Psychological characteristics of temperaments. The concept of temperament. Physiological and psychological theories of temperament. The concept of individual style of activity (V.S. Merlin, E.A. Klimov) The physiological branch of the doctrine of temperament begins with

5.5. Individual psychological characteristics

Individual differences are psychological traits that distinguish one person from another. Individual differences indicate the extent to which general psychological patterns are manifested in the mental activity of an individual. Individual differences are formed on the basis of the innate anatomical and physiological characteristics of a person and the influence of the surrounding social environment. The uniqueness of a personality is determined by the individual characteristics of the course of mental processes, determined by the main characteristics of the nervous system (neurodynamic differences), characteristics of temperament (psychodynamic differences), character, manifestations of general and special abilities, psychophysiological and social activity and needs, motives, orientation, attitudes and attitude of a person towards to yourself, to other people, to society.
Individual psychological characteristics are of a psychological nature and vary individually.
These include:
Temperament,
Character,
Capabilities


TEMPERAMENT

TEMPERAMENT (from the Latin tempero - mix in the proper ratio) - an individual typological characteristic of humans and higher animals, which manifests itself in the strength, tension, speed and balance of their mental processes.

Temperament is understood as the dynamic characteristics of mental activity, which manifest themselves in general activity; motor sphere; properties of emotionality.

General activity determined by the intensity and volume of human interaction with the environment - physical and social. According to this parameter, a person can be inert, calm, passive, proactive, active, etc.

Manifestations of temperament in motor sphere can be seen as partial expressions of overall activity. These include: pace, speed, rhythm and the total number of movements.

When they talk about emotionality as a manifestation of temperament, they mean vulnerability, sensitivity, impulsiveness, etc.

Thus, it depends on temperament:
1) the speed of occurrence of mental processes and their stability (speed of perception, speed of understanding, duration of concentration)
2) mental tempo and rhythm
3) intensity of mental processes (strength of emotions, activity of will)
4) the focus of mental activity on certain objects (introversion / extraversion)

The first doctrine of temperament belongs to Hippocrates (V century BC), who associated the manifestations of temperament with the predominance of a certain fluid in the body:

blood (lat. - sanguis) - produced by the heart;
bile (lat. - chole) - liver;
black bile (lat. - melaine chole) - spleen;
mucus or lymph (Greek - phlegm) - brain.

From the name of these liquids come the names of the four main temperaments.

The doctrine of temperament received scientific justification in theory I.P. Pavlova regarding the characteristics of the nervous system and types of higher nervous activity.

The main provisions of I.P. Pavlov’s concept of the types of higher nervous activity
1. The key to understanding the individual characteristics of humans and animals should be sought in the properties of the nervous system, and not in anything else.
2. These properties of the nervous system can, or better yet, should be studied using conditioned reflex procedures.
3. There are three such basic properties:
force - the performance of the nerve cell and the nervous system as a whole;
equilibrium - balance of excitation and inhibition processes;
mobility - the speed at which one process changes to another.
They are common and constant for a given animal.
4. The combination of these basic properties forms 4 types of GNI.
5. These main types of GNI correspond to the main classical types of temperament, i.e. represent the physiological basis of psychological portraits described within the framework of the doctrine of temperament.

Types of GNI and temperament

Properties of temperament

A person's temperament (for practical purposes) can be judged by several its main features:

1. Sensitivity, or sensitiveness - an indicator of the minimum strength of the stimulus that causes a mental reaction.
2. Reactivity - with what strength a person reacts to certain influences.
3. Activity - with what energy a person influences the world around him, his persistence, concentration, etc.
4. Relationship between reactivity and activity - that on which activity mainly depends: on random causes or on intended goals, aspirations, i.e. from a consciously determined line of behavior.
5. Pace (speed) of mental reactions.
6. Plasticity - rigidity : how easily and quickly adapts to external influences.
7.Extroversion - introversion.
8. Emotional stability - emotional instability.

CHARACTER

Character (Greek - seal, coinage) is an individual combination of the most stable, essential mental properties of a person, which express his attitude to reality and are manifested in behavior and actions.

Character depends on the system of social relations and social groups to which a person belongs. In character, one can distinguish typical (expresses the general, inherent in a certain community, for example, national) and individual.

Character is most closely related to personality direction, but two people with a similar focus may reveal differences in the way they achieve goals. Behind these discrepancies are hidden character traits. Character contains a typical program of behavior for a person in typical circumstances. Knowing the character of a person, you can predict how he will behave in certain circumstances.

Character is closely related to the characteristics of the general type of GNI - hence the close connection between temperament and character. The type of temperament is one of the most important psychological conditions for the emergence of individually unique character traits.

The individual uniqueness of the emotional experiences of each typical situation in which a given character trait is manifested, as well as the individual uniqueness of the methods and qualities of action in each typical situation, depend on the personality’s relationships.

The most important thing that determines the formation of character is how a person relates to the environment and to himself. These relationships create 4 symptom complexes:

1. Character traits that express a person’s attitude towards activity, work, business (hard work - laziness, initiative - conservatism, responsibility - irresponsibility, etc.)
2. Character traits that express a person’s attitude to other people , team, society (sociability - isolation, collectivism - individualism, tactfulness - tactlessness).
3. Character traits that express a person’s attitude to yourself (self-criticism - uncriticality, modesty - arrogance).
4. Character traits that express a person’s attitude to things (neatness, economy, generosity).

Characters differ not only in individual traits, but mainly in certainty, integrity, and the development of volitional qualities.

Physiological basis of character
1. Dynamic stereotype - a system of conditioned reflexes formed in response to an invariably repeating system of conditioned stimuli.
2. Properties of the general type of VND.

Character classifications
By certainty
- with a pronounced one or more features that dominates all others;
- “vague” character - not a single trait particularly stands out.
By integrity
- integral character: unity of thoughts and feelings, goals and methods of activity, beliefs, views and actions;
- contradictory (contains features that are incompatible with each other): contradiction between thoughts and feelings, between beliefs and actions, between motives and goals.
According to the degree of development of volitional qualities
- strong (purposefulness, determination, self-control, endurance, courage, boldness);
- weak (indecision, cowardice, uncertainty, often combined with stubbornness, etc.).

Character accentuations

Accentuations of character (from the Latin accentus - emphasis) - excessive strengthening of individual character traits, which manifests itself in the selective vulnerability of the individual in relation to certain mental influences along with normal and even increased resistance to others

Accentuations are the limiting indicator of normal character development, but under unfavorable conditions they can lead to the development of psychopathy, i.e. pathological characters. You can distinguish between accentuated and pathological characters using criteria for psychopathy Gannushkin - Kerbikova
1) the character can be considered pathological, i.e. regarded as psychopathy if it is relatively stable over time , i.e. changes little throughout life;
2) totality of manifestations character: with psychopathy, the same character traits are found everywhere;
3) social maladjustment : the constant occurrence of life difficulties, and these difficulties are experienced either by himself, or by the people around him, or by both.

In the case of accentuation, there cannot be any of the above signs of psychopathy, at least All signs are not present at once.

Types of accentuations
K.Leongard
1. Hyperthymic.
2. “Stuck.”
3. Affectively exalted.
4. Emotive.
5. Pedantic.
6. Anxious and fearful.
7. Cyclothymic.
8. Demonstrative.
9. Excitable.
10. Dysthymic.

