Character is what makes us unique, makes us stand out from the crowd, and often serves as a source of diverse assessments of others. Someone is sure that our character is heavy or even disgusting, while others consider it to be pure gold. A person is a multifaceted personality, and the assessment of others depends on which side we turn to them. It turns out that there are no bad or good characters, but there are bad and good qualities of a person? Let’s take a look at this.
Character from the point of view of psychology
I think that the word “character” is translated from ancient Greek as “sign” or “seal” is known to many. But in psychology, character is understood not as one quality that leaves an imprint on human behavior, but a complex of traits. They do not exist on their own, but manifest themselves exclusively in different spheres of activity.
You can often hear the statement that character is given from birth. What if a person was born that way? This is actually a myth. Character traits are formed throughout life from early childhood. The content and combination of these traits is influenced by the social environment, life circumstances, culture and traditions of society.
Congenital features of the psyche or temperament also affect the character warehouse, but this influence is not absolute, but mediated by the interaction of a person and society. Human nature is, as it were, polished by society. Therefore, with age, the character can change – some features become brighter, more distinct, while others seem to be muffled, go into the shadows.
About a person whose character traits are manifested clearly and leave an imprint on all his behavior, they say that he has a strong character. Weakness is manifested in the inconstancy, instability of personal qualities that make up the character warehouse. For example, when at home a person manifests himself as a narcissistic tyrant, and at work – as a coward and sycophant.
Thus, the character is a multi-colored mosaic, from the individual elements of which a unique image of the personality is formed. Speaking about the formation and development of character, they mean its individual features, important, significant for the existence of a person in society. And in each society in different historical epochs, these can be completely different personality traits.
Character traits and their classification
Any person has many qualities and properties, features of the nervous system, physiology, emotional and motor spheres. We are all very different, but not all manifestations of our nature are related to character.
What is a character trait
A character trait is not just one of the many qualities of a person, it is characterized by a number of features:
- stability, constancy;
- manifestation in various activities and spheres of life;
- connection with the motives, needs and values of the individual;
- influence on the formation of stereotypes of behavior and habits;
- social conditioning, that is, the connection with the norms of behavior in society.
The presence of such stable traits makes it possible to predict human behavior. Having learned the nature of your partner, you can say with confidence how he will act in one case or another. This greatly facilitates communication between people.
Trait classification
There are a huge number of personality qualities that make up the warehouse of her character, and a simple listing of them would take too much time and space. Therefore, since the time of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, they have been trying to classify these qualities, highlighting the main ones.
For example, the Austrian physician and naturalist of the early 19th century F. Gall, developing phrenology (the science that makes it possible to describe a person’s character by the structure of his skull), identified 27 basic properties that make up the personality warehouse. These included the reproductive instinct, the need for self-defense, love for offspring, etc. Currently, neither innate instincts nor the physiological characteristics of a person have anything to do with character, although to a certain extent they can influence his makeup.
After Gall, attempts to compile a classification of character traits were made several times, but all the time it turned out that some traits did not fit into this classification.
Currently, it is customary to divide into types not character traits, but the spheres of their manifestation. Traditionally, there are 4 groups of such personality traits:
- Manifesting in relation to other people: individualism and collectivism, indifference and sensitivity, politeness and rudeness, benevolence and aggressiveness, deceit and truthfulness, etc.
- Manifesting in relation to oneself: exactingness, self-criticism, self-respect, self-esteem, etc.
- Manifesting in relation to business: initiative and passivity, laziness and hard work, organization and disorganization, perfectionism, etc.
- Strong-willed qualities: perseverance, perseverance, determination, independence, readiness to overcome obstacles and one’s own weakness.
But this classification is also not complete, since it did not include such individual characteristics of a person that characterize his attitude to things: neatness and slovenliness, frugality, stinginess, etc.
Excessive emphasis on certain character traits
Various character traits, mixing, form that unique alloy, which is called a unique personality. If some traits or a group of similar qualities are overly dominant, as if they stick out in the foreground, violating the harmony of the image, then they speak of character accentuation. For example, a pronounced need to be always in sight, love for “show off”, obsessive sociability and the desire to openly violate generally accepted norms of behavior speak of a demonstrative type of accentuation. And excessive aggressiveness, incontinence, a tendency to scandals and tantrums are signs of an excitable type of accentuation.
Psychologists assess accentuation as a kind of “deformity” of character. Even if positive traits are highlighted, a person’s behavior often becomes unacceptable, uncomfortable for others. So, it is difficult to coexist with an excessively, to the point of fanaticism, a neat person, and exaggerated cheerfulness and sociability can be very tiring.
There are 12 types of character accentuation in total. But they are not characteristic of everyone and are manifested mainly in adolescents. In adulthood, accentuations are smoothed out, but can be noticeable in every third person.
Positive and negative character traits
People strive to be accepted in society, to become part of a social group, family, collective. Nobody wants to live as an outcast. It may seem strange, but even the most scandalous, quarrelsome, unprincipled and aggressive individuals want to be appreciated and respected by the people around them.
Man is a social being, the need to be surrounded by other people is one of his natural needs. Therefore, the question of positive and negative character traits is so relevant. What is valued in society and what is rejected? What qualities attract people, and which ones cause dislike?
Positive traits include those that make the individual valuable and useful to society. Equally important is the ability to be a reliable partner, to be able to easily adapt to any social environment and not to become a source of conflict.
As already mentioned, each era leaves an imprint on socially significant character traits. So, in a society focused on individual success, the most important positive qualities will be considered purposefulness, initiative, hard work, independence, self-sufficiency up to individualism. And in a society where collectivism and the ability to subordinate one’s desires to the requirements of the collective are considered the main values, individualism is rejected and condemned. But still, undoubtedly, there are general positive features associated with universal values. These include the following:
- honesty;
- hard work;
- sense of responsibility;
- benevolence;
- Justice;
- generosity;
- courage;
- determination;
- politeness;
- reliability;
- loyalty;
- feeling of compassion.
Negative traits include those that are condemned in any society:
- deceit;
- laziness;
- envy;
- greed;
- misanthropy;
- selfishness;
- stubbornness;
- pettiness;
- cowardice;
- spitefulness.
It should also be remembered that when it comes to positive or negative personality traits, the same property may manifest itself in different ways in different people. Therefore, in psychological tests to determine personality traits, there are special scales that allow you to assess the degree of manifestation of a particular trait in points.
For example, every person can experience fear in certain situations, but this does not mean his cowardice, if he is able to overcome this fear and indecision. Everyone has a tendency to laziness from time to time, the question is how much laziness prevents a person from living and developing normally. The same can be said about misanthropy. You cannot love all people in a crowd and indiscriminately, but if this trait is strongly expressed, a person can turn into a real monster. Generosity is a good quality, but this does not mean that a person should give away all of his property.
There are qualities that can be assessed as both positive and negative, depending on the severity. And it is not always noticeable when, for example, stubbornness turns into stubbornness, and the desire to protect oneself and loved ones turns into aggressiveness.
The main criterion for finding out the ratio of negative and positive traits in your character is the attitude of the people around you. Society is a mirror that reflects your true appearance, and you should take a closer look at it.
