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Personality Traits - Meaning and Different Types of Traits

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An individual’s behavior towards others, attitude, characteristics, mindset make his personality. Personality development is defined as a process of enhancing one’s personality. Personality development sessions guide an individual as to how he/she can develop his/her personality.

Broadly there are five parameters which describe an individual’s personality. These five dimensions are also called as “Big Five” Factors, and the model is referred to as Five Factor Model also abbreviated as FFM.

The Five Factor Model was initially proposed by Costa & McCrae in the year 1992 and often describes the relation between an individual’s personality and various behaviours.

Following are five personality traits of an individual:

  1. Openness to experience

    Individuals with openness to experience are generally very active, have a tremendous inclination towards creativity and aesthetics and listen to their heart i. e. follow their inner feelings. Such individuals are generally open to new learnings, skill sets and experiences.

    People who score high on openness are quite broadminded and modern in their outlook as compared to individuals who score low on the same parameter. Such individuals are conservative, reluctant to changes and have a traditional approach in life.

  2. Conscientiousness

    As the name suggests, individuals with a Conscientiousness personality trait listen to their conscience and act accordingly. Such individuals are extremely cautious and self disciplined. They never perform any task in haste but think twice before acting.

    People with this personality trait are generally methodical and tend to become perfectionists in the long run.

    People who score high on conscientiousness are proactive, goal oriented and self disciplined. They strive hard to accomplish goals and objectives within the stipulated time frame. Individuals who score less are little laid back and are not much goal oriented.

  3. Extraversion and Introversion

    Carl Jung popularized both the terms - “Extraversion” and “Introversion”.

    1. Extraversion: Extraversion refers to a state where individuals show more concern towards what is happening outside.

      Such individuals love interacting with people around and are generally talkative. They do not like spending time alone but love being the centre of attraction of parties and social gatherings.

      Such individuals love going out, partying, meeting people and often get bored when they are all by themselves. They admire the company of others and hate staying alone.

    2. Introversion: Introversion, on the other hand refers to a state when an individual is concerned only with his own life and nothing else.

      Such individuals do not bother about others and are seldom interested in what is happening around . They prefer staying back at home rather than going out and spending time with friends.

      Such individuals speak less and enjoy their own company. You would never find them in meetings, clubs, parties or social get-togethers. They generally do not have many friends and tend to rely on few trusted ones.

  4. Agreeableness

    Agreeableness is a personality trait which teaches individuals to be adjusting in almost all situations.

    Such individuals do not crib and face changes with a smile. They accommodate themselves to all situations and are friendly and kind hearted. People who score high on agreeableness are ready to help others and flash their trillion dollar smile whenever a problem arises.

    Individuals who score low on agreeableness on the other hand find difficulties in adjusting with others and are little unfriendly.

  5. Neuroticism

    Neuroticism is a trait where individuals are prone to negative thoughts such as anxiety, anger, envy, guilt and so on.

    Such individuals are often in a state of depression and do not know how to enjoy life. They always look at the negative sides of life and find extremely difficult to cope up with stress.


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Trait and Type Perspectives

A trait is a characteristic pattern of behavior or conscious motive which can be self‐assessed or assessed by peers. The term type is used to identify a certain collection of traits that make up a broad, general personality classification.

Trait theories

  • Gordon Allport proposed that an individual's conscious motives and traits better describe personality than does that person's unconscious motivation. He identified three types of traits:

  • Cardinal traits, such as a tendency to seek out the truth, govern the direction of one's life.

  • Central traits operate in daily interactions, as illustrated by a tendency to always try to control a situation.

  • Secondary traits, such as a tendency to discriminate against older people, involve response to a specific situation.

  • Raymond Cattell, by means of a statistical technique called factor analysis, organized the huge number of words used generally to describe personality (over 17,000) and reduced them to 16 basic factors.

  • emotional, easily upset vs. calm, stable

  • intelligent vs. unintelligent

  • suspicious vs. trusting

  • reserved, unfriendly vs. outgoing, friendly

  • assertive, dominant vs. not assertive, humble

  • sober, serious vs. happy‐go‐lucky

  • conscientious vs. expedient

  • shy, timid vs. venturesome

  • tender‐minded vs. tough‐minded

  • practical vs. imaginative

  • shrewd vs. forthright

  • self‐assured, placid vs. apprehensive

  • conservative vs. experimenting

  • group oriented vs. self‐sufficient

  • undisciplined vs. self‐disciplined

  • relaxed vs. tense, driven

Type theories

  • Hans Eysenck proposed a higher organization of personality traits into three basic groups (traits plus their opposites), which, he suggested, constituted types.

