Imagine an average person. He, like everyone around him, is a person full of worldview and individual traits. He is remembered by others with his amazing charm, infects with optimism and conquers eloquence. Why did this person receive such a description? Some will say that this is his temperament. And they will be right. And others will say that it's all about his character. And they will be right too. So what's the difference between character and temperament? Let's see if these concepts have anything in common.
Character and temperament of a person
The relationship between temperament and character has been studied for many years by different scientists. As a result, there were 4 main opinions on the relationship of these two concepts:
- Temperament is identified with character.
- Temperament is opposed to character.
- Temperament is recognized as an element of character.
- Temperament is considered the main nature of character.
If we consider the scientific interpretation of concepts, the distinctive features of temperament from the character become more noticeable:
Temperament is a combination of the properties of the psyche that affect the behavior of a person and his activity. Memory, speed of thinking, degree of concentration and rhythm of activity - for all this corresponds to the human nervous system, which is considered to be the fundamental factor in the formation of one of the types of temperament. There are 4 of them:
- choleric - for people of this type the mobility of the nervous system is characteristic. Such people are often unbalanced. They instantly lose their temper and also quickly become calm;
- sanguine - the owners of this type of temperament are open and sociable, but their attitude to the world is superficial. They quickly become attached and also quickly become indifferent to everything that surrounds them;
- phlegmatic - people with this type of temperament are given the title of the most calm and unruffled. They are zealous in deeds, unhurried and unperturbed;
- Melancholic - this type includes vulnerable and often closed personalities. They are constantly prone to fear and indecisiveness.
Character - in contrast to temperament, it is a collection of qualities that are manifested in relation to objects and objects of the surrounding world. The character is also conditioned by the work of the psyche, but unlike the temperament that is given to man by nature, it is formed and mutated throughout life. The nature of a person is influenced by such factors as society, education, profession, etc.
Many psychologists tried to give an exact classification to the character. However, the connection between temperament and character has not allowed to make the characteristic pure, and now such types of character as strong-willed, rational and emotional are continuously connected not only with the influence of the society, but also with the innate natural features of the individual.
In addition, the character can be classified by the presence in it of various traits:
- attitude to oneself (egotism, pride, humiliation);
- attitude to surrounding people (tolerance, rudeness, responsiveness, etc.);
- attitude to activity (vigor, perseverance, laziness);
- attitude to surrounding things (stinginess, accuracy).
Thus, the features of temperament and character consist in the fact that they are often confused, calling the innate qualities of a person manifestations of the psyche and vice versa, characterizing the features acquired in society as individual properties of the nervous system.
In fact, it is possible to differentiate these two concepts quite simply. The relationship of temperament and character can be represented as follows:
- character - a set of acquired qualities, and temperament - congenital;
- character can change under the influence of life circumstances, and temperament remains unchanged;
- the concept of character has so far not been able to classify, in contrast to temperament;
- character and its individual traits can be subjected to evaluation, and temperament does not lend itself to it.
Temperament and character will always be confused with each other. However, in tandem they create an integral personality, which can always be assessed from the outside. And most importantly, her innate qualities are always in harmony with the acquired.