Experts call temperament a set of individual dynamic characteristics of behavior, which serves as the basis for the development and formation of character. Thus, in psychology, temperament and character are considered as complementary phenomena that also have a strong influence on each other. Of course, it is a mistake to believe that these concepts are synonymous, but at the same time their close relationship is obvious.
Temperament and character: main differences
To put it in simple language, character is usually called the features of a person’s behavior that affect communication with him, and temperament is the features of the manifestation of this behavior, the strength and brightness of the emotional response. At the same time, it should be said that temperament is rather the individual properties of the human psyche, which determine the mental activity of the individual.
Thus, by temperament we mean the totality of a person’s innate properties, and by character we mean a generalization of qualities acquired during life. Temperament and character in psychology are also separated by definition: temperament is determined by various biological characteristics of a person, while character is determined, first of all, by the social environment in which it exists and develops.
Thus, we can generalize that in different social conditions people exhibit different character traits, which cannot be said about temperament: it, as a rule, remains unchanged in any conditions. Also, character is not least determined by upbringing and culture, while temperament is greatly influenced by the individual characteristics of the nervous system.
In addition, character traits can be assessed, but the properties of a certain type of temperament cannot be assessed. That is, it is quite possible to say that a person has a good or bad character, but such a characteristic is not applicable to temperament. That is why in psychology, temperament and character, although they usually appear together, can sometimes be considered separately from each other.
Human character, temperament.
Why do you think our master is so evil? “That’s his nature,” I say. “It’s nature,” the milker grunts, “but it’s not nature at all!”
The nude, natural in the divine climate of Greece, in the youth of mankind, when poetry and the arts blossomed like the flowers of mental spring, gave birth to Phidias, Lysippos, Cleomenes, Agasius, Agesander, Apelles, Zeuxis, Polygnotus, just as it later gave birth to Michelangelo and the marvelous the creators of the Renaissance (speaking of the nude, we also mean its indispensable companion, drapery, inseparable from the nude, just as harmony is inseparable from the melody); however, during the Renaissance, nudity became nothing more than a convention; At this time, a person was already unthinkable without clothes.
There is no contradiction in our words: a living nature is always a poetic nature, although it does not at all follow from this that a person with a living nature is necessarily a poet: otherwise it would be easy to make a poet out of Napoleon and bring his name into the history of French poetry.
What we now call the natural sciences was then called “natural philosophy” (and the root is the same: nature, nature, i.e.
Essentially speaking, we can directly contrast these two concepts - “nature” and “culture”, natural and cultivated.
Nature - that wonderful nature that Carlo spoke about with sparkling eyes, infecting everyone with his irrepressible enthusiasm - was located in the depths of the country.
His nature was quite rich; he was not stupid and at the same time talented, he sang well, played the guitar, spoke very smartly and wrote very easily, especially government papers, which he got his hands on when he was a regimental adjutant; but what was most remarkable about his nature was his self-loving energy, which, although it was most based on this petty talent, was in itself a sharp and striking trait.
No, Terry, human nature is human nature, and where one gets away with it, everyone will get away with it.
No. 4) as if in swollen eyelids; large pupil without any individual expression; thick long eyelashes, a thick and long eyebrow (the general impression of the eyes is “sleepy”) - a lazy, apathetic nature, but not without a share of observation in its passivity; understanding is dull; lack of energy; but the nature is rather soft than rough.
There is nothing strange... I have such a nature... I am used to breaking into people by force in my position... the habit is second nature!
The relationship between character and temperament: basic principles
To identify the relationship between character and temperament, it is necessary to consider the types of the latter:
- Sanguine;
- Phlegmatic person;
- Choleric;
- Melancholic.
A sanguine person is a type of temperament characterized by mobility and sociability. He reacts quickly to any events and endures various troubles and failures with relative ease. People of this type have very lively facial expressions, they are quite emotional, but their emotions replace each other too quickly. That is why sanguine people are often attributed to inconstancy and superficiality.
The properties of the temperament and character of a person belonging to the choleric type can often be characterized as constant impetuosity and passion. He is subject to sudden and frequent mood swings and violent emotional outbursts. Additional properties include imbalance, emotionality, increased excitability, and often irritability and aggression.
Phlegmatic people are distinguished by relative constancy both in their beliefs and aspirations, and in their mood. It is very difficult to piss off such a person or find out what is happening inside him: they have practically no external expressions of emotional experiences. The main properties of this type can be called calmness, endurance, sometimes laziness and indifference to surrounding events and people.
The temperament and character of a melancholic person are characterized by hypersensitivity, vulnerability and impressionability. People of this type experience any minor failures for a very long time and painfully; they often have problems with self-esteem and an inferiority complex. This type is usually prone to anxiety and isolation.
As you can see, a person’s temperament and character are closely interconnected, however, as noted above, it is temperament that determines the dynamic features of the manifestation of character. This means that such a trait as, for example, sociability will have a different manifestation in a phlegmatic person and a sanguine person.
In addition, temperament can both greatly influence the development of individual character traits and hinder it in specific cases. Also, some features of a person’s character can restrain the manifestation of temperamental properties in various situations.
What is human temperament?
