Introduction

1. Physical and mental

2. Individual personality traits

3. Spiritual world

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The significance of psychology as one of the most important sciences of man is now recognized everywhere. Modern psychology in its development as an independent science acquires a solid natural scientific basis.

The problem of man, his essence and existence has a whole lot of very different aspects, but the main one among them is the relationship between social and biological, spiritual and natural. In contrast to other living beings, man, as a combination of various social qualities, is ultimately the product of his own material and spiritual activity. Man is not only a product of social existence, but also social existence itself is the result of human activity. On the one hand, man is the highest stage in the development of biological evolution, an element of living nature (the biological principle in man is represented in the form of inclinations, the physical structure of corporality, reflecting the dynamics of mental processes). On the other hand, he is an active participant in the development of material and spiritual production, the creator of spiritual values, the subject of social life, who carries out his actions in accordance with accepted norms and values ​​that exist in society.

1. physical and mental

Two approaches can be traced in the study of the dialectics of spiritual and bodily principles: 1) revealing the influence of spirituality on the biological nature of man; 2) study of the impact of human biology on his social, material and spiritual activities, diverse social relations and functions.

There are several tendencies in the philosophy of sociology to understand this problem. However, we are closest to the idea of ​​scientists who argue that a person is a biosociocultural system, the uniqueness of which is determined by the innate abilities of the individual, which, in turn, develop in the course of the formation of cultural values, under the influence of the social environment.

The nature of socialization cannot, in our opinion, not depend on the natural data of the individual, the originality of his bodily and mental organization, temperament, intellectual potential, his needs, inclinations and talents. In this regard, a person cannot be presented as a “result of society”, it is impossible to separate from each other the sociological and biological factors that influence his formation and development. " At the same time, he realizes himself as a human being, thus making a small but real contribution,– says R.L. Livshits, - in the development of the generic essence of man". All these problems are especially relevant today, especially since the impact of modern society, science and technology on the human body and psyche has increased, and the role of the individual in the deployment of sociocultural processes has also increased.

However, it is difficult to consider the biological principle as a priority in a person. It is the material, the natural basis for the formation of a person, the formation of his social and bodily qualities, properties, and abilities. V.S. Solovyov, considering the question of the integrity of the individual, developed, as you know, the idea that spirituality lies in the ability to dominate the vital drives.

The socio-philosophical analysis of bodily culture is contained in the works of V.I. Stolyarova, L.V. Zharova. According to L.V. Zharova, the specific development of the scientific foundations of the analysis of human activity is on the way to understanding the main issue of philosophy. At the same time, human consciousness appears as a complex organization that includes spiritual and bodily structures (the internal and external organs of this corporality are not a spatial definition of the organs of the human body, but their semantic definition). Such an understanding of corporeality makes it possible to bring it closer to the concept of “human nature”, to give a holistic understanding of man, and thereby, as L.V. Zharov, interpret human corporeality in terms of understanding human essence.

The result of such mediation is a change by a person of his own nature. In this regard, we believe that the human body as a human corporeality is a substratum of a suprabiological order; it no longer appears as an organism, but as human corporeality, as sensory formation, as a cultural phenomenon. " Spirituality of the individual (as well as lack of spirituality)- writes R.L. Livshits, - is not something absolutely simple, elementary. The personality, determining its life-meaning position in the world, is self-determined in relation to society (social relations and the world of culture), in relation to other people, and also in relation to its own physicality..

The system of perfection of the spiritual and bodily potentials of a person is peculiar. It is based not on the laws of, say, value relations, as is typical, for example, for relations of commodity production or professional sports, but on the laws of the formation of forms of communication regarding the improvement of external and internal organs of human corporeality, spiritual and bodily unity of man. This approach is increasingly understood in relation to physical culture, which allows you to realize the unity of excellent spiritual, mental and bodily qualities.

Of course, the human body, considered in itself and to the extent that it is biologically determined, is given to him by nature, i.e. does not apply to the spiritual world. But the human body is only up to a certain point outside the social sphere. At a certain stage, it is also included in the system of social relations, in the social life of people, acting as a product of this activity.

The corporeality of a person, his motor activity are included in the system of social spontaneously acting social factors that objectively lead to the strengthening or, conversely, to the destruction of certain human properties and qualities (it all depends on the characteristics of the lifestyle).

« The socialization of the organic body, its physical qualities and abilities occurs primarily, - writes V.I. Stolyarov, - due to the fact that there is a special social activity aimed at their social modification» . According to V.I. Stolyarov, this activity involves a certain attitude of a person, social groups, society as a whole to the body, to physical qualities and abilities, the use of certain knowledge and means of influencing these qualities in the right direction. In other words, the problem of corporeality is associated with the problem of the formation of certain needs, interests, value orientations , norms and rules of conduct. " The forms of satisfying even the elementary biotic needs of a person correspond not only to the physiological needs of the organism, says F.B. Sadykov, - but also generally accepted moral - aesthetic and other social norms, are determined by the development of culture, depend on the conditions and lifestyle of people“In his opinion, the objective relationship between a person and the material conditions for the reproduction of his life, his physical being determines the content of his primary, vital needs. This conclusion is also confirmed by the fact that the category of "need" acts as a fundamental characteristic of physical culture. This approach is due to the unity and interconnectedness of the categories of social and biological; it is justified by the harmonious combination of bodily and spiritual principles that “elevates” a person, the “spiritualization” of the body, its integration into the value-spiritual series, and finally, the priority of spirituality in the process of mastering motor actions. , of course, take into account its humanistic role at the present stage of social development. The unity of the spiritual and motor sides in physical activity will form, in our opinion, the harmony of the essential (spiritual and bodily) forces of a person, the integrative moment of which can be the very creative nature of the activity. The spiritual sphere of culture, as we see, is closely connected with the bodily existence of people, their physical condition and is a cultural value. So, we can conclude that the human body is included in the world of culture not only because it undergoes social modification as a result of certain activities of people, but also because of the performance of certain social functions that are realized in various activities. The disclosure of the social functions of physical culture also provides a basis for a more complete presentation of its value aspect, the study of which is devoted to a fairly small number of publications. At the same time, it must be emphasized that at present the problem of values ​​is being promoted to one of the leading places, contributing to the understanding of culture as if from within. In addition, values ​​have not only cognitive, but also regulatory and target value for a person, are associated with the voluntariness of their choice, the prevalence of the spiritual side in the process of reflecting the material.

Characterizing modern spiritual life, A.K. Uledov argues as follows: “The spiritual atmosphere is a certain state of consciousness of society in a given period of its existence, and at the same time, it is the spiritual atmosphere - the “spirit of the times” - that must be taken into account when solving socially significant problems, because it is one of the most important conditions, factors, guarantors of their solution. ".

Starting from the idea of ​​the unity of the bodily and spiritual principles, as well as from fundamental studies of the patterns of evolutionary development of motor skills in human ontogenesis, physical activity, in our opinion, must be considered as one of the fundamental activities throughout human life, which plays a different, but very significant role at different stages of its development. .

According to S.L. Frank, spiritual being is not exhausted by its objective content, but has another dimension in depth, beyond the limits of everything comprehensible. In this regard, we come to the conclusion that any reasonable and expedient social reform can be fruitful only in combination with the internal, moral and spiritual development of people.

“From the point of view of the moral formation of the personality, systematic, methodically developed ethical education and training should begin already in children's educational institutions,- says S.F. Anisimov, - in a public school".According to his concept, it is necessary to radically change the structure of education and upbringing, strengthen spiritual and educational work and allocate much more time for it. S.F. Anisimov stands for the humanization of the educational process, the purpose of which is the formation of a spiritually rich personality. The formation of spiritual needs requires special efforts on the part of the individual, the team, society, efforts aimed at moral education, improvement and self-improvement. Continuing to develop this thought, he writes the following: "A high level of moral maturity of all people is one of the main signs of the spiritual health of society".

In his opinion, ethical enlightenment and education of the entire population at any age play an important role in this. The purpose of spiritual education is to give a person a true idea of ​​the highest type of consciousness in the given concrete historical conditions, to develop in him a stable need in accordance with this idea. Noteworthy are his ideas on the use of physical culture for the development of spiritual health: “It should be said that today many, engaged in physical and spiritual education, not only understand the need for the conscious use of various types of strengthening physical and mental health (gymnastics, summer and winter sports, aerobics, various dietary nutrition systems, etc.), but they also use them to some extent. However, not everyone understands the important role of regular classes in mastering spiritual values ​​for the sake of spiritual improvement and self-improvement. ”So, following this logic, bodily improvement and health, on the one hand, and the formation of spiritual health, on the other, not only do not exclude, but also complement each other .

2. Individual personality traits

Personality is based on structure- communication and interaction of relatively stable components (sides) of the personality: abilities, temperament, character, volitional qualities, emotions and motivation.

A person's abilities determine his success in various activities. A person’s reactions to the world around him - other people, life circumstances, etc. depend on temperament. The nature of a person determines his actions in relation to other people.

