(A) the definition of temperament
Temperament is a dynamic psychological feature of psychological activities in terms of intensity, speed, stability and flexibility. Temperament is equivalent to what we call temper, disposition or temperament in our daily life.
Temperament has many characteristics. According to the different combinations of these characteristics, people's temperament can be divided into several different types. More than 2500 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates divided people into four types according to his own observation: choleric, sanguine, mucinous and depressive.
(B) the characteristics of temperament
The characteristics of various temperament types can be investigated from the following five aspects:
1, sensitivity and tolerance: sensitivity is the sensory ability of human sensory organs to external stimuli. Tolerance refers to the intensity and duration of the nervous system to endure external stimuli. A person with high sensitivity can feel weak stimuli, so his tolerance for strong stimuli is relatively low; On the contrary, a person with low sensitivity can only feel stronger stimuli, so he has higher tolerance for stronger stimuli.
2. Agility: Agility is the external manifestation of the flexibility of the neural process. That is, reaction speed, action speed, speech, thinking, memory and attention transfer all reflect agility.
3. Plasticity: Change one's behavior according to the change of the environment to adapt to the plasticity of the external environment, which is also a manifestation of the flexibility of the neural process.
4. Emotional excitability: the intensity of emotional expression. Some people have high emotional excitability and low inhibition ability; Some people have low emotional excitability, but strong emotional control ability. Emotional excitability is the expression of the balance of God's process.
5. Directionality: No matter whether people's words, thoughts and emotions often point outward or inward, those who often point outward are extroverted, while those who often point inward are introverted. Directivity is closely related to emotional excitability, with high excitability extroversion and low excitability introversion. At the same time, directionality also shows which process is dominant, that is, excitement is dominant, extroversion is dominant, and inhibition is dominant.
(C) the external manifestations of temperament types
According to the characteristics of temperament and the neural process of each temperament type, it is not difficult to find the main external manifestations of several typical temperament types.
1, bile quality
The neural process of bile is characterized by strong but unbalanced. And this neural process wants to adapt to the characteristics, choleric people are generally low sensitivity and high tolerance, he can endure strong stimulation, can persist in work for a long time and tirelessly, appears energetic, outgoing, straightforward and enthusiastic, and has high emotional excitement, but his mood changes violently and his temper is hard to restrain.
2, sanguine
The neural process of sanguine is characterized by strength, balance and flexibility. Adapting to the characteristics of this neural process, people with blood have low sensitivity and high tolerance; Lively and active, quick speech, quick reaction and attention transfer, outgoing behavior; Easy to adapt to changes in the external environment, good at communication, not afraid of life, easy to accept new things; Attention is easily distracted, interests are changeable, and emotions are unstable.
3. Mucus
Mucinous neurites are characterized by intensity, balance but inflexibility. Adapted to the characteristics of this neural process, people with mucus have low sensitivity, high tolerance, slow reaction speed and low but stable emotional excitement; Peaceful and introverted; Clear-headed, methodical and down-to-earth, but easy to follow the rules; Easy concentration and strong stability; Bad at talking and moderate in communication.
4. Depression
The nervous process of depression is weak, and the exciting process is even weaker. In line with this feature, patients with depression have high sensitivity and low tolerance; Suspicious and thoughtful, with profound inner experience and extremely introverted behavior; Sensitive and witty, he can notice things that others have not noticed; Timid, withdrawn, emotional, unhappy, lonely and unsociable; Be cautious, move slowly, and have obvious defensive response.
The above four temperament types are typical, and most people are intermediate or mixed. Therefore, we should proceed from reality, carefully analyze and treat them differently.
(D) How to treat temperament types
Stability and plasticity of temperament types
Temperament types are determined by the characteristics of neurites, which are mainly congenital, so people with the same or similar genetic qualities have similar temperament types. A person's temperament type is relatively stable in his life, but it is not static. If the living conditions in childhood are extremely bad, or major life events occur in adulthood, people's temperament can change. However, the process of this change is slow, and even if the conditions are right, it will return to its original appearance. Therefore, some people say that the change of temperament may just be a concealed phenomenon, and it is this truth that a leopard cannot change its spots.
