As Victor Hugo used to say, a person has three characters: one is attributed to him by his environment, another he attributes to himself, and the third is real, objective.

There are more than five hundred human character traits, and not all of them are clearly positive or negative; much depends on the context.

Therefore, any personality that has collected certain qualities in individual proportions is unique.

A person’s character is a specific, unique combination of personal, ordered psychological traits, characteristics, and nuances. It is formed, however, throughout life and manifests itself during work and social interaction.

Soberly assessing and describing the character of the chosen person is not an easy task. After all, not all of its properties are demonstrated to the environment: some traits (good and bad) remain in the shadows. And we seem to ourselves to be somewhat different than what we see in the mirror.

Is it possible? Yes, there is a version that this is possible. Through long efforts and training, you are able to assign yourself the qualities you love, becoming a little better.

A person's character is revealed by his actions, public behavior. It is visible in a person’s attitude to work, to things, to other people and in her self-esteem.

In addition, character qualities are divided into groups - “volitional”, “emotional”, “intellectual” and “social”.

We are not born with specific traits, but acquire them through the process of upbringing, education, exploration of the environment, and so on. The formation of character, of course, is also influenced by the genotype: the apple often falls extremely close to the apple tree.

At its core, character is close to temperament, but they are not the same thing.

In order to relatively soberly assess yourself and your role in society, psychologists advise writing down your positive, neutral and negative traits on a piece of paper and analyzing them.

Try to do this too; you will find examples of character traits below.

Positive character traits (list)

Negative character traits (list)

At the same time, some qualities are difficult to classify as good or bad, and they cannot be called neutral. So, any mother wants her daughter to be shy, silent and bashful, but is this beneficial for the girl?

Again, a dreamy person may be cute, but completely unlucky because he always has his head in the clouds. An assertive individual looks stubborn to some, but obnoxious and pushy to others.

Is it bad to be gambling and carefree? How far has cunning gone from wisdom and resourcefulness? Do ambition, ambition, and determination lead to success or to loneliness? It will probably depend on the situation and context.

And what you want to be, you decide for yourself!

Features of behavior, communication, attitude towards people, objects, work, things show the character traits that an individual possesses. Based on their totality, an opinion about a person is determined. Such clichés as “the life of the party”, “bore”, “pessimist”, “cynic” become the result of an assessment of a person’s character traits. Understanding how character works helps in building relationships. Moreover, this applies to both your own qualities and those of others.

Human character traits: classification.

2. Other people

  • Reticence-Sociability. It shows a person’s openness, his relaxedness, how easy it is for him to make acquaintances, how he feels in a new company or team.
  • Truthfulness-deception. Pathological liars lie even in small things, hide the truth, and easily betray. There are people who embellish reality, most often they do this because reality seems boring to them or not bright enough.
  • Independence-conformity. This quality shows how a person is. Does he rely on his experience, knowledge, opinion, or does he follow someone else’s lead and is easy to suppress?
  • Rudeness-politeness. Bitterness and internal experiences make a person rude. Such people are rude in queues, public transport, disrespectful towards subordinates. Politeness, although a positive character trait, can have selfish motives. It may also be an attempt to avoid confrontation.

3. Things

  • Neatness-sloppiness. Creative clutter or meticulous cleanliness in the home can show how neat a person is. It can also be characterized by appearance. Sloppy people often cause antipathy, and there are not always those willing to look at the broad soul behind the external absurdity.
  • Thrift-negligence. A person can be assessed by his attitude towards accumulated property and borrowed items. Although this human trait appeared in the material group, it can also manifest itself in relation to people.
  • Greed-generosity. To be called generous, you don’t have to be a philanthropist or give away your last. At the same time, excessive generosity is sometimes a sign of irresponsibility or an attempt to “buy” someone else’s favor. Greed is expressed not only in relation to other people, but also towards oneself, when a person, out of fear of being left without money, saves even on small things.