Volitional qualities characterize a person's desire to achieve their goals. Emotions and motivation are, respectively, people's experiences and motivations for activity and communication.

Most psychologists believe that a person is not born as a person, but becomes. However, in modern psychology there is no unified theory of the formation and development of personality. For example, the biogenetic approach (S. Hall, Freud, etc.) considers the biological processes of maturation of the organism to be the basis for the development of personality, the sociogenetic (E. Thorndike, B. Skinner, etc.) - the structure of society, ways of socialization, relationships with others, etc., psychogenetic (J. Piaget, J. Kelly, etc.). - without denying either biological or social factors, it highlights the development of mental phenomena proper. It would be more correct, apparently, to consider that a person is not simply the result of biological maturation or a matrix of specific living conditions, but a subject of active interaction with the environment, during which the individual gradually acquires (or does not acquire) personality traits.

A developed personality has a developed self-consciousness. Subjectively, for an individual, a person acts as his Self (“I-image”, “I-concept”), a system of self-representations that reveals itself in self-assessments, a sense of self-respect, a level of claims. and fulfill the goals of self-education.

Personality is in many respects a vitally stable formation. The stability of a person lies in the consistency and predictability of her behavior, in the regularity of her actions. But it should be borne in mind that the behavior of the individual in individual situations is quite variable.

In those properties that were acquired, and not laid down from birth (temperament, inclinations), the personality is less stable, which allows it to adapt to various life circumstances, to changing social conditions. Modification of views, attitudes, value orientations, etc. in such conditions is a positive property of the individual, an indicator of its development. A typical example of this is the change in the value orientation of the individual in the modern period.

Let's move on to other aspects of personality. In the most general way capabilities- these are individual psychological characteristics of a person, ensuring success in activity, in communication and ease of mastering them. Abilities cannot be reduced to the knowledge, skills and abilities that a person has, but abilities ensure their rapid acquisition, fixation and effective practical application. Success in activity and communication is determined not by one, but by a system of different abilities, while they can be mutually compensated.

A person capable of many and various types of activity and communication has a general talent, that is, a unity of general abilities that determines the range of his intellectual capabilities, the level and originality of activity and communication.

The vast majority of psychologists believe that inclinations are some genetically determined (innate) anatomical and physiological features of the nervous system that constitute the individual natural basis (prerequisite) for the formation and development of abilities. However, some of the scientists (for example, R.S. Nemov) believe that a person has two types of inclinations: congenital (natural) and acquired (social).

The anatomical and physiological basis of social abilities, when they become developed, are the so-called functional organs - neuromuscular systems that develop in vivo, ensuring the functioning and improvement of the corresponding abilities.

Temperament- a set of individual characteristics that characterize the dynamic and emotional aspects of human behavior, his activities and communication. Only conditionally, temperament can be attributed to the components of the personality, because its features, as a rule, are biologically determined and are innate. Temperament is closely related to character, and in an adult it is difficult to separate them.

Temperament can be divided into four most generalized types: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic. This division has a long history (Hippocrates, Galen, Kant, Pavlov, etc.), although there are other classifications of temperament types (Kretschmer, Sheldon, Seago, etc.).

There are no good or bad temperaments. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of a choleric person is the ability to concentrate significant efforts in a short period of time, and the disadvantage is that he does not always have enough endurance during long-term work. The sanguine person, having a quick reaction and increased ability to work in the initial period of work, by the end of it reduces working capacity not only because of rapid fatigue, but also because of a drop in interest. The advantage of the phlegmatic is the ability to work long and hard, but he is not able to quickly gather and concentrate his efforts. The melancholic is distinguished by great endurance, but slow entry into work, his work capacity is higher in the middle or at the end of work, and not at its beginning.

The type of temperament must be taken into account in specialties where work makes special demands on the dynamic and emotional qualities of a person.

In the most general form character can be defined as a system of stable personality traits that are manifested in a person’s relationship to himself, to people, to work performed, to leisure, etc.

In the character, a number of subsystems or properties (features) can be distinguished, just expressing the different attitude of the individual to certain aspects of reality. The first subsystem contains features that are manifested in activity (initiativity, efficiency, diligence, or, conversely, lack of initiative, laziness, etc.). The second subsystem includes personality traits that are manifested in the relationship of a person with other people, i.e. in communication (tact-tactlessness, politeness-rudeness, sensitivity- callousness, etc.). The third subsystem consists of traits that manifest themselves in a person's attitude towards himself (self-criticism-exaggerated self-conceit, modesty-arrogance, etc.). The fourth subsystem is a set of human relations to things (neatness-disorder, generosity-stinginess, etc.).

Consider the description of some types of people's characters, which does not claim to be complete and systematic.

Hyperthymic type- such people are characterized by extreme contact, talkativeness, expressiveness of gestures, facial expressions. These are energetic, enterprising, optimistic people. At the same time, they are frivolous, irritable, it is difficult to endure the conditions of strict discipline, forced loneliness.

Distimytype. These people are characterized by low contact, taciturnity, and a tendency to pessimism. They lead a closed life, rarely conflict. They are serious, conscientious, devoted in friendship, but excessively passive and slow.

Cycloid type. They are characterized by frequent periodic mood swings. During a spiritual upsurge, they behave according to a hyperthymic type, while during a recession, they behave according to a distimic type.

Pedantic type. These people are characterized by conscientiousness and accuracy, reliability in business, but at the same time they are able to harass those around them with excessive formalism and boringness.

Demonstrative type. They are artistic, courteous, their thinking and deeds are extraordinary. They strive for leadership, easily adapt to people. At the same time, such people are selfish, hypocritical, dishonest in their work, conceited.

extrovert type. They are stimulated to activity and energized by the outside world. They do not like solitary thoughts, they need the support and approval of people. They are sociable, have many friends. Easily suggestible, subject to influence. Willingly entertain, prone to rash acts.

introverted type. They are focused on their inner world, therefore they have little contact, they are prone to loneliness and thoughtfulness, they do not tolerate interference in their personal life. Restrained, rarely come into conflict. At the same time, they are quite stubborn, conservative, it is difficult for them to reorganize in time.

Sado-masochistic type. In an effort to eliminate the causes of their life failures, such people are prone to aggressive actions. Masochist people try to take the blame on themselves, and at the same time they revel in self-criticism and self-flagellation, they sign their own inferiority and helplessness. Sadistic people make people dependent on themselves, acquire unlimited power over them, inflict pain and suffering, while experiencing pleasure.

Conformist type. Such people almost never have their own opinion or their own social position. They unquestioningly obey the circumstances, the requirements of the social group, quickly and without problems change their beliefs. This is the type of conscious and unconscious opportunists.

Thinking type. These people trust more what is thought out, logically justified. They strive for truth, not caring much about justice. They like to bring everything to full clarity. Able to remain calm when others lose their temper.

Feeling type. People of such a plan are distinguished by increased sensitivity to everything that pleases and everything that upsets. They are altruistic, they always put themselves in the place of another, they help with courtesy even to the detriment of themselves. Everyone is taken to heart, they are reproached for excessive indecision.

It is useful to keep in mind that the complexity and diversity of the human personality does not even fit into this lengthy typology. It would also be a mistake to underestimate the predisposition of each of us to any type or to several (together with each other) types at the same time. Therefore, familiarization with the typology of characters allows you to better use your own strengths, neutralize (if possible) weaknesses, and also helps to “pick up the key” to other people, as it reveals the hidden mechanisms of human decisions and actions.

Will- conscious regulation by a person of his behavior (activity and communication), associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles. This is the ability of a person, which manifests itself in self-determination and self-regulation of his behavior and mental phenomena.

At present, there is no unified theory of will in psychological science, although many scientists are making attempts to develop a holistic doctrine of will with its terminological certainty and unambiguity. Apparently, such a situation with the study of the will is connected with the struggle between the reactive and active concepts of human behavior that has been going on since the beginning of the 20th century. For the first concept, the concept of will is practically not needed, because its supporters represent all human behavior as human reactions to external and internal stimuli. Supporters of the active concept of human behavior, which has recently become the leading one, understand human behavior as initially active, and the person himself is endowed with the ability to consciously choose forms of behavior.

Consideration of the psychological interpretation of personality involves the interpretation of the phenomenon of its spiritual freedom.Psychological freedom of the individual is, first of all, free will. It is defined in relation to two quantities: to the vital drives and the social conditions of human life. Inclinations (biological impulses) are transformed in him under the influence of his self-consciousness, the spiritual and moral coordinates of his personality. Moreover, a person is the only living being who at any moment can say “no” to his inclinations, and who should not always say “yes” to them (M. Scheler).

However, freedom is only one side of a holistic phenomenon, the positive aspect of which is to be responsible. Individual freedom can turn into simple arbitrariness if it is not experienced from the point of view of responsibility (V. Frankl).

Under emotions understand, on the one hand, a peculiar expression of a person’s subjective attitude to objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality in the form of direct experiences of pleasant or unpleasant (emotions in the broad sense of the word), and on the other hand, only the reaction of humans and animals to the effects of internal and external stimuli, associated with the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of biologically significant needs (emotions in the narrow sense of the word).

