Each person is endowed with a unique, own character from birth. A child can inherit individual traits from his parents, some show them to a greater extent, and some do not look like any of the family members at all. But character is not the behavior of parents projected onto the child, it is a more complex mental phenomenon. The list of positives is very long. In the article we will try to highlight the main character traits.
human?
Translated from Greek, the word "character" means "a distinctive feature, a sign." Depending on the type of their psychological organization, people find their soul mates, build relationships, build their whole lives. A person's character is a unique set of mental characteristics, personality traits that play a decisive role in various aspects of a person's life and are manifested through his activity.
To understand the character of an individual, it is necessary to massively analyze his actions. Judgments about character can be very subjective, because not every person acts the way his heart tells him. However, it is possible to identify individual stable character traits by studying behavior for a long time. If a person in different situations makes the same decision, draws similar conclusions and shows a similar reaction, then this indicates that he has one or another trait. For example, if someone is responsible, then his behavior both at work and at home will meet this criterion. If a person is cheerful by nature, a one-time manifestation of sadness against the background of general positive behavior will not become a separate character trait.
character building
The process of character formation begins in early childhood, in the first social contacts of the child with his parents. For example, excessive love and guardianship can later become the key to a stable characteristic of the human psyche and make him dependent or spoiled. That is why many parents are especially attentive to the upbringing of positive character traits in children. They get pets so that the baby can feel what responsibility is, instruct him to do small chores around the house, teach him to put away his toys and explain that not all desires and whims can be fulfilled.
The next stage is kindergarten and school. The child already has the main character traits, but at this stage they are still amenable to correction: you can wean a small personality from greed, help get rid of excessive shyness. In the future, as a rule, the formation and change of character traits is possible only when working with a psychologist.
Character or temperament?
Very often these two concepts are confused with each other. Indeed, both character and temperament shape human behavior. But they are fundamentally different in nature. Character is a list of acquired mental properties, while temperament is of biological origin. Having the same temperament, people can have completely different characters.
There are 4 types of temperament: impulsive and unbalanced choleric, unhurried and calm phlegmatic, light and optimistic sanguine and emotionally vulnerable melancholic. At the same time, temperament can restrain certain character traits, and vice versa, character can compensate for temperament.
For example, a phlegmatic person with a good sense of humor will still be stingy with displays of emotion, but this will not prevent him from demonstrating a sense of humor, laughing and having fun in appropriate society.
List of positive qualities of a person
The list of positive and negative qualities of a person is huge. Initially, all definitions regarding the nature and essence of a person, his behavior are subjective. In society, certain norms have been established that make it possible to determine how positive or negative this or that personality trait or its act is. However, there are higher qualities of a person that demonstrate his virtue and good intentions. Their list looks like this:
- altruism;
- respect for elders;
- kindness;
- fulfillment of promises;
- moral;
- responsibility;
- loyalty;
- perseverance;
- moderation;
- responsiveness;
- honesty;
- sincerity;
- disinterestedness and others.
These qualities, along with their derivatives, constitute the nature of the true beauty of a person's character. They are laid in the family, in the process of upbringing, children copy the behavior of their parents, and therefore a well-educated person will have all these highest qualities.
List of negative qualities of a person
The list of positive and negative qualities of a person can be formed for a long time, since there are a lot of them. Assigning a person the presence of a negative quality of character on the basis of his act or action alone will be fundamentally wrong. You can’t hang labels, even the most well-mannered and can really believe that they are endowed with, say, greed or arrogance. However, if such behavior is a pattern, then the conclusion will be obvious.
The list of negative traits, as well as positive ones, is huge. The most basic and common are as follows:
- lack of will;
- irresponsibility;
- harmfulness;
- greed;
- viciousness;
- deceit;
- hypocrisy;
- hatred;
- selfishness;
- intolerance;
- greed and others.
The presence of such character traits in a person is not a diagnosis, they can and should be dealt with even in adult, conscious age, to correct behavior.
Character traits that manifest themselves in relation to other people
We have formed a list of positive and negative qualities of a person. Now we will talk about character traits that manifest themselves in relation to other people. The fact is that depending on in relation to whom or what a person performs an action or act, a specific individual feature of it is exposed. In society, he can demonstrate the following qualities:
- sociability;
- responsiveness;
- susceptibility to someone else's mood;
- respectfulness;
- arrogance;
- egocentrism;
- coarseness;
- closure and others.
Of course, a lot depends on the conditions in which a person finds himself: even the most open and sociable person may experience problems in communicating with a strict, closed and heartless person. But, as a rule, polite people, endowed with positive qualities, easily adapt to society and suppress their negative traits.
Character traits manifested in work
Building a person's career directly depends on the qualities of his character. Even the most talented and gifted people can fail because they are not responsible enough for their work and their talent. Thus, they only harm themselves and do not give themselves the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Or, on the contrary, there are cases when the lack of talent was more than compensated for by special diligence in work. A responsible and accurate person will always succeed. Here is a list of the main such traits:
- diligence;
- responsibility;
- initiative;
- accuracy;
- slovenliness;
- laziness;
- negligence;
- passivity and others.
These two groups of character traits actively echo each other, since labor activity and communication between people are inseparably linked.
Character traits that manifest themselves in relation to oneself
These are the features that characterize in relation to himself, his self-perception. They look like this:
- feeling of self-worth or superiority;
- honor;
- arrogance;
- self-criticism;
- egocentrism;
- self-love and others.
Character traits that manifest themselves in relation to things
Attitude towards things does not affect the building of a person's social ties, but it demonstrates and reveals the best or unattractive qualities of his nature. These are traits such as:
- accuracy;
- thrift;
- scrupulousness;
- carelessness and others.
