In Altai there is a saying: “A man without character is like bread without salt.” The word “character” itself translated from Greek means “seal”, “imprint”, but if we take figurative sense, That we're talking about about the typicality and peculiarity of human behavioral qualities. What is the origin of the concept, and what character traits exist?

The science of psychology best describes the concept of character. It fully reveals all the nuances and defines it as a set of personality traits and properties that not only give a person individuality, but also explain his actions in a given situation.

The main characteristic features are conventionally divided into several groups:

• emotions;
• will;
• intelligence.

Emotional traits - aggressiveness, good nature, melancholy, artistry, etc. begin to form from the very early childhood when the child’s mental qualities undergo gradual development. And this happens under the influence of various factors.

A person acquires strong-willed character traits (pedantry, masculinity, devotion, etc.) throughout his life. Qualities associated with intelligence - intelligence, independence, prudence, etc. - depend on innate predisposition, which is influenced by heredity and temperament.

An important factor in the development of a person’s character is his environment. It can lead to the acquisition of both positive and negative character traits by the child. The process continues throughout life, and the list of acquired personal properties is constantly increasing. If initially this happens unconsciously at the level of reflexes, then as people grow older they begin to choose those characteristics that are closer to them.

Experts have found that the basic character traits of a child are laid down from infancy; the child’s strong-willed traits begin to appear already in the second year of life, and at three or four he already has business qualities.

Communication signs are most noticeable at 4-5 years old, when children are interested in and actively participate in role-playing games with peers. If we take these data into account, we can say for sure that a five-year-old child has his own, unique character.

What underlies personal qualities?

If we structure knowledge about personal qualities ah, then we can distinguish 4 character traits, or rather a block of characteristics:

• express their attitude towards other people (compassion, sociability, caring, etc.);
• traits that show how a person treats himself (selfishness, modesty, self-criticism, narcissism, etc.);
• attitude towards work (laziness, responsibility, etc.);
• traits indicating a person’s attitude towards objects (thrift, accuracy, greed, etc.).

Today there are hundreds of definitions of personal qualities, but science still identifies the main character traits.

In the business sphere this is:

In the field of communications, these are emotional qualities:

• aggression or benevolence;
• irritability;
• modesty;
• rancor.

Volitional qualities are associated with a person’s integrity; they are formed against the background of a struggle of motives and the assimilation of moral norms. In this case, the positive character traits are confidence, perseverance, and determination. They contribute personal growth person. Negative personality traits include lack of will, lack of consistency, and compliance.

How does nationality affect personal characteristics?

There are many stereotypes associated with nationality, for example, if you are slow, then you must be an Estonian, tight-fisted - a Jew, temperamental - a Georgian, reserved - an Englishman...

Scientists have quite clearly proven that the features national character indeed there is. And they are associated with various factors - culture, religion, upbringing and even climate. Of course, we are talking about those qualities that have been identified in the majority of representatives of the nation to one degree or another.

And what features of the Russian character can be identified? Many philosophers and psychologists have tried to evaluate the Russian people in terms of their characteristic qualities.

Professor of Russian philosophy Lossky identified six main features:

Doctor of Psychological Sciences Lebedeva N.M., based on Lossky’s research, identified two, at first glance, opposite groups of properties of a Russian person:

1. Spiritual and emotional qualities of Russian people– include exclusively good characteristics– humility with one’s own lot, dedication and self-sacrifice, deep faith, calm acceptance of the thought of impending death, a cool attitude towards wealth, the ability to empathize and share daily necessities, contentment with existing goods.
2. Passivity, inaction– historically it happened that simple people for centuries they were kept away from political and social life; and although modern people show interest in this area, but more often it is a verbal expression of will that is not supported by action. This leads to the following negative character traits of the Russian person: a certain alienation from the affairs taking place in the country, the expectation of a “miracle,” the desire for anarchism, rebellion, denial of discipline, and various kinds of temptations.

