We can safely call each person unique in one way or another. What makes him so? Everything is very simple, a combination of external data and character traits, with the help of which a person appears before you in his usual state. The list of qualities can be continued indefinitely - they provide the individuality of a person, allowing him to differ from other people. In fact, it is not so easy to take and count the number of characteristic features that this or that person possesses. Is it necessary to consider only good qualities? Maybe we should put bad characteristics at the head? It is very important to adequately characterize a person, evaluate him and understand at the same time that a person cannot have only a good set of qualities or only bad ones.

List of human qualities

Why make all these lists and enumerations at all? Psychologists say that thanks to all these lists, it is possible to analyze and highlight a number of aspects. When compiling a list of the qualities of another person, we ourselves, in one way or another, will strive to analyze ourselves, although this happens completely unconsciously, but still. You can find weaknesses and turn them into strengths, gradually get rid of shortcomings and continue to confidently work on yourself.

Positive character traits

It is impossible to list all the advantages, there are a lot of them. In fact, even more than you can imagine. Some characteristics allow you to interact with people, while others allow you to perfectly cope with the task set by the boss at work. Let's designate a number of key positive qualities of a person:

• kindness. This quality lives in each of us, but in modern society there is a stereotype that it is not possible to meet a kind person. The problem lies in the crazy pace of life, which dictates its own conditions and quite often locks a person into a frame. Take a look around, what do you see? There are only egocentrists around who believe that the world should revolve only around them. But you can always find this quality in yourself and try to develop it;
• sense of humor. One great classic called the quality called "gaiety" outstanding. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that a person can cheer up people who are nearby, relieving them of depressing thoughts. It’s nice to be in the same room with such people, they charge with positive and set the right mood in life, allowing you to just enjoy life without paying attention to what is happening around;
• determination. Thanks to this quality, you can feel like an independent person, because many people associate decisiveness with the absence of a sense of fear;
• purposefulness. It is important to set a goal and confidently go towards its achievement, so the owners of this quality can be safely called lucky;
• feeling of compassion. This quality is valued in our time, because if a person knows how to empathize and support a loved one in difficult times, he greatly alleviates his suffering and shares problems;
• politeness. This character trait in the eyes of others represents a person as tactful, balanced and not going to conflict. It is very important to always maintain composure and look decent;
• sociability. If a person knows how to quickly establish contacts and make friends, then he is a sociable person who will achieve a lot in life and go far;
• punctuality. In a world where everyone is late and doesn't care to follow the rules, this quality allows you to stand out from the crowd. Such people know how to plan their time, they appreciate in people the ability to do everything on time and follow the rules;
• self-criticism. Each of us must adequately assess the situation and be able to laugh at ourselves. This characterizes you as a strong and self-confident person who is not afraid to admit her mistake and say publicly that she did something wrong;
• modesty. A person who does not exalt himself and does not put above everyone else looks worthy. And this is despite the fact that he has something to brag about and stand out from the crowd. It is always pleasant to communicate with people who have achieved a lot and at the same time do not seek to talk about their person at every step;
• confidence. The quality that everyone aspires to. After all, it is so important to be 100% sure that you are doing everything right. Such persons are not afraid to express their opinion in public, they know how to manage emotions and in stressful situations make the only right decision.

Negative human traits

At different ages, a person is able to show, along with positive qualities, also bad ones that characterize him from the other side. Why do these qualities arise?

Parents could make mistakes in raising a child, or a person always showed a tendency to unseemly behavior. Despite this. Even with bad heredity it is possible and necessary to fight, now we will consider a number of negative qualities of a human character:

• irascibility. Usually people who have this quality do not know how to control their emotions, they are unrestrained and cause problems to everyone around. It is necessary to try to restrain your emotional manifestations, to fulfill these promises;
• envy. This quality is not in vain called one of the worst character traits that harms the development of a person as a person. Someone is more beautiful, richer, smarter - it means that you should definitely envy the person and some people even try to do everything possible to poison the life of the object of their envy. You should not pay attention to the successes of other people, you need to confidently work on yourself;
• arrogance. It is very difficult to contact such people in everyday life, they consider themselves better than others and do not get tired of repeating this. If you do not stop in time and do not try to get rid of arrogance, relatives and friends may turn away from you forever;
• selfishness. Such persons are doomed to die in splendid isolation, and all because they think only of themselves and take care only of themselves. Sooner or later, friends and relatives will turn away from you, who will simply get bored, they constantly take care of you;
• arrogance. Such persons are always looked down upon and therefore no one likes them. If you do not stop behaving arrogantly and will live in splendid isolation, without friends and girlfriends, without support from others;
• hypocrisy. A person who says one thing in his eyes and another behind his back will sooner or later compromise himself with something, and then a scandal will definitely not be avoided. It is necessary to make every effort to eradicate this bad quality in yourself;
• pessimism. Often such people complain to others about life, they are constantly dissatisfied with something, and the nerves of those around them give up very quickly. No one likes the fact that they always tell you their problems and try to blame the whole world for their failures. Remember one very important rule: if you initially set yourself up for failure, be prepared for the fact that it will stay with you for a long time;
• laziness. No one likes lazy people, and no one will work for you either. After all, such a person, in order to do nothing, will surely find a million excuses for himself. If you do not stop spending all your free time on the couch, you will remain an unsuccessful person who will not achieve anything in life;
• impudence. It will not be difficult for such people to achieve their goal, you can always go over their heads, not paying attention to other people's principles and ambitions. Nobody likes impudent people, and everyone around them treats them with characteristic aggressiveness;
• infantilism. It is very convenient in our society to be a capricious, spoiled person who shows his immaturity in making even the most banal decisions. Surrounding people shun such people so that once again they do not have to solve their problems;
• cruelty. One of the worst human qualities, because such people are capable of any actions and deeds. It all starts in childhood, when a child deliberately tortures an animal, then teases classmates and, in adulthood, behaves cruelly towards work colleagues.