4. Self

  • Demandingness. When this personality trait is pronounced, two extremes appear. A person who is demanding of himself is often just as strict with others. He lives by the principle “I could do it, so others can too.” He may not be tolerant of other people's weaknesses, not understanding that each is individual. The second extreme is built on uncertainty. A person tortures himself, considering himself not perfect enough. A striking example is workaholism.
  • Self-criticism. A person who knows how to criticize himself has a healthy personality. Understanding, accepting and analyzing your achievements and defeats helps in the formation strong personality. When the balance is disturbed, either self-criticism or self-criticism is observed.
  • Modesty. It is necessary to understand that modesty and - different concepts. The first is based on a value system instilled during upbringing. The second is a wake-up call for development. In a normal state, modesty is manifested in moderation, calmness, knowing the limits in words, expressing emotions, financial spending, etc.
  • Selfishness and egocentrism. Similar concepts, but the trait here is egoism, while egocentrism is a way of thinking. They think only about themselves, but use others for their own purposes. Egocentric people are often misanthropes and do not need others, believing that no one is worthy of them.
  • Feeling self-esteem . Shows how a person feels internally. Outwardly, it is expressed in a high assessment of one’s rights and social value.

Personality assessment and types of characters.

In addition to the main character traits that are formed in the system of relationships, psychologists also identify other areas:

  • Intelligent. Resourcefulness, curiosity, frivolity, practicality.
  • Emotional. Passion, sentimentality, impressionability, hot temper, cheerfulness.
  • Strong-willed. Courage, perseverance, determination.
  • Moral. Fairness, responsiveness, .

There are motivational traits-goals that drive a personality and determine its guidelines. As well as instrumental features-methods, they show by what methods the desired will be achieved. So, for example, a girl may experience this when she persistently and proactively pursues her lover.

Gordon Allport put forward a theory about what character traits there are. The psychologist divided them into the following types:

  • Dominant. They determine the behavior of the individual as a whole, regardless of the sphere, and at the same time influence other qualities or even overlap them. For example, kindness or greed.
  • Regular. They are also expressed in everyone. These include, for example, humanity.
  • Minor. They do not particularly influence anything, and are often derived from other traits. For example, diligence.

There are typical and individual personality traits. It’s easy to group the typical ones; by noticing one of the dominant qualities or several minor ones, you can “draw” a personal portrait as a whole and determine the type of character. This helps to predict actions and better understand a person. So, for example, if an individual is responsive, then most likely he will come to the rescue in a difficult situation, support, listen.

Positive and negative character traits.

Personality is a balance of positive and negative qualities. In this regard, everything is conditional. For example, it is considered a bad quality, but some psychologists argue that it can become an incentive to work on yourself or improve your life. The curvature positive traits, on the contrary, can lead to their transformation into negative qualities. Persistence develops into obsession, initiative into self-centeredness.

Strong and weak character traits should be highlighted; you often have to remember them when filling out a resume. They terrify many, because it can be difficult to evaluate oneself. Here's a little cheat sheet:

  • Weak. Formality, irritability, shyness, impulsiveness, inability to remain silent or say “no.”
  • Strong. Perseverance, sociability, patience, punctuality, organization, determination.
  • Negative., vindictiveness, cruelty, parasitism.
  • Positive. Kindness, sincerity, optimism, openness, peacefulness.

Character traits are formed in childhood, but at the same time they can change and transform depending on life circumstances. It's never too late to change what you don't like about yourself.

Psychologists call character a combination of personality traits that determine its behavior. You can make many lists of human character traits. If two people are given the task of characterizing a third person, their lists will differ from each other. People don't think about how character influences their successes or failures. But, considering the individual qualities that make up character, it is easy to understand how they affect the personality as a whole. A person’s character traits develop depending on the type of nervous activity, heredity, and upbringing environment. They are formed throughout life. The predominance of certain traits determines a person’s lifestyle.

Human character traits: list

Many psychologists divide all character traits into 4 main groups:

  • Attitude towards others;
  • Attitude towards yourself;
  • Attitude to material values;
  • Attitude to work.

Within each group, many qualities can be identified.

