Psychological characteristics of personality: examples from life

Each person has a certain type of nervous system, behavioral characteristics, personality and a set of individual qualities. Knowing this, you can write a psychological portrait of a person or correct deviations. It helps to find reflection inner world person, captures all the feelings and actions of that moment. Each person is an individual, has his own mental world, and can independently regulate and analyze his behavior.

What is a psychological personality characteristic

Psychological characteristics are a set of components of the personality structure that determine the individual’s orientation, character traits and style of activity. Psychological characteristics are based on stable human properties: type of nervous system, temperament, nationality, abilities, qualities of mind.

The psychological characteristics of a person undergo some changes in the process of ontogenetic development, family upbringing and systematic education. Individual elements of psychological characteristics are formed only as a result of the development of character and the development of stable interests of the individual. Family education and schooling are being replaced by self-development and self-education of a person. Starting from adolescence, people consciously form their psychological portrait.

The main components of psychological characteristics are: resilience, unity and activity. On their basis, a person’s value orientations, worldview, style of activity and communication are formed. The dynamic properties of a person allow him to master social roles, achieve his goals, and maintain his socio-psychological status.

The characteristics of a person’s abilities determine his individuality.

Sample of writing a psychoportrait

A ready-made psychological portrait of a personality can be observed in the example of a student of the Faculty of Psychology, Institute of International Relations - Sergei Yu., 21 years old.

To describe the psychoportrait, individual data, a conversation with friends, the subject, and testing with the 16-factor Cattell Personality Inventory were used.

Sergey Yu. has a standard build, tall height and striking appearance. He enjoys physical activity, sports training and cycling. Has excellent coordination, accuracy and strength. He studies in the archery section, reads and analyzes a lot.

Sergei's facial expressions are lively, emotional and moving. The smile is open and friendly. The young man actively gestures in conversation and quickly switches from one topic to another. At the same time, his voice is quite loud and slightly hoarse.

The boy spent his childhood surrounded by elderly relatives. Since she and her mother lived with two grandparents. The young man has no brothers or sisters. Mom was actively involved in raising her son, and grandfather passed on his woodcarving experience. Therefore, Sergei graduated from a sports school, knows how to play the guitar and is an excellent wood cutter. However, he has a tendency to communicate with people and actively helps them, so he chose the profession of a psychologist.

Sergey Yu. does not like solitude, he feels good in large companies and quickly finds contact with strangers. He has many friends, thanks to the openness and attentiveness of the young man, people are attracted to him.

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Data obtained as a result of testing using the Cattell method indicate that Sergei Yu. is distinguished by pronounced social insight, notices the hidden meaning of everyday situations and is attentive to interpersonal relationships. He understands people well, the motives of their behavior and experiences. In conflict situations, strives to find compromise solutions and resolve the situation without violence.

At the same time, the subject is wary, internally tense and at times feels anxious. He has his own point of view and strives to establish it among those around him. Prefers to make decisions independently.

Sergei easily copes with abstract tasks and quickly establishes cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena. He has a rich imagination and developed imaginative thinking.

Sergei's character is close to choleric. He is energetic and emotional. Rather an optimist, as he easily experiences troubles. Choleric people are usually straightforward and say everything to their faces. Able to keep secrets and perform complex tasks. Constantly on the move.

Friends describe Sergei as an honest and open person who will always come to the rescue. He is active and a bit of an adventurer. Many girls have sympathy for him, but he keeps his distance from them.

The young man's self-esteem is adequate. Knows his strengths and weaknesses, and is also confident. An independent person, with his own core, views and desires. Strives for something new, actively expands his horizons and his circle of contacts.

Psychological structure of personality

In psychology, the personality structure includes its main characteristics:

Biological features. These include: the type of nervous system and its properties, the relationship between the processes of excitation and inhibition in it, and the performance of the brain.
Individual typological qualities. This block is determined by the characteristics of family upbringing and the type of parent-child relationships.
Character traits that appear in the process of socialization of an individual. The determining factors for the formation of this element of the personal structure are the child’s socio-psychological status in the group of peers, the level of development of his communication skills, and stress resistance.
Human life experience. It is often understood as an individual’s adaptive abilities, flexibility, ability to analyze one’s actions, and make independent decisions.

Rules for conducting psychological and pedagogical examination

There are fairly clear rules for drawing up a student’s characteristics. One of the fundamental requirements for conducting psychological and pedagogical characterization is objectivity . It is equally important to carefully analyze the factors influencing a child’s development as a whole, taking into account the characteristics of the student. The child should be treated as delicately as possible, minimizing any coercion or pressure on him. Only in this case can a psychological and pedagogical characterization of a student or student be as objective and useful as possible.

