The concept of temperament, its main properties, types of temperament. properties of the nervous system as the basis of temperament (strength, balance, mobility). Properties of the nervous system as a neurophysiological basis of individuality Type of temperament properties n

Modern Humanitarian Academy

Barnaul branch

Course work

in General Psychology

"Features of the relationship between the properties of the nervous system and types of temperament"

Is done by a student:

Sadykova A.N.

Group: ZP-609-U-51

Barnaul 2008

Introduction

Conclusion

Glossary

Appendix A "Classification of types of higher nervous activity"

Appendix B" a brief description of types of temperament

Introduction

The mental characteristics of the human personality are characterized by various properties that manifest themselves when social activities person. One of these mental properties of a person is the temperament of a person.

When they talk about temperament, they mean many mental differences between people - differences in depth, intensity, stability of emotions, emotional impressionability, pace, energy of actions and other dynamic, individually stable features of mental life, behavior and activity.

Nevertheless, temperament remains a largely controversial and unresolved issue today. However, with all the variety of approaches to the problem, scientists and practitioners recognize that temperament is the biological foundation on which a person is formed as a social being. Thus, temperament refers to the biologically determined substructures of personality.

Temperament reflects the dynamic aspects of behavior, mainly of an innate nature, therefore the properties of temperament are the most stable and constant in comparison with other mental characteristics of a person.

The relevance of this topic, first of all, lies in the fact that the qualities of a person, formed in the personal experience of a person on the basis of the genetic conditionality of his type of nervous system, largely determine the style of his life and activity. Knowing the type of temperament and the ability to determine the type of a particular person or group of people helps to find an approach to a particular person and build better relationships with him and in the team.

The object of this study is the relationship between the properties of the nervous system and types of temperament.

The subject of research in this work is the types of temperaments and properties of the nervous system.

The purpose of this work is to study and analyze the influence of the properties of the nervous system on the types of human temperaments.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of problems, namely

1. To study the psychological, pedagogical and methodological literature on the research problem.

2. Analyze the concept and classification of features of the properties of the nervous system and types of human temperament.

3. Determine the features of the relationship between the properties of the nervous system and the types of human temperament.

Research methods: theoretical - analysis and synthesis of psychological, pedagogical and methodological literature, comparison and generalization, analysis and synthesis.

Twenty-two sources of literature were used in writing the term paper. Basically, this is educational and monographic literature compiled by leading experts in the field of psychology, namely the works of such authors as: V.A. Krutetsky, R.S. Nemov, I.P. Pavlov, A.V. Petrovsky, E.I. Rogov, V.M. Rusalov.

The practical significance of this work lies in the application of the acquired knowledge and conclusions in further work, professional and labor activities, as well as in writing term papers.

1. Temperament and properties of the nervous system as psychological categories

1.1 General idea of ​​the properties of the nervous system

Each person has a very specific type of nervous system, the manifestation of which, i.e. features of temperament, constitute an important aspect of individual psychological differences.

Some of the combinations of type properties that occur more often than others or are most pronounced, and may, according to I.P. Pavlov, to serve as an explanation of the classification of temperaments, which has been known since ancient times. Namely: sanguine temperament corresponds to a strong balanced fast type of the nervous system, phlegmatic temperament - a strong balanced slow type, choleric temperament - a strong unbalanced type, melancholic temperament - a weak type of nervous system.

Features of a person's mental activity, which determine his actions, behavior, habits, interests, knowledge, are formed in the process of his individual life and upbringing. The type of higher nervous activity gives originality to human behavior, leaves a characteristic imprint on the whole appearance of a person - determines the mobility of his mental processes, their stability, but does not determine either the behavior, or actions of a person, or his beliefs, or moral principles.

As I.P. Pavlov proved, the dynamics of the course of mental activity and individual characteristics behavior is entirely dependent on individual differences in the activity of the nervous system. The manifestation and correlation of the properties of the two main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition - is the basis of these differences in nervous activity.

Together with his colleagues, he identified three basic properties of the nervous system, from the combination of which this or that type of temperament is laid.

1) The mobility of the processes of excitation and inhibition.

2) Balance, or Poise.

3) The strength of the processes of excitation and inhibition.

The strength of nervous processes is expressed in the ability of nerve cells to endure prolonged or short-term, but very concentrated excitation and inhibition. This determines the performance (endurance) of the nervous system.

Weakness of nervous processes is characterized by the inability to withstand prolonged and concentrated excitation and inhibition. Thus, in a weak nervous system, nerve cells are characterized by low efficiency, and their energy is quickly depleted. But on the other hand, such a nervous system has great sensitivity: even to weak stimuli, it gives an appropriate reaction.

Combinations of these properties of the nervous processes of excitation and inhibition formed the basis for determining the types of higher nervous activity. The combination of strength, mobility and balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition constitutes the type of the nervous system. (Appendix A)

Weak type. Representatives of the weak type of the nervous system cannot withstand strong, prolonged and concentrated stimuli. Weak are the processes of inhibition and excitation. Under the action of strong stimuli, the development of conditioned reflexes is delayed. Along with this, there is a high sensitivity (that is, a low threshold) to the actions of stimuli.

A strong unbalanced type with a predominance of excitation. His nervous system is characterized, in addition to its great strength, by the predominance of excitation over inhibition. It has great vitality, but lacks self-control; he is short-tempered and unrestrained.

Strong balanced mobile type. His nervous system is distinguished by the great strength of nervous processes, their balance and considerable mobility. The processes of inhibition and excitation are strong and balanced, but their speed, mobility, and rapid change of nervous processes lead to a relative instability of the nervous connections. Therefore, this person is quick, easily adapting to changing conditions of life. It is characterized by high resistance to the difficulties of life.

Strong balanced inert type. His nervous system is also characterized by considerable strength and balance of nervous processes along with little mobility. Strong and balanced nervous processes are characterized by low mobility. Representatives of this type are outwardly always calm, even, difficult to excite.

According to Teplov, the following structure of properties of the nervous system can be outlined:

1) strength (endurance),

2) dynamism (ease of generation of the nervous process),

3) mobility (speed of alteration of signs of stimuli),

4) lability (the rate of occurrence and termination of the nervous process).

Each of these properties can be different in relation to the process of excitation and to the process of inhibition: Therefore, it is necessary to talk about the balance of nervous processes for each of these properties.

The leading specialist on temperament problems, Nebylitsin and his coworkers, studied a group of basic properties of the nervous system, the existence of most of which was established with sufficient firmness, including using factor analysis. All these properties characterize, each from its own specific point of view, the dynamics of each of the two main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition. Speaking of the dynamism of the nervous system, Nebylitsin essentially means two properties - the dynamism of excitation and inhibition, just as, speaking of the strength of the nervous system, we actually mean two properties - the strength of the nervous system in relation to excitation and in relation to inhibition. Since these properties are elementary measurements of two fundamental nervous processes, he calls them primary.