For example, a list of traits of the “attitude towards others” group:

  • compassion;

  • respect;
  • reliability;
  • flexibility;
  • politeness;
  • the ability to forgive;
  • generosity;
  • Gratitude;
  • hospitality;
  • justice;
  • meekness;
  • obedience;
  • loyalty;

  • sincerity;
  • tolerance;
  • truthfulness.

Character traits: list of the “attitude towards oneself” group:

  • Caution;
  • Contentment (understanding that true happiness does not depend on material conditions);
  • Creation;
  • Determination;

  • Courage;
  • Attentiveness;
  • Endurance;
  • Faith;
  • Honor;
  • Initiative;
  • Self-control.

“Attitude towards material values” can be characterized by the following qualities:

  • Thrift;
  • Organization;
  • Generosity;
  • Wisdom.

“Attitude to work” demonstrates the following character traits:

  • Hard work;
  • Enthusiasm;
  • Initiative;
  • Punctuality;

Psychologists also classify character traits according to volitional, emotional and intellectual characteristics. Personality properties appear in combinations. For example, kindness, generosity and hospitality are usually characteristic of the same person. When characterizing a person, others highlight leading features or a set of features. By saying, “He's a kind and sincere guy,” or “She's lazy and disorganized,” people make a point. This doesn't mean that a lazy girl can't be kind and honest. It’s just that these traits do not predominate in her behavior.

Positive and negative character traits

For harmonious interaction in all four areas (with society, material values, work and oneself), a person must demonstrate his best qualities and minimize his worst. It is traditional to highlight “pros” and “cons” in personality characteristics. Every positive trait has its opposite. Even children easily name antonyms: “good - evil”, “hardworking - lazy”, etc. It is difficult to define uniquely positive character traits. For example, for the professions of a teacher, salesperson, doctor, and waiter, such traits as goodwill, politeness, and tolerance are important. These qualities are not essential for the work of a programmer, accountant, or draftsman, who more require organization, punctuality, and responsibility.

There is a special concept of “professional character traits.” A clearly expressed quality suitable for a particular job helps a person achieve great professional success. At the same time, character is formed throughout life. The profession leaves its mark on the personality. Therefore, when they say “he is an exemplary policeman,” everyone understands that we are talking about a disciplined, courageous, and fair person. The expression “teacher from God” means a kind, wise, tolerant person. A person who dreams of a good career must develop the best qualities of his profession.

Good character traits can also be controversial in the everyday sense. Being generous is good, but if because of generosity a person gives away the necessary property, his family and himself suffer. Obedience, for which a child is praised at home and in kindergarten, can be detrimental to him and form a weak-willed, passive personality.

Much simpler people understand negative character traits. We can say that these qualities are universal. Anger, envy, deceit, laziness, and greed are included in the list of mortal sins of Christians. But such properties are perceived negatively by people of all faiths. Muslims consider hypocrisy the worst sin. Hypocrites are equally disliked in all countries and among all peoples. Negative character traits of a person, if they appear in combination, make the person very unattractive to others. Negative characters are quarrelsome neighbors, quarrelsome colleagues, evil relatives. These are people who have taken the negative aspects of their nature to the extreme.

Every person is to a certain extent deceitful, envious, hot-tempered, but reasonable people They try not to demonstrate their negative qualities to others. Negative aspects of character can be corrected. If others often say: “You are too rude,” “It’s difficult to communicate with you because of your arrogance,” you need to draw conclusions and start working on yourself. Psychologists advise writing down the negative qualities of your character on a piece of paper and working with each individual individually. For example, you can remember among your friends a person who behaves exactly the opposite of you - not rude, but correct, not hot-tempered, but patient. You need to imagine yourself in a certain situation in the place of this person. At the same time, it is important to conjure up a real picture and real emotions. Such psycho-emotional training helps to reconfigure behavior and develop the desired quality in oneself.

