The German psychiatrist E. Kretschmer adhered to exactly the opposite initial principles to which K. Sigo adhered when creating his scheme. He believed that heredity, and not environmental factors, is the only source of morphological diversity.
E. Kretschmer was born in 1888 in Germany. He was the director of the neurological clinic in Marburg, and the head of the clinic at the University of Tübingen. In 1939, he refused to take the post of president of the German Psychiatric Association, expressing disagreement with the theory of racial inferiority preached by official psychiatry Hitler's Germany. Died in 1964
E. Kretschmer published in 1921. a work entitled “Body structure and character” (in Russian translation the book was published in 1924, the last reprint was in 1995). He noticed that each of the two types of diseases - manic-depressive (circular) psychosis and schizophrenia - corresponds to a certain body type. This allowed him to argue that body type determines mental characteristics people and their predisposition to related mental illnesses. Numerous clinical observations prompted E. Kretschmer to undertake systematic studies of the structure human body. Having made many measurements of its various parts, the author identified four constitutional types.
1. Leptosomatic(Greek leptos - “fragile”, soma - “body”). He has a cylindrical body, fragile build, tall stature, a flat chest, an elongated egg-shaped face (full face). The long thin nose and undeveloped lower jaw form the so-called angular profile. The shoulders of a leptosomatic person are narrow, the lower limbs are long, the bones and muscles are thin. E. Kretschmer called individuals with extreme expression of these characteristics asthenics (Greek astenos - “weak”).
2. Picnic(Greek pγκnos - “thick, dense”). He is characterized by excessive obesity, small or medium height, a bloated body, a large belly, and a round head on a short neck. Relatively large body perimeters (head, chest and abdomen) with narrow shoulders give the body a barrel-shaped shape. People of this type tend to stoop.
3. Athletic(Greek athlon - “struggle, fight”). Has good muscles strong body build, high or average height, wide shoulder girdle and narrow hips, causing the frontal appearance of the body to form a trapezoid. The fat layer is not expressed. The face is in the shape of an elongated egg, the lower jaw is well developed.
4. Displastic(Greek dγs – “bad”, plastos – “formed”). Its structure is shapeless and irregular. Individuals of this type are characterized by various physique deformations (for example, excessive growth).
The identified types do not depend on a person’s height and thinness. It's about proportions, not absolute sizes bodies. There may be fat leptosomatics, frail athletes and thin picnics.
The majority of patients with schizophrenia, according to E. Kretschmer, are leptosomatic, although there are also athletes. Picnics form the largest group among patients with cyclophrenia (manic-depressive psychosis) (Fig. 5.2.). Athletes, who are less prone to mental illness than others, show some tendency towards epilepsy.
E. Kretschmer suggested that in healthy people there is a similar relationship between physique and psyche. According to the author, they carry within themselves the germ of mental illness, to a certain extent, being predisposed to such. People with one body type or another develop mental properties similar to those characteristic of the corresponding mental illnesses, although in a less pronounced form. For example, a healthy person with a leptosomatic physique has properties reminiscent of the behavior of a schizophrenic; The picnic exhibits in its behavior traits typical of manic-depressive psychosis. Athletics is characterized by some mental properties that resemble the behavior of patients with epilepsy.
Rice. 5.2. Distribution of mental illnesses depending on body type (according to E. Kretschmer)
Depending on the propensity for different emotional reactions, E. Kretschmer identified two large groups of people. The emotional life of some is characterized by a diadetic scale (i.e., their characteristic moods can be represented in the form of a scale, the poles of which are “cheerful - sad”). Representatives of this group have a cyclothymic type of temperament.
The emotional life of other people is characterized by a psycho-aesthetic scale (“sensitive – emotionally dull, inexcitable”). These people have a schizothymic temperament.
Schizothymic(this name comes from "schizophrenia") has leptosomatic or asthenic physique. In case of mental disorder, a predisposition to schizophrenia is detected. Closed, prone to fluctuations in emotions - from irritation to dryness, stubborn, difficult to change attitudes and views. Has difficulty adapting to the environment, prone to abstraction.
Cyclothymic(the name is associated with circular, or manic-depressive, psychosis) - the opposite of schizothymic. Has a picnic build. If there is a mental disorder, it reveals a predisposition to manic-depressive psychosis. Emotions fluctuate between joy and sadness. Easily communicates with the environment, realistic in his views. E. Kretschmer also identified a viscose (mixed) type.
E. Kretschmer explained the dependence between body type and certain mental properties or, in extreme cases, mental illnesses by the fact that both body type and temperament have the same reason: they are determined by the activity of the endocrine glands and related chemical composition blood - thus, the chemical properties depend largely on certain features of the hormonal system.
The comparison of body type with emotional types of response carried out by E. Kretschmer gave a high percentage of coincidence (Table 5.1.).
Table 5.1. Relationship between body structure and temperament, % (E. Kretschmer, 1995)
Depending on the type of emotional reactions, the author distinguishes between cheerful and sad cyclothymics and sensitive or cold schizothymics.
Temperaments, as E. Kretschmer believed, are determined by the humoral chemistry of the blood. Their bodily representative is the apparatus of the brain and glands. Temperaments constitute that part of the psyche that, probably along the humoral path, is in correlation with the structure of the body. Temperaments, giving sensual tones, delaying and stimulating, penetrate into the mechanism of “psychic apparatuses”. Temperaments, as far as it is possible to establish empirically, obviously have an influence on the following mental qualities:
1) psychesthesia - excessive sensitivity or insensitivity to mental stimuli;
2) on the color of mood - a shade of pleasure and displeasure in mental contents, primarily on the scale of cheerful or sad;
3) on mental tempo - acceleration or delay of mental processes in general and their special rhythm (tenaciously holding on, unexpectedly jumping off, delay, formation of complexes);
4) on the psychomotor sphere, namely on the general motor tempo (agile or phlegmatic), as well as on the special nature of movements (paralytic, fast, slender, soft, rounded) (E. Kretschmer, 2000).
E. Kretschmer's theory of temperament has become widespread in our country. Moreover, it seemed to some (for example, M.P. Andreev, 1930) that the question of the connection between a person’s physique and mental make-up had been finally resolved. To prove the correctness of Kretschmer’s theory, P.P. Blonsky referred to the work of one livestock breeding professor, who described “dry and raw” breeds of horses, pigs, cows and sheep. P.P. In this regard, Blonsky considered human “biotypes” as special cases of the manifestation of general biotypes of the animal world.
Soon, however, disappointment set in, as attempts to reproduce the results described by E. Kretschmer showed that most people cannot be classified as extreme options. The connections between body type and characteristics of emotional response did not reach the level of significance. Critics began to say that it was unlawful to extend the patterns identified in pathology to the norm.
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Constitutional typology of E. Kretschmer
The main ideologist of constitutional typology was the German psychiatrist E. Kretschmer, who published a work in 1921 entitled “Body Structure and Character” (the book was published in Russian translation in 1924, the last reprint was in 1995). He noticed that each of the two types of diseases - manic-depressive (circular) psychosis and schizophrenia - corresponds to a certain body type. This allowed him to argue that body type determines the mental characteristics of people and their predisposition to corresponding mental illnesses. Numerous clinical observations prompted E. Kretschmer to undertake systematic research into the structure of the human body. Having made many measurements of its various parts, the author identified four constitutional types.