Nebylitsin refers to secondary properties a number of additional characteristics of the nervous system, obtained by measuring and comparing primary properties of the same name that characterize two opposite nervous processes - excitation and inhibition.

To analyze the human biological system, V.M. Rusalov put forward the concept of general and particular constitutions of the human body. According to this concept, temperament is based on the properties of the general constitution of the human body, which is considered as the totality of all particular constitutions, i.e., all the physical and physiological properties of the individual, fixed in his hereditary apparatus.

The most important distinguishing feature of the studies of V.M. Rusalov and his colleagues is the use of the concept of P.K. Anokhin about the integrative activity of the brain, which is considered as newest stage in the development of the teachings of I.P. Pavlova. The application of this concept made it possible not only to reveal the structure and organization of the general properties of the nervous system, but also to derive from it a number of fundamental properties of temperament.

The type of higher nervous activity refers to natural higher data; this is an innate property of the nervous system. On this physiological basis, various systems conditioned connections, that is, in the process of life, these conditioned connections will be formed differently in different people: this will manifest the type of higher nervous activity. Temperament is a manifestation of the type of the nervous system in human activity and behavior. Only knowing the properties of the nervous system, their number and stable variations, it will be possible to establish the possible structural organization of temperament types.

1.2 Physiological and psychological basis of temperament types

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is considered the creator of the doctrine of temperaments. He argued that people differ in the ratio of the 4 main "juices" of life - blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, which are part of it. Based on his teachings, the most famous doctor of antiquity after Hippocrates, Claudius Galen, developed the first typology of temperaments. According to his teaching, the type of temperament depends on the predominance of one of the juices in the body. They identified temperaments that are widely known in our time: sanguine (from Latin sanguis - "blood"), phlegmatic (from Greek - phlegma - "phlegm"), choleric (from Greek chole - "bile"), and melancholic (from the Greek. melas chole - "black bile"). This fantastic concept has had a huge impact on scientists for many centuries.

Temperament - the proper ratio of traits from tempero - I mix in the proper state - a characteristic of the individual from the side of the dynamic features of his mental activity, i.e. tempo, speed, rhythm, intensity that make up this activity of mental processes and states.

The last known description of it, which is also used in modern psychology, belongs to the German philosopher I. Kant. He said that from a physiological point of view, when it comes to temperament, they mean the physical constitution (weak or strong physique) and complexion (liquid, naturally mobile in the body with the help of vital force. This also includes heat or cold when processing these juices.)

But from a psychological point of view, i.e. as the temperament of the soul (faculties of feeling and desire), these expressions concerning the properties of blood are determined only by analogy with the play of feelings and desire with bodily driving reasons(of which blood is the most important).

The main division of the doctrine of temperaments is this: the temperaments of feeling and the temperaments of action are divided into two types, which together gives four temperaments.

Kant ranked among the temperaments of feelings: sanguine and its opposite - melancholic. The first has the peculiarity that a quick and strong effect is exerted on the sensation, but the sensation does not penetrate deeply (it does not happen for a long time); in the second temperament, the sensation is less vivid, but takes deep roots. This should be seen as a difference in the temperaments of feelings, and not in a disposition to joy or sadness.

Since ancient times, researchers, observing a significant variety of behavior, coinciding with differences in physique and physiological functions, have tried to streamline them, somehow group them. Thus, a variety of typologies of temperaments arose. Of greatest interest are those in which the properties of temperament, understood as hereditary or innate, were associated with individual differences in physique. These typologies are called constitutional typologies. So the most widely used typology proposed by E. Kretschmer.

His main idea was that people with a certain type of constitution have certain mental characteristics. He carried out many measurements of body parts, which allowed him to distinguish 4 constitutional types:

LEPTOSOMATIC - characterized by a fragile physique, high growth, a flat chest. The shoulders are narrow, the lower limbs are long and thin.

PICNIC - a person with pronounced adipose tissue, excessively obese, characterized by small or medium stature, a blurry torso with a large belly and a round head on a short neck.

ATELETIK - a person with well-developed muscles, a strong physique, characterized by high or medium height, broad shoulders, narrow hips.

DYPLASTIC - people with a shapeless, irregular structure. Individuals of this type are characterized by various body deformities (for example, excessive growth, disproportionate physique).

With these types of body structure, Kretschmer correlates 3 selected types of temperament, which he calls: schizothymic, ixothymic and cyclothymic. The schizothymic has an asthenic physique, he is closed, prone to fluctuations in emotions, stubborn, not very responsive to changing attitudes and views, hardly adapts to the environment. In contrast, the ixothymic has an athletic physique. This is a calm, unimpressive person with restrained gestures and facial expressions, with low flexibility of thinking, often petty. The picnic physique is cyclothymic, his emotions fluctuate between joy and sadness, he easily contacts people and is realistic in his views.

Sheldon's views are also based on the assumption that the body and temperament are 2 human parameters related to each other. The structure of the body determines the temperament, which is its function. W. Sheldon proceeded from the hypothesis of the existence of basic body types, describing which he borrowed terms from embryology. They are divided into 3 types.

ENDOMORPHIC (mostly internal organs are formed from the endoderm);

MESOMORPHOUS (muscle tissue is formed from the mesoderm);

ECTOMORPHIC (skin and nervous tissue develop from the ectederm).

At the same time, people with an endomorphic type are characterized by a relatively weak physique with an excess of adipose tissue; the mesamorphic type tends to have a slender and strong body, great physical stability and strength; and ectomorphic - a fragile body, a flat chest, long thin limbs with weak muscles.

According to W. Sheldon, these body types correspond to certain types of temperaments, named by him depending on the functions of certain organs of the body: visicetronia (lat. viscera - "insides"), somatonia (Greek soma - "body") and cerebrotonia (lat. cerebrum - "brain").

According to I.P. Pavlov, temperaments are the "basic features" of a person's individual characteristics. They are usually distinguished as follows: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic.

The French scientist A. Fulier made additions to the Hippocratic classification based on the study of the intensity and speed of reactions. He highlighted:

1. sensitive people with a quick but low-intensity reaction (closer to sanguine people);

2. sensitive people with a slower but more intense reaction (melancholic);

3. active people with a quick and intense reaction (choleric);

4. active people with a slow and moderate reaction (Phlegmatic).

At present, science has enough facts to give a complete psychological description of all types of temperament according to a certain harmonious program. However, to compile the psychological characteristics of traditional 4 types, the following main properties of temperament are usually distinguished:

Sensitivity is determined by what is the smallest force of external influences necessary for the occurrence of any mental reaction of a person, and what is the rate of occurrence of this reaction.

Reactivity is characterized by the degree of involuntary reactions to external or internal influences of the same strength (a critical remark, an offensive word, a sharp tone - even a sound).

Activity indicates how intensely a person influences the external world and overcomes obstacles in achieving goals (perseverance, focus, concentration).

The ratio of reactivity and activity determines what makes a person's activity more envy: from random external or internal circumstances, moods, random events) or from goals, intentions, beliefs.