Adaptation of character to society

Any culture, people and civilizations have certain frameworks of behavior. A person cannot exist outside of society. From childhood, the child has to adapt to the requirements of the environment - the family, kindergarten, schools. An adult is influenced by many social forces, from spouses to politics, religion, social class. A person’s character inevitably adapts to the demands of society. At the same time, many natural inclinations of the individual are put under pressure.

History knows many examples when brilliantly gifted people came into conflict with their environment due to the inability to lead the lifestyle that their nature required. At the same time, social norms allow a person to lead a safe life in the society around him. Such social character traits as loyalty, tolerance, and politeness allow painless contact with others. Rejection of social norms, primarily laws and morals, creates an asocial personality.

IN modern psychology there is the term “national character traits”. Each nation develops certain common, typical behavior patterns among its representatives. For example:

  • Peoples Northern Europe and Americans are self-confident, honest, practical, persistent, and freedom-loving. The conservatism and subtle humor of the British, the punctuality of the Germans, and the taciturnity of the Scandinavians are well known.
  • Residents of Southern Europe and Latin America energetic, temperamental, emotional, cheerful, sensual. A romantic Italian, a passionate Spanish woman, a charming French woman, restless Brazilians - there is a lot of reality in these stereotypes;

  • Representatives Eastern Europe(Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs) love constancy, are magnanimous, generous, selfless, sympathetic, prone to repentance and forgiveness. The widespread stereotype of the “mysterious Russian soul” has many foundations.
  • The peoples of the East are much more respectful of their parents and, in general, elders than Europeans. Eastern societies, much more than European ones, are characterized by hospitality, family honor, dignity, modesty, goodwill, and tolerance.

Traits of a social nature are inextricably linked with religious norms. The standards of Christian morality include the following qualities:

  • Lack of envy;
  • Chastity;
  • Meekness;
  • Generosity;
  • Sociability;
  • Compassion.

The influence of religious culture in the history of society is very strong. Even modern atheists European countries They consider the main Christian value - love for people - to be the best personal characteristic.

Islamic society creates the following traits in people:

  • Respect for elders;
  • Hospitality;
  • Modesty;
  • Courage;
  • Humility.

Characteristics of men and women

A person’s gender plays a huge role in character formation. Not only gender characteristics develop certain qualities, but also public opinion. Standard character traits of a man:

  • Leadership;
  • Ability to protect;
  • Inner strength;
  • Reliability;
  • Loyalty;

Women are guided more by intuition and feelings than by reason; they are more talkative, gentle in communication, and cunning. Of course, in most cases, women and men correspond to their gender characteristics. But it has not yet been studied in detail what influences the formation of gender traits more - nature or nurture. Often men and women have to fulfill the role that society imposes on them. For example, medieval society ordered a woman to be modest and obedient to her parents and husband. Modernity requires more independence from women.

The world is full of men and women who do not fit the accepted characteristics. Many girls have leadership and organizational skills. And, conversely, large number men are delicate, non-aggressive and emotional.

At what age is character formed?

Any mother who has raised several children will say that all her babies were completely different from infancy. Even infants react differently to food, bathing, and play. There are temperamental, noisy babies, and there are quiet and inactive ones. Heredity plays a role here, as well as natural temperament, which depends on physique, health and upbringing conditions.

A child's character traits develop under the influence, first of all, of the family. Responsible, loving parents already at the age of three or four years see what type of temperament the child has by nature: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic or melancholic. Depending on innate qualities, a positive, socially acceptable character can be formed. If there is no love and attention for children in a family, they are less likely to grow up friendly and hardworking. On the other hand, the examples of many outstanding politicians, writers, and artists who grew up in disadvantaged conditions confirm the importance of innate character traits and self-education.

Was last modified: April 20th, 2019 by Elena Pogodaeva

When speaking about such a concept as “human character,” most of us mean a person’s reactions to certain events in his life, as well as the people around him. In fact this concept is much more complex. Today you will learn about the characteristics of human character, its main types and traits.

Concept, manifestation of character

The concept of “character” in psychological terminology implies (translated from Greek as “seal”) a set of personal characteristics of a person that are formed in the process of growing up and clearly manifest themselves in a person’s life (both personal and social). As a result, stable and uniform behavior is formed in certain situations.