1. Leptosomatic(Greek leptos –"fragile", soma -"body"). He has a cylindrical body, fragile build, tall stature, a flat chest, an elongated egg-shaped face (full face). The long thin nose and undeveloped lower jaw form the so-called angular profile. The shoulders of a leptosomatic person are narrow, the lower limbs are long, the bones and muscles are thin. E. Kretschmer called individuals with extreme expression of these characteristics asthenics (Greek. astenos –"weak").
2. Picnic(Greek pγκnos –"thick, dense") He is characterized by excessive obesity, small or medium height, a bloated body, a large belly, and a round head on a short neck. Relatively large body perimeters (head, chest and abdomen) with narrow shoulders give the body a barrel-shaped shape. People of this type tend to stoop.
3. Athletic(Greek athlon"struggle, fight") He has good muscles, a strong physique, tall or medium height, a wide shoulder girdle and narrow hips, making the frontal appearance of the body form a trapezoid. The fat layer is not expressed. The face is in the shape of an elongated egg, the lower jaw is well developed.
4. Displastic(Greek dγs –"Badly", plastos –"formed"). Its structure is shapeless and irregular. Individuals of this type are characterized by various physique deformations (for example, excessive growth).
The identified types do not depend on a person’s height and thinness. We are talking about proportions, not absolute body sizes. There may be fat leptosomatics, frail athletes and thin picnics.
...Ernst Kretschmer was born in 1888 in Germany. He was the director of the neurological clinic in Marburg, and the head of the clinic at the University of Tübingen. In 1939, he refused to take the post of president of the German Psychiatric Association, expressing disagreement with the theory of racial inferiority preached by the official psychiatry of Hitler's Germany. Died 1964
The majority of patients with schizophrenia, according to E. Kretschmer, are leptosomatic, although there are also athletes. Picnics form the largest group among patients with cyclophrenia (manic-depressive psychosis) (Fig. 2.2). Athletes, who are less prone to mental illness than others, show some tendency towards epilepsy.
E. Kretschmer suggested that in healthy people there is a similar relationship between physique and psyche. According to the author, they carry within themselves the germ of mental illness, being to a certain extent predisposed to such. People with one or another body type experience mental properties similar to those characteristic of the corresponding mental illnesses, although in a less pronounced form. For example, a healthy person with a leptosomatic physique has properties reminiscent of the behavior of a schizophrenic; The picnic exhibits in its behavior traits typical of manic-depressive psychosis. Athletics is characterized by some mental properties that resemble the behavior of patients with epilepsy.
Rice. 2.2. Distribution of mental illnesses depending on body type (according to E. Kretschmer).
Depending on the propensity for different emotional reactions, E. Kretschmer identified two large groups of people. The emotional life of some is characterized by a diadetic scale (that is, their characteristic moods can be represented in the form of a scale, the poles of which are “cheerful - sad”). Representatives of this group have a cyclothymic type of temperament.
The emotional life of other people is characterized by a psycho-aesthetic scale (“sensitive – emotionally dull, inexcitable”). These people have a schizothymic temperament.
Schizothymic(this name comes from “schizophrenia”) has a leptosomatic or asthenic physique. In case of mental disorder, a predisposition to schizophrenia is detected. Closed, prone to fluctuations in emotions - from irritation to dryness, stubborn, difficult to change attitudes and views. Has difficulty adapting to the environment, prone to abstraction.
Cyclothymic(the name is associated with circular, or manic-depressive, psychosis) - the opposite of schizothymic. Has a picnic build. If there is a mental disorder, it reveals a predisposition to manic-depressive psychosis. Emotions fluctuate between joy and sadness. Easily communicates with the environment, realistic in his views. E. Kretschmer also identified a viscose (mixed) type.
E. Kretschmer explained the relationship between body type and certain mental properties or, in extreme cases, mental illness by the fact that both body type and temperament have the same reason: they are determined by the activity of the endocrine glands and the associated chemical composition of the blood , – thus, the chemical properties depend largely on certain features of the hormonal system.
The comparison of body type with emotional types of response carried out by E. Kretschmer gave a high percentage of coincidence (Table 2.2).
Table 2.2.Relationship between body structure and temperament, % (E. Kretschmer, 1995).
Depending on the type of emotional reactions, the author distinguishes between cheerful and sad cyclothymics and sensitive or cold schizothymics.
...Temperaments. They, as we firmly know empirically, are determined by the humoral chemistry of the blood. Their bodily representative is the apparatus of the brain and glands. Temperaments constitute that part of the psyche that, probably along the humoral path, is in correlation with the structure of the body. Temperaments, giving sensual tones, delaying and stimulating, penetrate into the mechanism of “psychic apparatuses”. Temperaments, as far as it is possible to establish empirically, obviously have an influence on the following mental qualities:
1) psychesthesia - excessive sensitivity or insensitivity to mental stimuli;
2) on the color of mood - a shade of pleasure and displeasure in mental contents, primarily on the scale of cheerful or sad;
3) on mental tempo - acceleration or delay of mental processes in general and their special rhythm (tenaciously holding on, unexpectedly jumping off, delay, formation of complexes);
4) on the psychomotor sphere, namely on the general motor tempo (agile or phlegmatic), as well as on the special nature of movements (paralytic, fast, slender, soft, rounded) (E. Kretschmer, 2000, p. 200).
E. Kretschmer's theory of temperament has become widespread in our country. Moreover, it seemed to some (for example, M.P. Andreev, 1930) that the question of the connection between a person’s physique and mental make-up had been finally resolved. To prove the correctness of Kretschmer's theory, P. P. Blonsky referred to the work of one livestock breeding professor, who described the “dry and raw” breeds of horses, pigs, cows and sheep. In this regard, P. P. Blonsky considered human “biotypes” as special cases of the manifestation of general biotypes of the animal world.
Soon, however, disappointment set in, as attempts to reproduce the results described by E. Kretschmer showed that most people cannot be classified as extreme options. The connections between body type and characteristics of emotional response did not reach the level of significance. Critics began to say that it was unlawful to extend the patterns identified in pathology to the norm.
Constitutional typology of W. Sheldon
Somewhat later, the concept of temperament put forward by W. H. Sheldon, S. S. Stevens, 1942, which was formulated in the 1940s, gained popularity in the United States. The basis of Sheldon's ideas, whose typology is close to Kretschmer's concept, is the assumption that the structure of the body determines the temperament that acts as its function. But this dependence is masked due to the complexity of our body and psyche, and therefore it is possible to reveal the connection between the physical and mental by identifying those physical and mental properties that most demonstrate such a dependence.
W. Sheldon proceeded from the hypothesis of the existence of basic body types, which he described using specially developed photographic techniques and complex anthropometric measurements. Evaluating each of the 17 dimensions he identified on a 7-point scale, the author came to the concept of somatotype (body type), which can be described using three main parameters. Borrowing terms from embryology, he named these parameters as follows: endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy. Depending on the predominance of any of them (a score of 1 point corresponds to the minimum intensity, 7 points to the maximum), W. Sheldon identified the following body types.
1. Endomorphic(7–1–1). The name is due to the fact that predominantly internal organs are formed from the endoderm, and in people of this type their excessive development is observed. The physique is relatively weak, with excess adipose tissue.
2. Mesomorphic(1–7–1). Representatives of this type have a well-developed muscular system, which is formed from the mesoderm. A slender, strong body, the opposite of the baggy and flabby body of an endomorph. The mesomorphic type has great mental stability and strength. 3. Ectomorphic(1-1-7). Skin and nervous tissue develop from the ectoderm. The body is fragile and thin, the chest is flattened. Relatively underdeveloped internal organs and physique. The limbs are long, thin, with weak muscles. Nervous system and feelings are relatively poorly protected.