Everyone has the right to decide for himself which qualities to develop in himself, and which must be eradicated as soon as possible. One thing is clear, if you stand still and take absolutely no action, your unpleasant baggage of personal qualities and characteristics will remain with you. It is necessary to work on yourself every day, because depending on the circumstances, certain characteristics appear and it is not always possible to control them in moments of overwhelming emotions. On the other hand, you should definitely make every effort if you realize that you are behaving incorrectly. Positive character traits should be developed, negative ones should be actively fought - everything is very simple. If you don't like something, you can always correct it or fix it altogether. You cannot characterize a person as “bad” or “good”, give him some other assessment, because everything in this world is relative. A person who is engaged in self-development will never be guided by someone else's opinion and consider it the only correct one. Remember that everything in this life depends only on you and the decisions you make. There are bad and good qualities in each of us, but we have the right to dose them, revealing the facets of our character every day from a new perspective.

Each person is unique and, first of all, he is distinguished by his inner world, character traits, which are manifested in his attitude to others, social duties, work. In the latter connection, perseverance, diligence, passivity, laziness, etc. are manifested. A person can develop certain properties of his character on his own. Let's talk about this and more in more detail.

Formation and manifestation of character

Character is a set of personal characteristics and is formed from the following sources:

• genetic basis (genes are able to determine the propensity of each person to a certain type of activity);
• the influence of current circumstances on the person himself;
• conscious choice of certain personality traits.

It is worth noting that already from childhood, personal character traits begin to take shape. This, again, is influenced by the sources cited above. Over the years, improving, a person can develop the necessary internal. Thus, purposefulness is formed through strong motivation, willpower and hard work.

As you know, a person's personality is manifested in various relationships, but the following are character-forming:

1. The attitude of a person to other people (this manifests sociability or isolation, rudeness or tact, sincerity or hypocrisy, deceit). This attitude also forms the personal consciousness.
2. In relation to oneself, such character traits as self-criticism, modesty, self-confidence and narcissism are manifested.
3. In relation to property, neatness or negligence make themselves felt, generosity - stinginess, wastefulness - thrift.
4. In relation to business: diligence - laziness, dishonesty - responsibility.

A decisive role in the formation and development of character traits is played by relationships with other people, society as a whole. The character of each person cannot be understood, revealed, without knowing his behavior within the team.

Volitional character traits

They are not innate, therefore, everyone has the right to educate them in himself. The famous scientist I. Pavlov emphasized that man is the only living system capable of self-improvement. Thus, weak-willed individuals, thanks to carefully thought-out work, are capable of vigorous activity. In order for a person in adult life not to have difficulties with the manifestation of volitional qualities in conflict circumstances, they should be developed from a young age by training the will and developing such volitional qualities of character as:

• activity;
• self-control, endurance (the ability to take control of one's own behavior in difficult living conditions, refraining from unnecessary emotional outbursts, excessive impulsiveness in actions);
• decisiveness (the ability to make a decision in a timely manner, the ability, in which case, to stop a certain action if it loses its expediency);
• courage, courage, which are the opposite qualities of cowardice.

Strong character traits

People with a strong character always stand out from the background of the majority, and often their personality is set as an example to others. They differ in that they contain:

Traits

Character is an inseparable whole. But it is impossible to study and understand such a complex whole as character without highlighting individual aspects or typical manifestations (character traits) in it. Common traits of character are manifested in the relationship of the individual to social duties and duty, to people, to himself. The attitude to social duties and duty is primarily manifested in the attitude of the individual to social labor. In this regard, such character traits as diligence, conscientiousness, perseverance, frugality, and the opposite of them - laziness, negligence, passivity, wastefulness are revealed. A person's attitude to work has a decisive influence on the formation of his other personal qualities. D. I. Pisarev wrote: "Character is tempered by labor, and whoever has never earned his own daily food by his own labor, for the most part remains forever a weak, sluggish and spineless person." Attitude towards people clearly appears in such character traits as sociability, politeness, goodwill, etc. The antipodes of these traits are isolation, tactlessness, malevolence. As V. Hugo stated, "every person has three characters: the one that is attributed to him; the one that he attributes to himself; and, finally, the one that is in reality." In order to clarify the essence of his character, it is useful for a person to know the opinion about himself of the team in which he works and spends a significant part of his life. And above all, how orderly his relations with people are, how much people need him, how authoritative he is among them. Attitude towards oneself is manifested in self-assessment of one's actions. Sober self-assessment is one of the conditions for personal development, helping to develop such character traits as modesty, adherence to principles, self-discipline. Negative character traits are increased conceit, arrogance and boasting. A person with these traits is usually quarrelsome in a team, involuntarily creates pre-conflict and conflict situations in it. Another extreme in a person's character is also undesirable: underestimation of one's own merits, timidity in expressing one's positions, in defending one's views. Modesty and self-criticism must be combined with a heightened sense of self-worth, based on the consciousness of the real significance of one's personality, on the presence of certain successes in work for the common good. Principle is one of the valuable personal qualities that give the character an active orientation. Volitional character traits. Will is understood as a complex mental process that causes the activity of a person and awakens him to act in a directed way. Will is the ability of a person to overcome obstacles, to achieve the goal. Specifically, she acts in such character traits as purposefulness, determination, perseverance, courage. These character traits can contribute to the achievement of both socially useful and anti-social goals. To do this, it is important to determine what the motive of a person's volitional behavior is. "A brave act, the motive of which is to enslave another person, to seize someone else's property, to promote oneself, and a brave act, the motive of which is to help the common cause, of course, have completely different psychological qualities." According to volitional activity, characters are divided into strong and weak. People with a strong character have stable goals, are proactive, boldly make decisions and implement them, have great endurance, are courageous and courageous. People in whom these qualities are weakly expressed or some of them are absent are classified as weak-character. They are characterized by a passive manifestation of their business and personal qualities. Often such people, having the best intentions, do not achieve significant results in work, study. Many of them sincerely experience their inability to act independently, persistently and decisively.