Physique and character

There is a rather interesting theory by the German psychologist Ernst Kretschmer that personal qualities directly depend on a person’s constitution. Moreover, most of the theoretical aspects have received practical confirmation. According to Kretschmer's idea, there are three characteristic types:

1. Asthenic people (“weak”) are thin, with elongated parts of the body - limbs, face, flat chest and poorly developed muscles. They correspond to the personality traits of “schizotomy” - isolation, seriousness, stubbornness; people do not adapt well to new conditions. In case of mental disorders, we can talk about schizophrenia.
2. Athletics (athletics translated as “athletic, skillful”) are people of impressive height, broad chests, strong bones and powerful muscles. This is usually how heroic personalities from epics are described, however, the character traits of the “hero” are not so clear. They were called iskotimiks - having a calm character, lack of special impressionability, a tendency towards practicality and restraint in facial expressions and gestures, they also have 3 character traits that are far from heroism - authority, a negative attitude towards change and poor adaptability to new conditions. With nervous disorders there is a risk of developing epilepsy.
3. Picnics - (dense, fat) representatives of this group are short, plump, or have a tendency to gain weight excess weight, have a large head on a short neck, a wide face, and small facial features. These are cyclothymics - the main character trait of a person in this case is sociability, he makes good contact, reacts emotionally to any event, and quickly gets used to new conditions. Such people have a tendency to develop manic-depressive psychoses in mental disorders.

No matter how many characteristics human traits and qualities, there is no identical personality character. Of course, there is generalized data, and some points may even coincide with existing temperamental characteristics. However, each person is a unique creation, a tangle of innate and acquired properties, characteristics, charisma and contradictions. It is only important to remember that everyone forges their own qualities and it is important not to forget about personal growth.

For those who don't like their own " psychological picture", there is consolation: temperamental deficiencies can be made up for positive features character.

It is the understanding that one can change oneself for the better that is the most attractive feature of science.

So, if temperament is an innate personality trait, then a person develops character himself. Every time we perform an action, we strengthen or weaken some of its features.

In this way, even the worst disposition can be corrected.

Regarding temperament, we can only recall that Hippocrates divided it into four types, which are still used today:

1. Phlegmatic people are unhurried and unperturbed;
2. Cholerics are hot-tempered and unbalanced;
3. Melancholic people are impressionable and vulnerable;
4. Sanguine people are lively, active and cheerful.

1. Recording the results

It is better to write down the results of your struggle. You can make a table and record successes and failures there every day. Or do this: mark two cities on a geographical map. One will conditionally indicate your current state, the second will indicate your goal.

Every time you do something to improve your character, put a new point on the path between these cities. And if you miss something, go back to the point.

It seems very interesting in terms of plan. Be sure to read about this great man, whose experience can be of invaluable help to you.

Surely the reader may have a question: do the formation of personality and its individual traits influence?

It is quite difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. A certain connection in the inclinations and characteristics of behavior between children and parents can certainly be traced.

However, to claim that “I am like this and I can’t be different, because this is my mom or dad”, for an adult, at least not serious.

It is believed that it is impossible to change temperament, but character traits are within the power of anyone. You just need to have the determination to do this.

Accentuation of character

Accentuation of character is a character trait that is within the clinical norm, in which individual character traits are excessively enhanced, as a result of which selective vulnerability to certain psychogenic influences is revealed while maintaining good resistance to others.

The definition of accentuation may seem a little complicated to you, but it is actually quite simple.

The word “accentuation” itself (from the Latin accentus - emphasis) means a pronounced emphasis on something.

In other words, this feature consists in the fact that some character traits are unusually developed, which causes the inferiority of other, less developed traits.

Probably everyone has seen how small children, at the sight of strangers, warm up to some and begin to smile, but at the sight of others they frown and run away.

This is due to the fact that facial features are very closely related to our character traits. Children intuitively feel this, “scanning” the face of a stranger.

Yes, and adults, on a deeply subconscious level, can “feel” whether a person in front of them is good or bad. This also happens because our brain can “read” information from characteristic features person's face.

It is important to understand that a person’s character largely determines how his life will turn out and whether he will achieve success.

The 19th century English writer William Thackeray wrote:

“Sow an action and you will reap a habit; sow a habit and you will reap a character; sow a character and you will reap a destiny.”

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Hello, dear readers of the blog site. “This is character!” - we are talking about a person who is tough in his judgments, purposeful in life and unbending under the blows of fate.

As a rule, this remark is pronounced with a degree of envy and admiration. While “spineless” people do not evoke respect from others.

How does the first type of people differ from the second? And is it true that a person can lack character?

What is character

In fact, everyone has character. Translated from ancient Greek, this term literally means “sign”, “ line», « distinguishing mark».

If we expand the definition, it turns out that character is the totality stable personality traits, properties of the psyche that determine behavior, reactions and other manifestations of a person.

For example, in the same situation, people behave differently: a lonely, small kitten will evoke pity in someone and a desire to feed and warm it. Others will remain indifferent to the defenseless creature.