If individual parameters are expressed equally, the author classified this individual as a mixed (average) type, rating him as 1-4-4.
Based on years of research into healthy, well-nourished people of various ages W. Sheldon came to the conclusion that these body types correspond to certain types of temperament.
He studied 60 psychological properties, and his main attention was paid to those properties that are associated with the characteristics of extraversion - introversion. They were assessed, as in the case of somatotype, on a 7-point scale. Using correlation, three groups of properties were identified, named after the functions of certain organs of the body:
– viscerotonia (lat. viscera -"insides")
- somatotonia (Greek) soma -"body"),
– cerebrotonia (lat. segebgit –"brain").
In accordance with this, he identified three types of human temperament:
– viscerotonics(7-1-1),
– somatotonics(1-7-1),
– cerebrotonics(1-1-7).
According to W. Sheldon, every person has all three named groups of physical and mental properties. The predominance of one or another of these determines the differences between people. Like E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon argues that there is a great correspondence between body type and temperament. Thus, in persons with dominant qualities of an endomorphic physique, temperamental properties related to viscerotonia are expressed. The mesomorphic type correlates with the somatotonic type, and the ectomorphic type correlates with the cerebrotonic type. The relationship between body types and their characteristic temperament properties is presented in Fig. 2.3 and in table. 2.3.
Rice. 2.3. Body types (according to W. Sheldon).
Table 2.3.Types of temperament and their characteristics (according to W. Sheldon).
Kretschmer's approach to temperament found supporters among psychiatrists, teachers and psychologists in our country. One of them, K.N. Kornilov (1929), linked body type with the speed and intensity of human reactions. Based on these characteristics, he identified four types of people:
– motor-active (quickly and strongly reacting);
– motor-passive (reacting quickly, but weakly);
– sensory-active (reacting slowly and strongly);
– sensory-passive (reacting slowly and weakly).
Here, for example, is how he described the sensory-passive type.
...He has a small, squat figure, a soft, wide face, a short neck, and a tendency to be plump and overweight. In his movements he is slow and sluggish, passive to the point of inertia, but, rising slowly, he walks persistently and for a long time; good-natured to the point of sentimentality; principled to the point of cloying; weighs and thinks everything over and therefore is always late in his decisions; has a consistent mind, rich in knowledge, productive in its not always original creativity; good practitioners, armchair scientists, exemplary officials, quiet good-natured people, calm humorists, pampered lazy people - these are representatives of this type of people (p. 195).
In the same time correlation analysis connections between psychomotor, cognitive and personal properties with constitutional characteristics, conducted by T. P. Zinchenko and E. I. Kishko on a sample of children (1999), did not allow them to unambiguously recognize or reject the ideas about the psychological characteristics of somatotypes, which were arrived at by E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon and other authors. Some personality traits studied using the Cattell questionnaire turned out to be most closely related to the morphological body type.
On the one hand, in all age groups(their range is from 6 to 17 years) endomorphs are characterized by low self-control and high emotional instability, and ectomorphs are characterized by the opposite qualities, and this confirms the data of E. Kretschmer obtained on adults. On the other hand, the authors were unable to identify connections between the somatic constitution and cognitive and psychomotor qualities, with the exception of the cognitive style - interference, characterized by low automation of actions and high self-control. This style is more pronounced in ectomorphs. Consequently, ectomorphs are more conscientious, more diligent and careful when performing tasks, while endomorphs, on the contrary, have lower self-control, are less inclined to order, are not capable of hard work and subordinate their lives to receiving pleasure. This also corresponds to the characteristics of these constitutional types given by E. Kretschmer.
A comparison of constitution and body types according to Seago, Kretschmer and Sheldon is presented in table. 2.4.
Table 2.4.
However, the typologies of E. Kretschmer and W. Sheldon were criticized even by adherents of constitutional concepts of temperament. Critics pointed out their excessive static nature and ignorance of changes in the relationships between the psyche and the structure of the body; emphasized the inconsistency in the division into types and, finally, drew attention to the fact that these theories did not provide a satisfactory explanation of the relationship between physique and temperament.
...Let us turn to the constitutional concepts of temperament, which emphasize the close connection between body type and temperament type. If such a connection really existed, as E. Kretschmer and W. Sheldon claim, then determining temperament would not cause the slightest difficulty. It would be sufficient to give a general description of the individual's physique, that is, to determine whether it is, say, athletic or pedantic, in order to judge his temperament. This kind of determination of temperament could indeed be made by anyone, regardless of his training in this field.
However, this seemingly simple procedure, which seems so tempting to many, is hampered by an insurmountable difficulty: the connection between physique and temperament is far from obvious. There are many known cases indicating a directly opposite relationship between the physical and mental characteristics of people. Such facts quickly discouraged most psychologists, psychiatrists and teachers from carrying out diagnostics arising from constitutional concepts (Ya. Strelyau, 1982, p. 142).
One of the reasons for the crisis of the theory of constitution, regardless of the proposed principles of classification, was the abstract interpretation of the whole organism, in which the whole was considered as a set of correlated morphophysiological characteristics, completely autonomous in relation to each of these characteristics. Even the assumption of the dominance of any characteristic in the constitutional type (for example, muscular in the masculine type, respiratory in the respiratory type, etc., according to Seago’s classification) was still consistent with the basic idea of the structural independence of the individual as a whole from the countless individual variability of “elements” ", from which this whole is formed. A similar idea is followed in those cases when, in the diagnosis of constitution or neurodynamic types, they strive to determine “pure” types or when, on the contrary, the facts of “mixedness” of typical traits lead researchers to deny the facts of the existence of such “pure” types (B. G. Ananyev , 1980, pp. 176-177).
2.5. Genetic theory of temperament types by K. Conrad
Criticizing E. Kretschmer and W. Sheldon, the former’s student K. Conrad (K. Conrad, 1963) presented the so-called genetic theory types.
According to K. Conrad, differences in body structure and the connection with human temperament are explained by the existence of special genes, the dominance of which determines a particular physique and the corresponding temperament properties.
One of the mistakes of E. Kretschmer and W. Sheldon, according to K. Conrad, was that these authors identified three qualitatively different types, although the genetic approach assumes a bipolar (bipolar) division for all phenomena, since any genetic change is explained in this way . Accordingly, the author described the structure of the human body using two bipolar variables according to which the physique changes in ontogenesis: proportions and fullness and height.
K. Conrad takes changes in body proportions as primary variables and, following E. Kretschmer, places them in his coordinate system - along an axis, one of the poles of which he calls leptomorphy, and the second - pycnomorphy (Fig. 2.4). If we talk about these changes (mainly about the ratio of the sizes of the head and the whole body), then the leptomorphic differs from the pycnomorphic primarily in that it reaches a point along the axis of changes in body proportions that the picnic never reaches.
The author introduces two essential concepts into his typology. He talks about conservative And propulsive development. The first is characteristic of pycnomorphics, as well as of a child: a large head compared to the body. The pycnomorphic appears to remain in the early stages of development, but this does not mean that it is “delayed” in its development. As K. Conrad emphasizes, this has nothing to do with pathological delay or developmental delay.
Propulsive development characteristic of leptomorphism (small head in relation to the body). This change in proportions affects many parts of the body (for example, limbs - from short to long, facial profile - from weak to more pronounced).