The student's characteristics are written by the class teacher and signed by the school director. When writing a psychological profile of a child, you may need the help of a school psychologist, testing and diagnostic results.

Basic psychological characteristics of personality

A general idea of a communication partner is made up of the basic psychological characteristics of his personality.

Interests and inclinations

Among all the psychological characteristics, when drawing up a personality portrait, experts first of all highlight the interests and inclinations of the individual. It is under the influence of a person’s interests that his attitude to reality is formed. The inclinations of the individual form the basis of the orientation and worldview of the individual, which explain certain behavioral reactions.

Interest, being a source of curiosity, directs our attention to certain things. Tendencies push a person towards certain types of activities. In an effort to learn something new, a person is driven by interest. When he begins voluntary practical activity, which is based on creativity, his actions are determined by his inclinations.

There are different approaches to classifying interests:

An individual's interest can be passive or active. With passive interest, a person needs a mentor who will guide and correct his actions: recommend popular scientific literature, suggest ways to perform activities. With active interest, a person independently engages in one activity or another, reads relevant literature, and tries different work techniques. In the process of active interest, an individual’s individual style of activity is formed.
According to their orientation, interests are classified into spiritual, social, political, and economic.
Based on the number of people showing interest, interests can be divided into individual, public and group.

The origin of a person’s interests and inclinations is based on his needs.

If a person strives to satisfy only physiological needs, life seems uninteresting and monotonous to him. Deep interest in a certain type of activity and stable inclinations fill a person’s life with meaning and stimulate his self-development.

A person may have broad interests and be inclined towards different types of activities - in this case they speak of broad erudition and multidirectional development. Also, a person may have a pronounced interest in a particular area of activity - in this case they speak of a deep, sustainable interest of the individual. If, at the same time, a person’s interests and inclinations are subordinate to his life goal and do not interfere with conscientious work, their presence is regarded as a positive socio-psychological characteristic.

An example of the above can be a hobby. If doing what you love does not interfere with work and does not crowd out communication with friends from a person’s life, then it undoubtedly characterizes the individual in a positive way.

You can meet people whose interests and hobbies change quickly. Such people are keen, but not passionate. They are attracted to something new, bright, unusual. For example, they may enroll in a historical fencing class, but quit training after receiving the first injury. Their inclinations are due to natural impressionability. Having tried themselves in a new type of activity, they lose interest in it. Such qualities as inconstancy and impulsiveness will certainly find a place in their psychological portrait. It is very difficult for them to achieve success in any type of activity.

Abilities and giftedness

Ability is a person's biological predisposition to science, sports, or the arts.

Abilities as a psychological characteristic of a person determine the success of a person in performing certain actions. An example of an ability that influences a person’s psychological characteristics is observation. As a rule, teachers, writers, and drivers have this property.

In almost every type of professional activity, to successfully perform their job duties, a person needs the following abilities:

visual memory;
spatial thinking and imagination;
concentration of attention.

When compiling a psychological profile, experts rely on the following types of abilities:

Intellectual abilities. They provide rapid perception of information, its processing, storage in memory for a long time, as well as the ability of a person to apply existing theoretical knowledge in practice.
Mathematical abilities. They explain man's inclination towards exact sciences. High development of mathematical abilities is often associated with good logical thinking. These mental properties are essential for accountants, programmers, physicists, mathematicians and economists.
Technical ability. This group of abilities is needed by people involved in the design and development of innovative mechanisms.
Creative skills. This type of ability is based on the inherent human imagination and ability to express fantasy.
Communication skills. With their help, a person easily finds a common language with representatives of any social groups, shows empathy, and wins over them. Journalists, psychologists, politicians, and teachers use communication skills in their professional activities.
Physical abilities. This group of abilities provides a person with sporting success.
Literary ability. They explain the writing talent and poetic skills of people.
Musical abilities. These include a sense of rhythm, a harmonic and melodic ear, and the ability to independently compose original melodies.

Abilities develop in the process of a person mastering practical activities. The basis for the development of abilities is inclinations. If nature has awarded a person with many inclinations, then they speak of talent, which allows him to be successful in various fields of science and art.

A synonymous concept for giftedness is talent, which determines a person’s ability to solve problems in a non-standard way. Talent is not a biological characteristic of a person. It grows out of a person’s interest in a certain activity and manifests itself in the process of performing this activity.

However, without specially organized systematic training, a naturally gifted person will not be able to become successful. In the learning process, the totality of natural inclinations determines the strength of knowledge acquisition and the rapid formation of skills and abilities.