Plasticity and rigidity indicate how easily and flexibly a person adapts to external influences (plasticity) or how inert and inert his behavior is.

Extraversion, introversion determines what the reactions and activities of a person mainly depend on - from external impressions that arise at the moment (extrovert), or from images, ideas and thoughts related to the past and future (introvert).

Considering all the listed properties, J. Strelyau gives the following psychological characteristics of the main classical types of temperament:

SANGUINE. A person with increased reactivity, but at the same time, his activity and reactivity are balanced. He vividly, excitedly responds to everything that attracts his attention, has a lively facial expression and expressive movements. For an insignificant reason, he laughs, and an insignificant fact can make him angry. It is easy to guess his mood, attitude to an object or person by his face. He has a high threshold of sensitivity, so he does not notice very weak sounds and light stimuli. Possessing increased activity and being very energetic and efficient, he actively takes up a new business and can work for a long time without getting tired. Able to quickly concentrate, disciplined, if desired, can restrain the manifestation of his feelings and involuntary reactions. He is characterized by quick movements, flexibility of mind, resourcefulness, a fast pace of speech, a quick inclusion in new job. High plasticity is manifested in the variability of feelings, moods, interests and aspirations. Sanguine easily converges with new people, quickly gets used to new requirements and environment. Effortlessly not only switches from one job to another, but also retrains, mastering new skills. As a rule, he responds more to external impressions than to subjective images and ideas about the past and future, an extrovert.

In a sanguine person, feelings easily arise, are easily replaced. The ease with which a sanguine person forms and remakes new temporal connections, the greater mobility of the stereotype, is also reflected in the mental mobility of sanguine people, they show a certain tendency to instability.

CHOLERIC. Like the sanguine person, it is characterized by low sensitivity, high reactivity and activity. But in the choleric, reactivity clearly prevails over activity, so he is unbridled, unrestrained, impatient. Hot-tempered. It is less plastic and more inert. Than sanguine. Hence - greater stability of aspirations and interests, greater perseverance, difficulties in switching attention are possible, he is rather an extrovert.

PHLEGMATIC has a high activity, significantly prevailing over low reactivity, low sensitivity and emotionality. It is difficult to make him laugh and sad - when they laugh loudly around him, he can remain unperturbed. When in big trouble, he stays calm. Usually he has poor facial expressions, movements are inexpressive and slow, just like speech. He is unresourceful, with difficulty shifting attention and adapting to a new environment, slowly rebuilding skills and habits. At the same time, he is energetic and efficient. Differs in patience, endurance, self-control. As a rule, he finds it difficult to meet new people, weakly responds to external impressions, an introvert. The disadvantage of the phlegmatic is its inertia, inactivity. Inertia also affects the inertness of his stereotypes, the difficulty of his restructuring. However, this quality, inertia, also has a positive meaning, it contributes to the solidity of the constancy of the personality.

MELANCHOLIC A person with high sensitivity and low reactivity. Increased sensitivity with great inertia leads to the fact that an insignificant occasion can cause tears in him, he is overly touchy, painfully sensitive. His facial expressions and movements are inexpressive, his voice is quiet, his movements are poor. Usually he is insecure, timid, the slightest difficulty makes him give up. The melancholic is not energetic, unpersistent, gets tired easily and has little work capacity. It has an inherent easily distracted and unstable attention, and a slow pace of all mental processes. Most melancholics are introverts.

Melancholic is shy, indecisive, timid. However, in a calm, familiar environment, a melancholic can successfully cope with life's tasks.

Until now, the main types of temperament are the same four that were identified by ancient science: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. The idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat a person's temperament is usually formed on the basis of some characteristics characteristic of a given person. psychological features. A person with noticeable mental activity, quickly responding to surrounding events, striving for a frequent change of impressions, experiencing failures and troubles relatively easily, alive, mobile, with expressive facial expressions and movements, is called a sanguine person. An imperturbable person, with stable aspirations and mood, with constancy and depth of feelings, with uniformity of actions and speech, with a weak external expression of mental states, is called a phlegmatic person. A very energetic person, capable of devoting himself to a task with particular passion, fast and impulsive, prone to violent emotional outbursts and sudden mood swings, with rapid movements is called a choleric. An impressionable person, with deep feelings, easily injured, but outwardly weakly responsive to the environment, with restrained movements and muffled speech, is called a melancholic. Each type of temperament has its own ratio of mental properties, primarily a different degree of activity and emotionality, as well as certain features of motor skills. A certain structure of dynamic manifestations characterizes the type of temperament.

The variety of temperaments is most manifested in the nature of mental activity, movements, and emotionality. The main characteristics of emotionality are impressionability, impulsiveness, stability and emotional stability. The motor, motor component of temperament is clearly reflected in behavior and manifests itself as speed, strength, sharpness, the general rhythm of movements and speech. The general mental activity of a person is associated with the desire for self-expression, development and transformation of the surrounding world.

The central place in the characterization of temperament is occupied by general mental activity. What is meant is not the content of activity, not its direction, but precisely its dynamic features, the very energy level of behavior. The differences between people in this respect are very great. The degree of activity is distributed from lethargy, inertia at one pole to violent manifestations of energy at the other.

Thus, according to this chapter, we can conclude that the features of a person’s mental activity that determine his actions, behavior, habits, interests, knowledge, are formed in the process of a person’s individual life, in the process of education. The type of higher nervous activity gives originality to human behavior, leaves a characteristic imprint on the whole appearance of a person - determines the mobility of his mental processes, their stability, but does not determine either the behavior, or actions of a person, or his beliefs, or moral principles.

2. Analysis of the relationship between the properties of the nervous system and types of human temperament

2.1 The main properties of personality temperament

It has been proven that there are no two people on earth with the same patterns of fingers, that there are no two completely identical leaves on a tree. Similarly, in nature there are no absolutely identical human personalities - the personality of each person is unique. However, a person is not born a ready-made personality. He becomes it gradually. Already from early childhood, he has his own individual characteristics of the psyche. These features are very conservative and stable. Changing much more slowly than the personality traits known to us (views and beliefs, character traits, abilities), they form a kind of psychological ground on which, subsequently, depending certain individualities grow from its features. Such stable and inherent in a person from birth mental qualities are the properties of temperament.

In psychology, the classification of temperaments, based on taking into account such psychological characteristics, which are denoted by the terms extraversion, introversion, has gained some recognition. Like a magnet, objects of the surrounding world attract the interests, "life energy" of an extravert. craving for new experiences, impulsiveness, sociability, increased motor and speech activity. The introverted type is characterized by the fixation of interests on their inner world. Introverts, as a rule, are closed, socially passive, prone to introspection, and have difficulty adapting to the surrounding reality. Depending on the leading mental function, K. Jung singled out the mental, emotional, sensing and intuitive extraverted and introverted types.

