Sergei graduated from a sports school, knows how to play the guitar and is an excellent wood cutter. However, he has a tendency to communicate with people and actively helps them, so he chose the profession of a psychologist.

Sergey Yu. does not like solitude, he feels good in large companies and quickly finds contact with strangers. He has many friends, thanks to the openness and attentiveness of the young man, people are attracted to him.

Data obtained as a result of testing using the Cattell method indicate that Sergei Yu. is distinguished by pronounced social insight, notices the hidden meaning of everyday situations and is attentive to interpersonal relationships. He understands people well, the motives of their behavior and experiences. In conflict situations, strives to find compromise solutions and resolve the situation without violence.

At the same time, the subject is wary, internally tense and at times feels anxious. He has his own point of view and strives to establish it among those around him. Prefers to make decisions independently.

Sergei easily copes with abstract tasks and quickly establishes cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena. He has a rich imagination and developed imaginative thinking.

Sergei's character is close to choleric. He is energetic and emotional. Rather an optimist, as he easily experiences troubles. Choleric people are usually straightforward and say everything to their faces. Able to keep secrets and perform complex tasks. Constantly on the move.

Friends describe Sergei as an honest and open person who will always come to the rescue. He is active and a bit of an adventurer. Many girls have sympathy for him, but he keeps his distance from them.

The young man's self-esteem is adequate. Knows his strengths and weaknesses, and is also confident. An independent person, with his own core, views and desires. Strives for something new, actively expands his horizons and his circle of contacts.