Volitional qualities can be cultivated in a person. IP Pavlov emphasized that a person is the only system capable of regulating itself within wide limits, that is, it can improve itself. Weak-willed people with thoughtful pedagogical work with them can become actively active. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of a person, for example, his temperament. So, it is easier for a choleric person to develop activity and determination than for a melancholic person. A person himself must train his will from a young age, develop such qualities as self-control, activity, courage.

The most objective and irrefutable data about a person's character is provided not by his passport data, not by the features of his external appearance, not by his involuntary actions, but by his conscious behavior. It is precisely by the fact that a person chooses not from possible actions in a given situation that his character is assessed. The nature of a person is quite multifaceted. This can be seen already in the process of activity: one does everything quickly, the other slowly and thoroughly, thinks carefully, acting for sure, and the third immediately grabs work without thinking, and only after a certain period of time, without solving the problem from a swoop, looks around and coordinates its actions, taking into account the circumstances. These features, distinguished in human behavior, are called traits, or sides, of character. Any trait is some stable stereotype of behavior.

However, character traits cannot be pulled out of the typical situations in which they appear, in some situations even a polite person can be rude. Therefore, any a character trait is a stable form of behavior in connection with specific, typical situations for this type of behavior.

According to Yu.M. Orlov, along with situations in which a certain trait of a person is found, its essential characteristic is the probability that a given type of behavior in a given situation will take place. One can talk about any trait as a stable characteristic of a person if the probability of its manifestation in a certain situation is high enough. However, the probability means that this feature is not always manifested, otherwise it would just be a matter of mechanical behavior. Such an understanding of character traits is very similar to the manifestation of a person's habit: in certain conditions, to act in a certain way. A character trait includes a certain way of thinking, understanding. In the performance of a characteristic act, volitional mechanisms are turned on, feelings are involved. Conditioning a person's behavior, a character trait in behavior is formed. The formation of character traits cannot be divorced from the formation of behavioral motives. The motives of behavior, being realized in action, being fixed in it, are fixed in the character. Each effective motive that acquires stability, according to S.L. Rubinstein, is potentially a future character trait in its origin and development; in motives, character traits appear for the first time in the form of tendencies, the action then leads them into stable properties. The path to the formation of character traits lies, therefore, through the formation of proper motives for behavior and the organization of actions aimed at consolidating them.

The most common properties of character are located along the axes: strength - weakness; hardness - softness; integrity - inconsistency; breadth - narrowness. If strength of character is understood as the energy with which a person pursues goals, his ability to get passionately carried away and develop a great effort of strength when meeting difficulties, the ability to overcome them, then weakness of character is associated with the manifestation of cowardice, indecision, “asthenicity” in achieving goals, instability of views, etc. Firmness of character means rigid consistency, perseverance in achieving goals, defending views, etc., while softness of character is manifested in flexible adaptation to changing conditions, achieving a goal through some concessions, finding reasonable compromises. The integrity or inconsistency of character is determined by the degree of combination of leading and secondary character traits. If the leading and secondary harmonize, if there are no contradictions in aspirations and interests, then such a character is called integral, but if they contrast sharply, then contradictory.

At the same time, the unity, versatility of character does not exclude the fact that in different situations the same person manifests different and even opposite properties. A person can be both very gentle and very demanding, soft, compliant and at the same time firm to the point of inflexibility. And the unity of his character can not only be preserved in spite of this, but it is precisely in this that it manifests itself.

Of great importance for characterological manifestations is the relationship of intellectual personality traits. The depth and sharpness of thought, the unusual posing of the question and its solution. Intellectual initiative, confidence and independence of thought - all this constitutes the originality of the mind as one of the sides of character. However, how a person uses his mental faculties will depend significantly on character. Often there are people who have highly intellectual data, but do not give anything of value precisely because of their characterological features.

The real achievements of a person do not depend on some abstractly taken mental capabilities, but on a specific combination of his features and characterological properties.

However, most of the individual manifestations that form the character of a person are complex and practically cannot be classified according to individual properties and states (for example, vindictiveness, suspicion, generosity, etc.). At the same time, individual qualities of the volitional (decisiveness, independence, etc.) and intellectual (depth of mind, criticality, etc.) spheres can be considered as components of a person’s character traits and used for his analysis. All character traits have a natural relationship with each other.

In the most general form, character traits can be divided into main, leading, setting the general direction for the development of the entire complex of its manifestations, and secondary, determined by the main ones.

Knowledge of the leading features allows you to reflect the main essence of the character, to show its main manifestations.

Although every character trait reflects one of the manifestations of a person's attitude to reality, this does not mean that every attitude will be a character trait. Only some relationships, depending on the conditions, become character traits.

From the totality of the relationship of the individual to the surrounding reality, it is necessary to single out the character-forming forms of relations that are the decisive, paramount and general vital importance of those objects to which the person belongs. These relationships simultaneously serve as the basis for the classification of the most important character traits. The character of a person is manifested in the system of relations:

1. In relation to other people (at the same time, such character traits as sociability - isolation, truthfulness - deceit, tact - rudeness, etc. can be distinguished)

2. In relation to the case (responsibility - dishonesty, diligence - laziness, etc.).

3. In relation to oneself (modesty - narcissism, self-criticism - self-confidence, etc.)

4. In relation to property (generosity - greed, thrift - extravagance, accuracy - slovenliness, etc.). It should be noted a certain conventionality of this classification and a close relationship, the interpenetration of these aspects of relations.

