Many people justify their failures and unseemly actions by their character traits. Indeed, how a person behaves depends on the character that develops over the years. But is it really impossible to change it?
Modern psychologists and psychotherapists believe that a person is quite capable of controlling his character and even changing it at his own discretion. The first thing you should do is get rid of complexes and bad habits, and we are talking not only about addictions, but also about negative patterns of behavior.
Most often, character correction involves the eradication of character traits such as self-doubt, doubts in decision-making, embarrassment when communicating with significant people, phobias, etc. Many specialists today use various NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) techniques to change the client’s deep internal attitudes.
The decision that their character needs to be changed is usually made by those people who find it difficult to achieve their goals, meet other people, maintain long-term relationships, or be interesting due to certain personal characteristics.
For example, a person who has risen one step higher in his career may want to change his character. The new position requires him to be more responsible, sociable and calm, i.e. those qualities that he lacks. In such a situation, he has to look for a way to develop the necessary character traits.
What is character
Character is the totality of those most clearly manifested traits of the human psyche, which are especially clearly manifested when expressing attitudes towards the world around us, communicating with other people and relating to oneself.
For example, we admire the character of another person: “How purposeful and decisive he is!” We judge this way because this person behaves in accordance with these characteristics: he does not give up in the face of difficulties, goes to the end, constantly seeks strength within himself, and commits courageous actions.
How character traits are formed
Initially, before moving on to the topic of influence on character, we will understand how the character of each person is formed. Character can change throughout a person's life. Starting from adolescence, he can improve himself, for example, by introducing good habits and changing behavior. First of all, bundles of positive and negative traits are formed: kindness - hostility, sociability - secrecy, responsiveness - selfishness.
At an early age, those qualities that are approved and supported by adults develop well.
Psychologists believe that character is formed based on a person’s temperament, which, in turn, represents the genetically determined properties of a person. There are 4 types of temperament: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Each type is characterized by certain behavior patterns and reactions to what is happening, for example, melancholic people are slow, get tired quickly, and do not adapt well to new environmental conditions, while sanguine people are characterized by sociability, activity, high speed of thinking and emotionality.
But temperament can change, especially as the child grows and develops as a person. Probably, your parents or relatives, whom you have not seen for a long time, at your already conscious age said: “And in childhood you were a calm child,” or, conversely: “Your parents had a hard time with you, because they couldn’t calm you down!” They reasoned this way because they saw the changes that had taken place in your character.
Character Formation Factors
As has already been said, even before we are born, genes shape our character. And the greatest contribution to the development of character in the early years is made by family and society. Further formation is provided by the person himself, depending on how he works on himself and his inner world.
During school years, a person develops traits that manifest themselves in relationships with people. Have you noticed that your further communication with people in life depended on how sociable you were at school with your peers: how easily you can make new acquaintances and communicate with strangers. At school, comparisons with classmates begin, so the child develops a self-attitude: he compares his successes with the successes of other children in the class and in electives. This can contribute to the formation of both positive qualities (in case of success in studies/activities) and negative ones (in case of failure or failure).
Features of character formation
A child's character traits are formed in the womb. With the intake of mother's hormones, the emotional and mental background of the baby is formed. After birth, breastfeeding also continues to provide hormones from the mother to the baby. Therefore, both during pregnancy and after the birth of the baby, the emotional state of the mother is important.
A person’s character traits manifest themselves most clearly during stressful situations. Therefore, if a person has the goal of changing some character traits, he should avoid critical situations so that the transformation is more successful.
You probably know the feeling when you break down after holding back negative emotions for a long time and notice how difficult it is then to take the will into your fist and start again.
Biological and social character factors
Character is a set of stable human personality traits that determine their behavior and emotional responses.
The relationship between biological and social nature is a problem of psychology. Despite the fact that character is not innate, the features of a person’s natural organization are necessarily reflected in its formation and manifestation.
Physiological and genetic bases are the biological component of character. The type of nervous system, the specific functioning of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, as well as other characteristics of the body have a great influence on the formation of character.
If we consider nature from a scientific point of view, it will be a fusion of human temperament and life experience.
According to some experts, one of the physiological mechanisms of character formation is a dynamic stereotype, which is a system of conditioned reflexes. These reflexes are a reaction to a system of conditioned stimuli.
The genetic basis of character is confirmed by scientific research - the similarity of character in the family, the connection of character with the human constitution, the presence of open genes responsible for the possibility of developing any character traits.
Genetics say that only the “reaction norm” is inherited, that is, a set of different ways of responding to the environment. Character traits are determined by the interaction of environmental conditions and these conditions. There are innate and acquired components to character, and in general, with a biological basis, character is the result of all life influences.
A person can adapt some of his character traits.
Character characteristics include B.G. Ananyev:
- Direction,
- habits,
- communication skills,
- emotional and dynamic manifestations.
In relation to people V.N. Myasishchev names such character traits as sociability, friendliness, openness, etc. He includes pairs of characteristics in the character structure - depth-superficiality, breadth, balance-balance, etc.
Among the character traits of N.D. Levitov, the following stand out:
- Holism,
- dynamism,
- complexity,
- solidity,
- certainty.
As for character structure, this topic is poorly developed; existing approaches need to be generalized, analyzed and tested experimentally. According to the concept of S.L. Rubinstein, the personality structure includes what a person wants, can and eats, therefore character is the framework of the personality.
