A positive description of a person. Positive or negative qualities of a person: basic character traits and behavioral factors

Character is something single, holistic. How does it affect a person's life? Globally! The fact is that all our actions are justified in some way. We act as our mind and heart tell us. There is also another factor influencing our lives. Everyone has something like an internal core that has a direct impact on his behavior. It's about character. This core consists of certain ones that have been consolidated in the process of everyday activities.

The list of which will be discussed in this article is different. Some of them make us better, others worse. The list of character traits is extensive. All of them influence our lives in one way or another. Is it possible to change your character? Yes, you can. It's hard to do, but sometimes you just can't do without it. We are not always to blame for who we have become. Wrong upbringing, bad company, inappropriate education - all this can have a bad effect on a person’s character. A person is instilled with bad qualities, and he begins to think that they are the norm. Timely awareness of the problem will help solve it.

The character traits, the list of which we will consider, also influence how we communicate with others. Do you have few friends? Perhaps the problem is not with people, but with the fact that you need to change your inner self.

Character Traits: List

An important positive character trait is hard work. Any person who is ready to work will achieve a lot. This is not about the ability to unload wagons, but about labor in general: both physical and intellectual. Those with such a character trait as hard work do not stand still, but are constantly looking for more and more new types of activities in which they could realize themselves. The opposite of this character trait will be laziness. Of course, she spoils her because she becomes difficult to rise to, inert, and unable to achieve her goals.

Character traits, the list of which is wide, include kindness. Kind people are open to the world and are always ready to help those in need. They renounce evil because they understand that bad deeds will not lead to anything good. The opposite character trait would be anger.

What can be said about cowardice? People who have this character trait are constantly in the back rows. Life often passes them by. They do not find the strength and courage to undertake something new, something that would change not only themselves, but also the world around them.

The character traits listed here are varied. These also include sociability. It helps us establish contacts with other people, make new acquaintances, maintain old ones, and so on. Man is a social being. This means that, living in society, you need to be able to communicate with your own kind. Unsociability is a negative character trait. Being single is good, but not always. It is worth thinking about what lies ahead. Sooner or later, you still want to see people next to you who you can really rely on.

Here is a list of positive human qualities:

Goodwill;

Openness;

Philanthropy;

Perseverance;

Openness to new things;

Seriousness;

Good nature;

Restraint;

Tact;

Cheerfulness;

Determination;

Here is a list of people:

Inertia;

Envy;

Aggressiveness;

Idleness;

Closedness;

Malice;

In the social life of society and in relationships.

Each person has special qualities and individual character traits. It is impossible to find two absolutely identical men or women. Descriptions of people's character are built from their actions, which affect their entire lives.

Character and dependence on body type

E. Kretschmer, a famous German psychologist, determined that a person’s behavior directly depends on his physique. He compiled a description of examples that fit into three main groups.

Asthenics are people with undeveloped muscles, quite thin with a small chest. They have an elongated face and long limbs. The psychologist united all such people into the group of schizothymics. These are often very stubborn people; it is difficult for them to adapt to changing environmental conditions. They are very withdrawn and prone to suffer from schizophrenia with severe mental disorders.
Picnics are people who tend to be overweight. They are characterized by a round face, short neck and small These people fall into the typological group of cyclothymic character. These are sociable people, very emotional and prone to quickly adapting to unfamiliar conditions. With psychological disorders they become depressed.
Athletics - have an athletic build, large chest and tall stature. Kretschmer classified athletes as ixothymics - unemotional individuals, domineering and not liking change. Severe psychological distress can easily lead to epilepsy.

This is the description given by a German psychologist. Now boldly approach the mirror and draw conclusions whether this theory applies to you or not.

The influence of temperament on character

Temperament is the characteristic vital energy of a person, which establishes one’s attitude towards life. It is often difficult to find a person who has only one temperamental indicator clearly expressed. As a rule, people have mixed temperaments, but knowing them, you can easily create a description of a person’s character, examples are given below:

A sanguine person is an active person, characterized by regular mood changes. He reacts very quickly to all events that happen in his life. Failures and negative moments are perceived easily, without depression or frustration. Such a person has developed facial expressions, and he also completely devotes himself to work if it interests him.
A choleric person is a very bright and excited person who reacts vividly to life events. He can quickly become angry and at the same time feel a loss of strength. Such a person quickly lights up with new ideas, but just as easily loses interest.
A melancholic person is a person who takes everything to heart. At the same time, he is very impressionable and is easily brought to tears.
Phlegmatic is a person who is stingy with emotions. The whole life of such a person is balanced and full of stability. Such people are valued in many companies, as they are distinguished by perseverance and high ability to work.