5. Despite the fact that these relationships are the most important from the point of view of character formation, they do not simultaneously and immediately become character traits. There is a certain sequence in the transition of these relations into character traits, and in this sense it is impossible to put in one row, for example, the attitude towards other people and the attitude towards property, because their very content plays a different role in the real existence of man. A decisive role in the formation of character is played by the attitude of a person to society, to people. The character of a person cannot be revealed and understood outside the collective, without taking into account his attachments in the form of camaraderie, friendship, love, etc.

The relationship of a person with other people is decisive in relation to activity, giving rise to increased activity, tension, rationalization or, on the contrary, calmness, lack of initiative. The attitude to other people and to activity, in turn, determines the attitude of a person to his own personality, to himself. The correct, evaluative attitude towards another person is the main condition for self-esteem.

The attitude towards other people is not only an important part of the character, but also forms the basis for the formation of the consciousness of the individual, necessarily including the attitude towards oneself as an actor, which depends primarily on the very form of activity. When an activity changes, not only the subject, methods and operations of this activity change, but at the same time the attitude towards oneself as an actor is restructured.

A painful condition accompanied by a syndrome of motivational insufficiency, hypochondria, and periodically arising acute feelings about one's laziness. A character trait that reflects the ease of generating emotions of anger, which often turn into verbal and other types of aggression. Particularly brutal ways of committing crimes, to indicate certain properties of the nature of the crime. Cruelty can be deliberate and involuntary, realized in certain actions, verbal behavior (inflicting torment with words) or in the imagination - fantasizing, operating with images of torture, torment of people or animals.

Character(Greek - sign, distinctive property, distinctive feature, feature, sign or seal) - the structure of persistent, relatively constant mental properties that determine the characteristics of the relationship and behavior of the individual.

When they talk about character, they usually mean by this just such a set of properties and qualities of a personality that impose a certain imprint on all its manifestations and deeds. Character traits are those essential properties of a person that determine a particular way of behavior, way of life. The static character is determined by the type of nervous activity, and its dynamics is determined by the environment.

Character is understood as:

• a system of stable motives and ways of behavior that form a behavioral type of personality;
• a measure of the balance of the inner and outer worlds, the features of an individual's adaptation to the reality around him;
• distinctly expressed certainty of the typical behavior of each person.

In the system of personality relations, four groups of character traits are distinguished, forming symptom complexes:

• the attitude of a person towards other people, a team, society (sociability, sensitivity and responsiveness, respect for others - people, collectivism and opposite traits - isolation, callousness, callousness, rudeness, contempt for people, individualism);
• traits that show a person’s attitude to work, their work (hard work, a penchant for creativity, conscientiousness in work, a responsible attitude to business, initiative, perseverance and their opposite traits - laziness, a tendency to routine work, dishonesty, irresponsible attitude to work, passivity) ;
• traits that show how a person relates to himself (self-esteem, correctly understood pride and self-criticism associated with it, modesty and its opposite traits - self-conceit, sometimes turning into arrogance, vanity, arrogance, touchiness, shyness, egocentrism as a tendency to consider center of events
• oneself and one's experiences, selfishness - the tendency to care primarily about one's own personal welfare);
• traits that characterize a person's attitude to things (neatness or carelessness, careful or careless handling of things).

One of the most famous character theories is the theory proposed by the German psychologist E. Kretschmer. According to this theory, character depends on physique.

Kretschmer described three body types and their corresponding three types of character:

Asthenics(from Greek - weak) - people are thin, with an elongated face. long arms and legs, flat (ore cell and weak muscles. The corresponding type of character is schizothymic- people are closed, serious, stubborn, difficult to adapt to new conditions. With mental disorders, they are prone to schizophrenia;

Athletics(from Greek - peculiar to wrestlers) - people are tall, broad-shouldered, with a powerful chest, a strong skeleton and well-developed muscles. Corresponding character type - xotimics- people are calm, unimpressive, practical, domineering, restrained in gestures and facial expressions; They do not like change and do not adapt well to it. With mental disorders, they are prone to epilepsy;

Picnics(from Greek - dense. thick) - people of medium height, overweight or prone to obesity, with a short neck, a large head and a broad face with small features. Corresponding character tin - cyclothymics - people are sociable, contact, emotional, easily adapting to new conditions. With mental disorders, they are prone to manic-depressive psychosis.

General concept of character and its manifestations

In concept character(from the Greek character - “seal”, “chasing”), means a set of stable individual characteristics that develop and manifest themselves in activity and communication, causing typical behaviors for it.

When they determine the character of a person, they do not say that such and such a person showed courage, truthfulness, frankness, that this person is courageous, truthful, frank, i.e. the named qualities are the properties of a given person, traits of his character, which can manifest themselves under appropriate circumstances. Knowledge of a person's character allows you to predict with a significant degree of probability and thereby correct the expected actions and deeds. It is not uncommon to say of a man of character: "He had to do it this way, he could not have done otherwise - that's his character."

However, not all human features can be considered characteristic, but only essential and stable ones. If a person, for example, is not polite enough in a stressful situation, then this does not mean that rudeness and incontinence are a property of his character. Sometimes, even very cheerful people can experience a feeling of sadness, but this does not make them whiners and pessimists.