In fact, not all psychological characteristics of a person can be considered permanent character traits. A simple and striking example: a person in a fairly stressful situation showed himself to be rude and unrestrained. Does this mean that such behavior is characteristic of him due to his character? Not at all. Only the regular manifestation of such behavior can indicate a character trait.

The basis of human character is formed by it nervous activity, or rather its type; the dynamics of its manifestation is the environment.

There are many deep definitions and decodings of the set of concepts included in the word “character”. In simple terms, human character is most often understood as:

  • a system of stable behavior that forms a personality type;
  • the line between inner world person and outside world in which he lives or the way the individual adapts to the environment;
  • a clearly defined system of human behavioral reactions to certain stimuli.

It is worth noting that character cannot be called fully formed until a person lives, grows and develops. The formation of a person’s character directly depends on the characteristics of his lifestyle, which include not only the physical, but also the spiritual: thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc.

The content of a person’s character is a complex relationship between social influence and the orientation of the individual, consisting of spiritual/material needs, beliefs, interests, etc.

Character Traits

It is worth noting that the formation of character directly occurs under the influence of certain social subgroups to which a person belongs (for example, family, friends, work team, etc.). Depending on which group is dominant for a person, such character traits will develop in him. In addition, a significant role in this process will play the position of the individual in the group and the degree of his interaction with it.

In general, several groups of character traits can be distinguished depending on a person’s relationship with the outside world:

  1. A person's attitude towards other individuals. This implies the individual’s perception of his own family, colleagues, friends, just strangers strangers. Here there is a person’s desire for active communication and, accordingly, character traits accompanying this desire, such as respect for others, collectivism, sensitivity, and kindness towards others. The opposite manifestation is also possible - the desire for limited communication and, accordingly, the traits associated with it - callousness, restraint, contempt for others, etc.
  2. A person’s attitude towards his own work and achievements. As in the previous case, it is common for a person to show radically different emotions in relation to his own work. It all depends on his characteristic traits: hard work, creativity, organization, responsibility - with a positive attitude towards one’s own work, and laziness, dishonesty, sloppiness, etc. - with a negative/indifferent attitude towards work.
  3. A person's attitude towards himself. An important component in character is a person’s own “I”. This refers to character traits such as self-esteem, pride (a healthy feeling), modesty, or the opposite character traits: conceit, arrogance, resentment, selfishness.
  4. A person's attitude towards things. Everything is simple here: a person either cares about the condition of his (and not only) things (neatness, careful handling), or not (sloppiness, negligence, etc.).

The relationship between character and temperament

Many people mistakenly believe that a person’s temperament is initially akin to character and therefore equate these two concepts. The scientific community has officially accepted 4 main views on the interaction of character and temperament:

  • Identification (character and temperament are considered equal concepts).
  • Contrasting concepts, emphasizing the fundamental difference between them.
  • Recognition of temperament as part of character, sometimes even its core.
  • Recognizing temperament as the actual foundation for character development.

Despite the radically different scientific views On the concept of character and temperament, we can highlight their general dependence on the physiological characteristics of a person, namely the characteristics of his nervous system. It is also worth noting that temperament is more strongly associated with nervous system of the individual, and therefore is actually the basis for character. Temperament has a decisive influence on the formation of such traits as balance, adequate perception of a given situation, calmness of reaction, etc.

Nevertheless, temperament is not yet a predetermining factor in the formation of character. Thus, the formation of radically of different nature with the same temperament.

Basic character types

There are many various theories, according to which human character can be divided into several types. Here are some of the most common ones in the scientific community.