  • extraversion (as opposed to introversion)

  • neuroticism (as opposed to emotional stability)

  • psychoticism (as opposed to impulse control)

  • The Big Five. In recent years, theorists have felt the need for more personality dimensions than Eysenck's three. The five independent dimensions, selected using statistical procedures, are known as the “Big Five.”

  • extraversion/introversion: characteristics described in terms such as talkative, sociable, adventurous vs. reticent, turned inward

  • agreeableness/antagonism: characteristics described in terms such as good‐natured, cooperative, likable vs. hostile, spiteful

  • conscientiousness/undirectedness: characteristics described in terms such as responsible, neat, task motivated vs. disorganized

  • stability/instability: characteristics described in terms such as calm, poised, composed vs. uncertain, insecure

  • openness to experience/conforming: characteristics described in terms such as flexible, original, independent, creative, daring vs. rigid, conventional, conforming, noncreative, timid

Types and types of human character

  • Typology of characters according to Kretschmer

  • Typology of characters according to Fromm

  • Typology of characters according to Bourno

  • Typology of characters according to Lesgaft

  • Why know the typology of characters

Every person is unique and that's great. All of us, being born, bring something of our own into this world. But how often do we hear such phrases in life - “die your character, otherwise no one will marry”, “show your character at home, and not in front of colleagues at work”, “I can’t help it - I have such a character”, etc. .

Psychologists and psychotherapists of the past and present have long been trying to classify human characters, this is important for their work. A person is born with a certain temperament that cannot be changed, but his character appears under the influence of upbringing and his environment. Of course, temperament will always be the basis, which, as we already know, cannot be changed. But the character, just right! The main thing is to know how. Especially if the "nasty" or "weak" character brings only problems. And for this you need to understand the typology of characters. Shall we be fishers of men for a while?


Kretschmer's typology of characters

There are a lot of typologies of characters; this is a wide field for scientific psychological activity. In this article, we list the most common character typologies and start with Kretschmer's typology.

German psychologist Ernst Kretschmer believed that a person's character can be recognized by his physique. He distinguished three types: asthenic, athletic, and picnic.

Asthenics are people with a narrow, thin (rough) face, with long arms, a flat chest. They are uncommunicative, closed, taciturn, practically unaffected by the outside, they are distinguished by nervous excitability, sensitivity. As a rule, they are persistent in achieving the goal.

Athletics are people with rough features, a powerful chin, a developed chest and shoulders. They are adamant, firm, resist pressure from outside, are distinguished by indifference, calmness, low sensitivity, passive and awkward in communication.

Picnics are people with a wide face, a double chin, prone to obesity and baldness. They are distinguished by a cheerful and cheerful character, developed intuition, flexibility, practical thinking, are quite open, friendly, and compassionate.

In general, rumors that plump people are gentle and kind are not without foundation, according to Kretschmer. In the meantime, let's move on to another typology.

Fromm's typology of characters

Erich Fromm, a German psychologist, divided human characters into two large groups: productive and unproductive. And already these two large groups were divided in turn, not several subgroups.

The productive group is represented by one type - the ideal type of mental health. The main features of this type are independence, honesty, calmness, the ability to love, a penchant for creativity, the ability to perform socially useful deeds, the ability to care and be responsible, the ability to respect others and strive for knowledge.

Now let's move on to the unproductive group. This includes the following types of character - receptive, exploiting, accumulating, market. The receptive type is distinguished by dependence and passivity, the inability to do anything without outside help, the desire to be loved, and not to love, gullibility, idealism, optimism.

The exploiting type is distinguished by aggressiveness, assertiveness, inability to be creative, borrowing from others, self-confidence, self-esteem, impulsiveness.

The accumulative type of character is distinguished by the desire for a large number of material goods, power, love, the new scares them, they gravitate more to the past, do not tolerate encroachments on their "accumulations", prudent, restrained, stubborn, loyal.

The market type can be characterized by one expression - "I am what you want me to be." They are aimless, tactless, superficial, evaluate any person as a commodity that can be sold or exchanged, inquisitive and generous.

Now we will find out what typology our compatriots offered.

Bourno typology of characters


Mark Evgenievich Burno - Russian psychotherapist and psychiatrist, developed an extensive classification of characters. He distinguished the following types:

  • sanguine;

  • tensely authoritarian;

  • anxious-doubting;

  • pedantic;

  • demonstrative;

  • shyly irritable;

  • closed deepened;

  • unstable;

  • mixed.