In the future, differences in extraversion-introversion, as well as differences in emotional stability (where at one pole - constancy of mood, self-confidence, high resistance to negative influences, and at the other pole - a sharp change in mood, resentment, irritability, denoted by the words "anxiety level ") were studied by G. Eysenck in connection with differences in the properties of the nervous system. (Appendix B)

It was found, in particular, that the signs of extraversion, like the signs of emotional stability, are based on a less reactive nervous system, while the signs of introversion, like emotional anxiety, are an expression of a higher reactivity. It turned out that extraversion and introversion, emotional stability and high anxiety can act in different combinations. As a result, a new approach to the main types of temperament has been outlined: a combination of extraversion and emotional stability (sanguine), a combination of extraversion and emotional instability (choleric), a combination of introversion and emotional stability (phlegmatic), a combination of introversion and emotional instability (melancholic).

Weak expression of actual mobility (slow rate of onset and cessation of excitation and inhibition), i.e. the inertness of nervous processes can have both negative and positive values. Negative side inertia - slowness of dynamic changes, positive - duration of preservation, stability of mental processes. Corresponding psychological differences determine, first of all, the features of the course of activity, and not its effectiveness.

Like any mental properties, the properties of temperament are some potencies that manifest or do not manifest depending on a number of conditions. The dependence of the manifestations of temperament on conditions leads to the fact that people of completely different temperaments can, nevertheless, in different conditions show very similar or even identical qualitative mental characteristics, while in the same conditions they exhibit directly opposite qualitative characteristics.

The properties of temperament are the most stable and constant in comparison with other mental characteristics of a person. A special feature of temperament is that the various properties of the temperament of a given person do not accidentally combine with each other, but are naturally interconnected, forming a certain organization, a structure that characterizes the type of temperament. Like the properties of the nervous system, the properties of temperament are not absolutely immutable.

The dynamic features of mental activity depend on both emotions and will, i.e. determined by the ratio of emotional and volitional characteristics. A distinctive feature of the properties of temperament is that they form a specific ratio (krasis), which characterizes the type of temperament as a whole. This ratio (krasis) is a characteristic feature that, since the time of Hippocrates, underlies the definition of the concept of temperament. Depending on this ratio, each individual property of temperament acquires a specific characteristic.

The properties of temperament depend on the properties of the organism as a whole. In modern psychology, it is generally recognized that the properties of temperament may change depending on the conditions of development. So, for example, Wundt believed that the same person at different times can manifest all four types of temperament. The difference between the properties of temperament and other individual psychological characteristics can only lie in how, on the basis of relationships, conditions of life and activity, this or that group of individual psychological characteristics is formed.

The problem of the psychological characteristics of temperament in life situations was actively studied by V.S. Merlin and his staff. To specific properties of temperament V.S. Merlin attributes the features of the emotional-volitional sphere: activity, restraint, emotional excitability, the speed of the emergence and change of feelings, especially mood, anxiety, restlessness, and a number of other features of the psyche.

The properties of temperament differ from the motives and attitudes of personality and character traits. Temperament differs from abilities. Therefore, temperament includes, first of all, innate and individually peculiar mental properties. In some people, mental activity proceeds evenly, they are outwardly calm, balanced, even slow, they rarely laugh, their gaze is strict and cold, their movements are sparing and expedient. In other people, mental activity proceeds spasmodically, such people, on the contrary, are very mobile, restless, noisy, always lively, that is, the nature of the course of mental activity depends on temperament. There are the following properties of temperament:

1) the rate of occurrence of mental processes and their stability (for example, the speed of perception, the duration of concentration of attention);

2) mental tempo and rhythm;

3) the intensity of mental processes (for example, the strength of emotions, the activity of painful actions);

4) the orientation of mental activity to any objects, regardless of their content (for example, a person's constant desire for contacts with new people, for new impressions).

But the dynamics of mental activity also depends on other conditions (for example, on motives and mental states). If a person is interested in work, then regardless of the characteristics of his temperament, he will do it more energetically and faster. The properties of temperament, in contrast to motives and mental states, manifest themselves in the same way in the most different types activities and for a variety of purposes. For example, if a person has a tendency to worry before passing a test or in anticipation of starting at a competition, then this means that high anxiety is a property of his temperament.

The properties of temperament do not appear from the moment of birth and not all at once at a certain age, but develop in a certain sequence, determined both by the general laws of the maturation of higher nervous activity, and by the specific laws of the maturation of each type of nervous system. The reason for the individual characteristics of behavior is due to the properties of the nervous processes of excitation and inhibition and their various combinations.

2.2 Influence of the nervous system on human temperament

Psychologists have established that the weakness of the nervous system is not a negative property. A strong nervous system copes more successfully with some life tasks, and a weak one with others. A weak nervous system is a highly sensitive nervous system, and this is its well-known advantage. Knowledge of temperament, knowledge of the features of the innate organization of the nervous system, which influences the course of human mental activity, is necessary for the teacher in his educational and educational work. It should be remembered that the division of people into four types of temperament is very conditional. There are transitional, mixed, intermediate types of temperament; often in the temperament of a person, features of different temperaments are combined. "Pure" temperaments are relatively rare.

In fact, the dependence of the course of mental processes and human behavior on the functioning of the nervous system, which performs a dominant and controlling role in the body, has long been known. The theory of the connection of some general properties of nervous processes with types of temperament was proposed by I.P. Pavlov and was developed and experimentally confirmed in the works of his followers.

The properties of the nervous system must be studied taking into account the peculiarities of people's behavior in life situations. The natural features of the nervous system can be hidden by a system of temporary connections developed during life. A certain mental trait is not only innate, but the manifestation of the properties of the nervous system is possible only in emergency conditions, therefore, modern studies of the problem of individual differences are aimed at developing a special system of "vital indicators", i.e. objectively assessed vital manifestations of the studied properties of the nervous system.

Differences in activity related to temperament appear mainly in the following forms: the severity of the need itself, the desire to be active (the desire to continue the activity begun; the force of pressure, the energy of the actions performed; endurance in relation to the stress associated with activity); a variety of actions performed, a tendency to vary them; speed characteristics of reactions and movements (their rate, its increase and decay, sharpness and swiftness or slowness of movements).

It has been established that the dynamic manifestations of activity are determined in a certain way by the properties of the type of the nervous system. Thus, the intensity and stability of activity essentially depend on the strength of the nervous system, while the variability of activity and some of its speed characteristics depend on mobility and lability. In other studies, it was shown that mental activity as a feature of temperament directly depends on a special property of the nervous system - activation (data from E.A. Golubeva).

Of great interest are the results of studies showing that weakness of the type of the nervous system means not only a lack of strength, low endurance, but also increased sensitivity, reactivity, i.e. readiness to respond to minor stimuli (a weaker nervous system gets tired and exhausted faster because it is relatively easier to excite). And reactivity is also one of the types of activity. In this regard, individuals with a weakness of the nervous system have their own special prerequisites for manifestations of activity. On the basis of reactivity (within the limits of the endurance of the nervous system), rapidly emerging, inventive, subtle forms of activity can be developed.

