Psychology of personality
The course of mental processes at each concrete man depends on properties of the person. The person is the conscious individual with all set of the individual psychological processes and physiological reactions, with own outlook and experience , which carries out the public function.
The person is characterized by its important proof properties, which are found out with complete constancy in different kinds of mental reaction and feature of man acts in different circumstances. The abilities and orientation of the person, temperament, character, concern to the basic mental properties of the man.
The temperament is the individual features of the men caused by a type of his maximum nervous activity . From times of ancient
1. Excitable, uncontrollable type. Strong but unbalanced, with weak brake processes (choleric).
2. Vigorous type. Strong, counterbalanced and mobile (sanguine person).
3. Quiet, slow type. Strong, counterbalanced and inactive (phlegmatic person).
4. Weak type. The processes of excitation and braking are advanced poorly (melancholic).
Earlier was considered, that the temperament depends only on born properties of mentality. Nevertheless, in Pavlov laboratories was experimentally proved, that the formation of typology features of animals behaviour considerably is influenced by conditions of life.
Experiment: one group of puppies were divided into two groups. One group was held in a crate from the birth , and second developed independently. When those and others have grown up, has appeared, that the animals, which was in a crate, cowardly, are braked at insignificant changes of an environment, and those that were developed independently, hold themselves normally. It is explained by that ” a reflex of natural care “, that has temporary character, in adequate conditions disappears and is replaced ” with a research reflex “, in other adverse conditions remains and prevents an animal to be guided in environment correctly. It also happened with the first group puppies, which was brought up in a crate.
The opportunity to change behaviour at a weak type of nervous system by long training and special approach to an animal is experimentally proved .
The change of displays of temperament with influence of vital conditions and education in particular expressively acts at the man. The vital cases are known which testify that children of a weak type, which show timidity, bashfulness, are lost in a new environment, show reticence, and owing to correct organization of their life and education, become courageous, active, initiative, companionable etc. On the contrary, incorrectly organized life of the child, its excessive trusteeship, restriction and oppression of its independence conduct to formation of negative features of its behaviour. The hothouse environment at education can result that the man with strong nervous system , remains the coward (Pavlov).
The characteristic of the basic types of temperaments.
The characteristics of choleric temperament are : the positive reflexes are developed easily and remain proof under various conditions, the brake reflexes are developed with difficulty. The difficult meeting of two opposite processes – excitable and brake – results in failure of nervous activity on the part of braking. The choleric type is a dashing type, which irritated easily and is quickly (Pavlov).
Circle activity and behaviour is characteristic him . He can admire with work, which interests him, overcome any difficulties on ways to the purpose vigorously, but if the influence of the unexpected facts (the not deserved insult etc.) comes ” he is in bad arrangement of spirit . The inconstancy of an spirit arrangement and circle of behaviour is a consequence of his maximum nervous activity unbalance, which is expressed in prevalence of excitable process, insufficiency of brake process and in particular of brain activity unbalance. In particular it is observed under difficult circumstances, if the people of this type caot find the correct decision, and also at strong emotional stresses.
The circle in behaviour and experiences of choleric explains so: if the strong man does not have a balance excitation and braking, he “passioning for any business, excessively use the opportunities and forces, eventually overstrains, is exhausted more, thaecessary works “on deterioration” “.
Strong-willed actions of choleric are gusty. In goods spirit arrangement, at performance of fascinating business he is capable to strong concentration of attention, but shows insufficient ability to complex of reactivity and switching of attention. Choleric is easy excitable and has emotional reactivity. Sometimes emotional generalisation is observed. He is sharp in the relations, rectilinear, can work long time tirelessly.
The displays of choleric temperament depend on motivation of man activity. At the people with serious public interests it finds the display in the initiatives, vigorous, basic actions. If there are no such interests, he can be found out in affective experiences, eretism and etc.
The choleric type, which is strong, is raised excitable and the uncontrollable type finds out in different variants. The important is played by the parity of brain.
Disharmony in interaction between activities of the parts of brain is more ledges, than more excitable departments and than more weak influence of the large hemispheres (Krasnogorsky). The degree of optimum dissonance interaction between brain activities predetermines various variants of an uncontrollable type.
At sanguine type of temperament the excitable and brake conditional reflexes arise easily and they are strong. At collision of two opposite nervous processes the failures of maximum nervous activity are not observed. The sanguine people are raised easily and break the desires easily. The sanguine person is very productive figure, but only then, if he has a lot of interesting business (when there is a constant excitation), if those is not present, he begins to bore, becomes languid, apathetic (Pavlov).