In the first case, a person is endowed with kindness, kindness, and the ability of his distinctive features. In the second case they are absent.

Each person is endowed with his own unique set of characteristics, therefore no two are exactly alike according to the character of the individual. Even individuals who are very similar at first glance will still find differences among themselves.

Human Character Traits

Character traits are huge list personal qualities, including cruelty, compliance, stubbornness, irresponsibility, courage and many others.

They can be either desired or positive as well as negative– which people often want to get rid of (become bolder, more confident).

The entire set of traits is usually divided into 4 large groups, each of which combines certain mental properties:

1. Relationship with other people– openness or isolation, arrogance or respect, and others.
2. A person's relationship with yourself– self-criticism or arrogance, or modesty, etc.).
3. Attitude to labor activity– neatness, carelessness, activity – laziness, responsibility – “careless” approach, etc.).
4. Attitude to material things- care or negligence.

All these features are found in different people in different proportions, thus forming different types of character, which will be described below.

Character type

Scientists have not yet come to a consensus about what types of character there are. Various figures have developed their own classifications, the most popular of which are the following:

Formation of human character

Character begins to form from the first days after birth. By the age of 4-5, the general structure of the personality is already visible, and by the age of 10, the character is already fully “complete”.

What factors will influence on character traits:

Initially, the baby looks at how his parents treat him. Further, it is with this attitude that he will go into the big world. That is if he was loved, surrounded with warmth and care, talked about his value, then this is exactly how he will feel among others - significant, important, valuable. This is how he will treat people. And vice versa.

What are the types of temperament?

We figured out what character is. These are personal characteristics of a person that are formed from birth. Often it confused with temperament, although these concepts are far from the same thing.

Temperament is a property of the nervous system: its mobility, responsiveness, stability. This quality of an individual is innate and, unlike character, cannot be changed.

Temperament can be thought of as the basis on which character will subsequently be formed, with the former significantly influencing the latter. Hippocrates wrote; psychology adheres to his classification to this day:

1. – an anxious person who does not cope well with stress due to a mobile nervous system;
2. – balanced, logical, lively, sociable, optimistic;
3. – explosive, impulsive, hot-tempered;
4. – a stable, hardy personality type, calm and measured.

Strength of character

Here it is appropriate to note what strength of character is. This is the stability of traits, the ability to develop and transform them.

A strong character is also called strong-willed, which implies a person’s ability to “pull himself together”, go to the intended goal, achieve what you want, maintain discipline and fulfill your promises to yourself and others.

This strength is related to the temperament of the individual. For example, a sanguine person has more a strong character in contrast to the anxious melancholic.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Each person has his own character traits. This mainly affects his behavior in society. Some people easily win the opinion of an entire group in their circle, while others approach communication with caution. Everything is individual. Characteristics - these are internal state person. To achieve success with your colleagues and relatives, it is enough to have an individual approach mixed with good qualities. There are currently two sides to the special features. These include: negative and positive traits. Let's look at the most famous of them.

Positive character traits

1. Kindness is one of the important positive qualities that a truly good man. Kindness is shown in helping people in need. Kind people include: donors, volunteers who give shelter to homeless people and animals. Now everything remains less people possessing this quality, because most are busy with their own worries.
2. Modesty is a manifestation of good manners towards oneself and others. These people make excellent use of their positive qualities, but do not flaunt them. That is why we respect such people. So, humble person behaves well-mannered and restrained, and most importantly, knows how to present himself correctly.
3. Openness is the willingness to let a person into your world. Such people communicate easily and get to know each other. Close people with a trait of openness easily reveal their secrets and feelings without harming themselves. Open people have an advantage over liars. And most importantly, they easily voice their opinions. They become leaders in narrow social groups.
4. Loyalty is shown towards someone or something. Keeping promises, words, relationships. Loyalty is based on honesty. This quality is especially pronounced in animals. More than once one could hear the story of the loyalty of dogs to their owners. In addition to people and pets, devotion is manifested in politics and religiosity.
5. Intelligence is in no way inferior to other qualities. The ability to soberly evaluate and accept important decisions especially important. This is the ability not only to think, but also to use good qualities to their advantage. Smart people are capable of achieving a lot by using their skills correctly. Only these people know how to build a career and take important actions in life.