It is impossible to equate a person’s talent and mastery in a particular activity, since giftedness represents a high level of development of natural inclinations, and mastery is the result of conscious work, which is based on the totality of theoretical knowledge, individual skills and abilities of a person.

The pace of development of abilities depends on the presence of giftedness, but learning is decisive in this process. If a person becomes a master of his craft, this means that a new level of development of abilities opens up for him.

It is important to understand that the lack of natural inclinations on the path to mastery in a particular type of activity can be successfully compensated for by such psychological characteristics of a person as: determination, perseverance, hard work, responsibility. These personality traits create the prerequisites for mastering almost any type of activity, provided there is a strong interest in it.

Thus, success in a particular activity can be explained by a variety of human abilities. The lack of some abilities is compensated by the high development of others. This means that the path to a dream is open to everyone. If a person is prepared for difficulties in the process of climbing a mountain, success will certainly await him at the end of the journey.

Every person has abilities. There is no point in comparing your own achievements with the achievements of other people. For the development of society, different talents are needed, which cannot belong to one person. When choosing a life path and profession, you should listen to yourself. After all, work that fully meets the interests and inclinations of an individual brings her not only material rewards, but also pleasure.

Temperament

Temperament is an innate psychological characteristic of a person. Classic patterns of temperament are:

Sanguine. This is a cheerful person whose feelings quickly replace one another, as they are superficial. The main features of his psychological characteristics are: optimism, carelessness, initiative, multidirectional interests. He is fussy, his movements are fast and precise. The nervous system of a sanguine person is too mobile.
Choleric. The main psychological characteristics of such a person are: explosive temper, hot temper, excitability, aggressiveness. He reacts vividly to events. His movements and speech are sharp, impetuous, and the pace of work is high. Choleric people lack a balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system.
Phlegmatic person. This is a slow person who does not tend to demonstrate his experiences. His movements are smooth, his gait is measured. The main features of his psychological characteristics are calmness, prudence, and balance. The nervous system of a phlegmatic person is inactive.
Melancholic. Such a person is distinguished by impressionability, vulnerability and touchiness. A melancholic person keeps his experiences to himself. Very often, melancholic people demonstrate high development of creative abilities.

“Pure” examples of temperament are rare in everyday life. Most often, the dominant type of temperament is complemented by some traits of another. For example: a phlegmatic person with a melancholic dominant, a choleric person with a sanguine dominant. The psychological characteristics of a person in this case will depend on the situation and circumstances.

So, temperament is a set of psychological characteristics of a person that determines a person’s general mobility, the speed at which his feelings arise and their severity, and the peculiarities of the manifestation of his emotional experiences. Each person needs to learn to subjugate his temperament - then the positive traits of his personality will come to the fore.

Character

Character is the psychological core of personality, which is formed from early childhood to adolescence. The structure of this psychological characteristic includes cognitive processes, emotionality, willpower, individual style of activity, and value orientations. Character traits determine a person’s attitude towards work. They are manifested in the motives of his activities, in the methods that he chooses to solve the assigned problems.

The psychological characteristics of a person are based on the following character traits:

General character traits. They form the psychological type of the individual. These include: consistency, activity, integrity, honesty, discipline, courage.
Character traits that reflect an individual’s self-attitude and self-perception. These are: modesty, self-esteem, shyness, touchiness, selfishness and egocentrism.
Character traits that reflect an individual's attitude towards other people. This group includes: sociability, sensitivity, openness, politeness, willingness to help.
Character traits that reflect an individual's attitude towards work. Among them: hard work, perseverance, initiative, accuracy, conscientiousness, responsibility.

Characterological features form the basis of a person’s worldview.

Knowing the characteristics of a person’s character allows us to predict his reactions. Systematic work on oneself allows a person to form his character, develop positive qualities in himself and eliminate negative ones.

How to recognize a phlegmatic person

Functions of communication in psychology and their brief description

A phlegmatic person is a person who has the following characteristics:

He is characterized by calmness, at times he is the standard of tranquility;
He knows how to smooth out conflicts, not support an aggressive argument, and is generally good-natured;
Does not give in to provocations, is reasonable, knows how to analyze the situation and evaluate it;
Speech is quiet, calm, smooth;
Gestures are minimal, as are facial expressions;
Knows a sense of proportion in everything that concerns himself;
Not spoiled, unpretentious, adapts to places and people quite quickly.

