Karl Leonhard is a German psychiatrist. Received his fame for numerous studies and discoveries on the problem of schizophrenia. In addition, he compiled the classification of character accentuations in adults, which is popular to this day. Dear readers, you can read about what accentuations are in the article “Character accentuations in psychology: norm or pathology.” And in this work, we will focus on a specific diagnostic technique.
Author’s personality types
Karl Leonhard identified only 4 types of accentuated personalities. The classification is based on the principle of simultaneously identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a person.
- Demonstrative type. They are eternal players and actors. All life for them is theater. They love to show off, be the center of attention, show life, follow a fictional image, or play a designated social role. Their actions and decisions are very rash. Demonstrative people love risk and adventure, rush into the pool with their heads. At the same time, they “sin” with self-pity.
- Pedantic type. These are responsible, conscientious people. Sometimes they are overly prim, bordering on boring. Their nervous processes are not flexible.
- Stuck type. Such people cling to some emotion, feeling, event for a long time. That is, they remember the grievances for a long time and try to take revenge, distrustful, jealous. They are distinguished by persistent affective states (impressionable). At the same time, they are persistent and ambitious.
- Excitable type. Such a person is distinguished by impulsiveness, low self-control, and aggressiveness. Often it turns out to be prone to addictions, in particular, alcoholism. However, in moments of rest, he is ready for constructive deeds and conversations.
Hans Schmischek, a German conflictologist, identified 10 types of accentuations. Four of them match Leonhard’s classification. The remaining six types of accentuated personality identified by Shmishek were also mentioned in the writings of Leonhard. But there they relate to temperament (this is a completely different topic), and not to accentuations. I described Leonhard’s accentuations above, now let’s consider Schmishek’s classification.
- Hypertensive personality. This is a pronounced optimist. Such a person easily establishes contacts with people, quickly switches from one activity to another (not in the sense of attention properties, but in the sense of “not finishing what was started”), that is, an addicted type. Often has high self-esteem. Differs in frivolity, non-performance, low discipline and self-control. It can be aggressive, conflicted (often provoking), immoral.
- Disty personality. This is the exact opposite of the individual described above, that is, a pessimist. For him, justice and friendship are important. However, at the same time he is closed, unsociable. Has low self-esteem. If he finds something to his liking or his man, then he goes headlong into this relationship.
- Cycloid personality. Man of moods. Differs in instability. Either a hyperthymic person appears in front of you, then a dysthymic one. That is, it combines both types described above. Accordingly, it is unpredictable, self-esteem is unstable. Conflict, but it is impossible to predict his behavior in a situation of contradiction.
- Excitable personality. An unsociable, gloomy, boring type, often reputed to be a boor. In relationships, he is distinguished by a tendency to tyranny, control, power. Conflicts at work. With an emotional outburst, he is aggressive, dangerous, active in arguments. In a calm state, he is neat and responsible.
- Stuck personality. Eternal parent and mentor. Likes to read morals, restrained. He sets high standards for himself and those around him, he is used to achieving the maximum. Has a heightened sense of global justice / injustice. At the same time, he is distrustful, vindictive, jealous, vulnerable. Often he is the instigator of conflicts in which he always takes an active position. Differs in high or, on the contrary, low self-esteem.
- Pedantic personality. Executive and mandatory type. Loves formality and cliches. Conflict-free. If this happens, then passive.
- Anxious personality. The type with low self-esteem, expectation of the worst. Avoids contacts, is not sure of himself. However, at the same time, he is friendly, self-critical and fulfilling. He tries to participate in conflicts. If such a situation develops, then he chooses withdrawal or concessions (passive methods of solution).
- An emotive personality. Sentimental, kind, compassionate, executive, with an exaggerated sense of duty. Carefully selects the environment. He is friends with the elite, but deeply imbued with these relationships. In conflict, he gladly makes concessions.
- Demonstrative personality. Strives to be a leader. He is attracted by power and glory. Can find an approach to every person. As a rule, he has a pronounced charisma, mannered. At the same time, a hypocritical and selfish person. Likes to gossip, brag, create intrigues. He gladly enters into conflicts and takes an active position there.
- Exalted personality. Differs in excessive optimism, I would call him an optimist squared (if not more). Loving, hypercommunicative and hyperactive. Differs in fleeting unpredictable changes (for example, in an outburst of love from a master’s shoulder, he can make an expensive gift, which he will regret after the decline of “vital energy”). Easily attached to people, but moreover, he is always attentive to them.
Typical typical reactions
Each type of accentuation has its own way of emotional response. A study was carried out, which made it possible to determine the following patterns:
- The hypertime type uses positive refocusing, positive refocusing, focusing on planning.
- The stuck type tends to blame others when they fail.
- The emotive type resorts to self-blame and rumination.
- The anxious type chooses rumination, catastrophization, and blaming others.
- The cycloid type resorts to rumination.
- The demonstrative type chooses positive refocusing.
- The distant type chooses rumination and catastrophization.
- The rest of the types do not have pronounced stereotyped ways of experiencing negative situations.
I will definitely tell you more about the ways of emotional reaction (types of behavior in a negative situation) in another article.
Shmishek’s method
The Hans Schmischek methodology offers passing a questionnaire to determine the type of accentuation. The subject needs to answer 97 statements. There are only two possible answers: “Yes” and “No” (as to how true the statement is in relation to the subject). You need to answer quickly, without delay, that is, the first thing that comes to mind.
The questions are divided into groups (types of accentuations), but they are scattered in the questionnaire. The result is assessed according to the table (it is described which questions correspond to which type). Some statements are similar, but this is necessary in order to comprehensively cover the type. Sometimes a person is not confident in himself or is afraid to take the test. For this, a special scale “False” is assigned in the key. If an unacceptable value (more than 5) comes out on it, then the subject wanted to hide his true face or he himself got confused in his own self-perception.
Leonhard-Shmishek method
To study accentuation, another modified Shmishek technique is also used, which is based on the Leonhard classification. You can find it on the Internet without any problems. They call it differently (either by the name of one of the authors or two at once).
The methodology involves providing answers “Yes” or “No” to 88 questions. Answers are entered into the form (immediately represented by scales). You need to answer sincerely, the first thing that comes to mind.
An interesting fact: Shmishek’s technique is often used in matters of conflict resolution. The same technique can be used to determine the conflict type (read more in the article on conflicts). As you probably noticed, when characterizing types, I also indicated the nature of their behavior in conflict. Thus, knowing what kind of person is in front of you, you can use it to your advantage every minute, and especially in controversial situations. This skill is more relevant than ever in working and love relationships.
Thus, knowing the type of accentuated personality, one can predict its behavior. If you check yourself, then as a result you get guidelines for self-improvement.
In conclusion, I would like to recommend the book by R. V. Koz’yakov “Methods and techniques for diagnosing character accentuations.” It contains both the described methods with a detailed interpretation of the results, as well as practical recommendations for each type. You can also read the work of K. Leonhard “Accentuated Personalities” (you can find a translation of the book on the Internet).
You can read about teenage accentuations (they are slightly different) here. Thank you for attention! Be happy and healthy!