Classification of accentuation of the character of adolescents A.E. Lichko

1. Hyperthymic - mobile, love communication, prone to pranks, love restless companies of the same age, restless, not sufficiently disciplined. The mood is high. Conflicts with adults and parents.
2. Cycloid - increased excitability, tendency to apathy. They like to be home alone. Even minor troubles are difficult to cope with. The mood changes from elated to depressed. They react irritably to comments.
3. Labile - mood changes often. Able to fall into melancholy and gloomy state without any serious troubles or interference.
4. Astheno-neurotic - increased distrust and touchiness, fatigue, excitability. Fatigue often manifests itself during complex mental work.
5. Sensitive - increased sensitivity to everything. They do not like large companies, gambling, or active games. Shy, timid. They are obedient and show great affection for their parents.
6. Psychasthenic - characterized by rapid intellectual development, a tendency to make judgments, introspection and assessment of people's behavior. Their self-confidence is combined with indecision.
7. Schizoid - an essential feature is isolation. They demonstrate outward indifference to the people around them and poorly understand their condition.
8. Epileptoid - they often cry. They love to torture animals, tease younger ones, and mock the weak. In children's companies they behave like dictators. Typical traits are cruelty, power, pride.
9. Hysterical - the main feature is egocentrism, they require constant attention to their person. There is a pronounced tendency towards theatricality and boasting. They often act as ringleaders.
10. Unsustainable - increased tendency to entertainment, idleness and festivity. Absence of any serious, including professional interests. They don't think about their future at all.
11. Conformal - obey any authority, the majority in the group. They are prone to moralizing and conservatism; their main life credo is to be like everyone else.

CAPABILITIES

Abilities are human capabilities that are manifested in activities and are a condition for its successful implementation.

Abilities are individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another, only those characteristics that are related to the success of an activity or several activities. Abilities are not reducible to knowledge, skills and abilities that have already been developed in a person, although they determine the ease and speed of their acquisition

Types of abilities
are common - such individual human properties that provide relative ease and productivity in mastering knowledge and carrying out various types of activities are identified in all types of human activity (cognitive, mnemonic, mental, memory, attention, etc.);
special - a system of personality traits that helps to achieve high results in any particular area of ​​activity, corresponding to a narrow range of requirements of a specific activity (musical, pedagogical, mathematical, etc.).

Successful performance of a certain activity involves a unique combination of general and special abilities.

Depends on abilities speed, depth, lightness and strength the process of mastering knowledge, skills and abilities, but they themselves do not apply.

The natural basis of abilities is made up of inclinations.
Makings of - morphological and functional features of the structure of the brain, sensory organs and movement, which act as natural prerequisites for the development of abilities. This:

• structure and functioning of individual areas of the cerebral cortex
• congenital features of the visual and auditory analyzers
• typological features of the nervous system
• functional asymmetry of the brain
• anatomical structure of the musculoskeletal system

The most significant is the structure of the nervous system, primarily the brain and sense organs. Inclinations are the organic basis of abilities and other mental characteristics - temperament, character, etc. But inclinations in themselves do not determine abilities, the formation of which depends on the living conditions and activities of a person. Human abilities are diverse and can develop in different directions. Based on the same inclinations, different abilities can develop.

Levels of ability development

Giftedness - high level of inclinations , inclinations. Giftedness is the result and evidence of a high level of intellectual development of an individual. There is general and special talent. Since giftedness is revealed in specific mental processes, motor, sensory, perceptual, and intellectual giftedness are distinguished.

Talent - the highest human ability for a certain type of activity, which makes it possible successful, independent and original carry it out.

Genius - personal characteristics of a person, the highest degree of her giftedness and talent. A person’s genius is manifested in his creative activity, the results of which have social, group and universal significance

Temperament is the next individual characteristic of a person. The study of temperament has a long and complex history.
Temperament is understood as the dynamic characteristics of mental activity. There are three areas of manifestation of temperament: general activity, characteristics of the motor sphere and properties of emotionality.
General activity is determined by the intensity and volume of human interaction with the environment - physical and social. According to this parameter, a person can be inert, passive, calm, proactive, active, impetuous.
Manifestations of temperament in the motor sphere can be considered as particular expressions of general activity. These include pace, speed, rhythm and total number of movements.
When they talk about emotionality as a manifestation of temperament, they mean impressionability, sensitivity, impulsiveness, etc.
Throughout the long history of its study, temperament has always been associated with organic foundations, or physiological characteristics of the body.
The roots of this physiological branch of the doctrine of temperament go back to the ancient period. Hippocrates (5th century BC) described four types of temperament, based on the physiological concepts of that time. The human body was believed to have four main fluids, or "juices": blood, mucus, yellow bile and black bile. Mixing in each person in certain proportions, they constitute his temperament (Latin temperamentum - “mixture”, “ratio”). Each temperament received its specific name from the name of the fluid that supposedly predominates in the body. Accordingly, the following types of temperament were identified: sanguine (from the Latin sanguis - “blood”), choleric (from the Greek chole - “bile”), phlegmatic (from the Greek phlegma - “mucus”) and melancholic (from the Greek melaina chole - “black bile”).
Hippocrates had a purely physiological approach to temperament. He did not connect it with the mental life of a person and even spoke about the temperament of individual organs, such as the heart or liver.
But over time, conclusions emerged about what mental properties a person should have, in whose body blood, yellow bile, etc. predominate. This is where psychological descriptions appeared - “portraits” of various temperaments. The first such attempt also belonged to the ancient physician Galen (2nd century AD). Much later, at the end of the 18th century, psychological portraits of the four temperaments were given by I. Kant, who wrote that they were compiled “by analogy with the play of feelings and desires with bodily driving causes” (38, p. 148).
Kant's descriptions of temperaments were later repeated in many, many sources. Moreover, representing from the very beginning half-scientific, half-artistic images, they quickly passed into general culture.
As an example, I will cite excerpts from vivid descriptions of temperaments belonging to Stendhal.
Stendhal turns to the depiction of temperaments in his work “The History of Painting in Italy”, believing that every artist should be psychologically educated so as not to make mistakes in depicting characters - their general appearance, actions, moods. Here are his “portraits” of temperaments (in a greatly abbreviated form) (104, vol. 8, pp. 209-226).

Sanguine temperament. A sanguine person is a person with a dazzling complexion, quite plump, cheerful, with a wide chest, which contains capacious lungs and indicates an active heart, therefore, rapid blood circulation and high temperature.
Mental properties: elevated state of mind, pleasant and brilliant thoughts, benevolent and tender feelings; but habits are fickle; there is something lightweight and changeable in mental movements; the mind lacks depth and strength. A sanguine person cannot be entrusted with the protection of an important fortress, but he should be invited to the role of a kind courtier. The overwhelming majority of the French are sanguine, and therefore there was no order in their army during the retreat from Russia.

Choleric temperament. Bile is one of the most peculiar elements in the human body. Chemically, this substance is flammable, proteinaceous, and foaming. From the point of view of a physiologist, it is a very mobile liquid, highly stimulating and acting like yeast.
Mental properties: increased impressionability, sudden, impetuous movements. The flame that devours a person of bilious temperament gives rise to thoughts and desires that are self-sufficient and exclusive. It gives him an almost constant feeling of anxiety. The feeling of mental well-being that comes easily to a sanguine person is completely unfamiliar to him: he finds peace only in the most intense activities. A person of choleric temperament is destined for great deeds by his bodily organization. Cholerics, according to Stendhal, were Julius II, Charles V, and Cromwell.

A phlegmatic temperament is much more characteristic of northern peoples, for example the Dutch. Visit Rotterdam and you will see them. A thick, tall blond man with an unusually wide chest is coming towards you. You can conclude that he has strong lungs, a big heart, and good circulation. No, those voluminous lungs are compressed by excess fat. They receive and process only a very small amount of air. The movements of a phlegmatic person are sluggish and slow. As a result, the small and agile Gascon beats the huge Dutch grenadier.
Mental properties: the phlegmatic person is completely alien to anxiety, from which great deeds arise that attract the choleric person. His usual state is calm, quiet well-being. He is characterized by softness, slowness, laziness, dullness of existence.
Stendhal was a participant in the War of 1812 and ended up in Moscow with Napoleon’s army. He expresses surprise that Russians, living in a country with a harsh climate, do not have a phlegmatic temperament. He was convinced of this by the recklessness of the Moscow cab drivers, and most importantly, by the fact that Moscow turned out to be empty. “The exodus of residents from Smolensk, Gzhatsk and Moscow, which the entire population abandoned within two days, represents the most amazing moral phenomenon in our century; I personally feel only a feeling of respect - ___-; The disappearance of the inhabitants of Moscow is so inconsistent with the phlegmatic temperament that such an event seems impossible to me even in France,” concludes Stendhal (104, vol. 8, p. 218).