Stages of character development
Character formation begins from the very birth of a child. In the first years of life, we copy the behavior, habits, and values of people close to us: mothers, fathers, grandparents. From the age of 12-14, our individuality begins to manifest itself; under the influence of external and internal factors, our character changes. During this period, the formation of moral and moral values and volitional qualities occurs. High school students have already developed their basic character traits. In the future, they are consolidated and developed, but transformation is also possible under the influence of external factors: culture, environment, media and others. In an adult, the formation of characteristic traits does not stop, but those properties that contribute to achieving success in life are consolidated: in the family plan, in a career, in the formation of the necessary social circle.
Conflict and personality types
It is difficult to imagine our life without stress and difficulties. As a result, a conflict situation often accompanies difficult life lessons. And no matter where we are: at home, at school or at work, there is always a risk of conflict.
Conflict is not an easy confrontation; it is a clash between two personalities. Each of which has its own experience and life position. A conflict situation largely depends on the psychological characteristics of a person. The behavior of each individual in a conflict will have its own characteristic features.
A controversial situation cannot arise without a reason. The key to a conflict situation can be a careless word, action or inappropriate behavior for the opponent. This is precisely the basis on which conflict appears, grows and grows.
What influences the formation of character besides physiology?
It is known that the character of each person is based on genetic characteristics transmitted from parents. But it is also subject to variability under the influence of social factors.
First of all, upbringing means a lot. Parents need to understand their child’s temperament from an early age and build upbringing in such a way as not to break him or disrupt his psyche. A person’s character also tends to change under the influence of living conditions: how calm or hectic a person’s life is, a rich or poor family, high or low status. Lifestyle is similarly capable of making changes: an unhealthy lifestyle - excessive consumption of alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, smoking, drugs - all this will spoil positive character traits, destroying the nervous system. Such qualities as nervousness, hostility, and foul language will develop. Imagine a teenager from a disadvantaged area and a poor family and imagine the kind of life he leads. Surely you can only characterize such a person with negative qualities.
Differences from temperament
People often confuse character and temperament. In the first case (character) these are the personal characteristics of any person and they are formed from the cradle, and the second (temperament) are the properties of the nervous system (NS), namely its responsiveness, mobility and stability. An important fact is that temperament is completely innate and cannot be changed. In simple words, temperament is the basis (foundation) on which character will be formed and developed in the future. Hippocrates classified temperament into four types:
- choleric (additional information in the article) is an active and enterprising person who has a mobile nervous system. He gets excited quickly and cools down slowly, and is also characterized by restlessness and an excess of energy. The downside of this temperament is aggressiveness and conflict, as well as short temper;
- sanguine This person has a stable nervous system and by nature is not only balanced, but also quite mobile. If the nervous system is excited, it tends to move away quickly. The advantages of this temperament are sociability and optimism, but the disadvantages include frivolity, as well as irresponsibility;
- melancholic. They have a very weak nervous system, and therefore are considered impressionable and vulnerable individuals. The advantages of a melancholic person are sympathy for other people and gentleness in relationships, but they are very withdrawn, suspicious, and also have low performance;
- phlegmatic person. People of this temperament are balanced, and they have a stable nervous system, but less dynamic than that of a sanguine person. The problem with phlegmatic people is that they are not able to quickly switch from one topic (activity or thought) to another, and also do not know how to work at “high speeds”. There are also advantages, and they lie in the fact that the result of the work of a phlegmatic person will always be phenomenal (everything is thought out scrupulously and to the smallest detail). They are reliable and quite responsible people. The only downsides that can be highlighted are dryness in communication and clumsiness.
Is it possible to change character
Work makes a big contribution to changing character. People who devote a lot of time to work, setting high goals and achieving them, and dealing with difficulties and problems that arise along the way, as a rule, have a strong character. In adulthood, it is less amenable to adjustment, but, nevertheless, it is possible to change it. In this case, a person’s self-education and self-discipline play an important role. Therefore, if you want to change for the better, reconsider your activities and start introducing good habits or changing your thinking. Based on this, we can judge that a person himself influences what his character will be like by performing certain actions and performing corresponding activities.
Personality structure
The structure of a personality is the connection and interaction of its various components: abilities, volitional qualities, character, emotions, etc. These components are its properties and differences and are called “traits.” There are quite a lot of these features, and to structure them there is a division into levels:
- The lowest level of personality
is the sexual properties of the psyche, age-related, innate. - The second level of personality
is the individual manifestations of thinking, memory, abilities, sensations, perceptions, which depend on both innate factors and their development. - The third level of personality
is individual experience, which contains acquired knowledge, habits, abilities, and skills. This level is formed in the process of life and is social in nature. - The highest level of personality
is its orientation, which includes interests, desires, drives, inclinations, beliefs, views, ideals, worldviews, self-esteem, and character traits. This level is the most socially determined and formed under the influence of upbringing, and also more fully reflects the ideology of the society in which a person is located.
Why is it important and necessary to distinguish these levels from each other? At least in order to be able to objectively characterize any person (including yourself) as a person, to understand what level you are considering.
The differences between people are very multifaceted, because at each level there are differences in interests and beliefs, knowledge and experience, abilities and skills, character and temperament. It is for these reasons that it can be quite difficult to understand another person, to avoid contradictions and even conflicts. In order to understand yourself and others, you need to have a certain amount of psychological knowledge, and combine it with awareness and observation. And in this very specific issue, knowledge of key personality traits and their differences plays an important role.