Mentality, qualities of a Russian person
Mentality is a very subjective concept, and it is based on stereotypical thinking. However, it cannot be denied that certain features are inherent in a particular nationality. Russian people are famous for their cordiality and hospitality, cheerful disposition. The Russian soul is considered mysterious and incomprehensible all over the world, since Russians do not differ in the rationality and logic of their actions, and are often influenced by their mood.
Another feature of the Russian people is sentimentality. A Russian person instantly takes on the feelings of another and is always ready to share emotions with him, to lend a helping hand. It is impossible not to mention another trait - compassion. Historically, Russia has helped its neighbors on all frontiers of the country, and today only a heartless person will pass by the misfortune of another.
Throughout his life, each person shows his individual characteristics, which are reflected not only in his behavior or the specifics of communication, but also determine the attitude towards activities, himself and other people. All these features, manifested in life, both in scientific use and in everyday life, are called character.
Definition of "character"
In psychology, character is understood as a certain set of human traits that are pronounced and relatively stable. Character traits always leave an imprint on a person's behavior, and also affect his actions.
In psychological dictionaries, you can find a fairly large number of definitions of character, but they all boil down to the fact that character is a set of the most persistent individual psychological characteristics of a person, which always manifest themselves in her activities and social behavior, as well as in the system of relations:
- to the team;
- to other people;
- to work;
- to the surrounding reality (to the world);
- to yourself.
The term itself character» ( in lane from Greek character - chasing or printing) was introduced by the ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist, a student of Plato and closest friend of Aristotle Theophrastus. And here it is worth paying special attention to the translation of the word - chasing or printing. Indeed, the character seems to emerge as a kind of pattern on a person's personality, thus creating a unique seal that distinguishes its owner from other individuals. Such a design, as well as a coat of arms or an emblem on the personal seal of the medieval nobility, is drawn on a certain basis with the help of specific signs and letters. Temperament is the basis for engraving an individual personality, and bright and individual character traits are the basis for engraving .
Character traits as a tool for psychological assessment and understanding of a person
In psychology, character traits are understood as individual, rather complex features that are the most indicative for a person and make it possible to predict with a high degree of probability his behavior in a particular situation. That is, knowing that a particular person has certain traits, one can predict his subsequent actions and possible actions in a particular case. For example, if a person has a pronounced feature of responsiveness, then there is a high probability that at a difficult moment in life he will come to the rescue.
A feature is one of the most important and essential parts of a person, its stable quality and a well-established way of interacting with the surrounding reality. The personality trait crystallizes and reflects its integrity. A person's character trait is a real way to solve many life situations (both activity and communication) and therefore they need to be considered from the point of view of the future. So, character traits are a prediction of the actions and actions of a person, since they are persistent and make a person's behavior predictable and more obvious. Due to the fact that each person is unique, there is a huge variety of unique character traits.
Each person acquires special features of his character throughout his life in society, and it is impossible to consider all individual signs (features) as characterological. Such will be only those who, regardless of the life situation and circumstances, will always manifest themselves in an identical way of behavior and the same attitude in the surrounding reality.
Thus, in order to assess personality psychologists (to characterize it) as individuality, it is necessary to determine not the entire sum of a person’s individual qualities, but to highlight those character traits and qualities that are distinctive from other people. Despite the fact that these features are individual and different, they must constitute a structural integrity.
Character traits of a person are a priority in the study of his personality, as well as for understanding and predicting his actions, actions and behavior. Indeed, we perceive and understand any kind of human activity as a manifestation of certain traits of his character. But, characterizing a personality as a social being, it is not so much the manifestation of traits in activity that becomes important, but what exactly this activity is aimed at (and also what the human will serves). In this case, one should pay attention to the content side of the character, and more specifically, to those character traits of the personality that make up the general structure as its mental warehouse. They are expressed in: integrity-contradiction, unity-fragmentation, static-dynamic, breadth-narrowness, strength-weakness.
List of human traits
human character- this is not only a certain combination of some features (or a random set of them), but the most complex mental formation, which is a certain system. This system consists of many of the most stable qualities of a personality, as well as its properties that are manifested in various systems of human relations (to work, to one's work, to the world around, to things, to oneself and to other people). In these relations, the structural nature of the character, its content and individuality of originality finds its expression. The table below describes the main character traits (their groups) that find their manifestation in various systems of human relations.
Persistent traits (symptom complexes) of character, manifested in personality relationships
In addition to the traits that manifest themselves in the system of relations, psychologists have identified traits of a person's character that can be attributed to the cognitive and emotional-volitional spheres. So character traits are divided into:
- cognitive (or intellectual) - curiosity, theoreticality, criticality, resourcefulness, analyticity, thoughtfulness, practicality, flexibility, frivolity;
- emotional (sensibility, passion, emotionality, cheerfulness, sentimentality, etc.);
- volitional traits (perseverance, determination, independence, etc.);
- moral traits (kindness, honesty, justice, humanity, cruelty, responsiveness, patriotism, etc.).
Representative of the humanistic trend in psychology Gordon Allport personality traits are grouped into three main categories:
- dominant (those that most of all determine all forms of human behavior, his actions and deeds, such as selfishness or kindness);
- ordinary (which manifest themselves equally in all spheres of life, for example, parity and humanity);
- secondary (they do not have the same influences as dominant or ordinary, for example, it can be diligence or a love of music).
So, the main character traits are manifested in various spheres of mental activity and the system of personality relations. All these relationships are fixed in different ways of action and forms of human behavior that are most familiar to him. Between existing features, certain regular relationships are always established that allow you to create a structural character. She, in turn, helps to predict, according to the character trait of a person already known to us, others who are hidden from us, which makes it possible to predict his subsequent actions and actions.