The sanguine type of character is distinguished by liveliness, emotionality, sensuality, mood swings from anxiety to joy, and a good sense of humor. People of this type are prone to practical activities that require a lot of energy, entrepreneurial and organizational activities.

The intensely authoritarian type is characterized by pride and aggression, straightforward thinking, self-righteousness, suppression of those who disagree with him. People of this type are always sure that everything should be exactly the way they want, angry, tense, striving for power.

Anxious-doubting type is characterized by shyness, self-doubt, a sense of inferiority, shyness. People of such a warehouse are immersed in their thoughts, scattered, it is easier for them to resort to non-verbal ways of communication, often immersed in the world of their own experiences.

The pedantic type, like the anxious-doubting type, is distinguished by a sense of anxiety. But their anxiety is manifested in ritual-obsessive actions. People of this type are prone to formalism, scrupulousness, collecting, excessive accuracy and disgust.

The demonstrative type of people is characterized by vanity and ambition. They are of a close mind, they like to "work for the public", they constantly try to attract the attention of others, for this they use all possible methods.

The shy-irritable type is distinguished by such features as vulnerability, feelings of inferiority, irritability, resentment, fatigue. People of this type are prone to nervous breakdowns in the home circle.

The closed-profound type of people concentrate more on their own thoughts and ideas about the world around them than on what is happening around them, sometimes they can seem strange and unpredictable.

The unstable type is distinguished by its instability in experiences, infantilism, superficiality, immaturity. A person of this type lacks the strength to control his desires, to control his emotions.

The mixed type of people combines features of other types. Burno's classification is quite detailed and extensive, due to which it is a success in the field of psychology and psychotherapy.


Typology of characters according to Lesgaft

Petr Frantsevich Lesgaft developed a typology of children's characters, which is of particular interest. This typology clearly reflects how the environment and upbringing influence the formation of a person's character. Let's talk a little about each type of children's character, as Lesgaft described them.

Hypocritical - children of a similar temperament try to get what they want in the easiest way, avoid difficulties, but the difficulties that arise are bypassed by cunning or affection, they tend to sycophancy, fawning, denunciation, they are often lonely. The formation of this type of character is due to lies and hypocrisy on the part of the older environment, the desire for quick and easy money, lack of concern for children, etc.

Ambitious - these children are distinguished by pride, a sense of superiority over other children, they strive to be the first and rule, they are characterized by restraint, calmness, a sense of self-confidence, choosing the main thing for themselves, completely focusing on it. This type of character is formed under the influence of the child's constant motivation to compete, with the help of material or verbal encouragement.

Good-natured - children of this type have well-developed analytical activity, they know how to reason with each new phenomenon in their lives, they think more abstractly (but with a lack of basic knowledge, this process quickly turns into fantasies). They are independent and truthful, distinguished by external modesty and internal criticality. This type of character is formed in a calm and loving environment, the absence of punishment and complete freedom.

Softly hammered - children with this type of character are cold and indifferent, in life they can “cling” to someone and not move away from him even a single step, failures and obstacles put them at a standstill, they cannot cope with surprises without outside help . Humility, timidity, capriciousness, immoderation in what you like are the hallmarks of this type of character. A similar type is formed in such conditions where everything is decided for the child, any initiative is warned by adults, he lives on “everything is ready”, is not prompted to action or independence.

Maliciously downtrodden - children with this type of character are often fierce, suspicious, proud, harsh with others. They are distinguished by lethargy and lack of initiative in their own pursuits, fearfulness, suspicion, they seem to close in their own world. The environment in which this type of character is formed is distinguished by cruel and violent actions, coercion, a ban on reasoning, and unfair demands.

Oppressed - this type of childish character has the features of modesty, diligence, desire for solitude. Children are constantly busy with something, focused on their occupation, are distinguished by sincerity, do not take part in common games, in failures, first of all, they blame themselves. The formation of this character takes place in a poor family, where parents give the best to their children, do not apply unfair or offensive measures to the child.

Normal - Lesgaft also called this type ideal. A child of this type constantly develops his mental and physical abilities, strives to achieve everything on his own. The formation of this type of character occurs if the child is allowed (and encouraged) to be independent and active.

Why to know the typology of characters

The answer to this question is obvious - in order to better understand the people who surround us. This is useful knowledge in order to find an approach to others, to establish communication, to understand the motives that drive people. In psychology, such knowledge is actively used, for example, in profiling, when you need to make a psychological portrait.