K. Conrad brings the primary variables characterizing the proportions of the body into line with the primary variables characterizing the individual’s psyche, borrowing from E. Kretschmer the concepts of schizothymic (in parallel to leptomorphy) and cyclothymic (in parallel to pycnomorphy). According to their own mental characteristics a cyclothymic person differs from a schizothymic person in the same way as a child from an adult, and this conclusion concerns the way of interpreting phenomena, way of thinking, tendency towards eideticism, psychomotor skills, emotionality and volitional processes.
Rice. 2.4. K. Conrad's coordinate grid for determining body type.
In addition to shifts in body proportions, changes in secondary variables are also observed - height and fullness, the extreme poles of which are hypo- and hyperplasia. Unlike primary variables, which do not go beyond the norm, secondary ones in their extreme (extreme) forms form a pathology. The extreme form of hyperplasia (Kretschmer's athletic type) can lead to a disease called acromegaly, and hypoplasia (Kretschmer's asthenic type) can lead to micromegaly.
Secondary variables also change. The hypoplastic form is associated with conservative development (in ontogenesis, typical for a child), and the hyperplastic form is a source of progressive development (in ontogenesis, typical for an adult).
Similarly, K. Conrad approaches mental phenomena, in relation to which he also identifies secondary variables. On the one hand, it speaks of viscose structure (lat. visсosus– “sticky, viscous”), arising in connection with the hyperplastic form, on the other hand – o spiritualistic structure corresponding to the hypoplastic form. Individuals with a viscose structure are characterized by slowness, a reduced ability to differentiate, which is an expression of propulsive development, while individuals with a spiritualistic structure are characterized by mobility, lightness, etc., which represents the result of a conservative development, reminiscent of the developmental stage of a child.
To determine body type, K. Conrad introduces two main indices: metric to measure primary variables (height, transverse and sagittal chest dimensions), and plastic to measure secondary variables (sum of acromion width and upper arm and forearm circumference).
Each index has 9 classes: metric – A, IN, WITH, D, E, F, G, H, I; plastic - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The first are located in the K. Conrad coordinate system along the vertical axis (from pictomorph to leptomorph), and the second - along the horizontal (from hypoplasia to hyperplasia). In Fig. Figure 2.5 shows the distribution of members of two football teams according to the coordinate system of K. Conrad. With a small number of measurements of primary and secondary variables, it is possible to determine one or another body type of a particular person. Knowing this, it turns out to be possible, according to K. Conrad, to judge with high probability the individual’s temperament.
Rice. 2.5. Distribution of body types of members of two football teams in the K. Conrad coordinate system. Source: K. Tettel and H. Wutscherk, 1972.
The author explains the connections between physique and temperament structure as follows. To each mental phenomenon there corresponds a certain physical, and each change in the structure of the body corresponds to a restructuring in the mental structure. Both phenomena always appear together, but, as K. Conrad emphasizes, they do not depend on each other. They are links in various gene chains, and their isolation occurs in parallel. What level we reach depends on what level we reach in individual development. This is what determines individual differences between people, and this is the source of the division into types.
The psyche of a newborn, writes K. Conrad, is not tabula rasa, as some psychologists believe. Rather, it is a program of “conservative” or “progressive” development. K. Conrad connects with genes not only the formal side of mental life, but also its content. This is reflected in his characteristics of the hypoplastic type (asthenic, according to the typology of E. Kretschmer), which, according to K. Conrad, shows a tendency towards cosmopolitanism, internationalism and intellectualism.
The main reproach against absolutely all constitutional typologies is that they underestimate, and sometimes simply ignore, the role of the environment and social conditions in the formation of an individual’s mental properties. This found its most obvious expression in the dualistic concept of K. Conrad, which is a modern version of the theory of psychophysical parallelism known in classical psychology. According to this theory, mental and physical processes proceed in parallel, independently of each other, although they have common cause. With this understanding of the connection between the organism and mental activity The individual's environment is assigned the role of a factor that only causes pre-programmed states and mental characteristics. It is not difficult to understand that such a view determines the so-called “pedagogical fatalism”, when the role of a teacher or educator is reduced only to creating certain conditions for the child under which his programmed psyche would have the full opportunity to develop.
Personality traits such as a tendency towards cosmopolitanism or internationalism, according to K. Conrad, or the socialization of food needs mentioned by W. Sheldon, love of company and friendly outpourings, tolerance or lack of compassion (temperamental properties), cannot be considered hereditary properties of the same order as and physique. They, arising on the basis of certain anatomical and physiological characteristics of the individual, are formed under the influence of upbringing and the social environment.
Row empirical research conducted to verify the truth of constitutional types, showed: the correspondence between physique and some properties of temperament cannot be considered proven. It was also discovered that many of the facts collected by this group of researchers were presented and selected very tendentiously in order to confirm the justification of the theoretical assumptions of constitutional psychology.
There is much that is unclear in the doctrine of constitutional types. Their classification by different authors is based on different bases. Many connections between constitutional features different levels: morphological, biochemical, physiological, psychological. And the number of types identified by researchers varies greatly, sometimes reaching dozens, which makes it unrealistic to use this approach in practice.
The main ideologist of constitutional typology was the German psychiatrist E. Kretschmer (1995), who published a work in 1921 entitled “Body Structure and Character.” He noticed that each of the two types of diseases - manic-depressive (circular) psychosis and schizophrenia - corresponds to a certain body type. He argued that body type determines the mental characteristics of people and their predisposition to corresponding mental illnesses. Numerous clinical observations prompted E. Kretschmer to undertake systematic research into the structure of the human body. By taking many measurements of different parts of the body.
E. Kretschmer identified four constitutional types:
1. Leptosomatic(Greek leptos - fragile, soma - body). It has a cylindrical body shape, a fragile build, tall stature, a flat chest, an elongated face, and an egg-shaped head. The long thin nose and undeveloped lower jaw form the so-called angular profile. The shoulders of a leptosomatic person are narrow, the lower limbs are long, the bones and muscles are thin. E. Kretschmer called individuals with extreme expression of these characteristics asthenics (Greek astenos - weak).
2. Picnic(Greek pyknos - thick, dense). He has rich adipose tissue, excessive obesity, small or medium height, a bloated torso, a large belly, a round head on a short neck. Relatively large body parameters (head, chest and abdomen) with narrow shoulders give the body a barrel-shaped shape. People of this type tend to stoop.
3. Athletic(Greek athlon - fight, fight). He has good muscles, a strong physique, tall or medium height, a wide shoulder girdle and narrow hips, making the frontal appearance of the body form a trapezoid. The fat layer is not expressed. The face has the shape of an elongated egg, the lower jaw is well developed.
4. Dysplastic(Greek dys - bad, plastas - formed). Its structure is shapeless and irregular. Individuals of this type are characterized by various physique deformations (for example, excessive growth).
The identified types do not depend on a person’s height and thinness. We are talking about proportions, not absolute body sizes. There may be fat leptosomatics, frail athletes and thin picnics.
The majority of patients with schizophrenia, according to E. Kretschmer, are leptosomatic, although there are also athletes. Picnics form the largest group among patients with cyclophrenia (manic-depressive psychosis) (Fig. 3.2). Athletes, who are less prone to mental illness than others, show some tendency towards epilepsy.
E. Kretschmer suggested a relationship between physique and psyche also in healthy people. He argued that healthy people carry within themselves the germ of mental illnesses and have a certain predisposition to them - Hence, people with one or another body type develop mental properties similar to those that are characteristic of the corresponding mental illnesses, but in a less pronounced form.