It should be noted that a number of psychological theories of emotion do not exist. All of them affect physiological and other related issues, since any emotional state is accompanied by numerous physiological changes in the body.

evolutionary theory(C. Darwin proceeds from the fact that emotions appeared in the process of evolution of living beings as adaptive (adaptive) mechanisms to the circumstances of life. According to the concept of W. James - K. Lange, who develops evolutionary theory, organic changes are the root cause of emotions.

In humans, in the dynamics of emotions, cognitions (knowledge) play no less a role than organic and physical influences. Based on this, new concepts of emotions were proposed.

Theory of cognitive dissonance(L. Festinger) proceeds from the fact that positive emotional experiences arise when a person's expectations come true and cognitions are put into practice, that is, when the real results of behavior are in consonance (correspondence) with the intended ones. Negative emotions arise, function and intensify when there is dissonance (inconsistency, discrepancy) between the expected and the results that have come.

Essentially, cognitivist is and information Concept, proposed by the Russian physiologist Academician P.V. Simonov, based on which the strength and quality of the emotion that arose in a person is ultimately determined by the strength of the need and the assessment of the ability to satisfy it in a given situation.

Emotions are closely connected with the personality, inseparable from it. Emotions primarily reflect the state, process and result of meeting needs.

Emotionally, people as individuals differ from each other in emotional excitability, duration and stability of emerging emotional experiences, dominance of sthenic or asthenic, positive or negative emotions, etc. But the main difference is in the strength and depth of feelings, in their content and subject relatedness. The very system and dynamics of typical emotions characterizes a person as a person.

Emotionality is innate, but affects, and, moreover, feelings develop in the course of life, which means the personal development of a person. Such development is associated with: a) the inclusion of new objects in the emotional sphere of a person; b) with an increase in the level of conscious volitional control and control of one's feelings; c) the gradual inclusion of higher moral values ​​(conscience, duty, responsibility, decency, etc.) into the moral regulation.

Motivation - this is an impulse to commit a behavioral act, generated by the system of human needs and, to varying degrees, conscious or unconscious by him at all. In the process of performing behavioral acts, motives, being dynamic formations, can be transformed (changed), which is possible at all phases of an act, and a behavioral act often ends not according to the original, but according to the transformed motivation.

The term "motivation" in modern psychology denotes at least two mental phenomena: 1) a set of motives that cause the activity of an individual and determine it. activity, that is, a system of factors that determine behavior; 2) the process of education, the formation of motives, the characteristics of the process that stimulates and maintains behavioral activity at a certain level.

The emergence, duration and stability of behavior, its direction and termination after achieving the goal, pre-tuning for future events, increasing efficiency, the semantic integrity of a single behavioral act - all this requires a motivational explanation.

Motivational phenomena, repeatedly repeated, eventually become personality traits of a person. These features include, first of all, the already considered motive for achieving success and the motive for avoiding failure, as well as a certain locus of control, self-esteem, and the level of claims.

Personality is also characterized by such motivational formations as the need for communication (affiliation), the motive of power, the motive of helping people (altruism) and aggressiveness. These are motives of great social significance, since they determine the attitude of the individual towards people. Affiliation- the desire of a person to be in the company of other people, to establish emotionally positive good relationships with them. The antipode of the motive of affiliation is rejection motive, which manifests itself in the fear of being rejected, not accepted personally by familiar people. Power motive- the desire of a person to have power over other people, to dominate, manage and dispose of them. Altruism- the desire of a person to selflessly help people, the opposite - selfishness as the desire to satisfy selfish personal needs and interests, regardless of the needs and interests of other people and social groups. Aggressiveness- the desire of a person to cause physical, moral or property harm to other people, to cause them trouble. Along with the tendency of a person's aggressiveness, there is also a tendency to inhibit it, a motive for inhibiting aggressive actions, associated with the assessment of one's own such actions as undesirable and unpleasant, causing regret and remorse.

3. Spiritual world

Spirituality of a person- this is the wealth of thoughts, the strength of feelings and convictions. To an ever greater extent, it becomes the property of an advanced person. He has a broad outlook, covering the horizons of science and technology and a high culture of feelings. Progressive thinkers depicted an ideally educated and spiritually developed person. N.G. Chernyshevsky considered such a person to be " who has acquired a lot of knowledge, and, moreover, is accustomed to quickly and correctly think about what is good and what is bad, what is just and what is unjust, or, as they say in one word, is used to “thinking”, and, finally, from whom concepts and feelings have received noble and elevated direction, i.e. acquired a strong love for all that is good and beautiful.All these three qualities - extensive knowledge, the habit of thinking and the nobility of feelings - are necessary for a person to be educated in the full sense of the word ". The man of a democratic society is being formed today. Great horizons of science and technology open before him. Natural science is developing and is increasingly entering the main branches of technology. The humanities are becoming the scientific basis for guiding the development of society. But knowledge does not only lead to a certain type of activity. They illuminate the general picture of the world, the general laws of development of nature and society, thanks to which a scientific approach to understanding phenomena is developed.

Works of literature and art bring up feelings, help to know and understand life more deeply, develop creative activity. A spiritual person is a person gifted in artistic creativity, and capable of building a life according to the laws of beauty. The foundations of a child's spiritual development are laid in the family. From a very early age, children have ideas about nature, about the relationship between people, about the world around them. How broad these ideas are, how quickly they develop - it depends on the parents, their behavior and communication with children. It is known that the spiritual image of the child is formed under the influence of the spiritual image of the parents. The family lives with great spiritual interests. The desire of adults to be aware of everything that is happening in the country and around the world, what worries people in politics, the national economy, science, technology, art, sports - this desire is certainly passed on to children, becomes a source of children's inquisitiveness and curiosity. The daily concern of parents is to monitor how children learn, what they read, how inquisitive they are, to support any initiative of children aimed at enriching the mind and soul of a growing person.

The spiritual development of each individual is to a certain extent connected with the realization of those inclinations that are genetically inherited by him, manifesting itself in the features of the organization of his brain. Society and the individual himself are forced to reckon with this fact. Without taking it into account, it is impossible to properly build upbringing and self-education. However, the opportunities provided by nature to man are extremely great. And, of course, intensive education and work of the individual on himself is required in order to use them properly. " Brain, - writes Academician N.P. Dubinin, - has unlimited possibilities for the perception of a versatile social program, ensures the universal readiness of the newborn to connect to the social form of the movement of matter. To properly realize this colossal potential is the task of education... The human in a person is determined by history and social culture. All normal people are capable of almost unlimited spiritual development.. This means that a person is potentially capable of unlimited self-improvement. I.P. Pavlov, noting that man is a system that improves itself, wrote “Is it not possible to maintain the dignity of a person, to fill him with the highest satisfaction, but everything remains vitally the same as with the idea of ​​free will, this personal, public and state responsibility remains in me the opportunity, and hence the obligation for me, to know everything.”

Self-knowledge, taken in terms of effective self-relationship, should lead the individual to the realization of the need for self-improvement as a moment of individual development of each person. The formation of personality only in childhood proceeds without self-education or with extremely undeveloped self-education. At a certain stage in the development of an individual, as he realizes the requirements of society, under the decisive influence of the objective conditions of life and education, the prerequisites for connecting to the formation of his personality and self-education ripen. This is due to the fact that as a result of all previous development, the actual ties of the individual with society have become richer, his inner world has become richer. A person has acquired the ability to act as not only an object, but also a subject of his knowledge, change, improvement. He already relates to himself in a new way, makes “corrections”, “corrections” in his formation, to one degree or another consciously determines the prospects for his life, activity, self-development. Thus, due to social development and education, a person needs self-education and develops abilities for it.

Even Hegel noted that the formation of an individual's desire for self-education, personal improvement is as inevitable as the development in him of the ability to stand, walk, and speak. “... The ability to comprehend one's own “I” is an extremely important moment in the spiritual development of a child; from that moment on, he ... becomes capable of reflection on himself ... But the most important thing here is the feeling that awakens in them (children) that they are not yet what they should be, and a living desire to become the same as the adults among whom they live ... This own desire of children for education is an immanent moment of any education " .

The process of self-education, self-improvement in the individual development of a personality inevitably, naturally begins during adolescence. It is at this age that a person’s attention to his spiritual world sharpens, a desire arises and the search for opportunities for self-expression and self-affirmation becomes more active, a special interest in self-knowledge, self-testing is shown. Actually, a stormy process of self-education begins, which covers all aspects of the spiritual life of the individual. This leaves a seal on the adolescent's relationship with other people and with himself. Having begun in the teenage period of personality development, the process of self-education, apparently, does not reach a high level of development for every person, it becomes systematic. For some, it remains for life at the stage, in the terminology of psychologists, “ situational self-education". But one way or another, having arisen, self-education in one form or another accompanies a person throughout her life. The facts when an individual leads a thoughtless life, leaves his personal development to chance, do not contradict this, but only say that pathology, deep ignorance and even vicious self-education are possible in the formation of personality.