The concept of temperament should not be the initial premise, but the end result of the development of the theory of temperament. The initial premise of this theory should be a description of the signs by which it would be possible to distinguish temperament from other individual psychological characteristics.

Thus, temperament should be understood as a set of stable, individually unique properties of the human psyche that determine the dynamics of his mental activity. These properties are equally manifested in a variety of activities, regardless of its content, goals and motives, because. properties of temperament are due to the general type of the nervous system, then they to some extent depend on the hereditary factor. The hereditary factor affects the mental properties of temperament in two ways: the morphological features of the nervous system and the physiological properties of the type. But although the properties of temperament are of hereditary origin, in a number of cases they undergo a more or less dramatic change as a result of living conditions. The conditions may be as follows:

Severe somatic diseases, especially those suffered in early childhood;

As a result of some recreational activities;

As a result of psychological conflicts experienced in adolescence;

As a result of a sharp deterioration in living material conditions in adolescence;

With a sharp change in the objective conditions of life and education in adolescence.

Thus, we can conclude that as a result of vital external conditions, qualitative changes in mental properties can occur, which dramatically change the psychological characteristics of temperament.

Thus, according to this chapter, it should be concluded that most of the studied properties of temperament are, as a rule, descriptive. The number of properties does not follow from a certain theoretical model, and is determined by the peculiarities of factor processing of the initial characteristics of temperament. Consequently, the characteristics of temperament do not so much introduce various shades into activity as set boundaries, protect the body from an extremely large or, conversely, extremely small expenditure of energy.

Conclusion

Each type of temperament can manifest itself in both positive and negative psychological traits. The energy, passion of the choleric, if they are aimed at worthy goals, can be valuable qualities, but lack of balance, emotional and motor, can be expressed, in the absence of proper education, in restraint, harshness, a tendency to constant explosions. The liveliness and responsiveness of a sanguine person are positive qualities, but with shortcomings in education, they can lead to a lack of proper concentration, to superficiality, and a tendency to scatter. Calmness, endurance, lack of haste of a phlegmatic person are virtues. But under unfavorable conditions of upbringing, they can make a person lethargic, indifferent to the many impressions of life. The depth and stability of feelings, the emotional sensitivity of a melancholic are valuable features, but with a lack of appropriate educational influences, representatives of this type may develop a disposition to completely immerse themselves in their own experiences, excessive shyness. Thus, the same initial properties of temperament do not predetermine what they will develop into - into advantages or disadvantages.

The properties of temperament depend on the same general type of the nervous system, do not represent a psychologically unrelated unstructured conglomerate, there is a completely natural relationship and interdependence between them.

It is known that under appropriate conditions of upbringing and with a weak type of nervous system, a strong will can develop and, conversely, with a strong type of nervous system under conditions of "greenhouse" upbringing, signs of insufficient energy and helplessness may appear. Not every choleric person is decisive and not every sanguine person is responsive. Such properties must be developed. This implies a certain self-regulation, self-education.

So, summing up the above, I would like to note once again that psychologists from different countries have been and are studying temperament. The methods of studying it are rather conditional and not objective, but work in this direction is being carried out and is bearing fruit. Many theories have been put forward regarding the nature of temperament and methods for studying it. The methods, as mentioned above, include laboratory, complex, natural methods for studying temperament and the method of observation.

Different points of view were expressed about the nature of temperament, starting with Hippocrates and Galen, who identified 4 types of temperament. These types have almost invariably survived to this day and are used in the research of modern psychologists. E. Kretschmer associated the nature of temperament with the chemical composition of blood. A. Haller introduced the concepts of excitability and sensitivity, and his student G. Vrisberg connected temperament with the characteristics of the nervous system. I.P. Pavlov experimentally confirmed the theory of the physiological basis of temperament. Based on these studies, the study of temperament continues today.

Thus, this work reveals the physiological basis of temperament. It gives the psychological characteristics of temperaments, reveals the features of the influence of the properties of the nervous system on the types of temperaments. Consequently, temperament refers, first of all, to the biologically determined substructures of the personality, and knowing one's own type of temperament will certainly help to solve many problems of the upbringing and development of the personality.

Glossary

New concepts	Content
Activity	Formal-dynamic characteristic of temperament, dynamic-energetic intensity of human behavior, manifested in its interaction with the natural and social world.
introversion	The appeal of a person's consciousness to himself; preoccupation with one's own problems and experiences, accompanied by a weakening of attention to that. What's going on around.
Lability	The property of nervous processes, manifested in the ability to conduct a certain number of nerve impulses per unit of time. It is characterized by the speed of occurrence and termination of the nervous process.
melancholic	A person whose behavior is characterized by a slow reaction to existing stimuli, as well as speech, thought and motor processes.
sanguine	A type of temperament characterized by energy, increased efficiency and quick reaction.
Properties of the human nervous system	A complex of physical characteristics of the nervous system that determines the processes of occurrence, conduction, switching and termination of nerve impulses in various departments and parts of the central nervous system.
Strength of the nervous system	The property of the nervous system to withstand prolonged and heavy loads.
Temperament	The manifestation in the behavior of the neuropsychic constitution inherent in a person from birth; a set of dynamic characteristics of human behavior, manifested in general activity in the features of motor skills and in emotionality.
Temperament (according to Nemov R.S.)	Dynamic characteristics of mental processes and human behavior, manifested in their speed, variability, intensity and other characteristics.
Phlegmatic person	Type of human temperament, characterized by reduced reactivity, poorly developed, slow expressive movements.
Character	The totality of personality traits that determine the typical abilities of her response to life circumstances.
central nervous system	The part of the nervous system that includes the brain, diencephalon, and spinal cord.
extraversion	The focus of a person's consciousness and attention is mainly on what is happening inside him.

List of sources used

1. Belous V.V. Temperament and activity. Tutorial. - Pyatigorsk, 2000.-275s.

2. Venger L.A., Mukhina V.S. "Psychology" M.: "Enlightenment" 2002.-326s.

3. Gippenreiter Yu.B. Introduction to general psychology. M., "House of the Slavic Book" 2006.-238s.

4. Gamezo M. V., Domashenko I. A. Atlas of Psychology. - M.: Enlightenment, 2002.-340s.

5. Kretschmer E. Theory of temperaments. // Psychology of individual differences. Reader. M., 2000.-420s.

6. Krutetsky V.A. "Psychology" M. "Enlightenment" 2000.-348s.

7. Merlin B.C. Essay on the theory of temperament. - Perm, 2003.-195p.

8. Nebylitsyn V.D. Actual problems of differential psychophysiology. // Psychology of individual differences. Reader. M., 2000.-360s.