Depending on the propensity for different emotional reactions, E. Kretschmer identified two large groups of people. The emotional life of some is characterized by a diadetic scale (i.e., their characteristic moods are located on a scale whose poles are “cheerful-sad”). This group of people has a cyclothymic type of temperament. The emotional life of other people is characterized by a psycho-aesthetic scale (“sensitive - emotionally dull, inexcitable”). These people have a schizothymic temperament.
Schizothymia (the name comes from schizophrenia) has a leptosomatic or asthenic physique. In case of mental disorder, a predisposition to schizophrenia is detected. Closed, prone to fluctuations in emotions from irritation to dryness, stubborn, difficult to change attitudes and views. Has difficulty adapting to the environment, prone to abstraction.
Cyclothymic (the name comes from circular, or manic-depressive psychosis) is the opposite of schizothymic. Has a picnic build. If there is a mental disorder, it reveals a predisposition to manic-depressive psychosis. Emotions fluctuate between joy and sadness, easily contacts the environment, and is realistic in his views.
E. Kretschmer explained the connection between body type and certain mental properties or, in extreme cases, mental illness by the fact that both body type and temperament have the same reason; they are determined by the activity of the endocrine glands and the associated chemical composition blood and thus depend primarily on certain characteristics of the hormonal system.
The basis of Sheldon's views, whose typology is close to Kretschmer's concept, is the assumption that the structure of the body determines temperament, which is its function. But this dependence is masked by the great complexity of our body and psyche, and therefore the disclosure of the connection between the physical and mental requires the identification of such physical and mental properties that reveal this dependence to the greatest extent.
W. Sheldon proceeded from the hypothesis of the existence of basic body types, which he described using specially developed photographic equipment and complex anthropometric measurements. Evaluating each of the 17 dimensions he identified on a seven-point scale, W. Sheldon came to the concept of somatotype (body type), which can be described using three main parameters. Borrowing terms from embryology, he named these parameters as follows: endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy. Depending on the predominance of any parameter (a score of 1 point corresponds to the minimum intensity, 7 points to the maximum) W. Sheldon identifies the following body types:
1. Endomorphic type(7-1 -1). The name of the type is given based on the fact that predominantly internal organs are formed from the endoderm, and in people of this type their excessive development is observed. The physique is relatively weak, with excess adipose tissue.
2. Mesomorphic type(1-7-1). The mesomorphic type has a well-developed muscular system, which is formed from the mesoderm. A slender, strong body, which is the opposite of the baggy and flabby body of an endomorph. The mesomorphic type has great mental stability and strength.
3. Ectomorphic type(1-1-7). Skin and nervous tissue develop from the ectoderm. The body is fragile and thin, the chest is flattened. Relatively weak development of internal organs and physique. The limbs are long, thin, with weak muscles. The nervous system and feelings are relatively easily excitable.
If individual parameters have the same severity, W. Sheldon classifies this individual as a mixed (average) type.
Eysenck (1916 1997), using factor analysis, created a four-level hierarchical model of personality. Eysenck suggested that the lower level is the level of specific actions or thoughts. It can be quite random and does not indicate personality traits. The second level is the level of habitual actions or thoughts. This level is more diagnostic of the personality as a whole. The third level is personality traits. Eysenck defined a trait as “an important, relatively permanent personal characteristic.” A trait is a bundle of interconnected habitual reactions. This level approximately coincides with the 35 primary features in Cattell’s concept. The fourth, highest level is the level of types. A type is formed from several interconnected traits. In fact, types in Eysenck's concept are the results of factorization of primary traits.
Factor Extraversion/Introversion (E) includes sociability, liveliness, impulsiveness, optimism, activity, dominance, self-confidence, carelessness, courage on the positive pole. The negative pole of this factor includes isolation, pessimism, passivity, self-doubt, thoughtfulness, and good control over behavior. Eysenck believed that the main reason for the difference between extroverts and introverts is the different level of excitability of the cerebral cortex. Because extroverts have a lower level, they are less sensitive to sensory stimulation. Extroverts seek out exciting experiences to increase arousal, while introverts, on the other hand, try to avoid situations that may cause too much arousal. It can be predicted that extroverts will enjoy activities such as driving fast, skydiving, traveling, and using stimulants. Introverts, on the other hand, will prefer quiet activities such as reading, quiet walks, etc.
The Neuroticism/Stability (N) factor on the positive pole includes high anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, a tendency to strong reactions to stress, and frequent pain of a psychogenic nature. At the negative pole of this factor is low anxiety, high self-esteem, and resistance to stress.
The Psychoticism / Superego (P) factor includes, at the positive pole, egocentrism, emotional coldness, aggressiveness, hostility towards others, suspicion and often a tendency to antisocial behavior. Negative pole
This factor describes the tendency to cooperate with other people, prosocial moral standards, and the desire to care.
Since, as stated above, G. Eysenck’s factors are independent, personality as a whole can be described only by taking into account the contribution of all three factors. Thus, the personality of a person, schematically presented in Fig. 75, characterized high level extraversion, a high level of emotional stability and a strong superego. In other words, this is an active, sociable person, not inclined to worry about trifles, with high self-esteem and strong moral principles.
18. Character. Basic components of character. Structure, content and form of character.
Character in the narrow sense of the word is defined as a set of stable properties of an individual, which express the ways of his behavior and methods of emotional response.
With this definition of character, its properties, as well as the properties of temperament, can be attributed to the formal-dynamic features of behavior. However, in the first case, these properties, if possible,
expressed, are extremely formal, but in the second they bear signs of somewhat greater content, formality. So, for the motor sphere, adjectives describing temperament will be “fast”, “agile”, “sharp”, “sluggish”, and character qualities will be “collected”, “organized”, “neat”, “lax”. To characterize the emotional sphere in the case of temperament, words such as “lively”, “impulsive”, “hot-tempered”, “sensitive” are used, and in the case of character - “good-natured”, “closed”, “distrustful”. However, as already mentioned, the boundary separating temperament and character is quite arbitrary. It is much more important to understand more deeply the difference between character and personality (in the narrow sense).
Let's look at how these concepts are used in everyday speech. First of all, let's pay attention to how different the sets of adjectives that are used to describe personality and character are. They speak of a personality as “high”, “outstanding”, “creative”, “gray”, “criminal”, etc. In relation to character, adjectives such as “heavy”, “cruel”, “iron”, “soft” are used. , "golden". Cause we don't say" high character" or "soft personality".
Thus, an analysis of everyday terminology shows that there are different formations. But the following considerations are even more convincing of this: when assessments of the character and personality of the same person are given, then these assessments can not only coincide, but also be opposite in sign.
Let us recall, for example, the personalities of outstanding people. The question arises: are great people known to history? bad character? Yes, as much as you like. There is an opinion that F. M. Dostoevsky had a difficult character, and I. P. Pavlov had a very “cool” character. However, this did not stop both of them from becoming outstanding personalities. This means that character and personality are far from the same thing.
In this regard, one statement by P. B. Gannushkin is interesting. Stating the fact that high talent is often combined with psychopathy, he writes that for the assessment of creative individuals, their character flaws do not matter. "History," he writes,
interests only creation and mainly those of its elements that are not personal, individual, but general, enduring in nature."
So, the “creation” of a person is primarily an expression of his personality. Descendants use the results of the personality, not the character. But it is not descendants who confront a person’s character, but the people immediately around him: family and friends, friends, colleagues. They bear the burden of his character. For them, unlike descendants, a person’s character can become, and often becomes, more significant than his personality.