Any structure, including character, has its own hierarchy. Thus, character traits also have a certain hierarchy, so there are main (leading) and secondary traits that are subordinate to the leading ones. It is possible to predict the actions of a person and his behavior, relying not only on the main features, but also on secondary ones (despite the fact that they are less significant and do not manifest themselves so clearly).
Typical and individual in character
The bearer of character is always a person, and his traits are manifested in activities, relationships, actions, behavior, ways of acting in the family, in a team, at work, among friends, etc. This manifestation always reflects the typical and individual in the character, because they exist in an organic unity (thus, the typical is always the basis for the individual manifestation of character).
What is meant by typical character? A character is called typical if there is a set of essential features that are common to a certain group of people. This set of features reflects the general conditions of life of a particular group. In addition, these traits should be manifested (to a greater or lesser extent) in each representative of this group. The totality of distinctive typical features is a condition for the emergence of a certain.
The typical and individual in character is most clearly expressed in a person’s relationship to other people, because interpersonal contacts are always conditioned by certain social conditions of life, the corresponding level of cultural and historical development of society and the formed spiritual world of the person himself. Attitude towards other people is always evaluative and manifests itself in different ways (approval-condemnation, support-misunderstanding) depending on the existing circumstances. This manifestation is expressed depending on the person's assessment of the actions and behavior of others, or rather their positive and negative character traits.
Typical traits of a person's character in terms of their intensity are manifested in each individually. So, for example, individual traits can reveal themselves so strongly and vividly that they become unique in their own way. It is in this case that the typical in character passes into the individual.
Positive character traits and their manifestation
Both typical and individual in character, finds its manifestation in the systems of personality relations. This is due to the presence in the character of a person of certain traits (both positive and negative). So, for example, in relation to work or one's own business, such positive character traits as diligence, discipline and organization are manifested.
As for interpersonal communications and attitudes towards other people, the following are good character traits: honesty, openness, justice, adherence to principles, humanity, etc. All these features allow you to build constructive communication and quickly establish contacts with people around you.
It should be noted that there are a lot of individual character traits. But among them it is necessary to single out, first of all, those that have the greatest influence on the formation of a person’s spirituality and him (it is in this context that the best trait of a person’s character, humanity, finds its manifestation). These traits are even more important in the process of upbringing and development of the younger generation, because the same traits are formed differently depending on the situations, the presence of other character traits and the orientation of the personality itself.
Highlighting the good qualities of character, one should not forget about their possible curvature, or the presence of obvious negative traits that a person needs to fight. Only in this case will the harmonious and holistic development of the personality be observed.
Negative character traits and their manifestation
In relation to the behavior, actions and activities of other people, a person always forms traits of a certain character - positive and negative. This happens according to the principle of analogy (that is, identification with what is acceptable) and opposition (with what is included in the list of unacceptable and wrong). Attitude towards oneself can be positive or negative, which primarily depends on the level of development and the ability to adequately evaluate oneself ( that is, from the formed level). A high level of self-consciousness is evidenced by the presence of the following positive features: high demands on oneself, and self-esteem, as well as responsibility. And, on the contrary, such negative character traits as self-confidence, selfishness, indiscretion, etc., speak of an insufficient level of development of self-consciousness.
Negative character traits (in principle, as well as positive ones are manifested) in the four main systems of human relations. For example, in the "attitude to work" system, among the negative features are irresponsibility, carelessness and formality. And among the negative features that manifest themselves in interpersonal communication, it is worth highlighting isolation, stinginess, boastfulness and disrespect.
It should be noted that negative character traits, which are manifested in the system of a person's relations with other people, almost always contribute to the emergence of conflicts, misunderstanding and aggression, which subsequently leads to the emergence of destructive forms of communication. That is why every person who wants to live in harmony with others and with himself should think about cultivating positive traits in his character and getting rid of destructive, negative traits.
A person's character is an important part of his life. The individual exists in society. Interacting with other people, we learn to understand each other, show our essence, develop our individuality. By the age of two or three, a child already has his own character and is ready to defend it. Just try to tell him something that does not match his ideas about himself, and you will see manifestations of a person who wants to be heard.
Often people, wondering what kind of characters there are, do not understand that each of us is unique, and therefore even the pronounced personality traits of each will be manifested in their own way. Character cannot be good or bad.
General character traits
We all have the ability to respond in a certain way to changing conditions. General traits of a person's character are the basis of the human psyche. These include courage, honesty, openness, secrecy, gullibility, isolation. If a person is open to interaction with other people, we can talk about his sociability, if he knows how to enjoy life, he is called cheerful, cheerful. The way a person acts in various situations, and shows his features of the psyche.
In relation to oneself
A person can treat his own person in different ways: love himself, consider himself a complete loser, ugly, critically look at his reflection in the mirror, try to change himself in every possible way. All these manifestations of personality can form an appropriate character: insecure, passive, closed, trusting, suspicious, purposeful, active.
Many people ask how to know the character of a person? The answer may be his unconscious attitude towards his personality. If a person does not love and respect himself, he simply cannot love others. In life, such a person will behave as discreetly as possible and not attempt to achieve a greater and better result.
In relation to other people
Depending on what personality traits prevail in a person, the following characters can be distinguished: sympathetic, noble, kind, generous, sensitive, attentive, devoted, independent, self-willed, selfish, cruel. By the way a person relates to other people, one can understand his attitude towards the world and himself.
Individual traits of a person's character are necessarily reflected in the interaction in the family, the team. A person who feels the need to suppress others ends up defeated, dissatisfied with her own life and actions taken to achieve a certain goal.