And finally, the melancholic temperament. Melancholic people are characterized by tightness in movements, hesitation and caution in decisions. His feelings are devoid of spontaneity. When he enters the living room, he makes his way along the walls. These people manage to express the simplest thing with hidden and gloomy passion. Love is always a serious matter for them. One melancholic young man put a bullet in his forehead because of love, but not because she was unhappy, but because he did not find the strength to confess to the object of his feelings. And death seemed to him less painful than this explanation.

Stendhal's descriptions contain all the signs of the commonplace idea of ​​temperaments, which has changed little to this day. These signs are as follows: firstly, the four Hippocratic types are preserved; secondly, the biological basis of the mental properties being discussed is necessarily assumed (sometimes these “foundations” look quite fantastic); thirdly, which should be especially emphasized, temperament includes a wide range of behavioral properties: from speed and sharpness of movements to ways of declaring love and manner of waging war.
Let us now turn to the actual scientific fate of the “doctrine of temperaments.” As already mentioned, it developed along two main lines: physiological and psychological.
The further development of the physiological line consisted of a consistent change in ideas about the organic foundations of temperaments. I will list several main hypotheses of this kind: the chemical composition of blood (blood is the main fluid in the body); width and thickness of blood vessels; metabolic features; activity of the endocrine glands; the tone of nerve and muscle tissue and, finally (last hypothesis), the properties of the nervous system.
The most serious attempt to provide a physiological basis for temperament is associated with the name of I. P. Pavlov, as well as with the names of Soviet psychologists B. M. Teplov and V. D. Nebylitsyn, whose ideas continue to be developed by their colleagues and students to this day.
Initially, this physiological concept was called the doctrine of the types of the nervous system in Pavlov’s school, and later it was transformed into the “doctrine of the properties of the nervous system.” We will trace this transformation.
I. P. Pavlov and his colleagues, conducting numerous experiments on dogs in which conditioned reflex procedures were used, found that animals differ greatly from each other in many parameters - in the speed and ease of developing conditioned connections, in their stability, in speed and the ease of developing differentiations, the ability to withstand the change of positive reinforcement stimuli to negative ones, etc.
Analysis of the corresponding experimental situations showed that each of them reveals some basic property of the nervous system. I. P. Pavlov identified three such basic properties: strength, balance and mobility.
Thus, if a dog could withstand the action of a very strong stimulus without falling into extreme inhibition, it demonstrated the strength of the nervous system. If she developed conditioned reflexes very quickly with positive reinforcement and very poorly with negative reinforcement, then her nervous system was characterized by imbalance with a predominance of the excitation process, etc.
Along with this, Pavlov and his collaborators observed a general picture of animal behavior. The same animals were studied over many years, so that each animal became known by its typical behavior pattern. This is how aggressive animals were defined, which could even bite the owner, on the contrary, cowardly dogs, which just tucked their tail and ears, calm ones, which reacted little to anything, mobile, “like mercury,” etc.
And so the question arose: is it possible to correlate the characteristics of animal behavior with those properties of nervous processes found in laboratory tests, which also turned out to be characteristic of each individual? Such work on correlating two systems of individual properties - the properties of the nervous system (or higher nervous activity) and behavioral characteristics - was carried out and led to a very well-known scheme, which I will reproduce to remind you of it once again.

Scheme of types of higher nervous activity
(according to I.P. Pavlov)