If we try to very briefly express the essence of the differences between character and personality, we can say that character traits reflect what How a person acts, and personality traits are what for what he acts. At the same time, it is obvious that the methods of behavior and the orientation of the individual are relatively independent: using the same methods, you can achieve different goals and, conversely, strive for the same goal in different ways.
However, first I will dwell on the question of varying degrees of character expression.
Almost all authors emphasized that character can be more or less expressed. Imagine an axis on which the intensity of character manifestations is depicted. Then the following three zones will be indicated on it (Fig. 14): the zone of absolutely “normal” characters, the zone of expressed characters (they are called accentuations) and a zone of strong character deviations, or psychopathy. The first and second zones refer to the norm (in a broad sense), the third - to the pathology of character. Accordingly, character accentuations are considered as extreme variants of the norm. They, in turn, are divided into explicit And hidden accentuations.
The distinction between pathological and normal characters, including accentuations, is very important. On one side of the line separating the second and third zones are individuals subject to the care of psychology, on the other - minor psychiatry. Of course, this “line” is blurred. Nevertheless, there are criteria that allow it to be approximately localized on the character intensity axis. There are three such criteria, and they are known as criteria for psychopathy Gannushkina - Kerbikova.
Character can be considered pathological, that is, regarded as psychopathy if he relatively stable in time, that is, it changes little throughout life. This first the sign, according to A.E. Lichko, is well illustrated by the saying: “As in the cradle, so in the grave.”
Second sign - totality of manifestations character: with psychopathy, the same character traits are found everywhere: at home, at work, on vacation, among friends and among strangers, in short, in any circumstances. If a person, let’s say, is alone at home and another “in public,” then he is not a psychopath.
| № | Type of character accentuation according to the classification of A.E. Lichko | Type of accentuated personality according to K. Leonhard (1968). Comparison carried out by V.V. Yustitsky (1977) | Type of accentuated personality according to K. Leonhard (1976). The comparison was carried out by the research group of A.E. Lichko |
| Schizoid | Introverted | Introverted | |
| Hyperthymic | - | Hyperthymic | |
| Hysterical | Demonstrative | Demonstrative | |
| Cycloid | - | Affectively labile | |
| Psychasthenic | Super punctual | Pedantic | |
| Unstable | Weak-willed | - | |
| Labile | Hyperactive Emotive | Affective-exalted Emotive | |
| Sensitive | timid | Anxious (fearful) | |
| Asthenoneurotic | Unconcentrated (neurasthenic) | - | |
| Epileptoid | Rigid affective Uncontrollable | Excitable | |
| Conformal | extroverted | - | |
| Labile cycloid | Labile | - | |
| Conformally hyperthymic | - | Extroverted | |
| - | - | Stuck | |
| - | - | Dysthymic |
21.Typologies of character (K. Horney, E. Fromm).
In her book Our Inner Conflicts (1945), Horney divided her list of ten needs into three main categories. Each of the categories represents a strategy for optimizing interpersonal relationships in order to achieve a sense of security in the world around us. In other words, their effect is to reduce anxiety and achieve a more or less acceptable life. In addition, each strategy is accompanied by a certain basic orientation in relationships with other people. People-oriented: compliant type. People orientation involves a style of interaction characterized by dependence, indecisiveness, and helplessness. The person Horney classifies as the compliant type is driven by the irrational belief: “If I yield, I will not be touched” (Horney, 1937, p. 97). The compliant type needs to be needed, loved, protected and led. Such people enter into relationships with the sole purpose of avoiding feelings of loneliness, helplessness, or uselessness. However, their politeness may mask a repressed need to behave aggressively. Although such a person seems to be embarrassed in the presence of others and keeps a low profile, this behavior often hides hostility, anger, and rage. Orientation from people: isolated type. Orientation from people as a strategy for optimizing interpersonal relationships is found in those individuals who adhere to the defensive attitude: “I don’t care.” Such people, whom Horney classifies as the detached type, are guided by the mistaken belief: “If I withdraw, I will be all right” (Horney, 1937, p. 99). The isolated type is characterized by the attitude of not allowing oneself to be carried away in any way, whether it is a love affair, work or leisure. As a result, they lose true interest in people, get used to superficial pleasures - they simply go through life dispassionately. This strategy is characterized by a desire for privacy, independence and self-sufficiency. Orientation against people: hostile type. Anti-people orientation is a style of behavior characterized by dominance, hostility and exploitation. The hostile person acts from the illusory belief: “I have power, no one can touch me” (Horney, 1973, p. 98). The hostile type holds the view that all other people are aggressive and that life is a struggle against everyone. Therefore, he considers any situation or relationship from the position: “What will I get from this? ", regardless of what we are talking about - money, prestige, contacts or ideas. Horney noted that the hostile type is capable of acting tactfully and friendly, but his behavior is ultimately always aimed at gaining control and power over others. Everything is aimed at increasing one’s own prestige, status or satisfying personal ambitions. Thus, this strategy expresses the need to exploit others and gain social recognition and admiration. Like all 10 neurotic needs, each of the three interpersonal strategies is designed to reduce feelings of anxiety caused by social influences in childhood. From Horney's point of view, these are fundamental strategies in interpersonal relationships that each of us uses at some time. Moreover, according to Horney, all these three strategies are in a state of conflict with each other in both a healthy and a neurotic personality. However, in healthy people this conflict does not carry such a strong emotional charge as in patients with neuroses. A healthy person is characterized by great flexibility, he is able to change strategies according to circumstances. But a neurotic is unable to do right choice between these three strategies when he resolves issues that confront him or builds relationships with others. He uses only one of three coping strategies, whether it is suitable in this case or not. It follows from this that a neurotic, in comparison with healthy person, behaves less flexibly and is not as effective in solving life problems.
Fromm identified five social character types that prevail in modern societies (Fromm, 1947). These social types, or forms of establishing relationships with others, represent the interaction of existential needs and the social context in which people live. Fromm divided them into two large classes: unproductive (unhealthy) and productive (healthy) types. The category of unproductive ones includes receptive, exploiting, accumulating and market types of character. The category of productive represents the type of ideal mental health in Fromm’s understanding. Fromm noted that none of these character types exists in a pure form, since unproductive and productive qualities are combined in different people in different proportions. Consequently, the influence of this social type of character on mental health or the disease depends on the ratio of positive and negative traits manifested in the individual. 1. Receptive types are convinced that the source of everything good in life is outside of themselves. They are openly dependent and passive, unable to do anything without help, and think that their main task in life is to be loved rather than to love. Receptive individuals can be characterized as passive, trusting and sentimental. In extremes, people with a receptive orientation can be optimistic and idealistic. 2. Exploitative types take whatever they need or dream of through force or ingenuity. They are also incapable of creativity, and therefore achieve love, possession, ideas and emotions by borrowing all this from others. Negative traits of an exploitative nature are aggressiveness, arrogance and self-confidence, egocentrism and a tendency to seduce. Positive qualities include self-confidence, feeling self-esteem and impulsiveness. 3. Accumulating types try to possess as much material wealth, power and love as possible; they strive to avoid any attempts on their savings. Unlike the first two types, “hoarders” gravitate toward the past and are scared off by everything new. They resemble Freud's anal-retentive personality: rigid, suspicious and stubborn. According to Fromm, they also have some positive characteristics - prudence, loyalty and restraint. 4. The market type is based on the belief that personality is valued as a commodity that can be sold or profitably exchanged. These people are interested in maintaining a good appearance, meeting the right people, and are willing to demonstrate any personality trait that would increase their chances of success in selling themselves to potential customers. Their relationships with others are superficial, their motto is “I am what you want me to be” (Fromm, 1947, p. 73). In addition to being extremely aloof, market orientation can be described by the following key personality traits: opportunistic, aimless, tactless, unscrupulous, and empty-handed. Their positive qualities are openness, curiosity and generosity. Fromm viewed the “market” personality as a product of modern capitalist society, formed in the USA and Western European countries. 5. In contrast to unproductive orientation, productive character represents, from Fromm’s point of view, the ultimate goal in human development. This type is independent, honest, calm, loving, creative and performs socially useful actions. Fromm's work shows that he viewed this orientation as a response to the contradictions of human existence inherent in society (Fromm, 1955, 1968). It reveals a person’s ability to be productive. logical thinking, love and work. Through productive thinking, people learn who they are and therefore free themselves from self-deception. The power of productive love enables people to passionately love all life on Earth (biophilia). Fromm defined biophilia in terms of caring, responsibility, respect, and knowledge. Finally, productive work provides the ability to produce the necessities of life through creative self-expression. The result of the implementation of all the above forces, which are characteristic of all people, is a mature and holistic character structure.