Character types according to Kretschmer

According to the famous German psychologist Kretschmer, all individuals living on Earth belong to one of three main groups/character types (the main role in determining a person into one type or another is his physiological data):

  • Asthenics. People of thin build with thin long arms and legs, weak chest. Most often, people from this group have poorly developed muscles. IN psychologically This type corresponds to the schizothymic type of character: people with this type of character are characterized by isolation, stubbornness, and poor adaptation to changes in the environment.
  • Athletics. People are quite strong, with well-developed muscles. This type corresponds to the ixothymic type of character: people with this type of character are characterized by calmness, practicality, restraint, authority, etc.
  • Picnics. People are quite dense or even overweight, have a large head, a short neck, and a face with small features. The appropriate type of character is sociability, emotionality, quick adaptation to new conditions.

Classification of characters according to Carl Gustav Jung

The famous psychiatrist and psychologist from Switzerland created a simple at first glance, but quite deep classification of characters, since we are talking about the interaction of the conscious with the unconscious. So, K.G. Jung identified three main character types: extrovert, introvert, ambovert.

Thus, the reactions and activities of an extrovert depend to a greater extent on external impressions of events, people, etc. For an introvert, the opposite is true: he is more guided by his own experiences, sensations, etc.

Extroverts are sociable people, pleasant conversationalists, open, cheerful, and have a large number of friends. They always try to take everything from life, they care little about their own health

Introverts are a special type of person who is quite difficult to understand. He is always closed, uncommunicative, strives to analyze everything, is rather suspicious, and has few friends.

Well, and finally, an ambivert is a person who, so to speak, has learned the best from the first two types. This person is an excellent analyst with a subtle soul, prone to periodic “attacks” of loneliness and at the same time capable of “stirring up” a large company with his wit, humor and charisma.

Types of characters according to Hippocrates

Hippocrates is considered the founder of one of the key theories of human essence. True, in the distant ancient times The typology of temperament he created was understood, rather, to be the physical component of a person. And only a couple of centuries ago, the concept of four temperaments that he developed began to be studied from a psychological point of view.

So, there are 4 main types of character/temperament:

  • Choleric; quite passionate, hot-tempered, sometimes aggressive person who finds it quite difficult to control his emotional state and reactions to irritating external factors. A choleric person is characterized by frequent outbursts of anger, mood swings and other sudden changes in behavior. Quickly consumes energy, depleting your reserve of strength.
  • Sanguine. A very active and cheerful person, who, like a choleric person, is characterized by sudden mood swings, but at the same time a quick and stable reaction to external factors. A sanguine person is a productive and purposeful person.
  • Phlegmatic person. The person is very reserved and shows virtually no emotions. He is unhurried, has a balanced psyche, is persistent and persistent in his work.
  • Melancholic. A very impressionable and easily vulnerable person, acutely experiencing his own failures. It reacts quite sharply to external stimuli.

This is, perhaps, all you need to know about a person’s character, his main types, characteristics and manifestations in the world around him. From all of the above, we can draw a simple conclusion: each person is very individual, his personality is complex, multifaceted and unusual.

Human character traits and their manifestation

03.04.2015

Snezhana Ivanova

Character traits always leave an imprint on a person’s behavior and also influence his actions.

Throughout his life, each person exhibits his own individual characteristics, which are reflected not only in his behavior or the specifics of communication, but also determine his attitude towards activities, himself and other people. All these features that manifest themselves in life, both in scientific use and in everyday life, are called character.

Definition of "character"

In psychology, character is understood as a certain set of human traits that are clearly expressed and relatively stable. Character traits always leave an imprint on a person’s behavior and also influence his actions.

In psychological dictionaries you can find a fairly large number of definitions of character, but they all boil down to the fact that character is the totality of the most persistent individual psychological characteristics of a person, which always manifest themselves in their activities and social behavior, as well as in the system of relationships:

  • to the team;
  • to other people;
  • to work;
  • to the surrounding reality (to the world);
  • to myself.

The term itself character» ( in the lane from Greek character – coinage or seal) was introduced by the ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist, student Plato and Aristotle's closest friend Theophrastus. And here it is worth paying special attention to the translation of the word – minting or printing. Indeed, character appears as a kind of pattern on a person’s personality, thereby creating a unique seal that distinguishes its owner from other individuals. Such a design, just like the coat of arms or emblem on the personal seal of the medieval nobility, is drawn on a certain basis using specific signs and letters. Basis for engraving individual personality is temperament, and the unique pattern is bright and individual character traits .