In relation to work and activity
Daily employment also leaves its mark on the character of a person. Being at the workplace, a person is forced to communicate with a large number of people, solve certain problems, overcome his own shortcomings, expressed in laziness, lack of awareness, competence, inability to do something.
in this case, they can be: lazy, hardworking, enthusiastic, indifferent, persistent, self-sufficient. The more and more effectively a person works on himself, the better his results. By studying this or that activity, each of us is able to reach the “ceiling” in it, reach the limit, become a real pro. The difference lies only in the fact that a person who is called lucky always strives forward and enthusiastically passes through obstacles, while an obvious loser is afraid to take risks, invents worthy excuses for himself in order not to act, but only to contemplate what is happening to him. . Often people who lack the strength to make their own decisions blame others for their own failures and losses.How is character formed?
Modern psychological science claims that a person's character is laid in early childhood. Around the age of two or three, the child begins to show individual character traits. A person is formed both by social attitudes and the attitude of parents to his personality. If parents are attentive to his mood, take into account the needs and desires of the baby, take into account his personality, then the child grows open to the world around him, trusts the Universe and time, and treats people positively. When trust, for whatever reason, is lost, the little child is left with a fragmented sense of emptiness within. He can no longer blindly, unconditionally trust, as before, but begins to look for reasons, tricks, disappointments in everything.
Finally, the character completes its formation by the age of four or five. If the parents until this time have not paid enough attention to the child, have not understood his pressing problems, why he does this and not otherwise, then it will be more difficult to correct the situation further. A child who is constantly criticized becomes timid, insecure, indecisive. The one who is often scolded does not believe in himself, treats everything with suspicion. A child, surrounded by care and attention, becomes trusting and open, ready to learn about the surrounding reality. There are different types of people. The list is endless.
Character accentuations
Accentuations of character are pronounced manifestations of certain personality traits, on which a person gets hung up, before which he is too vulnerable. For example, a shy person may suffer if others do not pay attention to him, but he still does not dare to express himself in society. The merry fellow and the soul of the company may be offended by friends due to the fact that his ideas have not received due attention. In both cases, the person focuses on himself, his feelings about what others will say and think about him, needs the approval of his actions. What are the characters in general, so there are different accentuations.
Typology of characters
The Swedish psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung in the last century empirically deduced the types of human character. The essence of his concept is that he conditionally divided all people into introverts and extroverts, depending on the predominant mental functions.
An introvert is a person immersed in himself, his own thoughts, feelings, experiences. The basis of his existence is his own personality. An introvert experiences failures for a long time, often accumulates resentment and fears, loves to be alone. Time spent with himself is as essential to him as air. Reflections can make up a whole world for him, full of mysteries and secrets. Among people of this category there are many thinkers, writers, poets. Some self-absorption, isolation from the outside world allows them to create their own reality. An introvert highly appreciates solitude, the opportunity to reflect, emotional support from other people (as he is often unsure of himself).
An extrovert is a person whose thoughts and energy are directed to the outside world. A person of this type loves the company of people and is extremely difficult to endure loneliness. If he is left alone for a long time, he may even become depressed. An extrovert needs self-expression in the outer space. This is a prerequisite for the development of his personality. An extrovert is in dire need of communication, emotional confirmation of his own rightness and significance.
Temperament types
Answering the question of what kind of characters there are, it is impossible not to touch on the theory of four types of temperament. This classification is known to every person from school. Mostly there are people with a mixed type of temperament, in which one type prevails.
Choleric is a person of mood, the frequent change of which is due to the mobility of the nervous system. He is easily carried away by anything, but cools down very quickly. Thus, energy resources are often wasted. Choleric does everything quickly, sometimes forgetting about quality. Often he does not have time to do the work before she ceases to interest him.
Sanguine is a person with a stable type of nervous activity. He quite easily releases failures and disappointments from himself, switching to external circumstances. Easy to get carried away, works productively. A lively interesting person who needs a community of like-minded people.
Phlegmatic - a person of a calm, balanced disposition. From the outside, it may seem that it is difficult to anger or hurt a phlegmatic person. However, he is quite vulnerable, but he knows how to hide it well. Under the outer "thick-skinned" is a sensitive and sincere person. Phlegmatic is responsible and a good performer. However, the organizer will not come out of it.
A melancholic is an extremely emotional, vulnerable, vulnerable person. He is very worried about injustice, often looks too closed and distrustful.
It should be noted that there are no bad or good types of temperament. Each type carries its own personality and each has strengths and weaknesses.
Typology of Kretschmer's characters
A psychologist from Germany, Ernst Kretschmer, proposed a classification that allows you to determine the character by the face of a person, as well as by his physique. He called people of the thin type asthenics and characterized them as closed personalities, prone to serious feelings. He defined overweight people as picnics. Picnics are often obese, easily adapt to changing conditions, and are in great need of society. People of the athletic type are practical, purposeful, calm, unflappable character.
The science of graphology deals with the study of the characteristics of human behavior, its personality traits in the shape of letters. Everything matters here: the position of the letters on the line, their height and width, and how elegantly and beautifully they are written. For example, in a person with low self-esteem, the lines are directed downwards. The one who keeps himself confident, the lines go up. Large letters indicate the breadth of the soul and the desire to be a leader, small letters characterize a person who doubts everything. Currently, there is more than one test for the character of a person, which allows you to determine which group he belongs to.
Is it possible for a person to change his character on his own?
For those who dream of changing their character for objective reasons, I would like to say that nothing is impossible. Just consciously take the necessary steps, control yourself. Of course, it will not be possible to radically change oneself, but one should not strive for this, because each of us is unique and unrepeatable. It is better to improve your best qualities of character than to constantly think about the shortcomings and find out what kind of characters there are and why you do not fit them. Learn to love yourself the way you really are, and then your own shortcomings will stop worrying you. Everyone has them, believe me. Your task is to develop yourself, to reveal the fullness of your possibilities for self-realization.