It is sad when a person, a conscious, social being, the life around which is increasingly imbued with the light of rationality and goodness, leads a way of life that is excusable, except perhaps for a creature that does not have a human mind.

An important aspect of self-education is self-education. It would be wrong to understand it only as a simple continuation of education, knowledge of the external world. In the process of self-education, a person cognizes himself, develops his intellectual abilities, will, self-discipline, self-control, forms himself in accordance with the ideal image of a Human.

In the context of the development of educational, scientific, industrial specialization, the complication of scientific and special terminology, the workload of narrowly professional activities, a person is often forced to be content with information, knowledge, and information obtained from "second hand". In itself, this phenomenon is necessary and, in a certain sense, certainly progressive. But being extended to all spheres of intellectual life, this form of obtaining knowledge is fraught with the danger of becoming accustomed to a facilitated way of satisfying spiritual, mental needs, satisfying them in a purely consumer way, without spending one's own efforts, without straining mental and volitional forces. There is a dependent attitude to spiritual values, an attitude that someone should, is obliged to prepare, give, present in a finished form, almost put into his head any ready-made ideas, information, artistic generalizations.

Intellectual dependency is especially dangerous in that it gives rise to "spiritual laziness", dulls interest in the constant search for something new, inculcates spiritual omnivorousness, indifference to the most important ideological demands of the time. Intellectual dependency most often extends to the area of ​​the general culture of the individual. It causes particular damage to self-education when it “infects” such areas as literary and artistic requests, aesthetic tastes, communication in the sphere of leisure. This devastates the individual, leads to primitivism in mastering the values ​​of life and culture. And it is very important that each person deeply realizes the need to make their own efforts to educate themselves in the spirit of civilization.

Conclusion

In modern psychology there is no single understanding of personality. However, most researchers believe that a personality is a life-forming and individually unique set of features that determine the way (style) of thinking of a given person, the structure of her feelings and behavior. The personality is based on its structure - the connection and interaction of relatively stable components (sides) of the personality: abilities, temperament, character, volitional qualities, emotions and motivation.

Self-education is a means of satisfying one of the main needs of a modern person - to constantly expand one's horizons, improve general and political culture, satisfy intellectual needs, maintain mental performance. Without this, a spiritually rich, saturated with high demands, creative life of an individual is generally unthinkable.

List of used literature

1. Anisimov S.F. Spiritual values: production and consumption. – M.: Thought, 1988, p. 212.218.

2. Balsevich VK Physical culture for everyone and for everyone. – M.: FiS, 1998.

3. Vyzhletsov G.P. Axiology of culture. - St. Petersburg: Leningrad State University, 1996.

4. Zharov L.V. // Issues of philosophy. 1997, No. 6, p. 145–147.

5. Kruglova L.K. Fundamentals of cultural studies. SPb., 1995.

6. Lubysheva L.I. Social and biological in human physical culture in the aspect of methodological analysis // Teor. and pract. Phys. cult. 1996, No. 1, p. 2–3.

7. Livshits R.L. Spirituality and lack of spirituality of personality. - Yekaterinburg: Ural Publishing House. un-ta, 1997, p. 40, 49.

8. Sadykov FB Criteria of reasonable needs // Questions of Philosophy. 1985, No. 1, p. 43.

9. Stolyarov V.I. Philosophical and cultural analysis of physical culture // Questions of Philosophy. 1988, No. 4, p. 82.

10. Stolyarov V.I. Values ​​of sport and ways of its humanization. – M.: RGAFK, 1995.

11. Uledov A.K. Spiritual renewal of society. – M.: Thought, 1990, p. 216.

12. Asmolov A.G. "Psychology of personality". M., 1990.

13. Leontiev A.N. “Activity, Consciousness. Personality". M., 1982.

14. Dubinin N.P. “Biological and social inheritance.” - Kommunist, 1989, No. II, p. 67.68.

15. Pavlov I.P. "Favorite products" M., 1951, p. 395.56.

16. Hegel. "Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences." M., 1977, v. 3, p. 85.

17. Kovalev A.G. Self-education of schoolchildren. M., 1967, p. 25.

Many, it would seem, the most diverse personality traits are associated with relatively stable dependencies in certain dynamic structures. This is especially evident in the character of a person.

Character - this is the core mental property of a person, which leaves an imprint on all his actions and deeds, a property on which, first of all, human activity in various life situations depends.

In other words, defining character, we can say that this is a set of personality traits that determine the typical ways of its response to life circumstances.

Character should be understood not as any individual psychological characteristics of a person, but only as a set of the most pronounced and relatively stable personality traits that are typical for a given person and systematically manifested in his actions and deeds.

According to B.G. Ananiev, the character "expresses the main life orientation and manifests itself in a mode of action that is peculiar for a given person" . The word "character" in Greek means sign, feature, seal.

Very often, character is understood as something that almost coincides with personality or differs from personality by the criterion that everything individual belongs to character, and personality is only general. Such views existed among us in the 1940s and 1960s. 20th century In fact, this is of course not the case.

There is such a comic typology, which is given in one of his books by Professor B.S. Bratus: “A good person with a good character, a good person with a bad character, a bad person with a good character, and a bad person with a bad character.”

From the point of view of common sense, such a typology is true, it works. This says, first of all, that personality and character are not the same thing, they do not coincide.

In character, a person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by how she does it.

The words "characteristic" and "character" do not accidentally have a common root. A well-composed psychological characteristic of a person, first of all, and most deeply, should reveal his character, because. it is in it that personality traits are most significantly manifested.

However, it is impossible, as is sometimes done, to replace all personality traits only with character traits. The concept of "personality" is wider than the concept of "character", and the concept of "individuality of a person as a person" is not limited to his character.

In psychology, personality is distinguished in the broad and narrow sense of the word, and character is beyond personality in the narrow sense of the word.

Character is understood as such characteristics of a person that describe the ways of his behavior in different situations. With regard to character, they are used expressive or stylistic characteristics(characteristics of external manifestation, external expression of a person). In general, the concept of style is quite close, in its essence, to the concept of character, but more on that later.

A wonderful illustration of this relationship between personality and character is a short fantasy story by G. Kuttner "Mechanical Ego".

Hero - American writer and screenwriter of the 50s. of the last century - he is preoccupied with sorting out relations with his employers, with his girlfriend, who is at the same time his literary agent and protects his interests, as well as a number of other problems.

Suddenly, a robot arrives from the future, which traveled through time and filmed and recorded “character matrices” from interesting figures from different times and peoples. The hero manages to "drunk" this robot with high-frequency current and persuade him to impose some matrices on him.

Further, the hero communicates with different people, first imposing on himself the character matrices of B. Disraeli, an English aristocrat and politician of the last century, then Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and, finally, Mamontoboy from the Stone Age.

It is interesting to see what changes and what remains the same when changing matrices. The goals of the hero, his aspirations, his desires, his values ​​remain unchanged. He strives for the same thing, but acts in different ways, showing, in one case, the refinement and cunning of B. Disraeli, in the other case, the directness and aggressiveness of Mamontoboy, etc.

Thus, the difference between character and personality, in the narrow sense, lies in the fact that the character includes features related to the mode of behavior, to the forms in which the same behavior can be clothed in content.

Each person differs from others by a huge, truly inexhaustible number of individual features, that is, features that are inherent in him as an individual. The concept of "individual characteristics" includes not only psychological, but also somatic (from Latin - body) characteristics of a person: eye and hair color, height and figure, development of the skeleton and muscles, etc.

An important individual feature of a person is the expression of his face. It manifests not only somatic, but also psychological characteristics of a person. When they say about a person that “he has a meaningful facial expression” or “he has cunning eyes”, or “stubborn mouth”, then, of course, they mean not an anatomical feature, but an expression in facial expressions of the psychological characteristics characteristic of this individual.

Individual psychological characteristics distinguish one person from another. The branch of psychological science that studies the individual characteristics of various aspects of the personality and mental processes is called differential psychology.

The most general dynamic structure of a personality is the generalization of all its possible individual psychological characteristics into four groups, forming four main personality traits:

Biologically determined features (temperament, inclinations, simple needs).

Socially determined features (orientation, moral qualities, worldview).

Individual features of various mental processes.

Experience (volume and quality of existing knowledge, skills, abilities and habits).

Not all individual psychological characteristics of these aspects of the personality will be character traits. But all character traits, of course, are personality traits.

First of all, it must be said about the fundamental differences between character traits and the general traits discussed above.

Firstly, character is only one of the personality substructures, and the substructure is subordinate. A developed mature personality has a good command of its character and is able to control its manifestations. On the contrary, character breakthroughs, when a person acts directly according to the logic of what certain character traits induce him to do, are typical, say, for psychopaths. This refers to adults - as for childhood and adolescence, this is a special conversation.

Thus, character occupies a subordinate position, and the actual manifestations of character depend on what motives and goals these manifestations serve in a particular case. That is, character traits are not something that acts by itself, manifests itself in all situations.