Speaking like a lifetime human, character is determined and formed throughout a person's life. The way of life includes the way of thoughts, feelings, impulses, actions in their unity. Therefore, as a certain way of life of a person is formed, the person himself is formed. An important role here is played by social conditions and specific life circumstances in which a person’s life path passes, based on his natural properties and as a result of his deeds and deeds. However, the direct formation of character occurs in groups of different levels of development (, a friendly company, a class, a sports team, etc.). Depending on which group is the reference group for the individual and what values ​​it supports and cultivates in its environment, the corresponding character traits will develop among its members. Character traits will also depend on the position of the individual in the group, on how he integrates in it. In a team as a group of a high level of development, the most favorable opportunities are created for the development of the best character traits. This process is mutual, and thanks to the development of the individual, the team itself develops.

Character content, reflecting social influences, influences, constitutes the life orientation of the individual, i.e. her material and spiritual needs, interests, beliefs, ideals, etc. The orientation of the personality determines the goals, the life plan of a person, the degree of his life activity. The character of a person implies the presence of something significant for him in the world, in life, something on which the motives of his actions depend, the goals of his actions, the tasks that he sets himself.

Decisive for understanding character is the relationship between socially and personally significant for a person. Every society has its own major and essential tasks. It is on them that the character of people is formed and tested. Therefore, the concept of "character" refers more to the relationship of these objectively existing tasks. Therefore, character is not just any manifestation of firmness, perseverance, etc. (formal persistence can be just stubbornness), but focus on socially significant activities. It is the orientation of the personality that underlies the unity, integrity, strength of character. The possession of life goals is the main condition for the formation of character. A spineless person is characterized by the absence or dispersion of goals. However, the nature and orientation of the personality are not the same thing. Good-natured and cheerful can be both a decent, highly moral person, and a person with low, unscrupulous thoughts. The orientation of the individual leaves an imprint on all human behavior. And although behavior is determined not by one impulse, but by an integral system of relations, something always comes to the fore in this system, dominating it, giving a peculiar flavor to a person’s character.

In the formed character, the leading component is the persuasion system. Conviction determines the long-term direction of a person's behavior, his inflexibility in achieving his goals, confidence in the justice and importance of the work that he performs. Character traits are closely related to the interests of a person, provided that these interests are stable and deep. The superficiality and instability of interests are often associated with great imitation, with a lack of independence and integrity of a person's personality. And, conversely, the depth and content of interests testify to the purposefulness and perseverance of the individual. The similarity of interests does not imply similar features of character. So, among rationalizers one can find people cheerful and sad, modest and obsessive, egoists and altruists.

Indicative for the understanding of character can also be the affections and interests of a person related to his leisure. They reveal new features, facets of character: for example, L. N. Tolstoy was fond of playing chess, I. P. Pavlov - towns, D. I. Mendeleev - reading adventure novels. Whether a person's spiritual and material needs and interests dominate is determined not only by the thoughts and feelings of the individual, but also by the direction of his activity. No less important is the correspondence of a person's actions to the set goals, since a person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by how she does it. Character can only be understood as a certain unity of direction and mode of action.

People with a similar orientation can go completely different ways to achieve goals and use their own, special, techniques and methods for this. This dissimilarity also determines the specific character of the individual. Character traits, having a certain motivating force, are clearly manifested in a situation of choosing actions or ways of behaving. From this point of view, as a character trait, one can consider the degree of expression of an individual's achievement motivation - his need to achieve success. Depending on this, some people are characterized by the choice of actions that ensure success (showing initiative, competitive activity, striving for risk, etc.), while others are more likely to simply avoid failures (deviation from risk and responsibility, avoiding manifestations of activity, initiative, etc.).

Teaching about character characterology has a long history of development. The most important problems of characterology for centuries have been the establishment of types of character and their definition by its manifestations in order to predict human behavior in various situations. Since character is a lifetime formation of a personality, most of its existing classifications proceed from grounds that are external, mediated factors in the development of a personality.

One of the most ancient attempts to predict human behavior is the explanation of his character by the date of birth. A variety of ways to predict the fate and character of a person are called horoscopes.

No less popular are attempts to connect the character of a person with his name.

Significant influence on the development of characterology had physiognomy(from the Greek Physis - "nature", gnomon - "knowing") - the doctrine of the relationship between the external appearance of a person and his belonging to a certain type of personality, due to which the psychological characteristics of this type can be established by external signs.

Palmistry has no less famous and rich history than the physiognomic trend in characterology. Palmistry(from the Greek Cheir - "hand" and manteia - "fortune telling", "prophecy") - a system for predicting a person's character traits and his fate according to the skin relief of the palms.

Until recently, scientific psychology has consistently rejected palmistry, but the study of the embryonic development of finger patterns in connection with heredity gave impetus to the emergence of a new branch of knowledge - dermatoglyphics.

More valuable, in a diagnostic sense, compared to, say, physiognomy, can be considered graphology - a science that considers handwriting as a kind of expressive movements that reflect the psychological properties of the writer.

At the same time, the unity, versatility of character do not exclude the fact that in different situations the same person manifests different and even opposite properties. A person can be both very gentle and very demanding, soft and compliant and at the same time firm to the point of inflexibility. And the unity of his character can not only be preserved in spite of this, but it is precisely in this that it manifests itself.

The relationship of character and temperament

Character often compared with, and in some cases, they replace these concepts with each other.

In science, among the dominant views on the relationship between character and temperament, four main ones can be distinguished:

• identification of character and temperament (E. Kretschmer, A. Ruzhitsky);
• opposition of character and temperament, emphasizing the antagonism between them (P. Viktorv, V. Virenius);
• recognition of temperament as an element of character, its core, an invariable part (S. L. Rubinshtein, S. Gorodetsky);
• recognition of temperament as the natural basis of character (L. S. Vygotsky, B. G. Ananiev).