Thus, there are many options for how to determine the character of a person. The main thing is that you accept your own personality and learn to live in harmony with it and the world around you.
Studying the personality of a person, whether it be a woman, a man or a child, one can always reveal a bad inclination to unseemly behavior due, for example, to mistakes in education, psychological trauma. But even bad heredity can be secured. Consider the main negative traits of human character.
Authoritarianism
The desire to dominate everything, ignoring any needs of other people. Explicit or implicit demand for submission and discipline from everyone with whom a person intersects. Someone else's opinion is not taken into account, any disobedience is stopped without an attempt to find a mutually beneficial solution. It is believed that this is a typical negative trait of the Russian character.
Aggressiveness
The desire to conflict with others. In early childhood, this is an obligatory negative character trait of a child who is learning ways to protect his interests. For an aggressive adult, provocative, sometimes deliberately false statements, raised tone, and insults are typical. Sometimes attempts are made to influence the opponent physically.
gambling
A painful desire to achieve the goal, regardless of the size of the risks, ignoring one's own and others' logical arguments about the excess of spending over the value of the desired result. Often becomes the cause of situations leading to death, loss of health or significant financial losses.
Greed
Pathological desire for personal material gain in any situation. Gaining profit at any cost becomes the only source of positive emotions in life. At the same time, the duration of pleasant sensations from the benefits received is extremely short-lived - due to the uncontrolled constant desire to enrich oneself even more.
apathy
The absence of an emotional reaction to most external stimuli due to a particular temperament or due to the body's defensive reaction to stress. It is one of the reasons for the impossibility of achieving even simple goals due to the inability or unwillingness to concentrate, to make strong-willed efforts.
carelessness
Careless fulfillment of obligations due to unwillingness to act according to the rules already known to all or misunderstanding of the algorithms necessary for the quick and least costly achievement of existing goals. Often this is a typical negative character trait of a woman who has just escaped from excessive parental care.
Indifference
Real or deliberately demonstrated lack of interest in a particular subject, object, event, duties due to innate emotional coldness, experienced severe stress or, instilled from infancy, a sense of superiority over people with a different social status, a different faith, nationality, race.
Irresponsibility
Consciously chosen, imposed during upbringing or due to moral immaturity, the position of refusal from a real awareness of the consequences of one's own actions, unwillingness to make decisions that affect one's own and others' quality of life. In difficult everyday situations, active actions are not carried out because of the expectation that the problem will resolve itself.
Facelessness
The absence of individual traits, because of which an individual subject is easily “lost” in the general mass of people like him. In the process of communication, the “gray man” does not arouse sympathy because of his obsession with uninteresting topics, in the team he is uninitiative, boring, afraid of innovations and opposes them in every possible way.
Ruthlessness
Emotional indifference to other people's troubles, inability or unwillingness to sympathize, sympathize with people in particular and living beings in general, experiencing physical or emotional pain. Sometimes it is deliberate inhumanity in actions that cause suffering and even death of the objects chosen as victims.
impudence
Intentional or unconscious violation of the norms, the sequence of actions adopted in a given society in relation to a particular situation. The reason for deliberate swagger may be the desire to provoke a conflict or draw attention to one's own person, unconscious - errors in education, emotional immaturity.
talkativeness
A painful need to constantly participate in a dialogue with one or more interlocutors, regardless of the content of the conversation, the degree of enthusiasm for it by other participants, the relevance of the conversation. The main goal of such an interlocutor is not to receive new information, but the role of the narrator when in contact with someone. At the same time, he can disseminate information that others would prefer to keep secret.
Windiness
The inability to keep any promises and take into account the interests of others, the lack of the ability to move for a long time in order to achieve one goal, the desire for a constant change in the circle of friends, partners. The absence of principles and clear behavioral boundaries, the rapid fading of interest in a particular occupation, a person.
lust for power
Passionate desire for control over all and the expectation of unquestioning obedience, the desire for unlimited power, especially over the more educated and skillful. Intoxication with one's own superior position in situations where others are forced to seek help or seek protection, material support.
Suggestibility
In a pathological form, this is a subconscious tendency to perceive behavior imposed from outside without one's own conscious understanding and weighing the results of one's actions performed under the influence of someone else's authority. However, reduced suggestibility can cause learning difficulties.
Vulgarity
The inability to find a balance between originality and vulgarity in communication, when choosing clothes, social guidelines, and so on. For example, during a dialogue, the interlocutor communicates in raised tones, mannerisms, and does not disdain greasy jokes. When choosing an outfit, she prefers catchy things, and the constituent elements often do not fit well with each other.
stupidity
The inability or unwillingness to determine logically correct conclusions even from the simplest everyday problems, the tendency to see a healthy grain in pseudoscientific and populist statements, the inability to subject information from sources that are independently elevated to authoritative status to a reasonable critical analysis.
Pride
Confidence in the social, moral, mental insignificance of others, the inability to forgive for personal and other people's mistakes, the denial of the possibility of having worthy features in other subjects of society. It develops against the background of distortions made in education, degradation of the personality due to illness, immaturity of the personality, coupled with a high social status.
Coarseness
Unwillingness to adhere to a polite, accepted in a normal society format of communication with interlocutors due to personality deformation due to illness, injury, stress, or the frequent need to take a defensive position when encroaching on territory and rights. Typical manifestations: communication in raised tones, rudeness, obscene language.
Greed, avarice
The desire to minimize costs even to the detriment of health, basic hygiene and common sense. The pathological pursuit of material stability can manifest itself in the form of a refusal to get rid of garbage, rubbish, ignoring the reasonable requests of a loved one to purchase essentials.