This diagram represents a “tree” of properties. Certain combinations of these properties were recorded as types of the nervous system, or, what is the same, as types of higher nervous activity.
Thus, the following four types were identified: strong - balanced - mobile; strong - balanced - inert; strong - unbalanced; weak.
I.P. Pavlov considered it possible to assign to each of these types the name of the corresponding temperament according to Hippocrates (see diagram).
This very well-known scheme of I. P. Pavlov is still cited in some psychology textbooks (for example, for pedagogical universities) as the last word in the science of temperaments, although it has long been outdated and has been overcome by the further development of research both in Pavlov’s school and in the Soviet differential psychology.
Let us consider the main provisions on which this concept of Pavlov was built and on which its critical revision took place. I would highlight five such provisions.
1. The key to understanding the individual behavioral characteristics of animals and humans should be sought in the properties of the nervous system, and not in anything else.
2. These properties of the nervous system can, or, better said, should be studied using conditioned reflex procedures.
3. There are three such basic properties: strength, balance, mobility. They are common and constant for a given animal.
4. Combinations of basic properties form four main types of the nervous system (NS), or higher nervous activity (HNA).
5. These main types of NS correspond to the four classical types of temperament, i.e., they represent the physiological basis of the psychological portraits described within the framework of the doctrine of temperaments.
The first to reveal its inconsistency was the thesis that each type of nervous system has its own style, or “pattern,” of behavior (see paragraph 5).
Already during the life of I.P. Pavlov, facts of the following kind began to emerge and gradually accumulate: according to the general picture of behavior, the animal should have been classified as belonging to one temperament, and according to laboratory tests - to another. In other words, in experiments this animal showed a set of completely different properties of the NS than in behavior, sometimes these properties even turned out to be opposite in meaning.
Here is an example with one dog. In behavior, the creature is cowardly and submissive; when approached, it “creeps” along the ground, squeals, and urinates. Thus, by all indications, he is a weak type, melancholic. However, in the machine (i.e., in laboratory tests), the dog works perfectly and displays a strong, balanced nervous system.
Opposite cases have also been observed. For example, vigorous, lively and sociable animals turned out to be representatives of the weak type according to experimental procedures.
Based on such facts, I.P. Pavlov finally refused to rely on the picture of behavior in determining the type of NS and concluded that types of NS should be determined only by laboratory procedures that reveal the features of conditioned reflex activity (84, II, p. 358— 359). But thus, as you understand, he refused to consider the types of nervous system as the physiological basis of temperaments, understood as “patterns of behavior.”
Moreover, he changed the meaning of the word “temperament” by introducing the concepts of “genotype” and “phenotype”. Pavlov defined the genotype as an innate type of the nervous system, the phenotype as a warehouse of higher nervous activity, which is formed as a result of a combination of innate characteristics and educational conditions. Pavlov connected the genotype with the concept of “temperament”, and the phenotype with the concept of “character”.
This is a very important point, since thereby Pavlov, in fact, gave a purely physiological interpretation of temperament, abandoning its psychological aspects. He called the psychological aspects of temperament character.
In any case, the last thesis (point 5) was already recognized by Pavlov himself as incorrect: the main types of NS do not correspond to the main types of temperament (in the psychological sense).
Soon after this, the question of the number of main types of NS was critically revised (clause 4). The question arose: why exactly these types should be considered basic? Are only such combinations of properties possible? After all, theoretically we can talk about a strong - unbalanced - mobile type, a weak - balanced - mobile type, a weak - unbalanced - inert type, etc. Moreover, we can take into account the features of separate inhibitory and excitatory processes. In short, Pavlov already recognized that different combinations of NS properties can give rise to 24 different types. And indeed, later, when studying the human GNI, it turned out that there are much more stable combinations of the basic properties of the NS than four.
Why were exactly four types identified, and exactly these four types? B. M. Teplov believes that Pavlov was apparently influenced by the Hippocratic classification of temperaments. He had no other reasons.
I move on to the next thesis (item 3): the concept of “general properties of NS” was critically revised. This was a very unpleasant discovery. It was that as experimental procedures multiplied, contradictory facts began to emerge. According to one procedure, the individual discovered certain properties of the NS, and according to another, others. For example, with painful reinforcement, the NS turned out to be strong, and with food reinforcement, it was weak.
Further, it turned out that different properties of the NS are detected in the same subject even if the stimuli are addressed to different analyzers. Teplov's laboratory carried out a lot of work on calculating correlation coefficients between indicators obtained on visual, auditory, and tactile analyzers when determining the same property. These coefficients were generally low and sometimes even zero.
As a result, we had to talk not about general, but about specific properties of NS, meaning the properties of individual analyzer systems, and not about general types of NS, but about partial types, meaning various reinforcements.
In addition, the analysis of the properties of NNs led to the need to expand their list. To the three main properties, two more were added - dynamism and lability. The question was raised about identifying primary and secondary properties among them. Thus, ideas about the basic properties of NS (clause 3) continue to change and be refined.
Further, the position that the properties of the nervous system should be studied using conditioned reflex procedures was questioned (clause 2). Is this statement absolutely true?
Of course, processes in the analyzing parts of the cerebral cortex, which are studied using conditioned reflex procedures, are directly related to human behavior, especially to its conscious forms. But is it possible to discount the rest of the brain, especially when it comes to the energetic and emotional aspects of behavior? No, under no circumstances is it possible.
Recent data from neurophysiology show a fundamental role in the activation of behavior and in its emotional regulation of subcortical structures - the reticular formation, limbic formations, frontal lobes, etc. This suggests a natural conclusion: perhaps the physiological basis of the dynamic characteristics of behavior (i.e., temperament) should be sought , so to speak, in another place?
This is exactly the conclusion that was drawn. In particular, V.D. Nebylitsyn, at the end of his early life, led the search for the physiological foundations of individuality in the properties of the frontal-reticular structures of the brain, which determine the general activity of behavior and its regulation, and the frontal-limbic structures, which manage the emotional aspects of behavior (80) .
This is how the second thesis written above turned out to be revised.
It remains for us to consider the last statement (item 1). Perhaps only it retains its significance, and even then with an important caveat. Of course, if there are physiological bases for individual differences in behavior, then they should be sought primarily in the central nervous system. However, the central nervous system does not exist separately from the body. Its features are a partial manifestation of the uniqueness of each organism in general; it is also found in the peculiarities of its morphology, and in the activity of its endocrine systems, and in the general humoral background.
Thus, the search for and discussion of the organic correlates of individuality in the broader biological functions of man makes complete sense. And such searches are going on today. They have already existed in the history of science and continue to this day.
Thus, summing up the development of the “teaching of temperaments,” we can state the following. The beginning was that Hippocrates postulated four types of temperament, which were understood in a purely physiological sense. Later, four psychological types of temperament were compared with them, which marked the beginning of the psychological line. Further searches for the real organic foundations of temperament were always correlated with these psychological types. One of the latest attempts of this kind is the doctrine of Pavlov’s types of NS (or types of VNI). Types of NS have been considered for some time as the physiological basis of temperament. However, the development of science has led to the fact that this idea has become the property of history. What's left?
A certain “dry residue” is as follows. The four types of temperament no longer appear anywhere - neither psychologically nor physiologically. The “dynamic aspects” of behavior that were mentioned at the beginning are highlighted: this is general activity, including its motor manifestations, and emotionality. Temperament (in the psychological sense) is a set of corresponding dynamic properties of behavior that are uniquely combined in each individual.
At the same time, confidence remains that such properties have a “physiological basis,” that is, they are determined by certain features of the functioning of physiological structures. What are these structures and features? This issue is “at the forefront of science” and is being intensively studied by psychophysiologists today.
Less unanimous is the opinion about which particular characteristics of the body should be associated with temperament: hereditary or simply physiological, which can, of course, be the result of lifetime formation. The solution to this alternative encounters one fundamental difficulty. The fact is that it has not yet been possible to fully establish what in terms of behavior is a manifestation of the genotype, that is, it is properties of temperament, and what is the result of lifetime “layers,” i.e., it refers to character properties.
At the same time, a different approach to temperament is maintained and developed. It is typical for works of a strictly psychological direction. Their authors proceed from analyzing only behavior. In these works, when determining temperament, the sign of innate (or organic) foundations, as a rule, does not appear; the main load is borne by the sign of “formal-dynamic properties of behavior”, which they try to abstract from holistic behavioral acts.
However, this approach reveals its own significant difficulty. This feature also does not allow us to unambiguously resolve the issue of the range of specific properties that should be attributed to temperament. Among them are listed “extremely formal” features of behavior, such as tempo, rhythm, impressionability, impulsiveness, and more “substantive” properties that are more often attributed to character, for example, initiative, perseverance, responsibility, tolerance, cooperation, and even such personal- motivational characteristics, such as love of comfort, desire for dominance, etc. The tendency to expand the range of temperament properties is especially characteristic of the authors of the so-called factor studies of personality (74). It leads to a confusion of temperament with character and even personality.
As a general result, we have to state that although temperament and character differ in psychology, there is no clear boundary between them. In the most general and approximate sense, temperament continues to be understood as either the “natural basis” or the “dynamic basis” of character.
Much of what previously constituted the psychological part of ideas about temperament has been assimilated by characterology.

The study of temperament has a long and complex history. Temperament means

dynamic characteristics of mental activity. There are three areas of manifestation of temperament: general activity; features of the motor sphere and properties of emotionality. General activity is determined by the intensity and volume of human interaction with the environment - physical and social. According to this parameter, a person can be: inert, passive, calm, proactive, active, impetuous. The manifestation of temperament in the motor sphere can be considered as partial expressions of general activity. These include pace, speed, rhythm and total number of movements. When they talk about emotionality as a manifestation of temperament, they mean impressionability, sensitivity, impulsiveness, etc.

Throughout the history of study, temperament has always been associated with the physiological characteristics of the body. The roots of this physiological branch of teaching go back to the ancient period, when Hippocrates described four types of temperament, based on ideas about the presence of different fluids in the body (blood, bile, mucus and black bile) and the predominance of one of them. The name of each temperament was consonant with the name of the predominant liquid. Hippocrates had a purely physiological approach to temperament. He did not connect it with the mental life of a person and even spoke about the temperament of individual organs, such as the heart or liver. Over time, it was assumed that each liquid should evoke certain mental properties in a person. This is where psychological descriptions emerged - “portraits” of various temperaments.

The doctrine of temperament developed along two main lines: physiological and psychological.

The physiological line followed the path of searching for the organic foundations of temperament. They named the chemical composition of blood, the width and thickness of blood vessels, metabolic features, the activity of endocrine glands, the tone of nerve and muscle tissue, and the properties of the nervous system. The last hypothesis was developed by I.P. Pavlov and his students B.M. Teplov and V.D. Nebylitsyn. As a result of the analysis of experiments conducted on dogs to develop conditioned reflexes, it was discovered that animals exhibited three properties of the nervous system: strength, balance and mobility.

However, further studies showed that animals classified by behavior as belonging to one of the temperament types in experiments demonstrated unusual features of the nervous system. Therefore, the scheme had to be abandoned.

Gradually, the word “temperament” lost its significance, and was replaced by the words

"genotype" and "phenotype". Pavlov defined the genotype as the innate structure of the nervous system and connected it with the concept of temperament. Phenotype, as a warehouse of higher nervous activity, which is formed as a result of a combination of congenital characteristics and upbringing conditions, is associated with character.

During the development of this theory, several more properties of the nervous system were identified. Currently, Russian science has adopted a 12-dimensional classification of the properties of the human nervous system. Four basic properties: strength, mobility, dynamism, lability, distinguished by excitation and inhibition, form 8 primary properties. The same basic properties, characterized by balance, form 4 secondary properties.

The most studied are:

The strength of the nervous system, which determines the threshold of sensitivity;

The mobility of nervous processes, which determines reaction time;

Balance of nervous processes.