22. The concept of personality. Levels of personality functioning.
IN modern psychology There are seven main approaches to the study of personality. Each approach has its own theory, its own ideas about the properties and structure of personality, and its own methods for measuring them. That is why we can only offer the following schematic definition: personality is a multidimensional and multi-level system of psychological characteristics that provide individual originality, temporary and situational stability of human behavior.
· Personality is a multidimensional and multi-level system of psychological characteristics that provide individual originality, temporary and situational stability of human behavior.
Personality theory is a set of hypotheses or assumptions about the nature and mechanisms of personality development. Personality theory tries not only to explain, but also to predict human behavior (Kjell A., Ziegler D., 1997). The main questions that personality theory must answer are:
1. What is the nature of the main sources of personality development - congenital or acquired?
2. Which one age period most important for personality formation?
3. What processes are dominant in the personality structure - conscious (rational) or unconscious (irrational)?
4. Does a person have free will, and to what extent does a person exercise control over his behavior?
5. Is a person’s personal (inner) world subjective, or is the inner world objective and can be identified using objective methods?
Each psychologist adheres to certain answers to the questions posed above. In the science of personality, seven fairly stable combinations of such answers, or personality theories, have emerged. There are psychodynamic, analytical, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, activity and dispositional theories of personality.
There are three levels of analysis of personality as a psychological formation: the properties of individual “elements” of personality, components (“blocks”) of personality and properties of the entire personality. The relationship between personality traits and blocks of all three levels is called personality structure. Some theories, and sometimes different authors within the same theory, pay attention not to all levels, but only to one of them. The names of personality elements and blocks vary greatly. Individual properties are often called characteristics, traits, dispositions, character traits, qualities, dimensions, factors, personality scales, and blocks are called components, spheres, instances, aspects, substructures.
Each theory allows you to build one or more structural models of personality. Most models are speculative, and only a few, mostly dispositional, are constructed using modern mathematical methods.
Let's look at each approach in more detail. At the end of the presentation of each theory, we will try to give a more detailed definition of personality within each approach and answer the following question: “Why are some people more aggressive than others?”
23. Psychodynamic theory of personality .
Founder psychodynamic theory personality, also known as “classical psychoanalysis”, is the Austrian scientist 3. Freud.
According to Freud, the main source of personality development is innate biological factors(instincts), or rather, the total biological energy - libido(from lat. libido- attraction, desire). This energy is aimed, firstly, at procreation (sexual attraction) and, secondly, at destruction (aggressive attraction) (Freud Z., 1989). Personality is formed during the first six years of life. The unconscious dominates in the personality structure. Sexual and aggressive drives, which make up the main part of libido, are not recognized by a person.
Freud argued that the individual has no free will. Human behavior is completely determined by his sexual and aggressive motives, which he called the id (it). Concerning inner world personality, then within this approach it is completely subjective. A person is captive of his own inner world; the true content of the motive is hidden behind the “façade” of behavior. And only typos, slips of the tongue, dreams, and also special methods can provide more or less accurate information about a person’s personality.
The basic psychological properties of individual “elements” of personality are often called character traits (Freud 3., 1989). These properties are formed in a person in early childhood.
In the first, so-called “oral” phase of development (from birth to 1.5 years), a sharp and rude refusal of the mother to breastfeed the child forms in the child such psychological properties as mistrust, hyper-independence and hyperactivity, and vice versa, long-term feeding (more than 1 .5 years) can lead to the formation of a trusting, passive and dependent personality. In the second (from 1.5 to 3 years), “anal” phase, rough punishment of a child in the process of learning toilet skills gives rise to “anal” character traits - greed, cleanliness, punctuality. A permissive attitude of parents towards teaching a child toilet skills can lead to the formation of an unpunctual, generous and even creative personality.
At the third, “phallic”, most important stage of child development (from 3 to 6 years), the formation of the “Oedipus complex” in boys and the “Electra complex” in girls occurs. The Oedipus complex is expressed in the fact that the boy hates his father because he interrupts his first erotic attractions to the opposite sex (to his mother). Hence the aggressive character, law-abiding behavior associated with rejection of family and social norms, which the father symbolizes. The Electra complex (craving for the father and rejection of the mother) creates alienation in girls in the relationship between daughter and mother.
Freud identifies three main conceptual blocks, or levels of personality:
1) eid(“it”) - the main structure of the personality, consisting of a set of unconscious (sexual and aggressive) impulses; The id functions according to the pleasure principle;
2) ego(“I”) - a set of cognitive and executive functions of the psyche that are predominantly conscious by a person, representing, in a broad sense, all our knowledge about the real world; the ego is a structure that is designed to serve the id, functions in accordance with the principle of reality and regulates the process of interaction between the id and the superego and acts as an arena for the ongoing struggle between them;
3) superego(“super-ego”) - a structure containing social norms, attitudes, and moral values of the society in which a person lives.
The id, ego and superego are in constant struggle for psychic energy due to the limited volume of libido. Strong conflicts can lead a person to psychological problems and diseases. To relieve the tension of these conflicts, the individual develops special “defense mechanisms” that function unconsciously and hide the true content of the motives of behavior. Defense mechanisms are integral properties of the individual. Here are some of them: repression (translation into the subconscious of thoughts and feelings that cause suffering); projection (the process by which a person attributes his own unacceptable thoughts and feelings to other people, thus placing blame on them for his own shortcomings or failures); substitution (redirecting aggression from a more threatening object to a less threatening one); reactive education (suppression of unacceptable impulses and replacing them in behavior with opposite impulses); sublimation (replacing unacceptable sexual or aggressive impulses with socially acceptable forms of behavior for the purpose of adaptation). Each person has his own set of defense mechanisms formed in childhood.
Thus, within the framework of psychodynamic theory, personality is a system of sexual and aggressive motives, on the one hand, and defense mechanisms, on the other, and the structure of personality is an individually different ratio of individual properties, individual blocks (instances) and defense mechanisms.
To the control question “Why are some people more aggressive than others?” within the framework of the theory of classical psychoanalysis, one can answer as follows: because human nature itself contains aggressive drives, and the structures of the ego and superego are not developed enough to resist them.
· Libido is general biological energy.
Related information.
Ernest Kretschmer- a German psychiatrist who lived and worked at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, precisely when the term Charakterkunde itself appeared - translated from German meaning “Characterology”.