Cruelty
The desire to cause discomfort to living subjects for the sake of personal moral satisfaction. The impact on the victim can be both intangible - in the form of insults and refusal to satisfy some important emotional needs, and physical - through causing pain, torment, encroachment on life.
Forgetfulness
The inability to remember some data necessary in everyday life, a combination of actions to achieve a specific goal, an algorithm for starting or turning off the device. It occurs due to age-related changes in the brain, information overload. May be the result of a stressful situation that you want to forget.
Addiction
The desire to enjoy the performance of actions or the use of a certain substance, even if the source of pleasant emotions is harmful to health, relationships with others, leads to large amounts of money, pushes to a crime because of the desire to achieve a "high", in the absence of legal access to it.
Envy
Inability to enjoy any personal benefits, achievements, qualities. The tendency to constantly compare the values of oneself and others. Moreover, the “crumbs” on the other side always seem larger, tastier and more desirable than their own “placers”. In a pathological form, it deprives of cheerfulness, the ability to soberly assess one's own and other people's merits.
Complexity
Constant belittling in one's own eyes of one's own natural talents, trained abilities, denial of the value of personal developments, inability to force oneself to declare personal achievements in a circle of authoritative persons. It is formed due to excessively strict upbringing, psychological trauma or a disease of the nervous system.
boredom
The habit of teaching everyone and everywhere, repeatedly discussing the same topic, despite the obvious lack of interest in it among people who are trying to be drawn into a dialogue. The reason lies in the pathological love of attention and endless conversations on any topic, even if the instigator of the conversation is a complete layman in the topic under discussion.
Anger
An emotional manifestation of strong dissatisfaction with something, a landmark indicating the presence of conditions that are clearly uncomfortable for a person. In the absence of actions that eliminate the cause of the formation of feelings, over time it can push to commit an offense, so you should not ignore the manifestations of anger.
pampered
It is a bad habit to demand the fulfillment of one's desire as soon as possible, without taking into account the capabilities of the one to whom the claim is made. The refusal to control and restrain one's own needs, to endure the slightest inconvenience, and to personally make emotional and physical efforts to achieve what one wants.
Laziness
Lack of desire to strain for personal needs, a tendency to idle pastime all day long. In behavior, there is a desire to obtain comfort at the expense of the work of others, a deep aversion to useful activity, even in minimal volumes. When applying for a job, this negative character trait for a resume should not be indicated.
deceitfulness
Conscious systematic statement of unreliable information to interlocutors for slanderous purposes, for their own benefit or masking personal mistakes in some activity. The pathological form is inherent in self-doubt individuals who try to impress others with fictional stories about themselves.
Hypocrisy
Feigned assurances of love, sincere admiration and goodwill towards the interlocutor during a conversation with him. The purpose of such behavior is fawning and the desire to flatter for one's own benefit, while hiding the true, perhaps even malicious, moods towards the participant in the dialogue or the object of the conversation.
Flattery
The tendency to excessive constant praise aloud of other people's real and imaginary virtues, virtues, for the sake of their own self-interest. Knowingly negative actions, the actions of an influential person, specially whitewashed by a flatterer and voiced by him as the only correct decision in the situation under consideration, can also turn out to be an object of exaltation.
Curiosity
In a pathological form, this is the desire to find out information of interest, regardless of decency, personal feelings of the interrogated and the situation of the situation in which communication takes place. The cause of unhealthy curiosity is a painful desire to be aware of even those events that are not related to the person showing interest.
Pettiness
The habit of attaching great importance to their insignificant statements, actions. The widespread sticking out of their imaginary achievements as opposed to the really important and heroic deeds of the people around them. Attention to mediocre details at the expense of values, the desire for reporting on household expenses up to "one thousandth".
revenge
The tendency to focus personal attention on all minor and major troubles, worldly conflicts, far-fetched grievances, so that over time, it is imperative to pay handsomely to each of the offenders. At the same time, the duration of the time period from the moment of receiving a real or imaginary insult does not matter.
Impudence
Unceremonious behavior in any situation, the desire to achieve what you want at minimal cost and "over the heads" of others. Such behavior is formed due to improper upbringing, because of a difficult childhood, or, conversely, because of spoiledness, which has consolidated the habit of always getting what you want at any cost.
Arrogance
The perception of the majority of others as subjects of a deliberately lower category due to a fictitious difference in social status or a real difference in material, national, racial or other grounds. The reason may be a defensive reaction to the wounding of pride in the past or distortions in education.
Annoyance
Inability or unwillingness to independently deal with emerging problems, have fun or relax. The reason may lie in emotional immaturity, fear of loneliness, the desire to increase self-esteem through active participation in the lives of other people, even if they experience obvious discomfort from this and openly declare it.
narcissism
Unreasonable and unreasonable self-praise, narcissism under any circumstances, the desire to embellish the results of their actions and the actions taken themselves, selfishness, indifference not only to strangers, but also to close people, only interested in personal comfort and benefit.
Negligence
Unwillingness to qualitatively fulfill the obligations taken or assigned, neglect in behavior with people in domestic or professional relations, insufficient attention to entrusted values, inability - due to poor education or personal deformation, to understand the importance of diligence when working on something.
Touchiness
An increased negative reaction to everyday troubles due to hypertrophied egoism. It is because of him that you want the world to spin at your feet, and those around you, forgetting about your own needs, meet your expectations around the clock and all year round: they are polite, generous and caring, striving to provide someone else's comfort.
Limitation
Confidence that the true picture of the world is available only to you, and other explanations of the structure of the universe and the principles of interaction between man and the environment are a complete invention of narrow-minded dorks. It arises due to insufficient education, a congenital developmental defect that prevents adequate assimilation of educational information.