The sanguine person is very mobile, due to steadiness of nervous processes he adapts to new conditions of life easily, quickly finds contact in the relations with the people, he is sociably, he holds himself freely in a circle of the new people. Among the comrades he is cheerful, he incurs organizing duties with readiness. His feelings arise very easily and change easily. His arrangement of spirit is mostly optimistically.
The fast and easy formation of new temporary nervous connections at sanguine person, their easy processing, mobility of a stereotype is found out in flexibility of his intellectual activity. He seizes all new quickly and has complex reactivity, easy switching of attention. The unconditional reflexes are completely adjusted by functionally strong brain. Its reaction at sanguine person is intensive and usually appropriate to force of irritators. Characteristic for sanguine person is an optimum interaction of brain, he supervises the emotions easily according to environment.
The features of sanguine person temperament are shown differently, depending on an orientation of man activity. The people, which has no serious interests in life, are levity, emptily, instable.
The phlegmatic temperament is characterized by that conditional reflexes at the persons, arise more slowly, than at sanguine person, but they are also rather proof. The reactions adapted to force of conditional reflexes optimum, the people of this type react to influences of environment adequately: weak irritators will cause weak reaction, strong – strong reaction, but as they are the inertly they quite often have not time to react to changes of environment fast.
Phlegmatic person has normal interaction between brain processes. It gives them an opportunity to supervise, to detain and to adjust unconditional reflexes and emotions. In the behaviour, in conversation they are slow, quiet and slow. Their mimic is expressed insufficiently. They raise the activity and try to overcome obstacles any ways, when there are difficulties.
Phlegmatic person is quiet, always equal, persevering and persistent worker of life (Pavlov). He has assiduity, stability of attention. Switching of attention little bit slowed down, complex reactivity is high. At presence of strong braking at phlegmatic person , which counterbalances process of excitation, he easily receives the pulses, works concentrated, adheres to the produced schedule of life precisely. Collateral external irritators do not prevent him from the basic work.
The feelings arise more slowly at phlegmatic person , than at sanguine and choleric, but are marked by force, duration and at the same time restraint in the external displays, weak expressiveness. In usual conditions phlegmatic person is quiet, equal in the relations with other people, is rare ” leaves itself “, is not declined to affects, on a measure companionable, does not like vainly chattering. He has the large patience and self-control owing to what achieves high efficiency of the work. It is possible to consider, that the inertness of nervous system is parameters of speed in its work, and high parameters of durability of separate communications and their systems. The features of his temperament are differently shown depending on breadth, substantial and public importance of interests and his level of intellectual development.
The maximum nervous activity of melancholic is characterized by weakness of excitable and brake processes. The positive conditional reflexes are unstable, from the change of an environment is easily broken. The reactions of melancholic frequently do not answer the law of irritator’s force. They have particular weak internal braking with prevalence of external braking. The easy deviation of attention, low complex reactivity, not long-term concentration on objects of activity is inherent to them. Weakness of braking and unbalance between excitable and brake processes result that any strong influence of environmental on melancholic will cause him stagnant brake condition.
Melancholic experiences change of a vital environment hardly, which demands change of dynamic stereotypes. The man of a weak type, getting iew conditions of life, is lost (Pavlov). He is declined to aesthetic emotions. He is impressionable. The feelings of melancholic are marked by a slowness of the course, stability and weak expressiveness. For melancholic frequently characteristic is suffering protective reflex, reflex of natural care. That is why he can be excessively constraining, latent, timid, and irresolute. In quiet and usual environment melancholic feels well, he is perfect worker and successfully consults with vital tasks.
The described types of temperaments in the pure kind happen in life seldom. In the majority of the people the features of different temperaments are united. Therefore it is hardly to relate this or that concrete man to the certain temperament.
The temperament – does not define abilities of the man and this or that temperament is neither bad, nor good, it becomes bad or good depending on other qualities of the person. So for example, at a low moral level of the choleric person can appear extremely negative features: fieriness and roughness, propensity to affective flares, which will disorganize activity of this man and environmental. On the contrary, at presence of high public ideals and appropriate proof moral belief of choleric person temperament feature are found out in passion, energy and indefatigability, in qualities, which are useful in responsible business, which demand the large pressure and urgent performance. Phlegmatic will carry out expensive work, irrespective of it is interesting whether not, but the rate of performance will be a little bit slow. The sanguine person rallies the collective around of him, “unloads” adverse conditions perfectly. Melancholic is irreplaceable in cases, extreme delicateness is necessary for the decision of a problem.