In modern psychology, the study of temperament types helps to better study a person’s personality, and with some degree of probability predict his likely mental problems and psychological disorders. Temperament is a definition in psychology that allows us to identify the basic psychophysical properties of the body, its resistance to external influences and behavioral reflexes.
Temperament is, in simple words, a property of a particular individual that determines his emotionality, behavior and much more. Each type of temperament has its own strengths and weaknesses, its pros and cons.
Character traits and temperament
It is a mistake to believe that character traits and temperament constitute a single whole and that specific traits can be used to judge the type of temperament. Rather, the latter simply affects the form of manifestation of certain features of the former.
So, all 4 types can have such a character trait as hard work, but it will be expressed differently in all of them:
- A sanguine person will take the initiative, take on new projects, easily experience troubles, quickly forget about them and again get carried away with a new business;
- The choleric person will devote himself to work with the passion characteristic of his type, but will either be irritated by trifles, then be inspired again and get angry again, reaching the point of real aggression;
- A phlegmatic person will prefer to calmly concentrate on the matter at hand, thoroughly understand its essence, think about and calculate all the nuances. Moreover, outwardly it may seem that he is not at all interested in his work. But in fact, he simply does not like to rush: this is how his concentration and balance are manifested;
- The character traits and temperament of a melancholic person in this case will lead to the fact that he will think about his task day and night, work hard, but at the same time reproach himself for the slightest mistakes. This type is inclined to see possible mistakes and failures in any business, which he is insanely afraid of, which is due to his natural suspiciousness.
Thus, the relationship between character and temperament is not a given. Moreover, experts note: a clear type of sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic or melancholic with its characteristic properties can rarely be found in real life. Most often, people have a mixed type of temperament, that is, they have properties that are endowed with different types. Of course, it is possible that one type has an advantage over others, due to which a person, as a rule, belongs to a particular type.
Classification of characters
There is no general and standard classification of characters. If it is necessary to somehow classify them, then the criteria are introduced by the researcher, and, depending on the task, people are divided into separate groups according to their predominant characteristics. For example, you can divide people into those who have predominant emotional or volitional qualities. Therefore, characters are usually divided into rational, emotional and volitional types. The famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung put forward the idea that characters should be classified based on whether a person belongs to an introverted or extroverted type, each of which is a type of temperament.
The extroverted type means that a person’s personality is turned to the outside world, the phenomena and objects of which have a huge impact on it. For people of this type, the phenomena of their subjective world are not so significant, and these people themselves have such qualities as sociability, adaptability of behavior, initiative, impulsiveness, etc.
The introverted type means that the interests of the individual are focused mainly on the phenomena of his internal reality. It is they who have increased value here. People of this type are characterized by a tendency to introspection, a low level of adaptability, isolation, unsociability, etc.
In some cases, characters are also classified into independent and comfortable, submissive and dominant, anarchic and normative, and some others. As for character traits, there are a great many of them, and each of them can be expressed to varying degrees.
How to use knowledge about temperament to your advantage
Information about temperament brings practical benefits in many areas of life. Knowing your own temperament, you can more accurately determine your capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, and the vector of applying effort to master new skills or compensate for shortcomings. Knowing the child’s temperament, you can choose the most effective methods of education, adjust the requirements and help in choosing a profession. Knowing the temperament of other people helps to understand them better, be more flexible in contact, more clearly define the strategy of one’s behavior, and adapt to someone else’s style of communication.
Experts in the field of psychology say that representatives of all four types of temperaments can be given general recommendations to compensate for shortcomings:
- A choleric person should take into account that his activity sometimes becomes destructive.
- Sanguine - that when solving important issues it is worth being more serious.
- Phlegmatic - that it is necessary to show more speed and flexibility.
- To a melancholic person - that ordinary failures, troubles and mistakes are not a life disaster.
There are recommendations for organizational work and communication with people, taking into account their temperament:
- Choleric - “get busy.”
The activity of a choleric person can bring rich fruits if directed in a constructive direction. A choleric person who is idle and bored may begin to become distracted or do something destructive. The best option is to let a person choose an activity for himself; this is usually not difficult for an idea generator to do. - Sanguine - “trust, but verify.”
Sanguine people value the good attitude of other people; trust is important to them. They can be given complex tasks that require significant effort, and expect good results. At the same time, they should be unobtrusively controlled, because sanguine people can promise something so as not to offend, and then not fulfill the promise because it became uninteresting or they didn’t want to from the very beginning. - Phlegmatic – “don’t rush.”
It is useless to force a phlegmatic person to do so; he is most productive when he works at his own pace. Phlegmatic people usually calculate well the time and effort required to solve a problem, so if a person has taken on something, there is no need to knock him down. How to expect to quickly switch between different tasks. - Melancholic – “do no harm.”
Melancholic people react sharply to negative emotional signals from others; it is better to communicate with them tactfully and with restraint, not forgetting to praise for successes and not bringing shortcomings to public discussion.
Temperament determines methods of action, but not their effectiveness. Representatives of different temperaments can achieve success in the same area, but do it in different ways. Understanding temperament helps a person find his path and go through it with less effort, but with better results.