Alarmism
The tendency to accept as reality the imaginary catastrophic consequences of any, even minor incidents in one's own life and the world as a whole. It is a manifestation of a bad upbringing by a reinsurer, an overly violent fantasy or a disorder of the nervous system due to stress, illness.
vulgarity
A penchant for frilly outfits, demonstrating real or ostentatious material security through the acquisition of unnecessary luxury items. Or, and sometimes both, passion for sebaceous jokes, obscene anecdotes, often voiced in an absolutely inappropriate environment for the sake of causing a feeling of embarrassment in the majority of listeners.
Irritability
A negative reaction to an irritant, expressed in an excessive manifestation of emotions, the saturation of which does not correspond to the strength of the impact of an unpleasant factor for some reason. The cause of irritability can be external or internal, caused by congestion of the nervous system or exhaustion of the body by a disease.
extravagance
The inability to rationally spend income, including the desire to systematically or constantly make acquisitions for the sake of the process itself, and not for the purpose of exploiting the purchased item or thing. It is based on the desire to feel like a "master of the world", to correspond to the status of a financially secure person.
Jealousy
Showing dissatisfaction or distrust of the subject, which has a certain value for the jealous. It is expressed as a suspicion of infidelity or a greater emotional predisposition to another person (in the place of the accused there may be not only a spouse, but also a mother, sister, friend - the list can be endless).
Samoyedism
The habit of justifiably and unreasonably accusing oneself of a multitude of sins of various magnitudes. For example, in insufficient attention to the performance of duties, although in reality at work or in relationships a person gives all the best. Possible reasons: low self-esteem, actively supporting an interested environment, perfectionism.
self-confidence
Unreasonable exaltation of one's abilities, supposedly allowing one to cope with a certain or any task. It is the cause of bragging and risky acts, often committed with a rejection of the rules of safety, the laws of physics and the arguments of logic. It is based on inexperience, dependence on the desire to live on the verge of a foul.
weak will
Lack of ability to perform an effort of will for the sake of a desired goal or to resist dangerous, illegal temptations, morally degraded individuals. The tendency to submit to other people's decisions, even when they require serious sacrifices. Such a negative character trait of a man can make him the object of ridicule in the team.
Cowardice
The inability to resist the opponent due to insufficiently developed willpower, susceptibility to a phobia. It can be expressed as a flight from the scene of some events due to an imaginary or real danger to one's own health, life, despite the fact that other possible participants in the incident are left in danger.
Vanity
The desire to receive praise for real and imaginary merits. The desire to first of all have a positive image, and not be worthy of compliments. Illegibility in the quality of voiced approvals - flattery is also perceived favorably. Moreover, it is not always possible to distinguish it from sincere statements.
Stubbornness
The desire to act only according to one's own ideas about the correctness of the chosen path, the rejection of authorities, ignoring the well-known rules, purely because of the habit of acting the way one has decided. Lack of ability to be flexible in the face of a conflict of interests, unwillingness or inability to take into account the goals and capabilities of others.
selfishness
Conscious selfishness, the desire to live in comfort, regardless of the possible inconvenience that follows from this for others. Their interests are always exalted above the desires of other people, the opinions of the latter on this and other occasions are never taken into account. All decisions are based solely on self-interest.
Psychologists call character a combination of personality traits that determine its behavior. You can make many lists with traits of human characters. If two people are given the task of characterizing a third, their lists will differ from each other. People don't think about how character affects their success or failure. But, considering the individual qualities that make up the character, it is easy to understand how they affect the personality as a whole. Character traits of a person develop depending on the type of nervous activity, heredity, and the environment of education. They form throughout life. The predominance of certain traits determines a person's lifestyle.
Human character traits: list
Many psychologists divide all character traits into 4 main groups:
- Attitude towards others;
- attitude towards oneself;
- Attitude to material values;
- Attitude towards work.
Within each group, many qualities can be distinguished.
For example, the list of traits of the "attitude towards others" group:
- compassion;
- respect;
- reliability;
- flexibility;
- politeness;
- the ability to forgive;
- generosity;
- Gratitude;
- hospitality;
- justice;
- meekness;
- obedience;
- loyalty;
- sincerity;
- tolerance;
- truthfulness.
Character traits: list of the group "attitude towards oneself":
- Caution;
- Contentment (understanding that true happiness does not depend on material conditions);
- Creation;
- Determination;
- Courage;
- Attentiveness;
- Endurance;
- Faith;
- Honor;
- Initiative;
- Self control.
“Attitude towards material values” can be characterized by the following qualities:
- Thrift;
- organization;
- Generosity;
- Wisdom.
"Attitude towards work" demonstrates the qualities of character:
- industriousness;
- Enthusiasm;
- Initiative;
- Punctuality;
Psychologists also have a classification of character traits according to volitional, emotional and intellectual characteristics. Personality properties appear in combinations. For example, benevolence, generosity and hospitality, as a rule, are characteristic of the same person. Characterizing a person, others highlight the leading features or a set of features. Saying, “He is a kind and sincere guy” or “She is lazy and disorganized,” people emphasize the main thing. This does not mean that a lazy girl cannot be kind and honest. It's just that these traits do not dominate her behavior.
Positive and negative character traits
For harmonious interaction in all four areas (with society, material values, work and oneself), a person must demonstrate his best qualities and minimize the worst. Traditionally, it is customary to single out “pluses” and “minuses” in characterizing a person. Every positive trait has its opposite. Even children easily name antonyms: “kind - evil”, “hard-working - lazy”, etc. It is difficult to define unambiguously positive character traits. For example, for the professions of a teacher, seller, doctor, waiter, such traits as benevolence, politeness, tolerance are important. These qualities are not essential for the work of a programmer, accountant, draftsman, who need organization, punctuality, and responsibility more.