Strength as a property of the nervous system reflects the limit of performance of brain cells in situations of strong or prolonged arousal. The strong type is characterized by the endurance of nerve cells, the low depletion of their resources, does not react to weak influences, and does not pay attention to small, distracting moments. A person with a strong type maintains a high level of performance during long and hard work. Even when tired, he quickly recovers, in difficult unexpected situations he controls himself, and does not lose his emotional tone and vigor. The weak type nervous system has a more subtle sensitivity, the ability to respond to low-intensity stimuli. People with a weak type perform monotonous work better, remember faster, and, as a rule, they form conditioned reflexes more easily. Strength is subject to training (with age a person is more resilient, but, alas, less sensitive). However, if you put trained people in the same conditions, the genotypic trait will certainly appear.

A complex characteristic of the dependence of the nervous system on the time factor is its mobility and lability. Mobility is the speed (speed) of changes in the processes of excitation and inhibition; it manifests itself in the processes of transition from one activity to another. Lability is the rate of occurrence and progression of excitation processes, the rate of inhibition and cessation of the nervous process.

A person whose nervous system is characterized by high mobility has the ability to quickly and adequately respond to changes in the situation and easily abandons developed, but no longer useful, stereotypes. Quickly acquires skills and easily gets used to new conditions and people. Moves easily from rest to activity and from one activity to another. He quickly develops and expresses emotions. He is capable of instant memorization, accelerated speech rate. Low mobility of nervous processes indicates high inertia, which makes it difficult for a person to transfer to new skills. In this case, they talk about the inertia of nervous processes. Such a person often avoids unfamiliar situations.

The balance of nervous processes in terms of excitation and inhibition is characterized by the fact that the rate of occurrence and the rate of termination of the nervous process are approximately the same. In some people, excitation prevails over inhibition, in others inhibitory processes predominate. A person with balanced nervous processes easily suppresses unnecessary and inadequate desires and drives away extraneous thoughts. Works smoothly, without random ups and downs. He is calm and collected even in high-stress environments. Based on the balance of nervous processes, behavioral traits such as concentration, distractibility, and rhythm are formed.

Various combinations of the basic properties of the nervous system are described as four types

HNA (higher nervous activity);

I - strong, balanced, agile;

II - strong, unbalanced, mobile;

III - strong, balanced, inert;

IV - weak, unbalanced, mobile or inert.

Temperament types correlate with this typology as follows: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic.

The most studied is the first type, the least studied is the fourth. This is understandable. All manifestations in a person with a strong type are clearly expressed and easily recorded. Accordingly, it is much more difficult to detect manifestations in a person with a weak type.

It should be noted that a person has the entire spectrum of temperaments to one degree or another. Therefore, in psychology it is customary to talk about a “temperament passport”, in which all four types are recorded in one person in different proportions, but with dominance of one. A person’s temperament is most fully manifested in difficult critical moments of life.

Temperament properties are innate. They are the most stable and constant compared to other human characteristics and are very difficult to change.

However, they do not need correction. A person needs to know his temperamental characteristics in order to identify which types and methods of activity are more consistent with his natural predisposition.

In the modern approach to temperament, the research of C. Jung is of great importance. He proposed a typology of personality based on the distinction between a person’s focus on the external or internal world - extraversion (outside) / introversion (inside). Further study of these psychological types showed their relationship with types of nervous system and temperament.

An extrovert is focused on the outside world, which is complex, unpredictability, often changes, fluctuates strongly and unexpectedly. The external world presupposes the strength and endurance of nervous processes, their mobility, and speed of response. Extroverts are active, proactive and impulsive people, flexible in behavior, easily adapt to a new environment, incl. and social, they cope well with work that requires quick decision making.

An introvert focuses on the inner world, which exists according to different laws. It requires special sensitivity, the ability to grasp the invisible nuances of the movement of one’s own soul. Introverts are people who are prone to reflection and introspection, they are unsociable and have difficulty adapting socially, they usually show higher results on intelligence tests, and cope better with monotonous work.

The difficulty of studying temperament scientifically is associated with one fundamental difficulty. The fact is that it has not yet been possible to fully establish that in terms of behavior there is a manifestation of the genotype, i.e. are properties of temperament, and what is the result of lifetime “layers”, that is, refers to character properties.

Character in the narrow sense of the word, it is defined as a set of stable properties of an individual, which express the ways of his behavior and methods of emotional response.

The line separating temperament and character is quite arbitrary. Much more important and deeper is the boundary between character and personality. The essence of the difference between character and personality is that character traits reflect how a person acts, and personality traits reflect what he acts for. At the same time, it is obvious that the method of behavior and the orientation of the individual are relatively independent: using the same methods, you can achieve different goals and, conversely, strive for the same goal in different ways.

Character reflects a person’s attitude to various aspects of reality, which are grouped into four groups, thereby forming a character structure.

The first group includes traits that manifest themselves in the individual’s relationship to the world around him and to society. These traits are based on a system of leading motives and the orientation of the individual: his interests, feelings, ideals.

The second group includes traits that are manifested in activity and express a person’s attitude to work and the assigned task: hard work, diligence and efficiency or laziness, accuracy and conscientiousness or sloppiness, responsibility or irresponsibility, etc.

The third group includes traits that manifest themselves in relation to other people: individualist or collectivist, friendly or tough, indifferent or sensitive, rude or polite. The basis of this group is an empathic or indifferent attitude towards people.

The fourth group includes traits that show a person’s attitude towards himself. They manifest themselves through self-criticism, modesty, pride, egocentrism, self-control, dignity, self-esteem, level of aspirations, etc.

The structure and content of character are determined by:

Intellectual characteristics. Prudence, prudence, pragmatism, frivolity - these are features of mental activity, which at the same time are also character traits of a person.

Emotional background and specific expression of emotions. Optimistic or pessimistic, joyful or gloomy, conflictual or flexible - these are emotional manifestations that accompany a person’s actions, becoming his characteristic features.

The dynamics of will. Volitional manifestations in a person’s character are especially obvious; they determine the strength and firmness of character. A person with character and a strong-willed person are perceived as synonymous. Strong-willed qualities: initiative, organization, determination, determination, perseverance, etc. - these are characteristic ways of human behavior.

Personality orientation. A person reacts actively and selectively to the requirements of the real world. This can be compliance, interest or opposition, indifference. Direction influences human activity, and thus forms the characteristic features of a person that manifest themselves in activity.

The interconnection of all components. For the structure of character, it is important how harmonious its components are with each other, or whether they are in conflict or contradict each other.

Attempts to study character have been made since time immemorial. An independent doctrine of character was formed - characterology. The most important problems

This teaching for centuries has been: identifying character types and their determination by external manifestations in order to predict human behavior in various situations. Attempts to create typologies of character were not always based on scientific methods.

Horoscopes explain the character and actions of a person by the date of his birth. Physiognomy has linked a person’s appearance and his personality type. According to some psychologists, a person’s character is revealed in his posture: how he stands, how he walks, how he sits, and even in what position he falls asleep.

Palmistry predicts a person’s character traits and his destiny by the skin texture of the palms.

The most interesting and vitally truthful descriptions of character arose in the border region at the intersection of two disciplines: psychology and psychiatry. K. Jung identified two main types of character: extroverted and introverted. Kretschmer also described only two types: cycloid and schizoid. Over time, the number of types increased. In the most common Lichko typology, 11 types are recorded.

A person’s character is determined not only by the qualitative set of psychological properties, but also by the degree of their quantitative expression. If we imagine the axis on which the intensity of character manifestations is depicted, three zones will be indicated on it:

1 – zone of absolutely normal characters;

2 – zone of expressed characters (accentuations);

3 – zone of strong character deviations (psychopathy).

The first and second zones refer to the norm in a broad sense, the third to character pathologies. Accordingly, character accentuations are considered as extreme variants of the norm. Accentuation of character is an exaggerated development of certain properties to the detriment of others, as a result of which interaction with other people is disrupted. The severity of accentuation can vary - from mild to borderline, that is, bordering on mental illness.

The distinction between pathological and normal characters, including accentuations, is very important. On one side of the border there are people subject to the care of psychology, on the other - minor psychiatry. There are criteria that allow us to roughly define it.