Character traits as a tool for psychological assessment and understanding of a person

In psychology, character traits are understood as individual, rather complex characteristics that are the most indicative for a person and make it possible with a high degree of probability to predict his behavior in a specific situation. That is, knowing that a particular person has certain traits, one can predict his subsequent actions and possible actions in a given case. For example, if a person has a pronounced trait of responsiveness, then there is a high probability that difficult moment he will come to the rescue of life.

A trait is one of the most important and essential parts of a person, his stable quality and established way of interacting with the surrounding reality. A character trait crystallizes a personality and reflects its integrity. A person’s character trait is a real way to solve many life situations (both active and communicative) and therefore they need to be considered from the point of view of the future. So, character traits are a forecast of a person’s actions and deeds, since they are persistent and make a person’s behavior predictable and more obvious. Because every personality is unique, there is a huge variety of unique character traits.

Each person acquires special character traits throughout his life in society, and all individual signs (traits) cannot be considered characterological. Such will be only those who, regardless of life situation and circumstances will always manifest themselves in an identical way of behavior and the same attitude in the surrounding reality.

Thus, in order to assess personality psychology (characterize it) as an individual, it is necessary to determine not the entire sum of a person’s individual qualities, but to highlight those traits and qualities of character that are distinctive from other people. Despite the fact that these features are individual and different, they must constitute a structural integrity.

A person’s character traits are a priority when studying his personality, as well as for understanding and predicting his actions, actions and behavior. Indeed, we perceive and understand any type of human activity as a manifestation of certain traits of his character. But, characterizing a person as a social being, it becomes important not so much the manifestation of traits in activity, but what exactly this activity is aimed at (as well as what the human will serves). In this case, one should pay attention to the content side of character, and more specifically, to those character traits of a person that make up the general structure of his mental make-up. They are expressed in: integrity-contradiction, unity-fragmentation, static-dynamism, breadth-narrowness, strength-weakness.

List of human character traits

Human character- this is not only a certain set of certain traits (or a random set of them), but a very complex mental formation that represents a certain system. This system consists of many of the most stable qualities of a person, as well as its properties, manifested in various systems human relationships (to work, to your business, to the world around you, to things, to yourself and to other people). In these relationships, the structure of character, its content and individuality of originality find its expression. Below, in the table, the main character traits (groups of them) are described, which find their manifestation in various systems of human relations.

Persistent character traits (symptom complexes) manifested in personal relationships

In addition to the traits that manifest themselves in the system of relationships, psychologists have identified human character traits that can be attributed to the cognitive and emotional-volitional sphere. So character traits are divided into:

  • cognitive (or intellectual) - curiosity, theoreticality, criticality, resourcefulness, analyticalness, thoughtfulness, practicality, flexibility, frivolity;
  • emotional (impressionability, passion, emotionality, cheerfulness, sentimentality, etc.);
  • strong-willed traits (persistence, determination, independence, etc.);
  • moral traits (kindness, honesty, justice, humanity, cruelty, responsiveness, patriotism, etc.).
Some psychologists propose to distinguish between motivational (or productive) and instrumental character traits. Motivational traits are understood as those that motivate a person, that is, they encourage him to take certain actions and actions. (they can also be called goal traits). Instrumental features give human activity a unique style and individuality. They refer to the very manner and way of performing an activity (they can also be called trait-methods).

Representative of the humanistic trend in psychology Gordon Allport character traits were combined into three main categories:

  • dominant (those that most determine all forms of human behavior, his actions and deeds, such as selfishness or kindness);
  • ordinary (which manifest themselves equally in all spheres of life, for example parity and humanity);
  • secondary (they do not have the same influences as dominant or ordinary ones, for example it could be diligence or a love of music).

So, the main character traits are manifested in various fields mental activity and system of personality relationships. All these relationships are consolidated in in different ways actions and forms of human behavior that are most familiar to him. Certain natural relationships are always established between existing traits, which make it possible to create a structured character. It, in turn, helps to predict, based on a person’s character trait already known to us, others who are hidden from us, which makes it possible to predict his subsequent actions and actions.