There is a special concept of "professional character traits". A pronounced quality, suitable for a particular job, helps a person achieve great professional success. At the same time, character is formed throughout life. The profession leaves its mark on the personality. Therefore, when they say “he is an exemplary policeman”, everyone understands that we are talking about a disciplined, courageous, fair person. The expression "teacher from God" means a kind, wise, tolerant person. A person who dreams of a good career should develop in himself the best qualities of his profession.
Good character traits are controversial in the ordinary sense. Being generous is good, but if a person distributes necessary property because of generosity, his family and himself suffer. Obedience, for which a child is praised at home and in kindergarten, can harm him and form a weak-willed, passive personality.
It is much easier for people to understand negative character traits. We can say that these qualities are universal. Anger, envy, deceit, laziness, greed are included in the list of deadly sins of Christians. But such properties are negatively perceived by people of all faiths. Muslims consider hypocrisy to be the worst sin. Equally dislike hypocrites in all countries, among all peoples. The negative character traits of a person, if they appear in a complex, make the person very unattractive to others. Negative characters - quarrelsome neighbors, quarrelsome colleagues, evil relatives. These are people who have brought the negative aspects of their nature to the extreme.
Each person is to some extent deceitful, envious, quick-tempered, but reasonable people try not to demonstrate their negative qualities to others. Negative aspects of character can be corrected. If others often say: “You are too rude”, “It is difficult to communicate with you because of your arrogance”, you need to draw conclusions and start working on yourself. Psychologists advise you to write down the negative qualities of your character on a piece of paper and work with each one individually. For example, you can remember among your acquaintances a person who behaves exactly the opposite of you - not rude, but correct, not quick-tempered, but patient. You need to imagine yourself in a certain situation in the place of this person. At the same time, it is important to conjure up a real picture and real emotions. Such psycho-emotional training helps to reconfigure behavior and develop the desired quality in oneself.
Adaptation of character to society
Any culture, people and civilizations have certain limits of behavior. Man cannot exist outside of society. From childhood, the child has to adapt to the requirements of the environment - family, kindergarten, school. An adult is influenced by many social forces, from spouses to politics, religion, social stratum. The character of a person involuntarily adapts to the requirements of society. At the same time, many of the natural inclinations of the individual are subjected to pressure.
History knows many examples when brilliantly gifted people came into conflict with the environment because of the impossibility of leading the lifestyle that their nature demanded. At the same time, social norms allow a person to lead a safe life in the society around him. Such social traits as loyalty, tolerance, politeness allow painless contact with others. The rejection of social norms, above all, laws and morality, creates an asocial personality.
In modern psychology there is a term "national character traits". Each nation forms some common, typical features of behavior among its representatives. For example:
- The peoples of Northern Europe and the Americans are self-confident, honest, practical, stubborn, freedom-loving. The conservatism and subtle humor of the British, the punctuality of the Germans, and the taciturnity of the Scandinavians are well known.
- Residents of Southern Europe and Latin America are energetic, temperamental, emotional, cheerful, sensual. A romantic Italian, a passionate Spaniard, a charming Frenchwoman, restless Brazilians - there is a lot of reality in these stereotypes;
- Representatives of Eastern Europe (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs) love constancy, are generous, generous, selfless, responsive, prone to repentance and forgiveness. A common stereotype - the "mysterious Russian soul" has many reasons.
- The peoples of the East are much more respectful of their parents and, in general, elders than Europeans. For Eastern societies, much more than for European ones, hospitality, family honor, dignity, modesty, benevolence, tolerance are characteristic.
Features that have a social character are inextricably linked with religious norms. Christian moral standards include the following qualities:
- Lack of envy;
- Chastity;
- Meekness;
- Generosity;
- Sociability;
- Compassion.
The influence of religious culture in the history of society is very strong. Even modern atheists of European countries consider the main Christian value - love for people - to be the best personality trait.
Islamic society forms the following features in people:
- Respect for elders;
- Hospitality;
- Modesty;
- Courage;
- Humility.
Features of the character of men and women
A huge role in the formation of character is played by the gender of a person. Not only the characteristics of sex develop certain qualities, but also public opinion. Standard character traits of a man:
- Leadership;
- The ability to protect;
- inner strength;
- Reliability;
- Loyalty;
Women are guided more by intuition and feelings than by reason, they are more talkative, soft in communication, cunning. Of course, in most cases, women and men correspond to their gender characteristics. But it has not yet been studied in detail, which has more influence on the formation of gender traits - nature or upbringing. Often men and women have to fulfill the role that society imposes on them. For example, medieval society ordered a woman to be modest, obedient to her parents and husband. Modernity demands more independence from a woman.
The world is full of men and women who do not fit the accepted characteristics. Many girls have leadership and organizational skills. And, on the contrary, a large number of men are delicate, not aggressive and emotional.
At what age is character formed
Any mother who has raised several children will tell you that all her babies were completely different from infancy. Even infants react differently to food, bathing, and play. There are temperamental, noisy babies, there are quiet and inactive ones. Here heredity affects, as well as natural temperament, which depends on the physique, health and conditions of education.
The character traits of the child develop under the influence, first of all, of the family. Responsible loving parents already at the age of three or four years see what type of temperament the baby got from nature: choleric, sanguine phlegmatic or melancholic. Depending on innate qualities, it is possible to form a positive, socially acceptable character. If there is no love and attention to children in the family, they are less likely to grow up to be friendly and hardworking. On the other hand, the examples of many prominent politicians, writers, artists who grew up in disadvantaged conditions confirm the importance of innate character traits and self-education.
Was last modified: August 2nd, 2016 by Elena Pogodaeva