2. Totality of character manifestation: with psychopathy, the same character traits are found everywhere: at home, at work, on vacation, among friends and among strangers, in short, in any circumstances. If a person is alone in public, but different at home, then he is not a psychopath.

3. The most important sign of psychopathy is social maladjustment. A person constantly faces difficulties in life, and these difficulties are experienced either by himself, or by the people around him, or all together.

The difference between accentuation and pathology is that they do not show signs of psychopathy (at least all three at the same time). This means that the accentuated character does not run like a “red thread” throughout life. It usually worsens during adolescence and then gradually smoothes out. This character does not manifest itself always and everywhere, but only in special conditions. It is reliably known that up to 90% of teenagers have accentuated characters.

Is there a normal character, and if so, how does it manifest itself? The formal answer to this question seems obvious; a normal character, of course, exists - it is a character without deviations, it is the golden mean of a whole series of qualities. On the other hand, normal character is

"faceless individuality" Because character is difference, peculiarity, individuality.

Changing character is possible only through self-education and self-development.

Temperament refers to the characteristics of mental activity:
a) static;
b) meaningful;
c) dynamic;
d) acquired.
In temperament, personality is manifested from its side:
a) content;
b) dynamic properties;
c) personal and semantic aspects;
d) unchanged properties.
The criterion for temperament is:
a) early manifestation in childhood;
b) acquisition;
c) variability over a long period of human life;
d) dependence on character traits.
The main block of personality within the dispositional approach is(are):
a) temperament;
b) directionality;
c) character;
d) abilities.
Temperament should not include only the dynamic characteristics of the psyche, which are expressed in “impulsiveness” and “impressionability,” according to:
a) SL. Rubinstein;
b) B.M.Teplov;
c) V.N. Nebylitsyna;
d) I.P. Pavlova.
Temperament is not a component of personality, according to:
a) B.C. Merlina;
b) G. Eysenck;
c) J. Guilford;
d) J1. Thurston.
The psychological description of the “portraits” of various temperaments was first given by:
a) Hippocrates;
b) Galen;
c) I. Kant;
d) Plato.
The physiological branch of the doctrine of temperament begins:
a) from Democritus;
b) from Plato;
c) from Hippocrates;
d) from Galen.
Hippocrates had an approach to temperament:
a) physiological;
b) psychological;
c) psychophysiological;
d) psychophysical.
W. Sheldon's theory refers to theories of temperament:
a) humoral;
b) constitutional;
c) neurodynamic;
d) behavioral.
One of the authors of the constitutional theory of temperament is:
a) I.P. Pavlov;
b) E. Kretschmer;
c) J. Guilford;
d) JI. Thurston.
One of the approaches to understanding the factors that determine the type of temperament is the approach:
a) phrenological;
b) constitutional;
c) physiognomic;
d) neurodynamic.
The origin of the names of the four most famous types of temperament is associated with the theory of temperament:
a) humoral;
b) constitutional;
c) neurodynamic;
d) physiological.
It was believed that bodily fluids play a special role in determining temperament:
a) until the end of the 18th century;
b) until the middle of the 19th century;
c) until the end of the 19th century;
d) until the middle of the 20th century.
The word “temperament” by I.P. Pavlov replaced:
a) genotype;
b) to the phenotype;
c) on the sociotype;
d) by biotype.
E. Kretschmer attributed to temperament:


c) the ratio of stability of emotions and resistance of will;

N. Akh attributed to temperament:
a) sociability and isolation, “life attitude”;
b) love of dominance and enjoyment of power;
c) the relationship between oneself and the stability of emotions and resistance of the will;
d) individual characteristics of determining tendencies.
In the structure of temperament, E. Sheldon did not identify as its components:
a) viscerotonia;
b) somatonia;
c) cerebrotonia;
d) mesomorphy.
Temperament as a love of domination and pleasure was considered by:
a) E. Kretschmer:
b) W. Sheldon:
c) E. Meiman;
d) N. Ah.
Temperament as affective predispositions was analyzed by:
a) E. Kretschmer;
b) W. Sheldon;
c) E. Meiman;
d) N. Ah.
The emergence of temperament as an integral mental phenomenon determines:
a) education;
b) factors of the social environment;
c) constitutional factors;
d) training.
Viscerotonic, somatotonic, cerebrotonic components in the structure of temperament were identified:
a) E. Kretschmer;
b) W. Sheldon;
c) I.P. Pavlov;
d) J. Guilford.
Temperament should include only dynamic characteristics of the psyche, which are expressed in impulsiveness and “impressionability”, according to:
a) S.L. Rubinstein;
b) B.M. Teplov;
c) V.D. Nebylitsyn;
d) L.S. Vygotsky.
He proposed to highlight three leading components of temperament, such as general mental activity, motor skills and emotionality:
a) S.L. Rubinstein;
b) B.M. Teplov;
c) V.D. Nebylitsyn;
d) A.N. Leontiev.
According to E. Kretschmer, isolation, emotional vulnerability, and fatigue are characteristic of:
a) picnics;
b) asthenics;
c) athletes;
d) dysplastics.
According to E. Kretschmer, aggressiveness and lust for power are characterized by:
a) picnics;
b) asthenics;
c) athletes;
d) dysplastics.
Studied the physiological basis of temperament:
a) W. Sheldon;
b) E. Kretschmer;
c) I.P. Pavlov;
d) J. Guilford.
According to I.P. Pavlov, the classification of nervous system types should be based on taking into account the following parameters:
a) strength;
b) activity;
c) the ratio of fluids in the body;
d) structural features of the body.
A high degree of efficiency, the ability to calmly find a way out of difficult situations are revealed by such indicators of the nervous system as:
a) strength;
b) balance;
c) mobility;
d) dynamism. Mood stability and stability of impressions are indicators of the nervous system such as:
a) strength;
b) balance;
c) mobility; ¦
d) dynamism.
The response to the smallest force of external influence is an indicator:
a) sensitivity;
b) reactivity;
c) activity;
d) plasticity and rigidity.
According to I.P. Pavlov, a strong, balanced and mobile type of nervous system is characteristic of:
^chd) sanguine people;
b) phlegmatic people;
c) choleric patients;
d) melancholic people.
According to I.P. Pavlov, a strong, unbalanced and mobile type of nervous system is characteristic of:
a) sanguine people;
b) phlegmatic people;
c) choleric patients;
d) melancholic people.
A low level of mental activity, slowness of movements, rapid fatigue, high emotional sensitivity, and the predominance of negative emotions over positive ones are characterized by:
a) sanguine;
b) choleric;
c) phlegmatic;
d) melancholic.
h
The type of temperament characterized by slight vulnerability and a tendency to deep experiences is inherent in:
a) choleric;
b) sanguine;
c) phlegmatic;
d) melancholic.
A type of temperament characterized by mobility, a tendency to frequently change impressions, responsiveness and sociability is characteristic of:
a) choleric;
b) sanguine;
c) phlegmatic;
d) melancholic.
The variability of temperament properties compared to the variability of physiological processes fluctuates in the range:
a) much wider;
b) much less wide;
c) slightly wider;
d) slightly less wide.

Temperament is one of the manifestations of individual psychological characteristics of a person. Temperament is understood as individually unique properties of the psyche that determine the dynamics of a person’s mental activity, which are equally manifested in a variety of activities, regardless of its content, goals, motives, remain constant in adulthood and in their mutual connection characterize the type of temperament.

Human temperament manifests itself in different areas of mental activity. It appears especially clearly in the emotional sphere, in the speed and strength of emotional excitability. There are people who are emotionally responsive and impressionable. Even minor events find an emotional response in them. They respond warmly to events in public life and work with enthusiasm and passion. On the other hand, there are people with low excitability and unimpressive people. Only especially important events in social and personal life cause them joy, anger, fear, etc. They treat everyday events without excitement; They work energetically and calmly.