Formation of personality character

Many psychologists have written descriptions of people's character. But when is this character formed and is it possible to change it? Character manifests itself at a very early age. By the age of five, a child has established characteristics that are almost impossible to change.

In the early grades, the priority remains the opinion of parents and teachers, but after 14 years a whole psychological explosion occurs. The teenager clearly demonstrates his opinion about life, shaping his character. Obviously, the formation is influenced by the media. During this period, it is easy to impose incorrect political views and grow a supporter of some movement. By the age of 20, the human personality is formed, the turning point begins at the age of 50. There is a rearrangement of priorities, and so-called wisdom appears.

Appearance and character of a person

And human character is an important stylistic device for writers. This gives us a complete picture of the hero. We see his positive and negative traits, a negative or positive character develops.

Describing the character of people is very important for solving serial crimes - specialists start from the repeated actions characteristic of a maniac. This creates an accurate portrait of the individual and even makes it possible to predict the actions of the criminal.

If it is important to make a detailed description of a person, character traits are a significant indicator. Especially in areas such as politics and journalism. You need to be able to characterize a person’s abilities by appearance, because real character does not always appear immediately.

Surely you have heard the phrase: “There are as many characters as there are people.” From a psychological point of view, this statement is correct, because no two people are the same. We are distinguished by our principles, favorite hobbies, reactions to various events and stimuli. It is the types of human character, the individual combination of personal qualities that determine people’s actions.

Temperament - features and classification

The definition of character is a set of persistent, relatively constant characteristics that determine a person’s attitude to the world around him and his behavior. Experts identify several criteria by which temperaments are classified.

It should be noted that psychologists consider temperament and character as two complementary concepts. The formation of personality occurs under the influence of individual behavioral characteristics. It should be understood that character traits are formed and manifested under the influence of temperament.

Understanding the terminology

Before moving on to the topic - personality education - it is necessary to understand the basic concepts, namely, temperament and character - what are the differences.

– human behavior in various situations. This is a combination of individual qualities that a person acquires throughout life. Personality characteristics are determined by the social environment in which the personality develops.
Temperament is an emotional response to external stimuli. These are innate human properties, determined by the biological and mental characteristics of the individual.

It is important! Certain character traits are revealed depending on the social environment and environment where a person finds himself. Temperament does not change and remains constant regardless of the conditions and accompanying circumstances.

In psychology, it is customary to evaluate only the traits and types of individual qualities of a person. We can say that a person has a good, bad or strong character, but such assessments do not apply to temperament. Based on value judgments, the specialist identifies personal shortcomings and selects a strategy to eliminate them.

Various typologies of individual qualities

The most popular is the typology proposed by the German psychologist Kretschmer. In his opinion, a person’s character types depend on the characteristics of his figure and physique.

Kretschmer classification

"Picnics" Outwardly, these are dense people who tend to be overweight, of short or medium height, with a large head, short neck and small facial features. From a psychological point of view, such people - cyclothymics - are emotional, easily make contact, and quickly adapt to new circumstances and living conditions. It is in this category that people prone to manic-depressive syndrome are most often found. Read about disharmonious personality development.
"Athletics". Outwardly, these are tall people with broad shoulders, strong muscles and chest. From a psychological point of view, people of the “ixothymic” type are practical and reserved. Character weaknesses - power, inability to show emotions and adapt to new circumstances. With complex psychological disorders, such people develop epilepsy.
"Asthenics". People of this type can be recognized by their thin physique, underdeveloped muscles, long legs, arms and elongated face. Psychological type - schizothymic - they are characterized by stubbornness, isolation and inability to adapt to life circumstances. People of this psychological group are prone to schizophrenia.

Character types in Jung's classification

Another classification was proposed by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. The dominant criterion of the typology is the dominant emotional functions - feelings, intuition, thinking and sensations. In his opinion, in every person, to a certain extent, the external or internal world prevails. In this regard, Jung classifies people into two types - introverts and extroverts.

Introverts are closed, focused on their inner world, and deliberately isolate themselves from external circumstances. They tend to analyze events, worry, listen to personal feelings, etc. It is difficult for such people to meet people and change habits.

Extroverts are direct, open to communication, and active. They have many friends, because the worst thing for an extrovert is loneliness. My favorite hobby is traveling, and my favorite way to relax is to spend time with friends, tell jokes and, of course, become the life of the party.