Negative character traits

1. Jealousy. Of course, jealousy manifests itself in family, friendship, and most often in love relationships. The presence of jealousy is distrust of a person and an open demonstration of entitlement to him. Manifests itself in uncertainty, inferiority. Capable of causing aggression and hostility towards the object of jealousy.
2. Greed is the desire to take possession of as much wealth as possible. Greed does not only mean characteristic, but also children's reluctance is shared. The only difference between simply wanting to achieve something, be it money or thrill. A greedy person's very goal is the process of accumulation and power over these things.
3. Envy is a dislike of another person's success. The feeling of losing is what an envious person feels when he sees the victory of a stranger or a loved one. Envy makes a person feel depressed, angry, and aggressive. Some people confuse envy with genuine admiration. In this case, the feeling of joy prevails over victories for the successes of others.
4. Cunning can be innate and acquired. Innately possess beasts of prey, their instinct kicks in. But people also have cunning. In relation to a person, this is not only deception, but also manipulation of weaknesses. Cunning requires intelligence. The ability to weave intrigue is also important. Only this trait has never helped in relation to close people.
5. Laziness is the lack of desire to do work, to act. Most people have a positive attitude towards the desire to work - provided that the work is enjoyable. However, the rest of the people have a tendency towards parasitism and exclude any desire to achieve a goal.

How to change character traits?

As a rule, changes in the development of personality never stand still. There is always the opportunity to change character traits. A person can always change if he wants to. To do this, there are several tips that will help eliminate undesirable qualities.

One way is to write down undesirable character traits on a piece of paper. Write how they manifest themselves. Knowing this will make it easier to control them. Create your own perfect image character will not succeed quickly. This requires painstaking work. Once you control the habit, monitoring your behavior will become much easier.

An additional way to change your character is a mentor for whom you have respect. By copying your mentor's habits, it will be easier to develop your own. The main thing is, don’t try to copy a person exactly; walk the fine line between who you want to be. After all, there will always be a quality in a person that you don’t like. Be individual and everything will work out.

Close environment in the development of personality

The main role in the development of character is played by family and close circle. If a family presents their behavior in a negative way, it is likely that the child will develop bad character traits. Accordingly, with a successful outcome, having received a lot of kindness and a share of good qualities, he will become an example to follow.

Good qualities help a person develop. Decent behavior leads to leadership and high ranks. The main thing is to distinguish which qualities will help in developing a personality. It must be remembered that there must be a golden mean in character. Evaluate the manifestation of useful and insignificant qualities in the aggregate. Remember that ideals do not exist. You should not correct all negative qualities, because with the right approach they can be your allies. Everyone has the right to choose their own goal for its implementation. Create your own behavioral boundary and strive for it throughout your life.

Each person has his own character. And the characters of men and women are generally different. What positive human qualities are inherent in women and men? How do the same qualities manifest themselves in representatives of the strong and weak half of humanity?

Man, as a creature of nature, is represented as a special, multifaceted being. He is able to think, analyze, feel, perform actions and various actions that bring benefit and harm to both himself and the world around him.

His behavior is influenced by concepts such as morality and ethics. All this creates the character of homo sapiens, makes a person human.

What is character

A person’s character is a set of stable mental processes (properties) that influence his behavior and are manifested in his actions. Each of us has our own set of qualities that drive different actions.

Some character traits depend on the type of nervous system, others are formed under the influence of the environment.

Each person has his own set of qualities, the list of which includes positive and negative traits. They are formed under the influence of surrounding people and life circumstances.

Depending on the state of the environment, society and the degree of its influence on the individual, good and bad character traits may prevail in people.

The presence and superiority of certain qualities in human character depends on many indicators: temperament, family, faith, geography of residence and, of course, gender.

A man and a woman are different not only in their external appearance, but also in their behavior patterns, which are influenced by their internal motivation. The description of the “correct” qualities of both sexes shows the similarities and differences in their characters.

Positive human qualities

The division into negative and positive qualities of a person occurs under the influence of public assessment. People themselves determine: “what is good and what is bad.”

What brings benefits, material and spiritual benefits, pleasure and joy, pleasant emotions, is considered good.

A person whose character contains many positive qualities is a role model. However, it is known that " bad people can not be". This means that the division into “+” and “-” qualities is conditional. Everything depends on the system of relations between the individual and society.

In accordance with these indicators, 4 groups of character traits can be distinguished(since we are talking about positive qualities, only they will be indicated in each group and the list can be continued) :

1. Attitude to society, to the team: sociability, collectivism, sensitivity, responsiveness, respect for people, kindness, goodwill.
2. Attitude to activity: hard work, conscientiousness, diligence, discipline, responsibility, perseverance in achieving goals.
3. Attitude towards yourself: self-esteem, modesty, pride, self-criticism, honesty.
4. Attitude to things: thrift, accuracy, generosity, selflessness.