Based on the materialistic understanding of human phenomena, it should be noted that the common character and temperament is the dependence on the physiological characteristics of a person, and above all on the type of nervous system. The formation of character essentially depends on the properties of temperament, more closely related to the properties of the nervous system. In addition, character traits arise when the temperament is already sufficiently developed. Character develops on the basis, on the basis of temperament. Temperament determines in the character such traits as the balance or imbalance of behavior, the ease or difficulty of entering a new situation, the mobility or inertness of the reaction, etc. However, temperament does not predetermine character. People with the same temperament properties can have a completely different character. Features of temperament can contribute to or counteract the formation of certain character traits. Thus, it is more difficult for a melancholic to form courage and determination in himself than for a choleric. It is more difficult for a choleric person to develop self-restraint, phlegmatic; a phlegmatic person needs to spend more energy to become sociable than a sanguine person, etc.

However, as B. G. Ananiev believed, if education consisted only in improving and strengthening natural properties, this would lead to a monstrous uniformity of development. The properties of temperament can, to some extent, even come into conflict with the character. In P. I. Tchaikovsky, the tendency to melancholy experiences was overcome by one of the main features of his character - his ability to work. “You always need to work,” he said, “and every honest artist cannot sit idly by, under the pretext that he is not located .. If you wait for an arrangement and do not try to meet him, then you can easily fall into laziness and apathy . Disagreements very rarely happen to me. I attribute this to my being endowed with patience, and train myself never to give in to reluctance. I've learned to conquer myself."

In a person with a formed character, temperament ceases to be an independent form of personality manifestation, but becomes its dynamic side, consisting in a certain speed of the course of mental processes and manifestations of the personality, a certain characteristic of the expressive movements and actions of the personality. Here we should also note the influence exerted on the formation of character by a dynamic stereotype, i.e. a system of conditioned reflexes that form in response to a steadily repeating system of stimuli. The formation of dynamic stereotypes in a person in various repetitive situations is influenced by his attitude to the situation, as a result of which excitation, inhibition, mobility of nervous processes can change, and, consequently, the general functional state of the nervous system. It is also necessary to note the decisive role in the formation of dynamic stereotypes of the second signal system, through which social influences are carried out.

Ultimately, the traits of temperament and character are organically linked and interact with each other in a single, holistic image of a person, forming an inseparable alloy - an integral characteristic of his personality.

Character has long been identified with the will of a person, the expression “a person with character” was considered as a synonym for the expression “strong-willed person”. The will is associated primarily with the strength of character, its firmness, determination, perseverance. When they say that a person has a strong character, they thereby seem to want to emphasize his purposefulness, his strong-willed qualities. In this sense, the character of a person is best manifested in overcoming difficulties, in the struggle, i.e. in those conditions where the will of man is manifested to the greatest extent. But character is not exhausted by force, it has content, determining how the will will function under various conditions. On the one hand, in volitional deeds, character develops and manifests itself in them: volitional deeds in situations that are significant for the individual pass into the character of a person, fixing themselves in it as relatively stable properties of it; these properties, in turn, determine the behavior of a person, his volitional actions. Volitional character is distinguished by certainty, constancy and independence, firmness in the implementation of the intended goal. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for a weak-willed person to be called “spineless”. From the point of view of psychology, this is not entirely true - and a weak-willed person has certain character traits, such as fearfulness, indecision, etc. The use of the term “characterless” means the unpredictability of a person’s behavior, indicates that he does not have his own direction, an internal core that would determine his behavior. His actions are caused by external influences and do not depend on himself.

The peculiarity of character is also reflected in the peculiarities of the flow of human feelings. This was pointed out by K. D. Ushinsky: “nothing, neither words, nor thoughts, nor even our actions express ourselves and our attitude to the world so clearly and correctly, as our feelings: they hear the character of not a separate thought, not a separate decision, but the entire content of our soul and its structure. The connection between feelings and properties of a person's character is also mutual. On the one hand, the level of development of moral, aesthetic, intellectual feelings depends on the nature of a person's activity and communication and on the traits of character formed on this basis. On the other hand, these feelings themselves become characteristic, stable features of the personality, thus constituting the character of a person. The level of development of a sense of duty, a sense of humor and other complex feelings is a fairly indicative characteristic of a person.

Of particular importance for characterological manifestations is the relationship of intellectual personality traits. The depth and sharpness of thought, the unusual posing of the question and its solution, intellectual initiative, confidence and independence of thinking - all this makes up the originality of the mind as one of the sides of character. However, how a person uses his mental faculties will depend significantly on character. Often there are people who have high intellectual data, but do not give anything of value precisely because of their characterological features. Numerous literary images of superfluous people serve as an example of this (Pechorin, Rudin, Beltov, etc.). As I. S. Turgenev well said through the mouth of one of the characters in the novel about Rudin: “There is perhaps genius in him, but no nature.” Thus, the real achievements of a person do not depend on some abstractly taken mental capabilities, but on a specific combination of his features and characterological properties.

character structure

In general form, all character traits can be divided into basic, leading that set the general direction for the development of the whole complex of its manifestations, and secondary, determined by the main. So, if we consider such traits as indecision, timidity and altruism, then with the prevalence of the first, a person, first of all, constantly fears “no matter how something happens” and all attempts to help one’s neighbor usually end in inner feelings and the search for justification. If the second trait is altruism, then the person outwardly shows no hesitation, immediately comes to the rescue, controlling his behavior with the intellect, but at the same time he may sometimes have doubts about the correctness of the actions taken.