Any structure, including character, has its own hierarchy. Thus, character traits also have a certain hierarchy, so there are main (leading) and secondary traits that are subordinate to the leading ones. It is possible to predict a person’s actions and behavior based not only on the main features, but also on secondary ones (despite the fact that they are less significant and do not appear so clearly).

Typical and individual in character

The bearer of character is always a person, and his traits are manifested in activities, relationships, actions, behavior, methods of action in the family, in a team, at work, among friends, etc. This manifestation always reflects the typical and individual in character, because they exist in organic unity (thus, the typical is always the basis for the individual manifestation of character).

What is meant by typical character? A character is said to be typical when it has a set of essential traits that are common to a particular group of people. This set of features reflects general conditions life of a particular group. In addition, these traits must be manifested (to a greater or lesser extent) in each representative of this group. The set of distinctive typical features is a condition for the emergence of a certain one.

What is typical and individual in character is most clearly expressed in a person’s relationships with other people, because interpersonal contacts are always determined by certain social conditions of life, the corresponding level of cultural and historical development of society and from the formed spiritual world the person himself. The attitude towards other people is always evaluative and manifests itself in different ways (approval-condemnation, support-misunderstanding) depending on the existing circumstances. This manifestation is expressed depending on a person’s assessment of the actions and behavior of others, or rather their positive and negative traits character.

Typical human character traits, in terms of their level of intensity, manifest themselves individually in each person. For example, individual traits can reveal themselves so strongly and clearly that they become unique in their own way. It is in this case that the typical in character turns into the individual.

Positive character traits and their manifestation

Both the typical and the individual in character find their manifestation in the systems of relationships of the individual. This happens due to the presence of certain traits (both positive and negative) in a person’s character. So, for example, in relation to work or one’s business, such positive character traits as hard work, discipline and organization are manifested.

As for interpersonal communication and attitude towards other people, the good character traits are the following: honesty, openness, fairness, integrity, humanity, etc. All these traits allow you to build constructive communication and quickly establish contacts with people around you.

It should be noted that there are a huge variety of individual character traits. But among them, it is necessary to highlight first of all those that have the greatest influence on the formation of a person’s spirituality (it is in this context that the best character trait of a person – humanity) finds its manifestation. These traits are even more important in the process of educating and developing the younger generation, because the same traits are formed differently depending on situations, the presence of other character traits and the orientation of the individual himself.

While highlighting good character traits, one should not forget about their possible distortion, or the presence of obvious negative traits that a person needs to fight. Only in this case will the harmonious and holistic development of the personality be observed.

Negative character traits and their manifestation

In relation to the behavior, actions and activities of other people, a person always forms traits of a certain character - positive and negative. This occurs on the principle of analogy (that is, identification occurs with what is acceptable) and opposition (with what is included in the list of unacceptable and incorrect). The attitude towards oneself can be positive or negative, which primarily depends on the level of development and the ability to adequately evaluate oneself ( that is, from the formed level). About high level self-awareness is evidenced by the presence of the following positive traits: high demands on oneself, and self-esteem, as well as responsibility. And, conversely, an insufficient level of development of self-awareness is indicated by such negative character traits as self-confidence, selfishness, immodesty, etc.

Negative character traits (in principle, just like positive ones manifest themselves) in the four main systems of human relationships. For example, in the “attitude to work” system, among the negative traits are irresponsibility, carelessness and formality. And among the negative traits manifested in interpersonal communication, it is worth highlighting isolation, stinginess, boastfulness and disrespect.

It should be noted that negative character traits, which find their manifestation in the system of a person’s relationships with other people, almost always contribute to the emergence of conflicts, misunderstandings and aggression, which subsequently leads to the emergence of destructive forms communication. That is why every person who wants to live in harmony with others and with himself should think about cultivating positive traits in his character and getting rid of destructive, negative traits.