9. Nebylitsin VD Basic properties of the human nervous system. - M. Enlightenment, 2000.- 270s.

10. Nemov R.S. Psychology In 3 volumes, V.1 - M .: Vlados, 2003.-387p.

11. General psychology: Textbook for students ped. institutes / A.V. Petrovsky, A.V. Brushlinsky, V.P. Zinchenko and others / Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. - 3rd ed., revised. and additional – M.: PerSer; SPb.: Speech, 2005.- 263p.

12. General psychology / Composition. E.I. Rogov - M. VLADOS, 3rd ed., revised. and additional 2003.- 332p.

13. Ozhegov, S.I., Shvedova, N.Yu. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. - M: Az, 2006.-939s.

14. Pavlov I. P. Full. coll. Op. T.3.Kn.2. M.-L., 1951. S.269.

15. Povalyaeva M.A., Ruter O.A. Non-verbal means of communication / Series "higher education". Rostov n. /D: Phoenix, 2004.-352s.

16. Psychology of individual differences TEXTS / ed. Yu.B. Gippenreyder, V.Ya. and additional 2003. -p.37-43

17. Rusalov V.M. On the nature of temperament and its place in the structure of individual human properties. // Issues of psychology. 2005. - No. 1. S.-43-48

18. Series "Erudite". Psychology. Ed. Fatiyeva I.Yu. - M.: OOO "Publishing house World of Books", 2008.-193p.

19. Simonov P. V., Ershov P. M. Temperament. Character. Personality, ed. M., "Science", 2004.-348s.

20. Strelyau Ya. The role of temperament in mental development. M., "Atlas" 2002.-246s.

21. Teplov B.M., Nebylitsyn V.D. The study of the foundations of the properties of the higher nervous system and their significance for the psychology of individual differences. // Issues of psychology. 12004.- No. 5.-S.24-31

22. Teplov B.M. The current state of the issue of the types of higher nervous activity of a person and the method of their determination. // Psychology of individual differences. Reader. M., 2000.-С95-127

Annex A

Classification of types of higher nervous activity according to Pavlov I.P.

Annex B

Brief description of temperament types according to G. Akzenk

temperament called a set of properties that characterize the dynamic features of the course of mental processes and human behavior, their strength, speed, occurrence, cessation and change.

Temperament has a significant impact on the formation of a person’s character and behavior, sometimes determines his actions, his personality, therefore it is impossible to completely separate temperament from personality. It acts as a link between the body, personality and cognitive processes.

Temperament Properties to the actual personal qualities a person can only be attributed conditionally, they rather constitute his individual characteristics, since are mostly biologically determined and are innate. Temperament- this is the biological foundation on which the personality is formed as a social being, and personality traits due to temperament are the most stable and long-term.

Temperament properties:

1. The pace (hence, probably, the name "temperament") of periodic or cyclic movements performed by a person when performing a particular activity. The pace is the number of movements per unit of time: the more such movements, the higher the pace of activity.

2. The speed of execution of external movements or the speed of internal, psychological processes of a person.

3. Switchability. It manifests itself either in the transition from performing one movement to performing another movement, or in switching from one internal process to another, or, finally, in the transition from one psychological state to another. One of the manifestations of this property is the reaction rate, that is, the rate of a person's transition from a state of rest (lack of reaction) to a state of excitation (presence of a reaction).

4. Activity, or vigor. It is understood as the amount of energy inherent in the action performed by a person, or the amount of energy expended by a person when performing an action.

5. The emotional background against which a person's activity takes place, or, in short, his emotionality. It refers to the strength and variety of typical human emotional experiences.

6. Balance. It is characterized by the ratio of the processes of excitation and inhibition both in the human nervous system and in his behavior. A person is called balanced, respectively, in whom the processes of excitation and inhibition are approximately the same in strength and duration. An unbalanced person is a person whose corresponding processes differ in strength and duration. In this case, excitation is understood as a transition from a state of passivity (rest, inactivity) to a state of activity (action, activity), and inhibition is a reverse transition: from a state of excitation to a state of rest.

The combination of these properties characterizes the temperament of a person. There are, however, the most common, typical combinations of the respective properties. They got the name temperament types.

Since ancient times, it has been customary to distinguish four main types of temperament: choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic.

These main types of temperament, first of all, differ from each other in the dynamics of the emergence and intensity of emotional states. So, the choleric type is characterized by quickly arising and strong feelings, for the sanguine - quickly arising, but weak feelings, for the melancholic - slowly arising, but strong feelings, for the phlegmatic - slowly arising and weak feelings. In addition, the choleric and sanguine temperaments are characterized by speed of movement, general mobility and a tendency to a strong external expression of feelings (in movements, speech, facial expressions, etc.). For melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments, on the contrary, slowness of movements and a weak expression of feelings are characteristic.

However, it would be a mistake to think that all people can be divided into four basic temperaments. Only a few are pure representatives of these types; in the majority, we observe a combination of individual features of one temperament with some features of another. The same person in different situations and in relation to different areas life and activity can reveal features of different temperaments.

Observing a significant variety of behavior, coinciding with differences in physique and physiological functions, they tried to streamline and somehow group these differences. As a result, numerous concepts and typologies of temperaments . These concepts were based on a variety of personality traits.

In a number of concepts, the properties of temperament were understood as hereditary or innate and associated with individual differences in body features. Such typologies are called constitutional typologies. Among them, the most widespread typology proposed by E. Kretschmer. His main idea is that people with a certain body type have certain mental characteristics. E. Kretschmer identified four constitutional types: leptosomatic, picnic, athletic, dysplastic.

In the USA in the 40s. 20th century W. Sheldon's concept of temperament gained great popularity. His concept is based on the assumption that the body and temperament are two interrelated parameters of a person. According to the author, the structure of the body determines the temperament, which is its function. According to Sheldon, these body types correspond to certain types of temperaments, named by him depending on the function of certain organs of the body: viscerotonia (insides), somatotonia (body) and cerebrotonia (brain). Sheldon calls persons with a predominance of a certain body type viscerotonics, somatotonics and cerebrotonics, respectively, and believes that each person has all of these groups of properties.

In modern psychological science, most constitutional concepts are subjected to sharp criticism because they underestimate the role of the environment and social conditions in the formation of a person's mental properties. Concepts based on the consideration of the functioning of the nervous system, which performs the dominant and controlling role in the body, deserve more serious attention.

The greatest contribution to the development of the theory of temperament in domestic psychology was made by B. M. Teplov. His works devoted to the study of the properties of temperament determined not only the modern view on the problem of temperament, but also became the basis for the development of further experimental studies of temperament. Teplov attributed to the properties of temperament stable mental properties that characterize the dynamics of mental activity. He explained the individual characteristics of temperament by different levels of development of certain properties of temperament.

Selected by Pavlov types of nervous system not only in quantity, but also in basic characteristics, they correspond to the four classical types of temperament: strong, balanced, mobile type - sanguine; strong, balanced, inert type - phlegmatic; strong, unbalanced type with a predominance of excitation - choleric; weak type - melancholic.