Based on experiments in his rich medical practice, he wrote a scientific work, “Body Structure and Character,” where he classified characters, closely linking their types with the characteristics of the physical structure, and this classification causes continued interest and controversy to this day.
Kretschmer defined three main character types, and all, of course, depending on two different groups of “chemical hormones”, which, in turn, determine the physique.
Picnic type. This is a squat man with broad bone, with a thick neck and a solid body. Its character is cycloid. Calm, kind-hearted, joyful about life.
Asthenic type. The person is thin, short, leptosomal (narrow). By the nature of the so-called. schizoid. A silent and introverted introvert.
Athletic, mixed type. The most common type is the result of mixing two different groups of hormones. Tall and physically strong, his character may have features of both the cyclical and schizoid types.
Today, the typology of the main character types, originating from Kretschmer, and passing through Gannushkin and Burno, looks like this...
If you are kind, sociable, realistic. React adequately to events, and externally - wide and inclined to be overweight, then you are a sanguine cycloid.
Of the literary heroes, the most striking examples are Baron Du Vallon, better known to us as Porthos, as well as Sancho Panza, the brave soldier Schweik and other good-natured fat men.
If you are thin and short, you are a realist, but at the same time you are prone to anxiety and doubt, and sometimes worry about something to the point of absurdity, then you are a psychasthenic.
Let's remember the official from Chekhov's story who died from sneezing on the bald head of some high-ranking official. I couldn’t stand my reflection on this matter. Such a person is characterized by hypertrophied decency and suspiciousness. He is inclined to painfully think about what has already happened, tormenting himself, sometimes completely in vain. "To be or not to be?" - he suffers. Yes, yes, Shakespeare's Hamlet was also psychasthenic.
You are of normal build and normal height. Living on display is important to you so that others know about your experiences and are aware of your life. This means you belong to the so-called. hysterics.
This type is sometimes even inclined to pretend that he is not himself, and lives in a reality he has invented. He can be a swindler, but at the same time he is such a convincing actor that everyone believes him.
Like, for example, Gogol’s Khlestakov or the lady from Somerset Maugham’s story, who played the role of a heart patient and got used to her so much that she actually died.
Are you lucky to have an athletic physique, a strong will and an authoritarian character? Do you have your head in the clouds and are a down-to-earth pragmatist who still knows how to lead people? You are an epileptoid.
An illustration of this type is the famous Russian politician Alexander Lebed or General De Gaulle. Although this type may be slightly different. For example, Moliere's Tartuffe hides the desire to control people behind an obsequious and obsequious manner of behavior. Being a hangover, he skillfully manipulates his benefactors, causing confusion and discord and thereby bringing himself closer to his cherished goal - power.
Are you closed in on yourself, preferring your rich inner world to the outer world? Externally asthenic and light? Do you have virtually no need for communication, and some even consider you autistic? This characterizes you as a schizoid.
Such a person is inclined to create or engage in science, transferring all the complex experiences of the inner world into his activities. Cubist artists are examples of schizoid aspirations. They paint as they see it, for example, transferring multi-colored cubes and balls onto the canvas and explaining that this is a “portrait of a young man.”
Of the literary heroes, this is Nabokov’s Luzhin, living in his world of chess games, and at the same time living a real life that is secondary to him.
Are you bored real life, sometimes you don’t know what you would like, are you interested in physics today, and the history of Ancient Egypt tomorrow? This is a polyphonic (mosaic) character that can combine different, sometimes incompatible, features.
A person can be outwardly similar to any of the other types, but at the same time contradictory and inconsistent. A striking example polyphonic creativity are Godet's absurdist plays, Buñuel's films or Salvador Dali's paintings. They closely link realism with fiction, the ending can be ahead of the beginning, and people’s actions are often completely inexplicable.
A literary hero of a mosaic character is Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre or Dostoevsky's Nastasya Filippovna.
It is also worth saying that today there are a lot of attempts to classify characters that could be called “pop”, they are so primitive and so far from any scientific basis. For example, some psychologists propose to differentiate a person’s character by the color of his eyes.
Of course, it cannot be said that Kretschmerian characterology is ideal and irrefutable. Over the years, it has been rightly criticized for the transfer of patterns established in a psychiatric clinic to the environment of normal people, and for the lack of convincing statistical evidence, and for the fact that “bodily” data is clearly not enough to study all the varieties of human characters.
Today, of course, there are a lot of new possibilities for classifying character and establishing what exactly one type or another depends on.
Today, scientists can use quantities such as the neurodynamic constitution of the brain, as well as data from molecular biology and genetics. All this opens up new opportunities for research and knowledge. One thing remains immutable - it was Kretschmer who gave this the initial impetus, being the foremost researcher of the human psyche for his time.
drawing by A. Baklanova (Litvinova)
The German psychiatrist E. Kretschmer adhered to exactly the opposite initial principles to which K. Sigo adhered when creating his scheme.
Posted on ref.rf
He believed that heredity, and not environmental factors, is the only source of morphological diversity.
E. Kretschmer was born in 1888 in Germany. He was the director of the neurological clinic in Marburg, and the head of the clinic at the University of Tübingen. In 1939, he refused to take the post of president of the German Psychiatric Association, expressing disagreement with the theory of racial inferiority preached by the official psychiatry of Hitler's Germany. Died in 1964
E. Kretschmer published in 1921. a work entitled “Body structure and character” (in Russian translation, the book was published in 1924, the last reprint was in 1995). He noticed that each of the two types of diseases - manic-depressive (circular) psychosis and schizophrenia - corresponds to a certain body type. This allowed him to argue that body type determines the mental characteristics of people and their predisposition to corresponding mental illnesses. Numerous clinical observations prompted E. Kretschmer to undertake systematic research into the structure of the human body. Having made many measurements of various parts, the author identified four constitutional types.
1. Leptosomatic(Greek leptos – “fragile”, soma – “body”). He has a cylindrical body, fragile build, tall stature, a flat chest, an elongated egg-shaped face (full face). The long thin nose and undeveloped lower jaw form the so-called angular profile. The shoulders of a leptosomatic person are narrow, the lower limbs are long, the bones and muscles are thin. E. Kretschmer called individuals with extreme expression of these characteristics asthenics (Greek astenos - ʼʼweakʼʼ).
2. Picnic(Greek pγκnos – ʼʼthick, denseʼʼ). He is characterized by excessive obesity, small or medium height, a bloated body, a large belly, and a round head on a short neck. Relatively large body perimeters (head, chest and abdomen) with narrow shoulders give the body a barrel-shaped shape. People of this type tend to stoop.
3. Athletic(Greek athlon – ʼʼstruggle, fightʼʼ). He has good muscles, a strong physique, tall or medium height, a wide shoulder girdle and narrow hips, making the frontal appearance of the body form a trapezoid. The fat layer is not expressed. The face is in the shape of an elongated egg, the lower jaw is well developed.
4. Displastic(Greek dγs – ʼʼbadʼʼ, plastos – ʼʼformedʼʼ). Its structure is shapeless and irregular. Individuals of this type are characterized by various physique deformations (for example, excessive growth).
The identified types do not depend on a person’s height and thinness. We are talking about proportions, not absolute body sizes. There may be fat leptosomatics, frail athletes and thin picnics.
The majority of patients with schizophrenia, according to E. Kretschmer, are leptosomatic, although there are also athletes. Picnics form the largest group among patients with cyclophrenia (manic-depressive psychosis) (Fig. 5.2.). Athletes, who are less prone to mental illness than others, show some tendency towards epilepsy.
