CONCEPTS OF TEMPERAMENT IN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN PSYCHOLOGY
Slyusar Marina Nikolaevna
Student
FGBOY VO Belgorod State National Research University", Belgorod
Abstract.The article is devoted to the issue of сoncepts of temperament suggested by domestic and foreighn psychologists. The author put emphasis on K.G. Jung’s understanding of temperaments and its idiosyncrasies while describing other approaches throughout the history.
Keywords. temperament, personality, identity, sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, K.G. Jung.
It is home truth that people who are two peas in a pod do not exist in the world, the personality of each person is unique. A person is not born as an already established personality. He develops and progresses gradually. However, even before a person earns his identity, he has individual characteristics of the psyche. These features of the psyche are very conservative, stable. They form in each person a kind of psychic soil, where individual personality traits are growing. This means that the child's psyche is not like a smooth board where you can write any patterns, and that in the upbringing process one must rely on the properties that he has from birth.
These properties vary from person to person. Observing the behavior of people, the way they work, study and rest, how they react to external influences, how they experience joys and sorrows, we undoubtedly pay attention to the great individual differences of people. Some of them are fast, impetuous, noisy - others, on the contrary, are slow, calm, imperturbable. It should be noted that these differences do not relate to the content of the personality, but to some external manifestations. This side characterizes the concept of "temperament".
The understanding of this term has been developed through centuries by domestic and foreigh scientists.
Nowadays, the definition that the state of the body depends on the quantitative ratio of fluids present in the body, provided by Hippocrates, remains historically recognized. A few centuries later, these characteristics were designated by the Latin word «temperamentum», which means «the proper ratio of parts», from which, later, the term «temperamentum» came from.
Hippocrates said that fluids, mixed in the body and characterized by the predominance of blood, form a sanguine temperament; mixed fluids with the predominance of lymph - phlegmatic temperament; mixed fluids with the predominance of yellow bile - choleric temperament and, finally, mixed fluids with the predominance of black bile - melancholic temperament.
Later, in subsequent centuries, researchers went to great lengths to streamline and somehow group the differences in physique and physiological functions. Against the background of all kinds of observations, constitutional typologies were identified, where the properties of temperament were considered as innate and correlated with individual differences in physique. E. Kretschmer's typology was very widespread, the main idea stated that a person with a certain type of temperament is characterized by certain mental characteristics. After conducting many measurements, E. Kretschmer was able to identify three constitutional types and match them with the types of temperament also identified by him: leptosomatic - schizothymic, picnic - ixothymic, dysplastic - cyclothymic.
In the 40s of the XX century. W. Sheldon's theory, based on the idea of the relationships between the body and temperament as the parameters of a person, made a splash. The author, borrowing terms from embryology, described the main body types. Subsequently, he identified three types of temperament, which were correlated with body types: 1) endomorphic - viscerotonia; 2) mesomorphic - somatotonia; 3) ectomorphic - cerebrotonia.
Turning to the consideration of the views of domestic scientists, it is important to put the spotlight on the following:
B.M. Teplov gives the following definition of temperament: «Temperament is a set of mental characteristics of a given person associated with emotional excitability, i.e. the speed of the emergence of feelings, on the one hand, and their strength, on the other».
S.L. Rubinstein emphasized that the impressionability of a person and his impulsiveness are especially significant for temperament, and that impressionability is characterized by the strength and stability of the impact that impressions have on a person, and impulsivity - by the strength of motivation and the speed of transition from motivation to action.
Nowadays, most of the constitutional concepts are subject to criticism, because they underestimate the influence of the environment and social conditions on the formation of mental properties. The features of the functioning of the nervous system, which perform the controlling and dominant roles in the human body, are considered and evaluated more seriously. One of these concepts was proposed by I.P. Pavlov. He dwelled on the connection between temperament and some general properties of nerve processes. In the future this theory was developed and confirmed experimentally in the works of his followers.
I.P. Pavlov drew attention to the dependence of temperament on the type of nervous system and was able to show that the two main nervу processes - excitation and inhibition - reflect the activity of the brain. Types of temperament suggested by I.P. Pavlov are built on the basis of types of the nervous system. I.P. Pavlov showed that the basis of higher nervous activity stands on three components: strength (the individual maintains a high level of performance during long and hard work, quickly recovers, does not respond to weak stimuli), balance (the individual remains calm in an exciting environment, easily suppresses his inadequate desires) and mobility (the individual quickly responds to changes in the situation, easily acquires new skills). The combination of these components, according to Pavlov, provides an explanation for the classical temperaments of Hippocrates:
- a sanguine person has a strong, balanced, mobile type of higher nervous activity;
- choleric - a strong, unbalanced, mobile type of higher nervous activity;
- phlegmatic - a strong, balanced, inert type of higher nervous activity;
- melancholic - weak, unbalanced, inert type of higher nervous activity.
K.G. Jung operates with the concept of mental energy, which extroverts draw from outside, and introverts from within.
The introvert is turned inward. All the most important things in his life happen inside him. This does not mean that he does not see and isn’t intent on participating in the world around him, he simply pays much less attention to it than to his own inner world. And even sizing up what’s happening outside, he looks at everything through the prism of himself.
This is not egocentrism, but an isolation, isolation on oneself. His world is the world of his experiences, feelings and thoughts. He tunes into it to recuperate after a collision with external reality. The world outside brings him more trials than joys. But he knows his inner world, his refuge, as if it’s at his fingertips.
A characteristic feature of the extraverted personality is that its actions proceed from an adequate assessment of external objects and a correct attitude towards them. Therefore, such a person easily makes friends without having special illusions about people, but at the same time he is able to correctly assess their positive and negative sides. Such people adapt well to the environment, have common sense, show friendliness in the company, and easily achieve their goals.