The medical worker should know features of temperament and structure of the person at dialogue with the patients and their relatives. It is necessary to remember, that for sanguine and choleric characteristic is exstravertness that their reactions and activity depend mainly on action of the external factors, which will cause the certain impression at the given moment. For phlegmatic and melancholic persons characteristic is introvertness, and their activity is appreciably determined by representations and ideas connected to the past and the future. That is why sanguine and choleric persons, at once will react to your remark, phlegmatic and in particular melancholic person from the outside caot give to appreciable reaction, but will experience this remark long time.
Except for temperaments, which are characterized by different force, by steadiness and mobility of brain processes of maximum nervous system at the people are characterized; also by parity of two alarm systems. The features of these parities give to mental activity of the man specific human types of validity display.
Pavlov has established, that there are two basic categories of the people: artists and thinkers. There is a sharp difference between them. The artists and writers, the musicians etc. – seize the alive validity wholly and completely, without any splitting and separation. Others thinkers split it, take it to the detailed analysis, and then gradually collect its parts, therefore receive something closer to abstract concept, instead of alive validity.
There is the mixed type, which meets most frequently and has features of both types. In the patients with an art type the imagination is extremely advanced, they seize and can by individually external displays of illness, which have seen in other patients. “Thinkers” subject to the analysis everything, in each phenomenon, including the illness, aspire to learn essence. It is necessary to remember these features at dialogue with the patients.
Character. The character is the set of the most important features of the person, which define its strong-willed qualities, and also most typical ways of the relation to the environmental people, to the activity and to themselves and basic type of psychological reaction in various situations.
The character is formed on the basis of temperament, but these concepts are not identical: 1) the temperament defines basically, dynamic party of psychological processes, and character – their orientation; 2) the temperament in the pure state can be defined at children, and character – in more mature age; 3) the temperament is mostly shown – in usual circumstances, and the most essential character traits – in critical and extreme circumstances (melancholic capable to make a heroic act); 4) against temperament and parity of alarm systems, which depend basically on the born factor, the character is mostly defined by influence of education, training, relations in family, collective and social environment in which the person is living. The necessary character features of medical worker are brightly expressed moderation, adherence to principle, resoluteness, courage, boldness, modesty, goodwill, the severity and in particular empathy for the medical worker empathy is a parameter of professional suitability. Except for revealing and elimination of the reason of disease medical worker should be able actively interfere in a mental condition of the patient, giving the appropriate help.
Those medical workers have, in which the high professional training is united with the advanced feeling of a duty, moral and sincere qualities.
Practically all patients have authority, estimating the person of medical worker put the relation to themselves on the first place and give advantage to such qualities, as attentiveness, sympathy, honesty and adherence to principle. Not all patients understand expediency of medical and diagnostic procedures, but all of them feel necessity in empathy, warm words, and sincere support.
The maot always objectively estimates the character. Environmental cannot always estimate the man correctly. The usual bashfulness and the indecision, is possible to treat as pride, excessiveness and isolation, if it is difficult to the confused man to enter contact.
V.Guygo considered, that each man has three characters: that he attributes to himself, that attribute others to him and, eventually, that actually has he.
The behaviour of the same man in different situations is different. Such different styles of behaviour are defined by that the man during the vital experience in different situations carries out different roles and develops so-called ” masks of character “. For example, the chief on the workplace acts in a “mask” of the chief and demonstrates force of will, resoluteness, insistence, adherence to principle, etc. On reception at the chief he uses other mask: discipline, obedience, skill to please to the spirit arrangement of the chief etc. In a family this man acts in a role of the fond man for the wife, careful father of children. During rest with the friends he plays a role of good comrade, soul of the company of the interesting interlocutor etc. Mature person in different situations should behave on any other business, adequately of the real circumstances. In other words, the man should develop in itself many masks of character and be able by to use them adequately. If the man in different situation behaves equally, it testifies about so-called rigidly of character, it will be heavy to adapt in a community. If the man uses masks only for maintenance of the needs (requirements) and makes nothing for others, this man is selfish hypocrite and people will understand it. If the man uses all sincere qualities only for the boon of others and does not care himself, he is a strange man. The character masks of the mature person should serve both man and environmental. The speciality of the medical worker demands to develop in it the certain features of the actor to play the role at work and in life adequately. The medical sister should behave in different ways at dialogue with the doctors, younger medical personnel, patients with different characters, visitors etc.