Personality by temperament

Another common classification is the comparison of a certain temperament with specific individual qualities. In this case, you need to take into account that in everyday life it is impossible to meet a person with pronounced traits of a particular temperament. People are more likely to have mixed types of temperaments.

Choleric - he is characterized by such manifestations as impetuosity, speed of decision-making, passion and imbalance. What character traits require correction - emotional imbalance and fatigue. Cholerics tend to quickly get carried away and waste their energy irrationally.
Phlegmatic - unhurried, emotionally stable, does not show emotions. What are the dominant qualities - perseverance, poise, productivity and diligence in work.
A melancholic person is a person who tends to worry about every even minor event. Character weaknesses - emotional vulnerability, excessive impressionability.
A sanguine person is an active, “alive” person with frequent mood changes. What character traits are dominant - reacts quickly to all events, easily experiences troubles. He has expressive facial expressions and high productivity in work, provided that the task at hand is interesting to him.

Many people are interested in the question of whether character changes. Indeed, personal qualities are formed and change throughout life. The process begins in early childhood. The first individual traits of a child appear already in preschool age; parents can identify a certain way of behavior and attitude towards the world.

If you want to raise your child with a strong personality, to develop perseverance, courage and endurance in your child, involve him in group games with a certain plot and rules.

How to build character and teach a child to work and responsibility? From childhood, assign simple tasks to your child, gradually complicating them. Thus, the child develops discipline, self-control, behavior is determined, and the baby learns to evaluate his actions and decisions. Thus, it happens.

A new stage begins when the child enters school, when his ability to communicate with classmates and perform new responsibilities is demonstrated. As a result of a change in environment and lifestyle, the child develops organization, accuracy, and hard work.

It is important! In childhood, the personality of the baby is influenced by the character of the parents and their habits. At school, the main role in character education is played by the school community - classmates, teachers.

A child’s character is revealed through the following areas during school:

organization and systematicity;
determination and perseverance;
accuracy and hard work;
discipline;
consciousness of duty and responsibility to the school community;
collectivism and camaraderie.

In adolescence, personal characteristics develop most actively, because at this age the child is attracted to adult life, and higher demands are placed on him. Feelings such as duty, responsibility, participation in the collective life of the class manifest themselves more consciously.

It is possible to change a child's character. Psychologists note that there are no children whose personal characteristics could not be re-educated. However, the process requires the participation of a specialist who can identify character flaws and select the most effective strategy for further action.

How to develop better personality characteristics

The best guide on the path to character improvement is a book David Brooks "The Path to Character". It talks about why many successful people say: “Yes, you can awaken your best personal qualities and fully realize yourself.”

First of all, a strong character requires education from an early age. The task of parents is to form in the child a certain worldview that determines behavior and actions. To do this, they use a certain system, which involves a combination of play, work and educational activities, in the process the child accumulates useful skills of correct behavior.

It is necessary to place the child in such conditions that the child’s activities fully comply with the instilled principles. You cannot develop strong character if you do not offer the child conditions in which he needs to show courage.

The most important means of developing a strong character is work. By entrusting your child with socially significant tasks that require overcoming difficulties, you develop in your child the following traits of a harmonious and successful personality:

determination;
persistence;
collectivism.

It is important! One of the conditions for the competent organization of educational activities is the consistency of educational activities at school and parental education.

Self-education of character is the most important stage in the formation of personal qualities. Teach your child to read, because using the example of literary heroes he compares his behavior, learns to make decisions, and communicates with friends and adults. Another stage of successful self-education is the ability to restrain unwanted habits. Remember the expression - if you sow a habit, you reap a character. To avoid having to correct negative individual qualities in the future, pay attention to your children’s habits.

In order to promptly recognize and eliminate negative character traits, parents must interact with kindergarten teachers and school teachers. A child’s personal qualities are largely formed under the influence of the judgments and actions of adults.

About types of people and personal qualities - watch the video.

Person's character is the most common psychology term in everyday life. “What a character!” - even a person far from psychology speaks about a difficult child. For him, character is a synonym for the word “property”, “feature”. And this definition of character is not far from the truth.

Translated from Greek, this term means “feature”, “sign”, “sign”. For us, character is a set of more or less permanent mental characteristics of a person that determine his behavior and relationships in society. That is, it is a way of life and behavior.

Human character traits.

Any character can be described according to its main features, that is, qualifiers that help explain the behavior of a particular person in a particular situation. Psychologists identify four defining character traits:

Attitude towards other people(politeness, sociability, rudeness, rudeness, contempt, etc.).
Attitude to work(perseverance, conscientiousness, hard work, perseverance, responsibility, passivity, laziness, etc.).
Attitude towards yourself(pride, modesty, self-criticism, shyness, arrogance, selfishness, vanity, selfishness, etc.).
Attitude to things(frugality, accuracy, negligence, sloppiness, etc.).