Judging by K.G. Jung typology, each person has not only individual traits, but also traits characteristic of one of the psychological types. This type shows relatively strong and relatively weak points in the functioning of the psyche and the style of activity that is preferable for a particular person. «Two faces see the same object, but they do not see it in such a way that both pictures obtained from this picture are absolutely identical. In addition to the different sharpness of the sense organs and personal equation, there are often deep differences in the type and size of the mental assimilation of the perceived image» wrote K.G. Jung.
Thanks to the research of I.P. Pavlov, in domestic psychology, ideas about temperament as a property of a person in domestic psychology. It became possible due to the research on the innate characteristics of a person. For example, B.G. Ananiev believed that the basic properties of a person can manifest themselves not only in inclinations, but also in temperament.
One of the most prominent followers of I.P. Pavlov was B.M. Teplov, who was able to identify and attribute emotional excitability, excitability of attention, strength of emotions, anxiety, reactivity of involuntary movements, plasticity - rigidity, resistance, subjectivation to the most significant properties of temperament.
The famous psychophysiologist V.M. Rusalov offered his interpretation of the properties of temperament. He identified four components: energy, plasticity, speed and emotionality. He stuck to the point of view that these components are determined by the genetic program, the nervous system and its properties, which are considered the basis of functional systems, which in turn determine the integrative, analytical and synthetic activity of the entire nervous system as a whole.
Taking into account the basic properties of temperament, J. Strelau gives the following psychological characteristics of the main types of temperament.
The sanguine person has increased reactivity, but at the same time, his activity and reactivity are balanced. He is characterized by fast movements and the pace of speech, a quick inclusion in a new job. We can say that the sanguine type of temperament speaks of a person's extraversion.
Choleric. A person with a choleric temperament is characterized by weak self-control and low sensitivity. Unpleasant motivational excitement clearly prevails over other activities, so he is unbridled, unrestrained, impatient, quick-tempered, irritable, and sometimes aggressive. The mental states of the choleric are unstable, they replace each other.
Phlegmatic is a person with a very balanced type of temperament. It is characterized by high activity, which prevails over low reactivity, as well as over low sensitivity and emotionality. Usually such people have poor facial expressions, slow and inexpressive movements and speech, passivity, apathy. As a rule, phlegmatic people find it difficult to meet new people, do not see the point in developing, trying something new, and respond poorly to external impressions. Psychologically, they are introverts.
Melancholic. A person with a predominance of pessimistic mood and thoughts, with high sensitivity and low reactivity. His facial expressions and movements are inexpressive, his voice is quiet, his movements are poor, perfectionism is developed at a high level. The melancholic is easily tired and inefficient; such a person can be offended by a slight joke or a look. Most melancholics are introverts.
Thus, in this study, we settled on K.G. Jung’s research, which defined temperament as a set of mental qualities of a person that are genetically determined and dependent on the characteristics of his higher nervous system. When studying temperament, two circumstances should be taken into account: firstly, “pure” temperaments are practically not found; secondly, it is impossible to compare the properties of temperament and character traits.
References
Alferova, M.A. Relationship between behavioral strategies in conflict with trends in self-image and emotional intelligence // MNIZH. - 2018. - No. 6-2 (72).
Antsupov, A. Ya. Conflictology: Textbook for universities. / A. Ya. Antsupov, A. I. Shipilov / / M.: UNITI, 2014. - 551 p.
Bagaeva, V.V. Strategies of behavior in conflict // STEZH. - 2015. - No. 1 (20). – P. 55-68.
Borisova I.V. Connection of ways of behavior in conflict with the types of protective and coping behavior of young men and women / I.V. Borisova, Yu.N. Khadykina / Russian Psychological Journal. - 2018. - No. 1. – P.17 – 34.
Bratkova V.A., Demidova L.I. The relationship of stress resistance of the individual and behavior styles in conflict // Proceedings of the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference "Science and Society". 2018. No. 8.
Kilmann R. H., Thomas K. W. Developing a Forced-Choice Measure of Conflict-Handling Behaviour: The "MODE" Instrument // URL: http://www.kilmanndiagnostics.com/developing-forced-choice-measure-conflict-handling-behavior-mode-instrument
Klimova, I.Yu. Search for the relationship between character accentuations and personality disorders [Electronic resource] / I.Yu. Klimova, G.A. Kolosov // https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/poisk-vzaimosvyazi-mezhdu-aktsentuatsiyami-haraktera-i-lichnostnymi-rasstroystvami.
Kovalev, G. A. On the possibilities of "active" correction of interpersonal relationships. Family and personality formation. / G. A. Kovalev. — M.: AST-press, 2012. — 319p.
Kozyrkova, A.A. Influence of character accentuation of adolescents on interpersonal relationships in the team / A.A. Kozyrkova // Problems of science. - 2019. - No. 11 (47).
Krechner, E. Body structure and character / E. Krechner. – Access mode: https://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Psihol/Krechm/index.php
Merlin, V.S. Psychology of individuality: selected psychological works / V.S. Merlin. - M.: Moscow Psychological and Social Institute, MODEK. - 2009. - 544 p.
William H. Sheldon, The varieties of human physique: An introduction to constitutional psychology, Available at: https://archive.org/details/varietiesofhuman0000shel
Rusalov, V. M. Temperament in the structure of human individuality / V. M. Rusalov. - M.: Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2012. - 528 p.
Rubinstein S.L. Being and consciousness / S.L. Rubinstein. - St. Petersburg: Man and the world. Peter, 2009. - 512 p.
Teplov, B.M. Selected works / B.M. Teplov // Access mode: https://bookap.info/book/teplov_izbrannye_trudy_tom_1_1985/bypage/