Some quickly establish their attention, quickly think, speak, and remember. And vice versa, there are people whose characteristic feature is the slow, calm flow of mental processes. They think slowly, speak slowly. Their speech is monotonous and unexpressive. Slowness is found in them in other mental processes, as well as in attention. Temperamental differences also manifest themselves in characteristics motor skills: in body movements, gestures, facial expressions. Some people have fast, energetic movements, abundant and sharp gestures, and expressive facial expressions. Others have slow, smooth movements, sparing gestures, and inexpressive facial expressions. The former are characterized by liveliness and mobility, the latter by motor restraint. Temperament affects the characteristics of mood and the nature of its changes. Some people are most often cheerful and cheerful; Their mood changes often and easily, while others are inclined to be lyrical and stable, their changes are smooth. There are people whose mood changes suddenly and unexpectedly.

The nature of mental activity depends on temperament:

1. The speed of occurrence of mental processes and their stability, for example, speed of mind, speed of perception, duration of concentration.

2. Mental tempo and rhythm.

3. Intensity of mental processes - activity of the will, strength of emotions, etc.

4. Direction of mental activity, i.e., focus on certain objects, for example, the desire for new impressions or turning to oneself, to one’s ideas, etc.

Temperament is an individual psychological feature of a person, which manifests itself in the degree of emotional excitability, in the speed and energy of mental processes, in the speed and expressiveness of movements, facial expressions and gestures, and in the characteristics of mood changes. Temperament – This is a peculiarity of the dynamics of human mental activity.

We can give the following definition of temperament: characteristics of an individual in terms of his dynamic characteristics, i.e. speed, tempo and rhythm of mental processes and mental states.

The founder of the doctrine of temperament is considered to be the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived in the 5th century. BC e. Hippocrates argued that there are four fluids in the human body: yellow bile and black bile, blood and mucus. These liquids are mixed together in a certain proportion. Hippocrates called the proportion or ratio of four liquids when mixed with the ancient Greek word “krasis”. This word was subsequently translated into Latin as temperamentum. The commonly used word “temperament” comes from this Latin term. Hippocrates believed that when four liquids are mixed, one of them can predominate. From predominance V When a certain liquid is mixed, a type of temperament arises. According to Hippocrates, there are four main types of temperament - choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine.

Hippocrates approached the problem of temperaments from a medical point of view. He believed that one or another temperament creates a predisposition to a certain kind of disease. The teachings of Hippocrates in their content corresponded to the level of development of the sciences of his time and have long been outdated. However, the name of Hippocrates will always live in the history of the science of temperament. His merit is that he was the first to put forward the idea of ​​temperament, which has existed for over two and a half thousand years.

The terms introduced by Hippocrates to designate certain types of temperament turned out to be tenacious: choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic. Words such as “temperament” and “sanguine”, although they do not belong to Hippocrates himself, their appearance in science is associated with his teaching.

Hippocrates' teaching on temperament aroused great interest in this problem among ancient scientists - philosophers and doctors. Already in ancient times, many different teachings about temperament appeared (Aristotle, Galen, etc.). Some of them argued that a person’s mental qualities also depend on temperament.

The founder of psychological teachings about temperament is the German philosopher I. Kant. His vividly written characteristics of the four temperaments (sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic) have long been considered classic and had a great influence on the development of teachings about temperament in empirical psychology. Kant's teaching on temperament and numerous theories of temperament created by empirical psychologists are based on idealistic philosophy and cannot be considered scientific.

In addition to psychological theories of temperament, many others have been created - chemical, physical, physiological. Some scientists looked for the basis of temperament in the chemical composition of the body and blood. Others - in the movement of tissue molecules; still others - in the nature of metabolism in the body, in the speed and force of blood movement in the vessels, in the activity of the endocrine glands, etc.

E. Kretschmer in 1921 proposed to consider the dependence of the psyche on the type of physique. This constitutional typology. Four constitutional types have been identified:

1. Leptosomatic– characterized by a fragile physique, tall stature, and a flat chest. The shoulders are narrow, the lower limbs are long and thin.

2. Picnic- a person with pronounced adipose tissue, excessively obese and clumsy, characterized by small or medium height, a bloated body with a large belly and a round head on a short neck.

3. Athletic- a person with developed muscles, a strong physique, broad shoulders, narrow hips.

4. Displastic– a person with a shapeless, irregular structure (disproportionate physique, etc.).

With the above types of body structure, Kretschmer correlates the three types of temperament he identified: schizothymic(closed, stubborn, inactive); ixothymic(calm, unimpressive, with low flexibility of thinking); cyclothymic(his emotions fluctuate between joy and sadness, he easily contacts people and is realistic in his views).

In the 40s XX century W. Sheldon also developed his constitutional concept of temperament. It should be noted that in psychological science, most constitutional concepts have become the object of sharp criticism.

The famous psychologist H. Eysenck believes that a person’s personality includes four levels: I – the level of individual reactions; II – level of habitual reactions; III – level of individual personality traits; IV – level of typical traits: intro-extroversion, emotional instability (neuroticism), psychopathic traits, intelligence.

Neuroticism– This is emotional and psychological instability, susceptibility to psychological trauma. People with increased neuroticism, due to excessive impressionability and touchiness, may experience emotional stress even over trifles. They experience conflicts for a long time, “can’t pull themselves together,” are often depressed, sad, irritable, anxious, and their circle of friends usually shrinks. These traits are quite persistent and can be smoothed out in the process of persistent self-education.

Extraversion in combination with increased neuroticism determines the manifestation of choleric temperament; “introversion plus neuroticism” determines the temperament of a melancholic person; the opposite of neuroticism is emotional stability, balance, combined with extraversion, manifested as a sanguine type.

A scientific solution to the problem of temperaments became possible only thanks to the teachings of I. P. Pavlov about types of higher nervous activity. Temperament is those innate human characteristics that determine the dynamic characteristics of the intensity and speed of reaction, the degree of emotional excitability and balance, and the characteristics of adaptation to the environment.

There are no good or bad temperaments - each of them has its own positive sides, so the main efforts should not be aimed at changing the temperament (which is impossible due to its innateness), but at the reasonable use of advantages and leveling out the negative sides.

Humanity has long tried to identify the typical features of the mental make-up of various people, to reduce them to a small number of generalized portraits - types of temperament. Typologies of this kind were practically useful, since with their help it was possible to predict the behavior of people of a certain temperament in specific life situations.

Excitation– this is a property of living organisms, an active response of excitable tissue to irritation. For the nervous system, excitation is the main function. The cells that form the nervous system have the property of conducting excitation from the area where it originated to other areas and to neighboring cells. Thanks to this, nerve cells acquired the ability to transmit signals from one body structure to another. Excitation became a carrier of information about the properties of stimuli coming from outside and, together with inhibition, a regulator of the activity of all organs and systems of the body. The process of excitation occurs only at a certain intensity of the external stimulus, exceeding the absolute threshold of excitation characteristic of a given organ.

In the course of evolution, along with the complication of the nervous system, methods of transmitting excitation have also been improved, in which this process extends to the end of the path without any weakening, which allows excitation to carry out a regulatory function in the whole organism. The process of excitation, together with inhibition, forms the basis of higher nervous activity. Their dynamics leave their mark on all acts of behavior, even the most complex, and their individual characteristics determine the type of higher nervous activity.

Braking- this is an active process, continuously associated with excitation, leading to a delay in the activity of nervous processes or working organs. In the first case, braking is called central, in the second – peripheral. Peripheral inhibition was discovered in 1840 by the Weber brothers, who obtained cardiac arrest by rhythmic stimulation of the vagus nerve. Central braking is open I.M. Sechenov in 1863. This discovery had a profound impact on the study of not only neurodynamics, but also the regulation of mental processes.

Currently, two different methods of inhibition of cellular activity have been identified: it can either be the result of activation of special inhibitory structures, or arise as a consequence of preliminary excitation of the cell.