The main characteristics of character in its study are the first two types of traits, that is, attitude towards people and attitude towards work. These character traits are called core or central. A simple explanation can be given here: your boss is primarily interested in how you do your job and get along with your colleagues, but he doesn’t care whether you love yourself and whether you hang your trousers in the closet when you come home from work. The example is, of course, crude, but the first two types of traits are the most important for social psychology and social science.

Character and temperament.

Temperament- This is the basis for the formation of a person’s character. Unlike temperament, character can change over time, but will still rely on temperament as a base. Simply put, temperament is the foundation on which different types of character can be built, and then something can be torn down and rebuilt.

Dynamic character traits directly depend on temperament. For example, sanguine and choleric people will always be more sociable than phlegmatic and melancholic people. Some properties of temperament favor the development of certain character traits, while others suppress them.

When raising a child and shaping his character, you need to read the properties of his temperament, because with improper upbringing, negative characteristics of temperament can creep into his character. For more details, see the chapter Temperament.

Accentuation of character.

Accentuation of character- a term that cannot be ignored when considering character traits. This concept in psychology means effort (emphasis) on certain traits to the extreme. In the most negative scenario, accentuation can turn into a mental disorder (not to be confused with a personality disorder, which is what accentuation essentially is).

Most often, accentuation as a personality disorder is temporary or periodic. An example is the teenage crisis, or premenstrual syndrome, when irritability is accentuated and comes to the fore. You shouldn’t take accentuation seriously, you just need to minimize the unfavorable factors that caused it.

Unlike temperament, character does not have clearly defined types or types. There are concepts with which we can characterize someone, but this will be a characteristic of only one trait: a workaholic, a lazy person, an altruist, a greedy person, a sociopath, a merry fellow, etc. Therefore, in order to more or less accurately describe a person’s character, you will need at least four such definitions, each according to a certain type of character trait.

When speaking about such a concept as “human character,” most of us mean a person’s reactions to certain events in his life, as well as the people around him. In fact, this concept is much more complex. Today you will learn about the characteristics of human character, its main types and traits.

Concept, manifestation of character

The concept of “character” in psychological terminology implies (translated from Greek as “seal”) a set of personal characteristics of a person that are formed in the process of growing up and clearly manifest themselves in a person’s life (both personal and social). As a result, stable and uniform behavior is formed in certain situations.

In fact, not all psychological characteristics of a person can be considered permanent character traits. A simple and striking example: a person in a fairly stressful situation showed himself to be rude and unrestrained. Does this mean that such behavior is characteristic of him due to his character? Not at all. Only the regular manifestation of such behavior can indicate a character trait.

The basis of human character is formed by his nervous activity, or rather its type; the dynamics of its manifestation is the environment.

There are many deep definitions and decodings of the set of concepts included in the word “character”. In simple terms, human character is most often understood as:

a system of stable behavior that forms a personality type;
the line between the inner world of a person and the external world in which he lives or the way an individual adapts to the environment;
a clearly defined system of human behavioral reactions to certain stimuli.

It is worth noting that character cannot be called fully formed until a person lives, grows and develops. The formation of a person’s character directly depends on the characteristics of his lifestyle, which include not only the physical, but also the spiritual: thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc.

The content of a person’s character is a complex relationship between social influence and the orientation of the individual, consisting of spiritual/material needs, beliefs, interests, etc.

Character traits

It is worth noting that the direct formation of character occurs under the influence of certain social subgroups to which a person belongs (for example, family, friends, work team, etc.). Depending on which group is dominant for a person, such character traits will develop in him. In addition, a significant role in this process will be played by the position of the individual in the group and the degree of his interaction with it.

In general, several groups of character traits can be distinguished depending on a person’s relationship with the outside world:

A person's attitude towards other individuals. This implies the individual’s perception of his own family, colleagues, friends, and simply strangers. Here there is a person’s desire for active communication and, accordingly, character traits accompanying this desire, such as respect for others, collectivism, sensitivity, and kindness towards others. The opposite manifestation is also possible - the desire for limited communication and, accordingly, the traits associated with it - callousness, restraint, contempt for others, etc.
A person’s attitude towards his own work and achievements. As in the previous case, it is common for a person to show radically different emotions in relation to his own work. Everything depends on his characteristic traits: hard work, creativity, organization, responsibility - with a positive attitude towards one’s own work, and laziness, dishonesty, sloppiness, etc. - with a negative/indifferent attitude towards work.
A person's attitude towards himself. An important component in character is a person’s own “I”. This refers to character traits such as self-esteem, pride (a healthy feeling), modesty, or the opposite character traits: conceit, arrogance, resentment, selfishness.
A person's attitude towards things. Everything is simple here: a person either cares about the condition of his (and not only) things (neatness, careful handling), or not (sloppiness, negligence, etc.).