Knowledge of leading traits allows you to reflect the main essence of the character, to show its main manifestations. Writers, artists, wanting an idea of ​​the character of the hero, first of all describe his leading, pivotal features. So, A. S. Pushkin put into the mouth of Vorotynsky (in the tragedy “Boris Godunov”) an exhaustive description of Shuisky - “a crafty courtier”. Some heroes of literary works so deeply and truly reflect certain typical character traits that their names become common nouns (Khlestakov, Oblomov, Manilov, etc.).

Although every character trait reflects one of the manifestations of a person's attitude to reality, this does not mean that any attitude will be a character trait. Only some relationships, depending on the conditions, become features. From the totality of the relationship of the individual to the surrounding reality, it is necessary to single out the character-forming forms of relations. The most important distinguishing feature of such relations is the decisive, paramount and general vital importance of those objects to which a person belongs. These relationships simultaneously serve as the basis for the classification of the most important character traits.

The character of a person is manifested in the system of relations:

• In relation to other people (at the same time, such character traits as sociability - isolation, truthfulness - deceit, tact - rudeness, etc. can be distinguished).
• In relation to the case (responsibility - dishonesty, diligence - laziness, etc.).
• In relation to oneself (modesty - narcissism, self-criticism - self-confidence, pride - humiliation, etc.).
• In relation to property (generosity - greed, frugality - extravagance, accuracy - slovenliness, etc.). It should be noted a certain conventionality of this classification and a close relationship, the interpenetration of these aspects of relations. So, for example, if a person shows rudeness, then this concerns his relationship to people; but if at the same time he works as a teacher, then here it is already necessary to talk about his attitude to the matter (bad faith), about his attitude towards himself (narcissism).

Despite the fact that these relationships are the most important from the point of view of character formation, they do not simultaneously and immediately become character traits. There is a certain sequence in the transition of these relations into character traits, and in this sense it is impossible to put in one row, say, the attitude towards other people and the attitude towards property, since their very content plays a different role in the real existence of a person. A decisive role in the formation of character is played by the attitude of a person to society, to people. The character of a person cannot be revealed and understood outside the team, without taking into account his attachments in the form of camaraderie, friendship, love.

In the structure of character, one can distinguish traits that are common to a certain group of people. Even the most original person can find some trait (for example, unusual, unpredictable behavior), the possession of which allows him to be attributed to a group of people with similar behavior. In this case, we should talk about typical in character traits. N. D. Levitov believes that the type of character is a specific expression in the individual character of traits common to a certain group of people. Indeed, as noted, the character is not innate - it is formed in the life and work of a person as a representative of a certain group, a certain society. Therefore, the character of a person is always a product of society, which explains the similarities and differences in the characters of people belonging to different groups.

Diverse typical features are reflected in the individual character: national, professional, age. Thus, people of the same nationality are in the conditions of life that have developed over many generations, they experience the specific features of national life; develop under the influence of the existing national structure, language. Therefore, people of one nationality differ in their way of life, habits, rights, and character from people of another. These typical features are often fixed by everyday consciousness in various attitudes and stereotypes. Most people have a formed image of a representative of a particular country: an American, a Scot, an Italian, a Chinese, etc.

Psychologists call character a combination of personality traits that determine its behavior. You can make many lists with traits of human characters. If two people are given the task of characterizing a third, their lists will differ from each other. People don't think about how character affects their success or failure. But, considering the individual qualities that make up the character, it is easy to understand how they affect the personality as a whole. Character traits of a person develop depending on the type of nervous activity, heredity, and the environment of education. They form throughout life. The predominance of certain traits determines a person's lifestyle.

Human character traits: list

Many psychologists divide all character traits into 4 main groups:

• Attitude towards others;
• attitude towards oneself;
• Attitude to material values;
• Attitude towards work.

Within each group, many qualities can be distinguished.

For example, the list of traits of the "attitude towards others" group:

• compassion;

• respect;
• reliability;
• flexibility;
• politeness;
• the ability to forgive;
• generosity;
• gratitude;
• hospitality;
• justice;
• meekness;
• obedience;
• loyalty;

• sincerity;
• tolerance;
• truthfulness.

Character traits: list of the group "attitude towards oneself":

• Caution;
• Contentment (understanding that true happiness does not depend on material conditions);
• Creation;
• Determination;

• Courage;
• Attentiveness;
• Endurance;
• Faith;
• Honour;
• Initiative;
• Self control.

“Attitude towards material values” can be characterized by the following qualities:

• Thrift;
• organization;
• Generosity;
• Wisdom.

"Attitude towards work" demonstrates the qualities of character:

• industriousness;
• Enthusiasm;
• Initiative;
• Punctuality;

Psychologists also have a classification of character traits according to volitional, emotional and intellectual characteristics. Personality properties appear in combinations. For example, benevolence, generosity and hospitality, as a rule, are characteristic of the same person. Characterizing a person, others highlight the leading features or a set of features. Saying, “He is a kind and sincere guy” or “She is lazy and disorganized,” people emphasize the main thing. This does not mean that a lazy girl cannot be kind and honest. It's just that these traits do not dominate her behavior.

Positive and negative character traits

For harmonious interaction in all four areas (with society, material values, work and oneself), a person must demonstrate his best qualities and minimize the worst ones. Traditionally, it is customary to single out “pluses” and “minuses” in characterizing a person. Every positive trait has its opposite. Even children easily name antonyms: “kind - evil”, “hard-working - lazy”, etc. It is difficult to define unambiguously positive character traits. For example, for the professions of a teacher, seller, doctor, waiter, such traits as benevolence, politeness, tolerance are important. These qualities are not essential for the work of a programmer, accountant, draftsman, who need organization, punctuality, and responsibility more.