Secondly, the essence of those traits that make up the character can be clarified through the mechanisms of character formation. Before talking about these mechanisms, let's fix the main myths that exist in relation to the character:

Character is biologically determined and nothing can be done about it.

The character is completely educable, you can form any character (optional) with a specially organized system of influences.

There is such a very serious thing as national character, that is, there are very different character structures inherent in different nations, which significantly affect the individual character of all representatives of a given nation. In every myth there is some truth, but only a fraction.

There are really certain things in character that are related to biological factors. The biological basis of character is temperament, which we really get from birth, and we have to live with it.

The character also has, so to speak, a macro-social basis. There is also some truth in the myth of national character. There is a lot of controversy in the literature about the national character. The main problem is posed as follows: does a national character exist or not?

It turned out very clearly that there are at least very strong stereotypes regarding the national character, that is, that representatives of some nations demonstrate fairly strong beliefs in the existence of certain complexes of traits in other nations. Moreover, these stereotypes in the perception of another nation directly depend on how this nation “behaves”.

So, some time ago in West Germany, studies were conducted on the attitude towards the French. Two surveys were conducted at intervals of two years, but during these two years relations between Germany and France deteriorated markedly. In the second survey, the number of people who named frivolity and nationalism among the characteristic features of the French increased sharply, and the number of those who attributed to the French such positive qualities as charm and courtesy decreased sharply.

Are there real differences between nations? Yes, I have. But it turned out that, firstly, the differences are always distinguished by a small number of features compared to those features in which the similarity prevails, and, secondly, that the differences between different people within the same nation are much greater than stable differences. between nations. Therefore, the verdict issued by the American psychologist T. Shibutani is justified: “The national character, despite the various forms of its study, is in many ways similar to a respectable ethnic stereotype, acceptable, first of all, for those who are not familiar enough with the people in question” .

In fact, the idea of ​​a national character is a form of manifestation of the same typological thinking that has already been mentioned. Certain minimal differences that really exist (for example, the temperament of the southern peoples) and which are less significant than similarities are taken as the basis for a certain type.

Typological thinking, as already mentioned, is distinguished, first of all, by categoricalness (either one or the other), the absence of gradations, the allocation of something private and its inflating by ignoring everything else. Thus, a worldview monster appears under the sonorous name "national character".

There is also the so-called social character, that is, some invariant character traits inherent in certain social groups. It was fashionable among us (at one time) to talk about a class character, and there really is some reality behind this. It was also fashionable to talk about some characterological features of bureaucrats, managers, etc. There is also a certain reality behind this, connected with the fact that the character is formed in the real life of a person, and, to the extent of the generality of the conditions in which representatives of the same classes, social groups, etc., fall, they form some common traits.

Character plays the role of a kind of shock absorber, a kind of buffer between the personality and the environment, so it is largely determined by this environment. In many ways, but not in everything. The main thing depends on the individual. If the personality is aimed at adaptation, adaptation to the world, then the character helps to do this. If a person is aimed at overcoming the environment or at transforming it, then the character helps her in this.

According to the observations of E.R. Kaliteevskaya, adaptability and the absence of roughness, difficulties in the so-called "difficult age" fixes the adaptive character and then leads to the fact that a person experiences many difficulties in life. And vice versa, outwardly violent manifestations of a “difficult age” help a person to form certain elements of independence, self-determination, which help him live normally in the future, actively influence reality, and not just adapt to it.

At the same time, character cannot be considered as a simple sum of individual qualities or personality traits. Some of his features will always be leading; it is by them that one can characterize a person, otherwise the task of getting an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcharacter would be impossible, because. in each individual, the number of individual characteristic features may be large, and the number of shades of each of these features is even greater. So, for example, accuracy can have shades: punctuality, pedantry, cleanliness, smartness, etc.

Individual character traits are classified much more easily and clearly than types of characters as a whole.

Under traitcharacter understand certain features of a person’s personality that systematically manifest themselves in various types of his activities and by which one can judge his possible actions under certain conditions.

B.M. Teplov proposed to distribute character traits into several groups.

The first group includes the most common character traits that form basic mental warehouse personality. These include: adherence to principles, determination, honesty, courage, etc. It is clear that opposite, negative qualities can also appear in this group, for example: unscrupulousness, passivity, deceit, etc.

The second group consists of character traits in which the attitude is expressed person to other people. This is sociability, which can be wide and superficial or selective, and its opposite trait is isolation, which may be the result of an indifferent attitude towards people or distrust of them, but may be the result of deep inner concentration; frankness and its opposite - secrecy; sensitivity, tact, responsiveness, justice, caring, politeness or, conversely, rudeness.

The third group of character traits expresses man's attitude towards himself. Such are self-esteem, correctly understood pride and self-criticism associated with it, modesty and their opposites - vanity, arrogance, conceit, sometimes turning into arrogance, touchiness, shyness, egocentrism (the tendency to constantly have yourself and your experiences in the center), hypertrophied egoism ( care, mainly, about one's personal welfare), etc.

The fourth group of character traits expresses attitude of a person to work, to his work. This includes initiative, perseverance, diligence and the opposite of it - laziness; the desire to overcome difficulties and the opposite of it is the fear of difficulties; activity, conscientiousness, accuracy, etc.

In relation to work The characters are divided into two groups: active and inactive. The first group is characterized by activity, purposefulness, perseverance; for the second - passivity, contemplation. But sometimes the inactivity of character is explained (but by no means justified) by the deep internal inconsistency of a person who has not yet “decided”, who has not found his place in life, in a team.

The brighter and stronger a person's character, the more definite his behavior and the more clearly his individuality appears in various actions. However, not all people have their actions and deeds determined by their inherent personal characteristics. The behavior of some people depends on external circumstances, on the good or bad influence of comrades on them, on the passive and lack of initiative in carrying out individual instructions from leaders and superiors. Such employees are said to be spineless.

Character cannot be considered an independent, as it were, fifth side of the overall dynamic structure of personality. Character is a combination of internally interconnected, the most important individual aspects of the personality, features that determine the activity of a person as a member of society.

Character is a personality in the originality of its activity. This is his closeness to the abilities (we will consider them in the next chapter), which also represent a personality, but in its productivity.

In conclusion of the conversation about the essence of such an important category in the structure of personality as character, and before proceeding to consider the classification of characters, I would like to talk about two options for disharmonious relationships between character and personality, illustrating them using the examples of two Russian autocrats, taken from the works of the remarkable Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky.

First example- subordination of personality to character, uncontrollability of character - is illustrated by the description of Paul I.

“Character ..., benevolent and generous, inclined to forgive insults, ready to repent of mistakes, a lover of truth, a hater of lies and deception, caring about justice, a persecutor of any abuse of power, especially extortion and bribery. Unfortunately, all these good qualities became completely useless both for him and for the state due to the complete lack of measure, extreme irritability and impatient demands for unconditional obedience ...

Considering himself always right, he stubbornly held to his opinions and was so irritable at the slightest contradiction that he often seemed completely beside himself. He himself was aware of this and was deeply upset by this, but did not have enough will to defeat himself.

Second example- lack of personality, substitution of its character, i.e. the presence of developed forms of external manifestation in the absence of internal content - is Empress Catherine II.

“She was capable of tension, intensified and even overwork; therefore, to herself and to others, she seemed stronger than herself. But she worked more on her manners, on her way of dealing with people, than on herself, on her thoughts and feelings; therefore her manners and treatment of people were better than her feelings and thoughts. There was more flexibility and receptivity in her mind than depth and thoughtfulness, more bearing than creativity, just as in her whole nature there was more nervous vivacity than spiritual strength. She loved and knew how to manage people more than deeds ...

In her friendly letters ... she seems to be playing a well-learned role and with mock playfulness, made witty, she tries in vain to cover up the emptiness of the content and the stiffness of the presentation. We meet the same traits in her treatment of people, as well as in her activities. No matter what society she moved in, no matter what she did, she always felt like she was on stage, so she did too much for show. She herself admitted that she loved to be in public. The situation and the impression of the case were more important to her than the case itself and its consequences; therefore her course of action was above the motives that inspired them; therefore, she cared more about popularity than about usefulness, her energy was supported not so much by the interests of the cause as by the attention of people. Whatever she conceived, she thought more about what they would say about her than about what would come out of her plan. She valued the attention of her contemporaries more than the opinion of posterity ... She had more love of glory than love for people, and in her work there was more brilliance, effect than greatness, creativity. She herself will be remembered longer than her deeds.

Probably, no one needs to be convinced of how important it is to understand the characters of the people you meet every day - whether they are your relatives or employees. Meanwhile, our idea of ​​the types of characters is sometimes extremely abstract. We often make mistakes in assessing the person we are interested in. For such mistakes sometimes you have to pay dearly: after all, it can be a mistake in choosing a friend, assistant, employee, spouse, etc. The point is that we, being poorly oriented in characters, sometimes do not notice the best features of those around us. We pass by the valuable that is in a person, we are not able to help him open up.