The relationship between character and temperament

Many people mistakenly believe that a person’s temperament is initially akin to character and therefore equate these two concepts. The scientific community has officially accepted 4 main views on the interaction of character and temperament:

Identification (character and temperament are considered equal concepts).
Contrasting concepts, emphasizing the fundamental difference between them.
Recognition of temperament as part of character, sometimes even its core.
Recognizing temperament as the actual foundation for character development.

Despite the radically different scientific views on the concept of character and temperament, it is possible to highlight their general dependence on the physiological characteristics of a person, namely the characteristics of his nervous system. It is also worth noting that temperament is more firmly connected with the individual’s nervous system, and therefore is actually the basis for character. Temperament has a decisive influence on the formation of such traits as balance, adequate perception of a given situation, calmness of reaction, etc.

Nevertheless, temperament is not yet a predetermining factor in the formation of character. Thus, the formation of radically different characters with the same temperament is considered a fairly common occurrence.

Basic character types

There are many different theories according to which human character can be divided into several types. Here are some of the most common ones in the scientific community.

Character types according to Kretschmer

According to the famous German psychologist Kretschmer, all individuals living on Earth belong to one of three main groups/character types (the main role in determining a person into one type or another is his physiological data):

Asthenics. People are of thin build with thin, long arms and legs, and a weak chest. Most often, people from this group have poorly developed muscles. Psychologically, this type corresponds to the schizothymic type of character: people with this type of character are characterized by isolation, stubbornness, and poor adaptation to changes in the environment.
Athletics. People are quite strong, with well-developed muscles. This type corresponds to the ixothymic type of character: people with this type of character are characterized by calmness, practicality, restraint, authority, etc.
Picnics. People are quite dense or even overweight, have a large head, a short neck, and a face with small features. The appropriate type of character is sociability, emotionality, quick adaptation to new conditions.

Classification of characters according to Carl Gustav Jung

The famous psychiatrist and psychologist from Switzerland created a simple at first glance, but quite deep classification of characters, since we are talking about the interaction of the conscious with the unconscious. So, K.G. Jung identified three main character types: extrovert, introvert, ambovert.

Thus, the reactions and activities of an extrovert depend to a greater extent on external impressions of events, people, etc. For an introvert, the opposite is true: he is more guided by his own experiences, sensations, etc.

Extroverts are sociable people, pleasant conversationalists, open, cheerful, and have a large number of friends. They always try to take everything from life, they care little about their own health

Introverts are a special type of person who is quite difficult to understand. He is always closed, uncommunicative, strives to analyze everything, is rather suspicious, and has few friends.

Well, and finally, an ambivert is a person who, so to speak, has learned the best from the first two types. This person is an excellent analyst with a subtle soul, prone to periodic “attacks” of loneliness and at the same time capable of “stirring up” a large company with his wit, humor and charisma.

Types of characters according to Hippocrates

Hippocrates is considered the founder of one of the key theories of human essence. True, in distant ancient times, the typology of temperament he created was understood, rather, to be the physical component of a person. And only a couple of centuries ago, the concept of four temperaments that he developed began to be studied from a psychological point of view.

So, there are 4 main types of character/temperament:

Choleric; a rather passionate, quick-tempered, sometimes aggressive person who finds it quite difficult to control his emotional state and reactions to irritating external factors. A choleric person is characterized by frequent outbursts of anger, mood swings and other sudden changes in behavior. Quickly consumes energy, depleting your reserve of strength.
Sanguine. A very active and cheerful person, who, like a choleric person, is characterized by sudden mood swings, but at the same time a quick and stable reaction to external factors. A sanguine person is a productive and purposeful person.
Phlegmatic person. The person is very reserved and shows virtually no emotions. He is unhurried, has a balanced psyche, is persistent and persistent in his work.
Melancholic. A very impressionable and easily vulnerable person, acutely experiencing his own failures. It reacts quite sharply to external stimuli.

That, perhaps, is all you need to know about a person’s character, his main types, characteristics and manifestations in the world around him. From all of the above, we can draw a simple conclusion: each person is very individual, his personality is complex, multifaceted and unusual.