Under the type of the nervous system, Pavlov understood the properties of the nervous system that are innate and relatively weakly subject to changes under the influence of the environment and upbringing. These properties of the nervous system form the physiological basis of temperament, which is a mental manifestation of the general type of the nervous system.

However, his discovery of the properties of the nervous system and the typology of the nervous system developed on this basis served as the basis for his assertion that all human behavior, like animal behavior, can be explained from the position of physiology. This point of view is strong in our time and is often found among physiologists and doctors, but it is not true. Human behavior is very complex and is determined not only by innate characteristics, but also by the conditions of the social situation, as well as by the characteristics of education. Nevertheless, Pavlov's typology has become the source of a huge number of experiments and studies in this area.

At present, science has accumulated a lot of facts about the properties of the nervous system, and as they accumulate, researchers attach less and less importance to the types of the nervous system. Each person has a completely definite type of nervous system, the manifestations of which, i.e., the characteristics of temperament, constitute an important side of individual psychological differences that manifest themselves in activity.

Specific manifestations of the type of temperament are diverse. Features of a person's temperament are not only manifested in his behavior, but also determine the originality of the dynamics cognitive activity and spheres of feelings, are reflected in the motives and actions of a person, as well as in the nature of intellectual activity, features of speech, etc.

A certain combination of temperament properties, manifested in the cognitive processes, actions and communication of a person, determines his individual style of activity. It is a system of dynamic features of activity dependent on temperament, which contains work methods that are typical for a given person.

The individual style of activity is not limited to temperament, it is also determined by other reasons, it includes skills and abilities formed under the influence of life experience. The individual style of activity can be considered as the result of the adaptation of the innate properties of the nervous system and the characteristics of the human body to the conditions of the activity performed. This device should provide the best results in the activity at the lowest cost.

The core of the individual style of activity determines the complex of properties of the nervous system that a person has. Among those features that relate to the very individual style of activity, two groups can be distinguished:

1. Acquired in experience and having a compensatory nature in relation to the shortcomings of the individual properties of the human nervous system.

2. Contributing to the maximum use of a person's inclinations and abilities, including useful properties nervous system.

Personality and temperament are interconnected in such a way that temperament acts as a common basis for many other personal properties, primarily character. However, it determines only the dynamic manifestations of the corresponding personal properties.

Temperament influences personality traits such as impressionability, emotionality, impulsiveness and anxiety.

Impressionability- this is the strength of the impact on a person of various stimuli, the time they are stored in memory and the strength of the reaction to them.

Emotionality- this is the speed and depth of a person's emotional reaction to certain events.

Impulsiveness manifests itself in the incontinence of reactions, in their spontaneity and appearance even before a person has time to think about the current situation and make a reasonable decision about how to act in it. An impulsive person first reacts, and then thinks if he did the right thing, often regrets premature and wrong reactions.

An anxious person differs from a low-anxiety one in that he too often has emotional experiences associated with anxiety: fear, fears, fears. It seems to him that much of what surrounds him carries a threat to his own "I".

Temperament to some extent affects the development of human abilities, especially those that include movements with such essential characteristics as pace, reaction speed, excitability and inhibition. It should be noted that temperament does not determine the abilities and talents of a person. Great abilities can occur with equal frequency in any temperament.

General characteristics of temperament. Temperament- a set of individual personality traits that characterize the dynamic and emotional side of its activities and behavior.

The first question that arises when considering temperament is the question of its place and significance in the multilevel hierarchy of Individual properties. Being one of the earliest in origin and simple in structure forms of higher mental synthesis, forming, in the words of B. G. Ananiev, “individual properties of a person”, temperament is especially closely connected with the constitution of the body. The latter combines several groups of properties (morphological, biochemical, physiological), which together form the basis and mechanism of temperament.

The main components of temperament are Key words: general psychological activity, motility and emotionality.

Depends on temperament: the rate of occurrence of mental processes and their stability; pace and rhythm of activity and behavior: the intensity of mental processes.

The properties of temperament are not absolutely immutable. They do not appear from the moment of birth and not all at once at a certain age, but develop in a certain sequence, due both to the general laws of the maturation of higher nervous activity, and specific features each type of nervous system.

Basic properties of the nervous system. The reason for the individual characteristics of human behavior is due to the properties of the nervous processes of excitation and inhibition and their various combinations.

IP Pavlov believed that three properties of nervous processes determine the type of higher nervous activity (the type of nervous system).

These properties are:

1. strength - the ability of the nervous system to withstand strong stimuli (characterized by the endurance and performance of nerve cells);
2. balance - an indicator of the ratio of the processes of excitation and inhibition;
3. mobility is an indicator of the speed of changing the processes of excitation and inhibition.

Properties of the nervous system can be general and private (partial). The first determine the indicators of a person's temperament, and the second - his private special features that are indirectly related to the characteristics of the individual.

The physiological basis of temperament is not the activity of the cerebral cortex in itself, but its interaction with the subcortex, as well as the interaction of both signal systems.

Experimentally established additional properties of the nervous system;

1. lability - the rate of occurrence and flow of excitable and inhibitory processes;
2. dynamism - the speed and ease of developing conditioned reflexes;
3. concentration - an indicator of the measure of differentiation of stimuli.

In many psychophysiological studies, reliable correlations have been obtained between indicators of the physiological properties of the nervous system and characteristics of the dynamics of mental life, for example, between indicators of weakness of the nervous system and emotional excitability. There are good reasons in favor of the assumption of a significant dependence of the properties of temperament on the basic properties of neurodynamics.

The properties of temperament, based on a certain type of nervous system, are the most stable and constant in comparison with other mental characteristics of a person.

According to the teachings of I.P. Pavlov, individual characteristics of behavior, the dynamics of the course of mental activity depend on individual differences in the activity of the nervous system.

The physiological basis of temperament is the neurodynamics of the brain, i.e. neurodynamic correlation of the cortex and subcortex. The neurodynamics of the brain is in internal interaction with the system of humoral, endocrine factors. A number of researchers (Lende, Belov, partly E. Kretschmer and others) were inclined to make temperament dependent, primarily on these latter. There is no doubt that the system of endocrine glands is included among the conditions affecting temperament.

It would be wrong, however, to isolate the endocrine system from the nervous system and turn it into an independent basis of temperament, since the very humoral activity of the endocrine glands is subject to central innervation. Between endocrine system and nervous there is an internal interaction in which the leading role belongs to the nervous system.

For temperament, the excitability of the subcortical centers, with which the features of motility, statics and autonomics are associated, is undoubtedly essential. The tone of the subcortical centers and their dynamics influence both the tone of the cortex and its readiness for action. Because of the role they play in the neurodynamics of the brain, the subcortical centers undoubtedly influence temperament. The subcortex and the cortex are inextricably linked with each other. Ultimately, it is not the dynamics of the subcortex itself that is of decisive importance, but "the dynamic relationship between the subcortex and the cortex", as I.P. Pavlov in his doctrine of the types of the nervous system Pavlov IP Poln. coll. Op. T.3.Kn 2. M.-L., 1951.- P.98..