A person as a person, of course, cannot be reduced to character. Personality is determined, first of all, by the social activity that it performs. A person has social orientations, ideals, attitudes towards others and to various aspects of life, knowledge, skills, abilities, temperament.

Personality is characterized by harmonious development in general, learning ability, flexibility of behavior, the ability to restructure, the ability to solve organizational issues, etc. However, character traits are also essential for understanding personality. The brighter the character, the more it leaves an imprint on the personality as a whole, the more it affects behavior.

Numerous attempts to classify character types as a whole (rather than individual character traits) have so far been unsuccessful. In addition to the diversity and versatility of characterological qualities, the diversity of the proposed classifications is also explained by the difference in features that can be taken as their basis.

The ancient Greek philosopher and physician Theophrastus (372 - 287 BC) in his treatise "Ethical Characters" described 31 characters: a flatterer, a talker, a braggart, etc. He understood character as an imprint in the personality of the moral life of society.

The French moralist J. La Bruyère (1645 - 1696) gave 1120 such characteristics, dividing his work into a number of chapters: about the city, about the capital, about nobles, etc. He, like Theophrastus, in his characteristics revealed the inner essence of a person through his deeds. For example, he wrote: “Cheaters tend to regard others as crooks; they are almost impossible to deceive, but they do not deceive for long either.

From Aristotle comes the identification of character with volitional personality traits and hence the division of character into strong and weak volitional traits. It is more correct to understand the correspondence of a person's behavior to his worldview and beliefs as a strong character. A person with a strong character is a reliable person. Knowing his beliefs, you can always foresee how he will act in a certain situation. It is about such a person that they say: "This one will not let you down." It is impossible to say in advance about a person of weak character how he will act in a given situation.

As another example of the classification of characters, one can cite an attempt to subdivide them into intellectual, emotional and strong-willed (A. Bain, 1818-1903). Until now, you can hear the characteristics: "This is a man of pure reason" or: "He lives in the mood of today."

Attempts were made to divide the characters only into two groups: sensitive and strong-willed(T. Ribot, 1839 - 1916) or on extroverted(directed to external objects) and introverted(aimed at their own thoughts and experiences) - K.G. Jung (1875-1961).

Russian psychologist A.I. Galich (1783-1848) divided characters into bad, good and great. There have been attempts to give more complex classifications of characters.

The most widespread division of characters according to their social value. This assessment is sometimes expressed by the word "good" character (and, in contrast, "bad").

It is also widespread in everyday life to divide characters into light (characteristic of accommodating, pleasant people around and easily finding contact with them) and heavy.

Some authors (Lombroso, Kretschmer) tried to connect not only temperament, but also character with the human constitution, understanding the latter as the structural features of the body that are characteristic of a person in a given, rather long, period of time.

In recent years, in practical psychology, mainly thanks to the efforts of a professor at the Berlin University. Humboldt K. Leonhard and our compatriot - a leading specialist of the St. Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute. V.M. Bekhtereva A.E. Lichko, ideas about the most striking (so-called accentuated) characters were formed, which are very interesting and useful for practice. They can also be taken into account in the organization of production activities.

The researchers mentioned above identified some stable combinations of character traits, and it turned out that there are not an infinite number of such combinations, but a little more than a dozen. At the same time, I repeat that at present there is no single classification of characters.

The state of affairs in this field of knowledge can be compared with the state of affairs in the description of chemical elements before the creation of D.I. Mendeleev's periodic system. At the same time, it can be noted that many ideas are quite established.

Each of the bright characters with varying degrees of severity occurs on average in 50 - 60% of cases. Thus, at least half of all employees have bright (accentuated) characters. In some cases, there are combinations of types of characters. The rest can conditionally be classified as "medium" type.

Below we will focus on the most striking accentuations of characters. Take a look at the people around you. Perhaps the proposed recommendations will help you understand them, develop the right line of communication and interaction with them. You should not, however, get involved in the formulation of psychological diagnoses. Each person in certain situations can manifest traits of almost all characters. However, the character is determined not by what happens "sometimes", but by the stability of the manifestation of traits in many situations, the degree of their severity and the ratio.

Topic: Individual personality traits.

1. The concept of personality in psychology

Definition of personality In a broad sense, a person's personality is an integral integrity of biogenic, sociogenic and psychogenic elements.

The biological basis of personality covers the nervous system, the glandular system, metabolic processes (hunger, thirst, sexual impulse), gender differences, anatomical features, the processes of maturation and development of the body.

The social "dimension" of the personality is determined by the influence of the culture and structure of the communities in which the person was brought up and in which he participates. The most important sociogenic components of a person are the social roles performed by her in various communities (family, school, group of peers), as well as the subjective "I", that is, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe self created under the influence of others, and the reflected "I", that is, the complex ideas about ourselves, created from other people's ideas about ourselves.

In modern psychology there is no single understanding of personality. However, most researchers believe that a personality is an in vivo forming and individually unique set of features that determine the way (style) of thinking of a given person, the structure of her feelings and behavior.

The personality is based on structure- communication and interaction of relatively stable components (sides) of the personality: abilities, temperament, character, volitional qualities, emotions and motivation.

A person's abilities determine his success in various activities. A person's reactions to the world around him - other people, life circumstances, etc. depend on temperament. A person's character determines his actions in relation to other people.

Volitional qualities characterize a person's desire to achieve their goals. Emotions and motivation are, respectively, people's experiences and motivations for activity and communication.

Orientation and personality stability Almost none of the researchers object to the fact that the leading component of the personality structure, its backbone property (feature, quality) is orientation- a system of stable motives (dominant needs, interests, inclinations, beliefs, ideals, worldview, etc.), which determines the behavior of the individual in changing external conditions.

Orientation has an organizing effect not only on the components of the personality structure (for example, on undesirable traits of temperament), but also on mental states (for example, overcoming negative mental states with the help of positively dominant motivation) and cognitive, emotional, volitional mental processes (in particular, high motivation in the development of thinking processes is no less important than abilities).

Orientation, along with dominant motives, has other forms of flow: value orientations, attachments, sympathies (dislikes), tastes, inclinations, etc. It manifests itself not only in various forms, but also in various spheres of human life. For example, one can speak of a moral-political orientation (liberal or conservative), professional (“humanitarian” or “technical”), and everyday (a person for home, for family, or “for friends and girlfriends”).

The orientation of the personality is characterized by the level of maturity, breadth, intensity, stability and effectiveness.

Most psychologists believe that a person is not born as a person, but becomes. However, in modern psychology there is no unified theory of the formation and development of personality. For example, the biogenetic approach (S. Hall, Z. Freud, etc.) considers the biological processes of maturation of the body to be the basis for the development of the personality, the sociogenetic (E. Thorndike, B. Skinner, etc.) - the structure of society, methods of socialization, relationships with others etc., psychogenetic (J. Piaget, J. Kelly and others). - without denying either biological or social factors, it highlights the development of psychic phenomena proper. It seems more correct to consider that a personality is not just the results of biological maturation or a matrix of specific living conditions, but a subject of active interaction with the environment, during which the individual gradually acquires (or does not acquire) personality traits.

A developed personality has a developed self-consciousness. Subjectively, for an individual, a person acts as his I (“image of I”, “I-kneptsiya”), a system of ideas about himself, which reveals itself in self-assessments, a sense of self-esteem, a level of claims. The correlation of the image of the Self with the real circumstances of the individual's life allows the individual to change his behavior and achieve the goals of self-education.

Personality is in many respects a vitally stable formation. The stability of a person lies in the consistency and predictability of her behavior, in the regularity of her actions. But it should be borne in mind that the behavior of the individual in individual situations is quite variable.

In those properties that were acquired, and not laid down from birth (temperament, inclinations), the personality is less stable, which allows it to adapt to various life circumstances, to changing social conditions. Modification of views, attitudes, value orientations, etc. in such conditions is a positive feature of the personality, an indicator of its development. A typical example of this is the change in the value orientation of the individual in the modern period, during Russia's transition to a market economy.

2. Ability

The concept of abilities Let's move on to other aspects of personality. In the most general form, abilities are individual psychological characteristics of a person that ensure success in activities, in communication and ease of mastering them. Abilities cannot be reduced to the knowledge, skills and abilities that a person has, but abilities ensure their rapid acquisition, fixation and effective practical application. Success in activity and communication is determined not by one, but by a system of different abilities, while they can be mutually compensated.