Except for masks of character each man has the basic, rod qualities, which characterize the man and basically define styles of his behaviour and life. For example, one – is resolute, and other is compliant, someone avaricious, and other is generous etc. Nevertheless most essential features of the person are decency or dishonourableness. Levels of decency of conscience appreciably define all mental processes and activity of the man. For example, the considerable man will perceive, comprehend, emotionally experience misfortune of other man and will act on one way, and dishonourable and unscrupulous absolutely on another. It is clear, that using adequately to circumstances by the appropriate mask of character, the medical sister should always remain the deeply considerable, diligent person with the well-advanced feeling of empathy.
There are a lot of characters and it is impossible to count them. Let’s describe expansive and impressive types (V.N.Myasnishchev). Expansive type (or extravert person), quite often, display their experiences bright and noisy; impressive type (or introvert) on the contrary – experience in itself with braking of external emotional reactions.
Most favourable is a descriptive designation of character with the help of the most expressed features. It is widely applied in practical life, in the literature, medicine. For example: selfish, altruistic, egocentric (can act in a mask of the altruist, but from personal motives), closed, companionable, imperious, patronizing, pedantic, obstinate, resolute, irresolute, pensive, practical, indifferent, immoral (liars, swindlers, adventurers), active (active), lazy (passive), quiet, hysterical (egocentric, phantasia, raised emotively and impressiveness), disturbing – hypochondriac character (suspiciousness, persuasive fears,) and other.
The medical workers should be able estimate the main character traits of the patients correctly to choose adequate style of dialogue with them. Besides a correct self-estimation of the character and laborious work above education of professional, moral and strong-willed qualities necessary for the help by the patient is obligatory.
The important meaning for the characteristic of the person has an orientation of the man, feature of his needs, interests and ideals, and also his ability and talents.
The need is display in consciousnesses of need in something. The needs induce the man to action, force him to aspire to the certain object or activity. The needs (in a feed, safety, continuation of a sort etc.) are born and change during the life, but usually there are age features. The needs are developed with the help of environmental influence first of all social conditions, and is not passive, and are brought up actively, and the important role is played also by self-education of needs. Needs are approximately identical at the different people, but requirement are different and every man has original. One man like meat foods, others – vegetable. And it does not depend on physiological features of the given man, but from the environment, that he grows in, what food he used to eat. The requirement for clothes is both material and spiritual. A choice of clothes the people are guided not only need in support of comfortable temperature of a body, but also both aesthetic and moral factors. One will give advantage to convenient clothes, others only to bright, still others to fashionable.
As well as the feelings spiritual needs are divided on moral, aesthetic and intellectual. Because the feelings arise at satisfaction, or unsatisfaction of spiritual needs.
The moral needs are needs for the certain mutual relation with other people, with a society. At the different people they are different. Sometimes the need for dialogue is strongly expressed. In one the need to supervise over the people is developed, others are inclined to submit. It is important to the future medical worker to develop the need to help the people, to sympathize with them. At wrong education, shameful moral needs (need to neglect the people, to bring them suffering, to live at their expense) can be developed.
The aesthetic needs – are the needs to perceive beautiful and harmony nature, works of art and mutual relation between people. Not developed aesthetic needs are displayed on industrial activity of the man. In particular it is bad, if the aesthetic needs are not advanced in medicine. They will not aspire to make better the life of the patients; will not use the aesthetic influences, as an effective medical means.
The intellectual needs – are needs for knowledge new, in the decision of tasks, in disclosing secrets. The development of these needs causes the aspiration to scientific knowledge of phenomena essence, stimulates observation, and develops logic thinking.
Interests. The orientation of the person is in its interests. The interest is in an orientation on the certain objects, aspiration to learn them, to take possession of them.
The interest of the person is indissolubly connected with cognitive activity and in particular with its thinking. Object of interest is that is already in any measure it got to know and at the same time carries in itself a lot of not clear parties. Interest, as it was marked is by a condition of formation of new connections and at the same time it bases on earlier formed systems.