The types of nervous systems I.P. Pavlov connects with temperament, comparing four groups of nervous systems in accordance with Figure 2, which he came to in a laboratory way.

Figure 2. Relationship between GNI types by I.P. Pavlov and temperaments according to Hippocrates

These general types of the nervous system underlie the four traditional types of temperament (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic), although in addition to the four combinations of properties of nervous processes, others were also found, the dependence of temperament on the properties of the nervous system manifests itself primarily as follows: the more one physiological property of the nervous system is expressed, the less the corresponding property of temperament is expressed.

If we single out the regular relationships of properties inherent in each type of temperament, we will get the following results, which are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Dependence of temperament on the characteristics of the nervous system

Mental properties	Types of temperament and their corresponding properties of the nervous system
sanguine		Phlegmatic person	melancholic
Balanced. Mobile	Unbalanced. Mobile	Balanced Inert	Unbalanced Sedentary
The speed of mental reactions		Very high	slow
The power of mental reactions		Very big
Extrovert or introvert	extrovert	extrovert	Introvert	Introvert
Plasticity or rigidity	Plastic	Plastic	Rigid	Rigid
Emotional excitability	Moderate
The power of emotions		Very big
Emotional stability	sustainable	unstable	Very stable	Very unstable
Sensitivity	Reduced
Reactivity	Increased
Activity	Increased	Increased		Reduced
reactivity-activity	Balanced	reactive	Active	Balanced
Reaction rate			Slow	Slow

The above characteristics do not pretend to be categorical, since the division of the temperament of all people into four groups is very conditional. More broadly, one can only say that temperament determines mainly the course of a person’s mental life, the dynamics of mental activity.

Summarizing the above, we can say that the properties of the nervous system, like the properties of any other physiological system, depend on the properties of the organism as a whole. Therefore, the properties of temperament, ultimately, depend on the properties of the organism as a whole. But this dependence has an indirect and indirect character, while the dependence of temperament on the properties of the nervous system is direct and immediate.

The physiological basis of temperament is the type of higher nervous activity (IP Pavlov). The type of higher nervous activity is a peculiar combination of the basic properties of nervous processes: their strength, balance and mobility.

The power of nervous processes- an indicator of performance, endurance of nerve cells in relation to strong and prolonged stimuli.

Equilibrium- the ratio of the processes of excitation and inhibition. The nervous system is balanced if the process of excitation is equal in strength to the process of inhibition; and unbalanced if one process is stronger than the other.

Mobility is the rate of change of excitation and inhibition processes.

I.P. Pavlov identified four types of higher nervous activity, which are characterized by a certain combination of properties of nervous processes: 1) strong, balanced, mobile; 2) strong, unbalanced; 3) strong, balanced, inert; 4)weak. These types of higher nervous activity underlie the four types of temperament - sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. The psychological characteristic of temperament as a whole is associated not with any one property of the nervous system, but with their combination, i.e. type of nervous system.

AT psychological characteristics temperament distinguish the following properties: 1) sensitivity- increased response to emotional stimuli; sensitive people are highly sensitive, they have sensations with a slight strength of the stimulus; 2) reactivity determined by the strength of the emotional response; reactive person - impressionable, emotionally responsive to external and internal influences; 3) activity manifested in the vigor with which a person influences the world (persistence in overcoming obstacles, perseverance, focused attention); four) the ratio of reactivity and activity indicates how much human behavior and activity depend on random circumstances (mood, emotional reactions) and how much they depend on the goals and objectives set for themselves; 5) reaction rate characterizes the speed of mental processes (cognitive, emotional, volitional), speech, motor reactions; 6) plastic characterized by ease, flexibility of adapting a person to changing environmental conditions; rigidity- inertia, stereotypical behavior, inability to quickly adapt to changes; 7) extraversion it is expressed in the conversion of a person mainly to the external world of images, thoughts, feelings; introversion- to the inner world; the peculiarities of the reaction and activity of people, their communication (contact or isolation) depend on this predominant orientation. All these properties in a complex interaction are manifested in each type of temperament.

Consider the characteristics of four types of temperament.

sanguine(from Latin sanguis - blood) - a type of temperament characterized by high activity, efficiency, speed and liveliness of movements, richness of facial expressions, and a fast pace of speech. A person with this type is sociable, tends to change impressions. He easily and quickly experiences his failures, he has strong, balanced and mobile nervous processes.

Phlegmatic person- a type of temperament, determined by a low level of mental activity, slowness, inexpressive facial expressions, stability of interests and aspirations. A person with this type is difficult to switch from one type of activity to another and it is difficult to adapt to a new environment.

Choleric- a type of temperament, manifested in a high level of mental activity, energy of actions, sharpness, swiftness of movements, their fast pace, impetuosity; in a sharp change in mood, imbalance, exhaustion. A person with this type is quick-tempered, impatient.

melancholic(from Gr. melas - black + chole - bile) - a type of temperament, characterized by a low level of mental activity, slowness of movement, restraint of motor skills and speech, and rapid fatigue. A person with this type is characterized by high emotional sensitivity, depth and stability of emotions, negative emotions predominate in him, he is often vulnerable, withdrawn, alienated.

The type of temperament as a whole depends on heredity. Individual properties of temperament within certain limits may vary depending on the conditions of life and upbringing. Changes can occur under the influence of past illnesses, deep feelings, conditions of activity.

The main properties of a particular temperament appear in a person gradually, with age. This process is called maturation of temperament.

Temperament, being an individual personality trait, has a significant impact on the formation of a person's character and behavior. Temperament is the dynamic side of character, its physiological basis.

8.3. Temperament properties as a regulator of activity style.

Although temperament in a pronounced form is quite rare, nevertheless, it is useful for a leader to take into account the peculiarities of the temperaments of his subordinates. Temperament is a way of realizing activity, not the content of behavior.

By criterion mobility-inertia there are differences in the nature of the work: inert people perform monotonous, monotonous work more successfully, the process of preparing for the start of work, “drawing” into it is important for them, they are reluctant to interrupt, they have more developed orienting-cognitive activity. For people with a mobile type of nervous activity, a variety of work is necessary, allowing them to switch from one activity to another, they quickly get involved in work and can easily interrupt it.

By criterion strength-weakness significant differences were also found.

The strong type is characterized by a low susceptibility to fatigue, the ability to work in a group, a gradual involvement in work; corrections and additions are made in the course of work, they can remember many tasks at the same time. In situations of stress, there is an expansion of the scope of mental actions, which can be quite effective.

The weak type is characterized by a greater susceptibility to fatigue, a need for silence, they work better alone, plan work, corrections and additions are made at the verification stage, new work begins after the end of the previous one. In situations of nervous tension, the total duration of activity may increase, the volume of mental activity decreases somewhat.

Proper organization work taking into account the peculiarities of temperament will help to make it more effective.

Chapter 9. CHARACTER.

Concept of character