There are a number of classifications of abilities. We reproduce one of them, the most significant:

1)natural (or natural) abilities basically biologically determined, associated with innate inclinations, formed on them base, in the presence of elementary life experience through learning mechanisms such as conditioned reflex connections);

2)specific human ability having a socio-historical origin and ensuring life and development in a social environment (general and special higher intellectual abilities, which are based on the use of speech, logic, theoretical and practical, educational and creative). Specific human abilities, in turn, are divided into:

a) general, which determine the success of a person in a variety of activities and communication (mental abilities, developed memory and speech, accuracy and subtlety of hand movements, etc.), and special, determining the success of a person in certain types of activity and communication, where a special kind of makings are needed and them development (mathematical, technical, literary and linguistic, artistic and creative, sports, etc.). These abilities, as a rule, can complement and enrich each other, but each of them has its own structure;

b) theoretical, determining a person's propensity for abstract-logical thinking, and practical, underlying propensity for concrete-practical actions. The combination of these abilities is characteristic only of versatile gifted people;

in) educational, which influence the success of pedagogical influence, the assimilation of knowledge, skills, skills, the formation of personality traits, and creative, associated with success in creating works of material and spiritual culture, new ideas, discoveries, inventions. The highest degree of creative manifestations of personality is called genius and the highest degree of personality abilities in a certain activity (communication) - talent;

G) ability to communicate, interact with people, namely, human speech as a means of communication, the ability to perceive and evaluate people, social and psychological adaptability to different situations, getting into contact with various people, liking them to oneself, etc., and subject-activity abilities, associated with the interaction of people with nature, technology, symbolic information, artistic images, etc.

A person capable of many and different types of activities and communication has a general giftedness that is, the unity of general abilities, which determines the range of his intellectual capabilities, the level and originality of activity and communication.

Abilities, inclinations and individual differences The vast majority of psychologists believe that makings- these are some genetically determined (innate) anatomical and physiological features of the nervous system, which make up the individual natural basis (prerequisite) for the formation and development of abilities. However, some of the scientists (for example, R. S. Nemov) believe that a person has two types of inclinations: innate (natural) and acquired (social).

Individual (individual-psychological) differences- these are the features of mental phenomena (processes, states and properties) that distinguish people from each other. Individual differences, the natural premise of which are the features of the nervous system, the brain, are created and developed in the course of life, in activity and communication, under the influence of education and training, in the process of human interaction with the outside world in the broadest sense of the word. Individual differences are the subject of study in differential psychology.

In the psychological differences between people, a significant place is occupied by the dynamic features of the psyche. The dynamic features inherent in the individual are internally interconnected and form a peculiar structure. Individually peculiar, extremely stable mental properties, due to the simultaneous action of several psychophysiological mechanisms that give behavior a certain direction and a certain range of formal-dynamic properties of the motor, emotional and perceptual subsystems, is called temperament. Temperament is an innate element in the personality structure. The properties of temperament are associated with hereditary predisposition and are characterized by high stability and typical manifestations in the widest range of situations.

The term "temperament" comes from the views of ancient science on the nature of individual psychological differences. Until now, the main types of temperament are the same four that were identified by ancient science: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. The central place in the characterization of temperament is occupied by general mental activity, its dynamic features, and the energy level of behavior itself. In the dynamic features of the psyche, both features of aspirations, actions, and experiences are found. The sphere of manifestations of temperament is general mental activity and emotionality.

According to the teachings of I.P. Pavlova about the types of the nervous system, the main properties of the nervous system are distinguished: strength, balance and mobility of the excitatory and inhibitory processes. Combinations of properties can serve as an explanation for the classification of temperaments: sanguine temperament corresponds to a strong balanced fast type of the nervous system, phlegmatic temperament - a strong, balanced, slow type, choleric - a strong, unbalanced type, melancholic - a weak type of nervous system.

Of course, not all people can be classified into four types. In life, there are often people who can be attributed to one or another of these types.

In psychology, the classification of temperaments by K. Jung, based on taking into account such psychological characteristics as extraversion and introversion, has received some recognition. According to this classification, extroverted people are characterized by a focus on the outside world, a craving for new experiences, impulsiveness, sociability, increased motor and speech activity. The introverted type is characterized by a fixation of interests in one's inner world, a tendency to introspection, difficulty in social adaptation, isolation, and some inhibition of movements and speech.

Undoubtedly, it must be borne in mind that the classifications of temperaments are rather arbitrary. In fact, there are much more types of temperaments (as well as types of the nervous system) than four. Many people, although they are close in their individual manifestations to any of the main types, still cannot be quite definitely assigned to this particular type. In the case when a person discovers features of different temperaments, they speak of a mixed type of temperament.

Considering the personality, let's move on to the description of the next element of the personality structure - character.

Living in a society, a person acquires certain properties that leave a certain imprint on all his manifestations and express his specific attitude towards the world and, above all, towards other people. The combination of these properties form the character that is acquired.

Character (from the Greek "chasing", "seal") is a set of stable individual characteristics of a person, which develops and manifests itself in activity and communication, causing typical behaviors for an individual. The most important moment in the formation of character is how a person relates to the environment and to himself as to another.

The nature of the human personality is always multifaceted. It highlights individual traits or sides that are linked together and form a character structure. The structure is found in a regular relationship between its individual features. Among the features, some act as the main, leading, setting the general direction for the development of a complex of its manifestations. Along with them, there are secondary features, which in some cases are determined by the main ones, while in others they may not be in harmony with them. In life there are more solid and more contradictory. The existence of integral characters makes it possible to single out certain types of characters, endowed with common features, among a wide variety of characters. But traits cannot be identified with beliefs, outlook on life and other features of the personality's orientation.

The individual characteristics that form the character of a person relate primarily to the will (for example, cheerfulness or depression) and feelings (for example, frivolity, thoughtfulness) and to a certain extent to the mind (for example, decisiveness, uncertainty, fearfulness). Manifestations of character are complex formations and in some cases practically cannot be separated into categories of volitional, emotional and intellectual processes (for example, suspicion, generosity, generosity, vindictiveness, etc.)

Character depends on how a person relates (on the basis of his pre-existing characteristics) to his successes and failures, to public opinion and a number of other circumstances.

The character of a person is manifested: a) in the way he treats other people: relatives and friends, colleagues at work and study, acquaintances, etc.; b) in the nature of the attitude towards oneself (self-love or humiliation); c) in relation to the person to the case; d) in relation to a person to things (in general, to property, accuracy or negligence). A psychological feature of the structure of a person's personality is also abilities.

Abilities, as well as characters, temperaments in all people are extremely diverse. Abilities are the psychological characteristics of a person, on which the success of acquiring knowledge, skills, skills depends, but which themselves are not reduced to the presence of this knowledge, skills and abilities.

Abilities and knowledge, abilities and skills, abilities and skills are not identical to each other, but constitute a single system. In relation to skills, abilities and knowledge, abilities act as some kind of opportunity for their acquisition. And whether or not this knowledge and skills will be acquired, whether the possibility will turn into reality, depends on many conditions.

Abilities are found not in knowledge, skills and abilities as such, but in the dynamics of their acquisition, that is, in how, all other things being equal, the process of mastering knowledge and skills that are essential for this activity is carried out quickly, deeply, easily and firmly.

If we consider them from the side of their qualitative features, abilities act as a complex set of psychological properties of a person that ensure the success of an activity, as a set of "variables" that allow one to go to the goal in different ways. The basis of the same or somewhat similar achievements in the performance of any activity may be a combination of very different abilities. This opens up an important side of the ability of the individual: wide opportunities for compensating some properties with others that a person develops in himself, working hard and persistently.

The ability to compensate for some abilities through the development of others opens up inexhaustible opportunities for a person, pushing the boundaries of choosing a profession and improving in it.

In general, a qualitative characteristic of abilities makes it possible to determine in which area of ​​labor activity it is easier for a person to find himself, to discover great successes and achievements. Thus, the qualitative characteristics of abilities are inextricably linked with the quantitative characteristics.

A quantitative characteristic is measured using tests of mental endowment. With their help, in a number of countries (USA, Great Britain, etc.) students are sorted in schools, etc.

Psychologists answer the question, what is a personality, in different ways. The concept of "personality" usually includes such properties that are more or less stable and testify to the individuality of a person, determining his actions that are significant for people. Personality is a person taken in the system of his psychological characteristics that are socially conditioned, manifested in social connections and relations by nature, are stable, determine the moral actions of a person that are essential for himself and those around him. Along with the concept of "personality" in science, the term "individual", "individuality" is often used. The concept of "individual" includes both the qualities that distinguish this person from other people, and the properties that are common to him and many other people. Individuality is the narrowest concept in terms of content. It contains only those individual and personal properties of a person, such a combination of them that distinguishes this person from other people.