There is a special concept of "professional character traits". A pronounced quality, suitable for a particular job, helps a person achieve great professional success. At the same time, character is formed throughout life. The profession leaves its mark on the personality. Therefore, when they say “he is an exemplary policeman”, everyone understands that we are talking about a disciplined, courageous, fair person. The expression "teacher from God" means a kind, wise, tolerant person. A person who dreams of a good career should develop in himself the best qualities of his profession.

Good character traits are controversial in the ordinary sense. Being generous is good, but if a person distributes necessary property because of generosity, his family and himself suffer. Obedience, for which a child is praised at home and in kindergarten, can harm him and form a weak-willed, passive personality.

It is much easier for people to understand negative character traits. We can say that these qualities are universal. Anger, envy, deceit, laziness, greed are included in the list of deadly sins of Christians. But such properties are negatively perceived by people of all faiths. Muslims consider hypocrisy to be the worst sin. Equally dislike hypocrites in all countries, among all peoples. The negative character traits of a person, if they appear in a complex, make the person very unattractive to others. Negative characters - quarrelsome neighbors, quarrelsome colleagues, evil relatives. These are people who have brought the negative aspects of their nature to the extreme.

Each person is to some extent deceitful, envious, quick-tempered, but reasonable people try not to demonstrate their negative qualities to others. Negative aspects of character can be corrected. If others often say: “You are too rude”, “It is difficult to communicate with you because of your arrogance”, you need to draw conclusions and start working on yourself. Psychologists advise you to write down the negative qualities of your character on a piece of paper and work with each one individually. For example, you can remember among your acquaintances a person who behaves exactly the opposite of you - not rude, but correct, not quick-tempered, but patient. You need to imagine yourself in a certain situation in the place of this person. At the same time, it is important to conjure up a real picture and real emotions. Such psycho-emotional training helps to reconfigure behavior and develop the desired quality in oneself.

Adaptation of character to society

Any culture, people and civilizations have certain limits of behavior. Man cannot exist outside of society. From childhood, the child has to adapt to the requirements of the environment - family, kindergarten, school. An adult is influenced by many social forces, from spouses to politics, religion, social stratum. The character of a person involuntarily adapts to the requirements of society. At the same time, many of the natural inclinations of the individual are subjected to pressure.

History knows many examples when brilliantly gifted people came into conflict with the environment because of the impossibility of leading the lifestyle that their nature demanded. At the same time, social norms allow a person to lead a safe life in the society around him. Such social traits as loyalty, tolerance, politeness allow painless contact with others. The rejection of social norms, above all, laws and morality, creates an asocial personality.

In modern psychology there is a term "national character traits". Each nation forms some common, typical features of behavior among its representatives. For example:

• The peoples of Northern Europe and the Americans are self-confident, honest, practical, stubborn, freedom-loving. The conservatism and subtle humor of the British, the punctuality of the Germans, and the taciturnity of the Scandinavians are well known.
• Residents of Southern Europe and Latin America are energetic, temperamental, emotional, cheerful, sensual. A romantic Italian, a passionate Spaniard, a charming Frenchwoman, restless Brazilians - there is a lot of reality in these stereotypes;

• Representatives of Eastern Europe (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs) love constancy, are generous, generous, selfless, responsive, prone to repentance and forgiveness. A common stereotype - the "mysterious Russian soul" has many reasons.
• The peoples of the East are much more respectful of their parents and, in general, elders than Europeans. For Eastern societies, much more than for European ones, hospitality, family honor, dignity, modesty, benevolence, tolerance are characteristic.

Features that have a social character are inextricably linked with religious norms. Christian moral standards include the following qualities:

• Lack of envy;
• Chastity;
• Meekness;
• Generosity;
• Sociability;
• Compassion.

The influence of religious culture in the history of society is very strong. Even modern atheists in European countries consider the main Christian value, love for people, to be the best personality trait.

Islamic society forms the following features in people:

• Respect for elders;
• Hospitality;
• Modesty;
• Courage;
• Humility.

Features of the character of men and women

A huge role in the formation of character is played by the gender of a person. Not only the characteristics of sex develop certain qualities, but also public opinion. Standard character traits of a man:

• Leadership;
• The ability to protect;
• inner strength;
• Reliability;
• Loyalty;

Women are guided more by intuition and feelings than by reason, they are more talkative, soft in communication, cunning. Of course, in most cases, women and men correspond to their gender characteristics. But it has not yet been studied in detail, which has more influence on the formation of gender traits - nature or upbringing. Often men and women have to fulfill the role that society imposes on them. For example, medieval society ordered a woman to be modest, obedient to her parents and husband. Modernity demands more independence from a woman.

The world is full of men and women who do not fit the accepted characteristics. Many girls have leadership and organizational skills. And, on the contrary, a large number of men are delicate, not aggressive and emotional.

At what age is character formed

Any mother who has raised several children will tell you that all her babies were completely different from infancy. Even infants react differently to food, bathing, and play. There are temperamental, noisy babies, there are quiet and inactive ones. Here heredity affects, as well as natural temperament, which depends on the physique, health and conditions of education.

The character traits of the child develop under the influence, first of all, of the family. Responsible loving parents already at the age of three or four years see what type of temperament the baby has inherited from nature: choleric, sanguine phlegmatic or melancholic. Depending on innate qualities, it is possible to form a positive, socially acceptable character. If there is no love and attention to children in the family, they are less likely to grow up to be friendly and hardworking. On the other hand, the examples of many prominent politicians, writers, artists who grew up in disadvantaged conditions confirm the importance of innate character traits and self-education.

Was last modified: August 2nd, 2016 by Elena Pogodaeva