Yes, and in the usual practice of a psychologist, knowledge of the typology of human characters helps a lot in work. According to Hugo, a person has three characters - the one that is attributed to him, the one that he attributes to himself and the one that is in reality.

Knowledge of typology helps to find and pull out the very real character that a person actually has, and in which the causes of his problems may lie. For those specialists who have not yet studied the typologies of characters, we can recommend our advanced training course - "The Archetypal Approach to Character Structures".

Personality types: main differences and their characteristics

Contents of the article

All people are different: someone likes to lead an active lifestyle and communicate a lot, it is easier for someone not to stand out among others, someone is prone to sensitivity and excessive self-criticism . Since ancient times, scientists and philosophers have been interested in the topic of personality classification, many theories have been developed, some of which have become part of modern psychology. In this article, we will briefly analyze the psychological types that the Soviet scientist A.E. Lichko developed while observing adolescents. It is in adolescence that individual character traits and psychological characteristics are quite strongly manifested, which are smoothed out during growing up, but can manifest themselves at a moment of crisis. Even more types of personality classifications can be found in the free online course "Typology of Personality" on the platform "Russia - a country of opportunities".

Asthenoneurotic type

People with a weak nervous system who are characterized by low stamina, irritability and overwork. They get tired more from psychological stress than from physical exertion. When working for a long time, they need frequent breaks, in general they like to work at their own pace. Such people are hard to switch from one activity to another, it is better not to distract them from the process once again. Any unforeseen situations cause them irritability and anxiety. But these people are very careful and disciplined, they can spend hours doing monotonous work that does not require speed.

Unstable type

Complex personality type, which is characterized by irresponsibility, idleness and addiction, for example, from alcohol, drugs, games. Such people strive for pleasure, they want to constantly relax and have fun. They often have problems with work, they do not want to study and grow professionally. This type of personality can be called a real hedonist who sees entertainment and enjoyment as the main goal of his life. The positive features include openness and sociability.

Conformal type

People who strive to live like everyone else and do not want to stand out from the crowd once again. The opinion of others is very important to them, they try to earn the praise and approval of others. Basically, the way of life of such people directly depends on the society in which they live. If there are religious people around them, then the conformist will be a believer to the point of fanaticism. It is also difficult for them to change something in their lives, it is difficult to pull them out of their comfort zone. Positive features include low conflict, friendliness, devotion and diligence.

Labile type

Empathic people who can feel the mood and feelings of others well. They often make outstanding psychologists and social workers. They are open and always ready to help and support with a kind word. But this type is very sensitive and touchy, does not tolerate criticism in his address, cannot stand loneliness and changes in life.

Cycloid type

People who are prone to sudden mood swings experience strong emotions - either they are overly happy, or they feel sad on the verge of depression. They cope with internal experiences for a long time, they are distinguished by excitability and irritability, sometimes aggressiveness. The positive traits include sociability and friendliness.

Sensitive

People with excessive impressionability, vulnerability and openness. They can get excited about simple things that most people don't notice. They also keep pleasant and unpleasant memories for many years, which flash in memory as if in reality. This type of personality is difficult to tolerate public criticism, is very afraid of being ridiculed. Positive traits include increased morality, compassion and sociability.

Psychasthenic type

People who are prone to introspection and reflection like to delve into themselves and criticize for shortcomings. They have an excellent memory, so they remember their mistakes well and often engage in self-flagellation. Hence, they have a lack of confidence in their abilities, they take too long to make decisions, doubt and are afraid to stumble again. The positive features include loyalty and reliability, they will never betray loved ones and will always stand up for their own.

Schizoid type

Closed and unsociable people who do not know how or do not want to build close relationships with others. But they do a great job of maintaining business relationships. They have a rich inner world, into which they prefer not to let anyone in. Many people have high intelligence and out-of-the-box thinking. But they practically do not know how to recognize other people's emotions.

Epileptoid type

The most complex type of people, prone to breakdowns, aggression and pedantry. They seek to subjugate everyone, to win an authoritarian position. Such people do not know how to build friendly relations at all, they can vent evil on others, they are very scrupulous about the work of employees. But personalities of this type can be strong leaders.

Hysterical type

Personality type requiring increased attention to oneself. They need constant admiration and reverence. Indifference to their person is the worst scenario for them. Such people are prone to fantasy and lies in order to create a vivid image for themselves. However, they make excellent actors and presenters.

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