It is noteworthy that, having such a calm temperament, his representative is not at all boring or indifferent, as it might seem. This is one of those representatives of people who first listen, observe, and adapt. Having gained the trust of such an individual, you can acquire a wonderful friend, partner and colleague for many years.

There is an opinion that this type of people, due to their inertia, is prone to fullness and roundness of shape. Among the crowd, they are distinguished by their smooth gait, slowness in movements and speech. However, this is not always an indicator.

People with this temperament hold back their emotions

Methodology for compiling psychological characteristics

Psychological characteristics of a person are compiled by psychologists using the following methods:

Observation. Through specially organized observation, the psychologist receives information about the characteristics of an individual’s behavior. In psychological characteristics, observation results indirectly reflect personality characteristics.
Psychodiagnostic methods. Using personality tests and questionnaires, the psychologist determines the client’s temperament type, his interests and inclinations, and the prevailing motives for his activity. This information is the main one in the psychological characteristics.
Sociometry. With the help of this diagnostic tool, the psychologist receives information about the socio-psychological status of the individual in the educational or work community. Sociometry allows us to identify the characteristics of a person’s interpersonal interaction with friends and colleagues.
Interview. If sufficient information about a person cannot be obtained through tests, the psychologist develops a series of questions that he asks the client. This method of collecting information is used to clarify facts and eliminate contradictions.

Psychological characteristics begin with the listing of a person’s personal data: indicating the last name, first name and patronymic, date of birth, place of residence, reporting information about family members and characteristics of family upbringing. The following are described:

inclinations and interests;
personality abilities;
characteristics of temperament and character;
a person's attitude towards himself;
a person's attitude towards other people;
a person's attitude towards work.

An example of a person's psychological characteristics

Letovaltsev Andrey Yurievich

Date 04/19/2008.

Mother: Letovaltseva Anna Gennadievna.

Father: Letovaltsev Yuri Alekseevich.

Place of residence: Novodvinsk

The child is raised in a complete family. Parents take an active part in the boy's life. For Andrey, his older brother is a role model.

The boy shows interest in exact sciences and has a high level of development of logical thinking. For two years, Andrey has been attending robotics courses and participating in city and regional competitions.

The boy's level of voluntary attention is above average. There are no signs of fatigue when performing work. The pace of work is high.

The boy has a high level of visual memory development. Auditory memory is moderately developed. The dominant channel for obtaining information is visual.

The predominant motive for activity is to avoid failure. The level of anxiety corresponds to the age norm.

In the course of solving intellectual problems, Andrey demonstrates independence and rationality. Willingly comes to the aid of his comrades. Shows interest in pair work. When working in a group, he imposes his opinion on his comrades and makes many comments. He takes criticism addressed to him painfully.

In a group of peers, the boy strives to become a leader. He is ambitious and active. Andrey tries to assert himself at the expense of other children. However, in order to become a leader, the boy lacks sensitivity and attentiveness to others. In addition, the boy has high self-esteem.

Andrey has a choleric type of temperament. The young man is emotional, assertive, and purposeful. He often has conflicts in his relationships with peers. Poor development of communication skills does not allow making concessions and finding a compromise solution to controversial situations. The boy is characterized by sudden mood changes.

There are outbreaks of aggression in behavior. It is difficult for a boy to control his emotional reactions.

Based on the results of psychological diagnostics, Andrey can be recommended a course of individual sessions with a psychologist aimed at correcting the emotional-volitional sphere. The boy will also benefit from group classes in the form of training to develop communication skills.

Portrait No. 2: Narcissistic

Such a tyrant will not beat anyone. A narcissistic despot simply does not need this - he is above this everyday life. This man is simply obsessed with himself. He is usually attractive and intelligent.

He sincerely believes that his interests are simply beyond the reach of simple estimates, i.e. wife and children. These men build their relationships in the family in such a way that those around them begin to truly obey them. A narcissistic tyrant builds a wall around himself; outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering his world. This person will not stoop to primitive scandals, he will simply show his contempt and begin to behave detached and independent.

Narcissistic tyrants love to get sick. They constantly listen to themselves and their health. Such a man can talk for hours about his illnesses, but they are very annoyed when someone in the household suddenly gets really sick. This causes him discomfort and irritation. No one in his family should get sick, especially his wife.

Such family tyrants are useless in everyday life. They don't stoop to doing housework. They prefer not to pay attention to burnt out light bulbs or leaking faucets.

Such men treat their children coolly. Their children are usually very quiet and obedient. The wife must raise their offspring so that they do not bother dad and do not distract him from narcissism.

In sex, such a tyrant cares only about his own pleasure. He doesn't care about his wife's feelings. He tries only for himself, his beloved.