Nevertheless it is impossible to consider interest as especially cognitive property of the person. The positive emotional moments, the emotional appeal of object, interested relation of the person to it differs from indifferent relation. The interest is experienced by the man as a condition penetrated by positive emotions. This feature of interest resulted some psychologists in interpretation of it as one of the feelings (more often intellectual) or as special ” propensities of feeling “.
The orientation of the person is characterized by interests that prevail by their importance, by united of public and individual interests. The important role in her characteristic is played also by breadth of interests, association of the certain central interest, and its other interests, and also depth, stability(resistance) and effectiveness of its interests . The presence of such interests, which are found out in various activity of the person, is enriched with its mental life, variety it, lifts public value of the man. The absence narrows communications of the man with an environment, with other people, connected there in vital process. The people with fine interests are “empty”, they have no vital purposes, which would grasp them, during leisure they are boring, search ways, which would help them to spend time.
Vital purposes and ideals of the person. Together with needs and interests of the person the important role in the characteristic of its orientation is played by the vital purposes, ideals.
The vital purposes of the man are densely connected to his needs and interests. Without this connection they would lose the vital meaning. The ideals are closely connected to the vital purposes of the person. The ideal is aspires of the given person to, which is formed, whom it wants to become in the future, what qualities wish to own. The ideal is an image of the man, which serves for the given person a sample of life.
The ideal of the people is formed under influence of public conditions. They have concrete – historical character. It is easy to be convinced of it, having compared, for example, ideals of adult, young men and girl in pre-revolutionary Russia with ideals of our teenagers and young men.
Belief of the person. The orientation of the person is characterized also by its belief. Belief are the certain knowledge, in correctness and vital importance of which the man is deeply sure also which serve to him a manual to action. The force and hardness of belief bases not only on logic validity of this knowledge, their all-round reasonableness, and on understanding of their vital importance, vital sense authorized by experience of the man.
Among belief of the person in particular important meaning have the moral belief, which direct its public behaviour. This concept is about relations of the people, their acts and qualities, about norms and rule of behaviour, in validity and importance of which person was deeply convinced, which it has accepted, to which it has got used. The comprehension becomes a manual in its relations with other people, the observance them is experienced by it as a duty, and performance of it is the business of its honour and maximum moral satisfaction. In moral belief, as well as in other belief of the man, public and personal is indissolubly united.
One of essential features of the human person is its abilities. It is proof properties of the man, which come to light in his educational, industrial and other activity and represent a necessary condition of his success.
The individual features of man are found out in rates of his abilities development, taking possession of knowledge and skills in different spheres of activity and begins to show his own creativity and originality.
The appropriate public conditions, interaction of the individual with his environment, his versatile activity is necessary for abilities development.
Musical talent of the man, will not appear and does not become his musical abilities, if this man will not listen to the music, acquire achievement of musical culture and work in the given area. This is concerns and to other abilities of the man. The individual features of abilities are predetermined by: what direction and in what measure during activity under influence of public conditions of existence his natural opportunities are realized in.
The parameter of the natural data presence favourable for development of man abilities is their early display. The biographic facts show that first of all the abilities to music come to light. They were found out in many outstanding composers already in preschool age. So, Roman – Korsakov well distinguished melodies, which were sung by his mother from 2-year’s age, and being 4 years old sang everything, that his father played to him. Motsart in 3 years age began to play on the piano and quickly remembered the heard products. Chaikovskiy, being the 5-year’s boy, easily strummed on a piano the melodies, heard by him. The abilities to drawing at many outstanding artists have come to light rather early. Repin began to draw, being 3 – 4 years old. Surikov recollects, that he began to draw from the childhood, remembers, how drew on morocco chairs. The abilities to literary creativity were found out usually not earlier school age. Poetic abilities of Pushkin were showed in 9 years, at Lermontov – in 10 years. Per 13 years Pushkin and Lermontov printed the products. In the same age L.Ukrainka printed the poetry. Bairon and Shiller have begun to write per 16 years. There are cases of early display of abilities to mathematics (in younger school age).
The early display of abilities is an attribute of good natural data presence for their development. Nevertheless that fact, that the abilities were not found out early, does not testify to absence of these data. The time of display and speed of abilities development depends on his vital circumstances, his education and formation condition. From the biography of the outstanding people we know, that many from them have found out the abilities late. So, Dante, Servantes, Lope-de-Vega only after long vital walking has undertaken the literature and science. Lamark only per 40 years began to study botany, and then zoology. I.A.Krilov only per 40 years has realized the present calling. S.T.Aksakov has written the first book, being 56 years old.