2. There is no difference between good and bad temperament types.
Temperament only makes people's behavior have some dynamic characteristics, and there is no difference between good and bad from the dynamic characteristics; At the same time, each temperament type has its positive side and negative side, and it is impossible to compare which temperament type is better. For example, courageous people are energetic, enthusiastic and straightforward, but grumpy; Bloody people are lively and agile, good at communication, but difficult to concentrate and lack patience; People with mucus are methodical and conscientious, but lack passion; Depressed people are keen, but easy to doubt. Temperament has no choice for a person. It is important to know yourself, consciously carry forward the positive aspects of your temperament and strive to overcome the negative aspects of your temperament.
3. Temperament type does not determine a person's achievements, but it can affect the efficiency of work.
There are many examples in real life that temperament types can't determine a person's achievements. For example, scientist, writer, poet and social activist Guo Moruo probably belongs to the sanguine type, while mathematician Chen Jingrun belongs to the depressive type. Among Russian writers, Pushkin is irritable, herzen is optimistic, krylov is sentimental and Nikolai Gogol is depressed. It can be seen that the temperament type does not determine the level of a person's intellectual development, nor does it determine the size of a person's achievements.
But there are many fields of social practice, and different fields have different requirements for people, and some temperament types are suitable for this kind of work; Some temperament types are suitable for another job. Don't consider whether your temperament type is suitable for this job when it varies from person to person (choosing a candidate) or from thing to thing (choosing a job). For example, bloody people are suitable for work with changeable environment, requiring quick response and more contact. It is difficult to engage in monotonous work that requires lasting patience; On the contrary, people with mucilage are suitable for patient, meticulous and relatively stable work. If a person's temperament type is just suitable for the requirements of work, he will feel very comfortable and have a strong interest in work. If we don't consider whether the temperament type is suitable for work, it will increase the psychological burden, bring trouble to people and affect work efficiency.
4. Temperament types affect the difficulty of forming personality characteristics and the adaptability to the environment.
Personality is mainly formed in the acquired living environment and contains many characteristics. Some people with different temperament types are more likely to form these personality characteristics, while others are more difficult. For example, courageous people tend to form brave, decisive and resolute personality characteristics, but it is difficult to form personality characteristics that are good at restraining their emotions. Bloody people tend to form warm and hospitable, witty and cheerful personality characteristics, but it is difficult to form patient and meticulous personality characteristics.
The environment is constantly changing. How to cope with the changing environment and whether you can handle it with ease is a test of a person's ability to adapt to the environment. Generally speaking, sanguine man-machine intelligence is sensitive, and it is easy to cope with environmental changes in a very clever way; People with mucus often use self-denial and patience to cope with the environment and achieve their goals; People with choleric temperament are irritable and prone to attack when they are unhappy, resulting in adverse consequences; Depressed people are too sensitive, too fragile, too fragile and too depressed. The latter two types of people are not able to adapt to the environment.
5. Temperament types will affect health.
Psychosomatic medicine tells us that body and mind are interrelated, influenced, restricted and transformed. The so-called health is not only the absence of disease and weakness, but also a good state of physical, psychological and social adaptation. This shows the role of psychology in maintaining health. Generally speaking, positive and happy emotions can improve the activity ability of human brain and nervous system and enhance people's confidence in work and life; Negative and unhealthy emotions will make people's psychological activities out of balance, and even cause abnormalities in body organs and their physiological and biochemical processes.
Because people with different temperament types have different intensity of emotional excitement and different ability to adapt to the environment, which will directly affect people's health. Generally speaking, people with extreme temperament are too excited or too weak, and their adaptability to the environment is poor, which easily affects their health. Special care should be taken for this extreme type of people, and people with extreme temperament should learn to better protect themselves and avoid intense stimulation and ups and downs of emotional changes during the day.