Each person has certain traits that predominate, which makes him different from others. The personal merits of some people make others admire them and follow their example.

Manifestation of character traits in men and women

Women	Men
Sociability
· by nature more sociable; · can talk for a long time, about anything and with anyone; · make verbal contact easily and quickly. The topic of conversation doesn't matter.	talk more to the point and to the point with people they know; narrow range of topics; They have a harder time starting a conversation and quickly stop it if they are not interested in it.
Responsiveness
easily agree to requests for help and provide it to the best of their ability and ability	responsiveness is combined with rationalism: how to help with maximum benefit for the one receiving help.
Kindness
· manifests itself to everyone: animals, children, old people, men; · borders on sacrifice.	selective, well thought out, rational;
Caring for others
is present in everyone without exception and finds manifestation in children, men, parents, and in housework	sincere empathy and care for relatives and strangers; manifested in earning money and providing for the family.
Determination
often commit aimless actions, but always know what they want, but more on an intuitive level	The ability to clearly imagine and formulate goals, determine ways to achieve them and achieve implementation
Discipline
are distinguished by good performance and discipline at any age	a quality characteristic of most adult men, but not boys
Hard work
“bee”, “spinning like a squirrel in a wheel”, can simultaneously perform various tasks (especially around the house)	most are hardworking, but focused on solving one thing practical problem
Accuracy
An important quality that everyone has	the majority are not careful in dressing or eating, as they consider this to be of secondary importance: “tanks are not afraid of dirt”
Thrift - Generosity
spenders with money, but thrifty with things; generosity manifests itself in emotions and feelings	they know the value of the money they earn, so they try to be thrifty; generosity is balanced and rational. A generous man is always adored by women
Loyalty
Typical for most loving ladies. In women, fidelity is correlated with devotion	men are polygamous, so being faithful to one woman is nonsense for some of them. However, many of them are monogamous

Thus, the same character traits can manifest themselves differently in men and women. But among the set of qualities there are those that apply only to the weaker half and those that courageous people possess.

The main features of women

• Female intuition. A woman’s feelings, her understanding and analysis pass through her heart, which reverently perceives the surroundings and evaluates them. She often avoids doing certain things without thinking about anything. Something just stops her, as if she is saving her for her children, her husband, her parents, for whom she is support and support.
• Patience. A woman is able to withstand any pain, physical and moral, moral humiliation and the whims of a man. In family life, women's patience and wisdom are especially important, as they save the marriage.

• Tenderness, softness, sensuality, love – mandatory feminine qualities. They are inherent in every representative of the fairer sex. They force men to do things and support them in difficult times.
• Empathy- a quality that does not allow a woman to pass by and not support someone in need of help, which leads to sincere compassion.
• Romance. Every woman who dreams of a “prince on a white horse” and “has her head in the clouds” with “rose-colored glasses” has this trait.
• Meekness, the ability to remain silent when there is “thunder and lightning” overhead, the ability to endure the anger and indignation of a man.
• Mysteriousness. Every woman must have a secret that cannot be comprehended by a man. If a woman is an “open book”, she loses interest from the stronger sex.

• Feminine weakness. The powerlessness of the fairer sex is manifested not in what she does, but in what she is capable of. Many women, having a strong character, keep it secret and do not show it to anyone. But at the right moment, perseverance and will manifest themselves, which come as a surprise to others.

The main features of men

• Masculinity, strength, courage, the ability to perform actions - these are purely masculine qualities that make him attractive in the eyes of a woman.
• Perseverance and determination, pragmatism and the ability to achieve one’s own are character traits of a strong-willed person capable of creating. It is a man’s creativity that allows him to create new cities and establish connections.
• Dedication- a quality that moves the stronger sex to exploits and accomplishments at the cost of their lives.

• Responsibility. Most men do not think about themselves, but about their children, wives, and loved ones. This makes them reliable and able to protect what is truly dear to them.
• Liberty- one of the traits that allows a man to realize himself in life and for which they stand to the last. For each of them, internal and external freedom is important, which gives him many opportunities.
• Bigness of thinking and independence in decision making make a man strong and self-confident, capable of making discoveries and making progress.
• A sharp mind and a special sense of humor- qualities that help others in good time and in difficult times.

Here are the basic qualities characteristic of representatives of different sexes, but there are much more differences.

Video: Exercises to develop good qualities