A personality can be characterized by revealing its individual psychological characteristics, such as temperament, abilities, character. When we try to understand and explain why different people, placed in the same or approximately the same conditions by the circumstances of life, achieve different successes, we turn to the concept of ability, believing that the difference in successes can be quite satisfactorily explained by them. The same concept is used by us when we need to realize why some people acquire knowledge, skills and abilities faster and better than others. Meanwhile, the data of psychological research and pedagogical experience indicate that sometimes a person who initially did not know how to do something and therefore did not compare favorably with others, as a result of training, acquires skills and abilities extremely quickly and soon overtakes everyone on the way to mastery. He has more abilities than others. Abilities are something that does not come down to knowledge, skills and abilities, but explains (provides) their rapid acquisition, consolidation and effective use in practice. This definition was given by our domestic scientist B.M. Teplov. In the concept of "ability", in his opinion, there are three ideas. “Firstly, abilities are understood as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another. Secondly, abilities are not called any individual characteristics in general, but only those that are related to the success of performing an activity or many activities. Thirdly, the concept of "ability" is not limited to the knowledge, skills or abilities that have already been developed by a given person. Abilities and knowledge, abilities and skills, abilities and skills are not identical to each other. In relation to skills, abilities and knowledge, human abilities act as some kind of opportunity. Just as a grain thrown into the soil is only a possibility in relation to an ear, which can grow from this grain only under the condition that the structure, composition and moisture of the soil, weather, etc. turn out to be favorable, human abilities are only an opportunity for acquiring knowledge and skills. Abilities are an opportunity, and the required level of skill in a particular business is a reality. The musical abilities revealed in the child are by no means a guarantee that the child will be a musician. For this to happen, special training is required. Abilities are found only in activities that cannot be carried out without the presence of these abilities. You can't talk about a person's ability to draw if you don't see his work. An ability that does not develop, which a person ceases to use in practice, is lost over time. The success of any activity does not depend on any one, but on a combination of different abilities. The combination of various highly developed abilities is called giftedness, and this characteristic refers to a person capable of many different activities.

It is necessary to distinguish between natural, or natural, abilities and specific human abilities that have a socio-historical origin. Many of the natural abilities are common to man and animals, especially the higher ones. Such elementary abilities are perception, memory, thinking. A person, in addition to biologically determined ones, has abilities that ensure his life and development in a social environment. These are general (mental abilities, subtlety and accuracy of manual movements, developed memory, perfect speech and a number of others) and special higher intellectual abilities (musical, mathematical, linguistic, technical, literary, sports and a number of others), based on the use of speech and logic. Theoretical and practical abilities differ in that the former predetermine a person's inclination to abstract-theoretical reflections, and the latter to concrete, practical actions. Abilities can be called the ability to convince others, achieve mutual understanding, influence people. As for the ability to perceive people and give them correct assessments, it has long been considered a special kind of ability in social psychology. So far, in psychology, primary attention has been paid specifically to subject-activity abilities, although interpersonal abilities are of no less importance for the psychological development of a person. Without the ability to speak as a means of communication, for example, without the ability to adapt to people, correctly perceive and evaluate them and their actions, interact with them and establish good relationships in various social situations, a normal life and mental development of a person would be simply impossible. The absence of such abilities in a person would be an insurmountable obstacle just on the way of his transformation from a biological being into a social one.

Among the individual psychological characteristics of a person are the properties of temperament (they are innate), which have a significant impact on the formation of a person’s character and behavior, sometimes determine his actions, his personality. Temperament is the individual characteristics of a person that determine the dynamics of the course of his mental processes and behavior. Dynamics is understood as tempo, rhythm, duration, intensity of mental processes. The idea and the doctrine of temperament in their origins go back to the works of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. In modern psychology, they use the classification of temperaments belonging to the German philosopher I. Kant. I. Kant divided human temperaments into two types: temperaments of feeling and temperaments of activity. In general, “only four simple temperaments can be established: sanguine, melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic.”

The sanguine temperament of activity characterizes a person of a very cheerful disposition. He appears as an optimist, full of hope, a humorist, a joker. He quickly ignites, but cools down just as quickly, loses interest in what only recently worried him and attracted him to himself. Sanguine promises a lot, but does not always keep his promises. He easily and with pleasure enters into contacts with strangers, is a good conversationalist, all people are his friends. He is distinguished by kindness, willingness to help. Intense mental or physical work quickly tires him.

The melancholy temperament of activity, according to Kant, is characteristic of a person of the opposite, mostly gloomy mood. Such a person usually lives a complex and intense inner life, attaches great importance to everything that concerns him, has increased anxiety and a vulnerable soul. Such a person is often restrained and especially controls himself when making promises. He never promises what he is unable to do, he suffers greatly from the fact that he cannot fulfill this promise, even if its fulfillment does not directly depend on him.

The choleric temperament of activity characterizes a quick-tempered person. They say about such a person that he is too hot, unrestrained. At the same time, such an individual quickly cools down and calms down, if they give way to him, go to a meeting. His movements are jerky, but short.

The phlegmatic temperament of activity refers to a cold-blooded person. It expresses rather a tendency to inactivity than to intense, active work. Such a person slowly comes into a state of excitement, but for a long time. This replaces the slowness of his entry into work.

The properties of temperament exist and are manifested not by themselves, but in the actions of a person in various socially significant situations. Temperament definitely influences the formation of his character, but the character itself expresses a person not so much as a physical, but as a spiritual being.

It is believed that the properties of temperament are determined mainly by the properties of the human nervous system. Temperament is a psychobiological category in the sense that its properties are neither completely innate nor dependent on the environment. The psychological characteristics of temperament are not the properties of the nervous system per se or their combination, but the typical features of the course of mental processes and behavior that these properties generate: activity, productivity, excitability, inhibition and switchability. The active side of perception, attention, imagination, memory and thinking is characterized, respectively, by the extent to which a person is able to focus, concentrate his attention, imagination, memory and thinking on a particular object or its aspect. One person remembers, recalls, considers, thinks about solving a problem faster than another. The productivity of all these cognitive processes can be assessed by their products, by the results obtained over a certain period of time. Productivity is higher where at the same time it is possible to see, hear, remember, imagine, solve more. Productivity should not be confused with efficiency. Excitability, inhibition and switchability characterize the speed of occurrence, termination or switching of one or another cognitive process from one object to another, transition from one action to another. For example, some people need more time than others to engage in mental work or switch from thinking about one topic to another. Some people remember or recall information faster than others. It should also be borne in mind here that these differences do not determine the abilities of people.

In relation to objective activity, activity means the strength and amplitude of the movements associated with it. They are instinctively wider in an active person than in a less active person. For example, increased temperamental activity in sports gives rise to wider and stronger movements in an athlete, included in various movements, than in someone who has this property of temperament weakly expressed.

Personality and temperament are interconnected in such a way that temperament acts as a common basis for many other personal properties, primarily character. However, it determines only the dynamic manifestations of the corresponding personal properties. Such personality traits as impressionability, emotionality, impulsiveness and anxiety depend on temperament. The combination of these properties creates an individual type of temperament. Those manifestations of temperament, which ultimately become a property of the individual, depend on training and education, on culture, customs, traditions, and much more. Temperament to some extent affects the development of human abilities, which include movements with such essential characteristics as pace, reaction speed, excitability and inhibition. First of all, these abilities, which include complex and precise movements with a difficult trajectory and uneven pace. They also include abilities associated with increased performance, resistance to interference, endurance, the need for long-term concentration.

Temperament is the natural basis for the manifestation of the psychological qualities of a person. However, with any temperament, it is possible to form in a person qualities that are unusual for this temperament. Psychological research and pedagogical practice show that temperament changes somewhat under the influence of living conditions and upbringing. Temperament can also change as a result of self-education. Even an adult can change his temperament in a certain direction. It is known, for example, that A.P. Chekhov was a very balanced, modest and delicate person. But here is an interesting fact from his life. In one of his letters to his wife O. L. Knipper-Chekhova, Anton Pavlovich makes such a valuable confession: “You write that you envy my character. used to restrain himself, because it is not befitting for a decent person to dismiss himself. In the old days, I made the devil knows what. It is interesting to note that some people, having learned the peculiarities of their temperament, deliberately develop certain methods themselves in order to master it. So did, for example, A. M. Gorky, who restrained the violent manifestations of his temperament. To do this, he deliberately switched to various side effects with objects. With people who expressed views opposite to him, A. M. Gorky tried to be impassive and calm.

Literally translated from Greek, character means an imprint. Character is a set of stable personality traits that determine a person's attitude to people, to the work performed. Character is manifested in activity and communication (as well as temperament) and includes what gives a person’s behavior a specific, characteristic shade for him (hence the name “character”). Character is interconnected with other aspects of the personality, in particular with temperament and abilities. Temperament affects the form of manifestation of character, peculiarly coloring one or another of its features. So, persistence in a choleric person is expressed in vigorous activity, in a phlegmatic person - in concentrated deliberation. Choleric works energetically, passionately, phlegmatic - methodically, slowly. On the other hand, the temperament itself is rebuilt under the influence of character: a person with a strong character can suppress some of the negative aspects of his temperament, control its manifestations. Ability is inextricably linked with character. A high level of abilities is associated with such character traits as collectivism - a feeling of inextricable connection with the team, a desire to work for its good, faith in one's own strengths and capabilities, combined with constant dissatisfaction with one's achievements, high demands on oneself, and the ability to be critical of one's work. The flourishing of abilities is associated with the ability to persistently overcome difficulties, not to lose heart under the influence of failures, to work in an organized manner, to show initiative. The connection between character and abilities is also expressed in the fact that the formation of such character traits as diligence, initiative, determination, organization, perseverance occurs in the same activity of the child in which his abilities are formed. For example, in the process of labor as one of the main activities, on the one hand, the ability to work develops, and on the other, diligence as a character trait.