The mobility of an animal's nervous processes in laboratory conditions is determined by converting a positive reflex into an inhibitory one and vice versa. If in a number of experiments the sound stimulus is reinforced with the action of an unconditioned stimulus (food), but the light stimulus is not reinforced, then the animal will develop a positive conditioned reflex to the sound and an inhibitory one to the light. If in subsequent experiments we do the opposite: the light stimulus is reinforced by the action of the unconditioned (food), but the sound stimulus is not reinforced, then a transformation of the positive conditioned reflex into an inhibitory one and the inhibitory one into a positive one should occur. In animals with a mobile nervous system, such alteration is carried out relatively quickly and painlessly; For animals with a sedentary nervous system, such alterations are given with great difficulty. The speed and ease of converting positive conditioned reflexes into inhibitory and inhibitory into positive ones is an indicator of the mobility of nervous processes. Based on mobility, the nervous system can be mobile or inert.

The mobile nervous system is characterized by the rapid occurrence of nervous processes, a quick and easy change from the process of excitation to the process of inhibition and vice versa. A characteristic feature of the inert nervous system is the relatively slow occurrence of the main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition and the difficulty of their mutual change.

Depending on the unique combination of these three basic properties of nervous processes - strength, balance and mobility, unique types of the nervous system arise.

Emphasizing the possibility of a wide variety of combinations of the basic properties of the nervous processes of strength, balance and mobility, I.P. Pavlov argued that four variants of these properties are most often encountered in life. They determine four main types of higher nervous activity.

A scientific explanation of the nature of temperament was given by I.P. Pavlov in the doctrine of the basic properties of the nervous system. Studying the higher nervous activity of animals, he found that dogs, differing in the nature of the formation and course of conditioned reflexes, also differ in temperament. On this basis, he came to the conclusion that the basis of temperament is the same reasons as the basis of the individual characteristics of conditioned reflex activity, namely the properties of the nervous system - the primary signs.

The type of higher nervous activity, according to Pavlov, is This is a combination of the basic properties of the nervous system (strength, balance and mobility), which determines the individual characteristics of nervous conditioned reflex activity and temperament.

Under by the power of nervous processes I.P. Pavlov understood the performance of nerve cells, their ability to withstand prolonged stress without falling into an inhibitory state (exorbitant inhibition).

The strength of the process of excitation and inhibition is determined by the performance of nerve cells.

A strong nervous system is characterized by high rates of excitation or inhibition. High levels of excitation strength determine the endurance and performance of the nervous system in relation to the excitation process. Endurance and performance regarding the braking process provide high levels of braking power. A strong nervous system is able to withstand great stress, but a weak nervous system cannot withstand such stress, going into a state of extreme inhibition.

The derived property put forward by I. P. Pavlov in defining the type of higher nervous activity is balance of nervous processes – excitation and inhibition, the degree of correlation between the indicators of the strength of excitation and the strength of inhibition, or their balance.

Equilibrium follows from the equality of the indicators of the processes of excitation and inhibition in strength, and such a nervous system is balanced. If one of the nervous processes prevails over the other in strength, then such a nervous system will be unbalanced.

A property that determines the type of higher nervous activity, is mobility of basic nervous processes – excitation and inhibition, i.e. the rate of change from excitation to inhibition, and vice versa.

The nervous system of humans and animals is constantly exposed to environmental influences, which are characterized by inconstancy and variability. The balance of the organism with the environment is achieved only if both nervous processes - excitation and inhibition - keep up with fluctuations in the environment in terms of speed and speed of change. I.P. Pavlov defines the mobility of nervous processes as the ability to “quickly, at the request of external conditions, give way, give preference to one irritation over another, irritation before inhibition and vice versa.”

Physiological characteristics can be presented as follows: Type I– strong, balanced, agile; Type II– strong, unbalanced; III type– strong, balanced, inert; IV type– weak.

I. P. Pavlov always approached the question of the possibility of transferring data obtained through experiments on animals to humans with caution. However, he considered it possible to extend the doctrine of the types of higher nervous activity to humans. I.P. Pavlov believed that the type of higher nervous activity is manifested in the behavior and activity of animals and humans. I. P. Pavlov called the imprint that the type of higher nervous activity leaves on human behavior and activity temperament and drew a parallel between the four main types of higher nervous activity and temperaments, the existence of which was first noticed by Hippocrates.

In addition to these basic temperaments, there are many other individual or mixed ones. The most studied in psychology are the four main temperaments; individual, or mixed, temperaments have not been sufficiently studied.

Temperament properties:

1. Sensitivity is determined by what is the smallest force of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any mental reaction in a person, and what is the speed of occurrence of this reaction.

2. Reactivity characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of the same strength (a critical remark, an offensive word, a harsh tone, even a sound).

3. Activity indicates how intensely (energetically) a person influences the outside world and overcomes obstacles in achieving goals (perseverance, focus, concentration).

4. Relationship between reactivity and activity determines what human activity largely depends on; from random external or internal circumstances (mood, random events) or from goals, intentions, beliefs. Plasticity and frigidity indicate how easily and flexibly a person adapts to external influences (plasticity) or how inert and rigid his behavior is. Rate of reaction, characteristic speed of various mental reactions and processes, rate of speech, dynamics of gestures, speed of mind.

5. Rate of reactions. We judge this property by the speed of various mental reactions and processes, i.e. speed of movements, rate of speech, speed of memorization, quickness of mind, resourcefulness.

6. Plastic– rigidity. The ease and flexibility of a person’s adaptation to external influences is plasticity. Rigidity – inertia, rigidity of behavior, habits, judgments.

7. Extroversion, introversion determine on what a person’s reactions and activities primarily depend - on external impressions arising at the moment (extrovert), or on images, ideas and thoughts associated with the past and future (introvert).

8. Emotional excitability. How weak an impact is necessary for an emotional reaction to occur and at what speed it occurs.

The psychological characteristics of the main types of temperament follow from its psychological essence and are closely related to its definition. They reveal the characteristics of emotional excitability, the speed and energy of mental processes, the characteristics of motor skills, the nature of the prevailing moods and the characteristics of their change. The characteristics reveal the unique dynamics of a person’s mental activity, determined by the corresponding type of higher nervous activity.

Considering the above, the psychological characteristics of the main types of temperaments can be presented as follows:

1. Sanguine temperament, which is based on a strong, balanced, mobile type of higher nervous activity, is characterized by mild emotional excitability, rapid occurrence of mental processes, fast, numerous, varied movements, an abundance of light, graceful gestures, rich facial expressions, a predominance of a cheerful, cheerful mood , quick, painless change of mood.

2. Choleric temperament, which is based on a strong, unbalanced (with a predominance in the strength of the excitation process), mobile type of higher nervous activity, from the psychological side it is characterized by increased emotional excitability, rapid, energetic course of mental processes, fast, energetic movements, sharp gestures, expressive facial expressions, a stable cheerful mood and a sharp transition from one mood to another.

3. Phlegmatic temperament, which is based on a strong, balanced, inert type of higher nervous activity. Characterized by the following features: reduced emotional excitability; slow, calm flow of mental processes; slow, few movements, rare, inexpressive gestures, inexpressive facial expressions; even, stable moods and their slow and smooth change.

4. Melancholic temperament, which is based on a weak type of nervous system, is characterized by high emotional excitability (impressionability), asthenic feelings, slow mental processes, relatively quick fatigue, slow movements, weak facial expressions, few, low-energy and weakly expressed gestures, a tendency to sad lyrical moods, slow changes in mood.

Research by B. M. Teplov and V. D. Nebylitsin showed that the structure of the basic properties of the nervous system is much more complex, and the number of combinations is much greater than previously imagined. However, these four types of temperament, as the most general ones, can be used to study individuality. According to V.D. Nebylitsin, the so-called inhibitory type is distinguished, characterized by strength, mobility, imbalance, with a predominance in the strength of the braking process.