Character types

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Character types since ancient times in different definitions describe the characteristics of the personalities of people. They try to assign characteristics of individuals to a certain type and, above all, to describe innate characteristics of the physical and mental constitution.

In obsolete usage there is also the word mind or kind of mind for types of characters .

On the methodology of typology

According to Karl Jaspers, type theory is often based on opposing properties that are viewed as ideal-typical . These opposing properties lend themselves to a u. U. graphically schematizing representation (diagrams) and therefore rather also denote extreme negative deviations from the life-promoting mean.

Types of characters in the story

The doctrine of temperament , based on the four-element theory of Empedocles and the Hippocratic humoral pathology , distinguished between four different temperaments: the melancholic , choleric , sanguine and phlegmatic . This typology , fixed by Galen of Pergamon , was used up to modern times. a. by Immanuel Kant and Wilhelm Wundt , and can be seen as a forerunner of psychosomatics (soul as an invigorating element of the body).

The Greek natural philosopher Theophrastus (3rd century BC) gave a clear description of thirty character types, e.g. B. The mendacious, the unscrupulous, the arrogant, the avaricious, the talkative, the complainer, the complacent. These so-called characters of Theophrastus were rediscovered by the French writer Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696), translated and supplemented by character studies from his own time.

The ancient Indian Ayurveda doctrine divides people into Vata, Pitta and Kapha types according to three different life energies ( Doshas ), in which constitution and character form a unit.

The Enneagram was probably developed in the Islamic cultural area (9 types).

Friedrich Nietzsche characterized himself in his autobiography by the element fire.

Characterology in the 19th and 20th centuries

In Germany, Julius Bahnsen is considered to be the pioneer of character studies with his Contributions to Characterology (1867). Carl Huter achieved great popularity with his teaching, which mainly related to the individual shape of the face and skull and thus followed Johann Caspar Lavater and his physiognomics as well as Franz Joseph Gall and his phrenology . Huter created a comprehensive theory of human constitutional types and the allegedly related character and personality traits: Huter's psycho-physiognomics. After Huter's death in 1912, applied psycho-physiognomics was further expanded in numerous publications by Amandus Kupfer .

The theories developed in the first half of the 20th century by Ernst Kretschmer and William Sheldon , which also examined the question of the connection between character traits and body structure ( constitutional type ), are to be regarded as modern successors to the theories presented by Huter and other authors. Kretschmer as well as Sheldon and their coworkers carried out very extensive examinations on many thousands of people, whereby many different measurements were determined, from the height over the length of the fingers, the face shape up to the circumference of the wrists, the abdomen, the thighs etc. All test subjects were simultaneously examined psychologically. The essential advance in the work of Kretschmer and Sheldon consists in the empirical-statistical analyzes. In this way, the alleged connections between body shape and character type were further developed into scientifically testable hypotheses.

However, reviews of these investigations have shown that the correlations claimed at the time cannot be maintained. The assumptions about psycho-morphological relationships have been empirically refuted. There is no definite connection between body type and personality. From today's point of view, constitutional typologies cannot be scientifically maintained. Any correlations that can be observed are more likely to be interpreted through the influence of objective or subjectively perceived physical properties on self-image and the corresponding self-assessments (see constitution ).

However, there are still representatives of psycho-physiognomics. A system developed by Dirk Schneemann is based on Chinese facial diagnostics (also: face diagnosis , Chinese face reading or Siang Mien ), which emerges from Feng Shui , and analyzes the human facial areas in particular. The system was occasionally used by personnel managers from well-known companies. However, there is no scientific basis.

Character types in psychoanalysis and depth psychology

In psychoanalysis, the term character describes a type of experience and behavior as well as an individual pattern of predominant defense mechanisms from the ego part. The characters flow into each other, but there is an accumulation of certain structural elements.

Wilhelm Reich developed his typology of character structures for body psychotherapy. Alexander Lowen expanded it to include the oral type and arrived at the character structures of bioenergetic analysis with the characteristics schizoid , oral , psychopathic / narcissistic , masochistic and rigid (the latter divided into phallic and hysterical ).

Erich Fromm has developed another psychoanalytic character concept with express reference to the Freudian phase model. He differentiates u. a. the authoritarian (or sadomasochistic) character, the marketing character and other character types (narcissistic, oral-receptive, hoarding, exploitative, necrophilic). In his character theory, he differentiates between the mode of socialization (relationship to people) and that of assimilation (relationship to things). Central to his psychoanalytical-sociological approach is the distinction between social character and individual character . In his book Basic Forms of Fear, Fritz Riemann subordinated the narcissistic character to the hysterical character. Other classifications can be found in the specialist literature (see inter alia Kutter 2008; Thomä and Kächele, 2006).

Strength of character and the concept of neurosis

The concept of strength of character, which has been in use since ancient times, includes important personal and social virtues , in particular resolute advocacy of convictions, a sense of duty, perseverance, courage (including moral courage) and moral consistency. Strength of character characterizes the mature personality, i. H. the psychological state of an individual, largely unaffected by developmental disorders. Psychoanalysis speaks of ego strength (ego maturity) when the ego functions (including perceiving, thinking, acting) are able to control and balance between the drive impulses of the id and the norms of the superego in such a way that - Generally speaking - the human capacity for love and work is preserved. The opposite term is ego weakness, which is caused by psychodynamic developmental disorders and adjustment disorders and, from the point of view of psychoanalysis, forms an important characteristic of neurosis . It is assumed that the full breadth of the experience is narrowed by defensive mechanisms that are rigid or fail under stress , insofar as a “loss of consciousness” occurs and the general formation of neurotic symptoms is promoted. This reduction in consciousness can be seen as a concrete effect of the various defense mechanisms (see above). As an indicator of strength of character, z. B. Humor . In this word, too, the echoes of humoral pathology become clear as the right amount of moisture or "healthy juices" (Latin humores) for a well-founded good mood.

Cultural perspective

Different cultures have different concepts of character traits. The Judaism z. B. knows the term Middot ( Hebrew for "measure") as a term for those good character traits that a person should strive to achieve throughout his life. A good character trait in this sense is the ability to withstand emotional stress.

literature

  • Julius Bahnsen: Contributions to characterology (2 volumes, edited by Johannes Rudert). Barth, Leipzig 1867/1932.
  • Peter Kutter, Thomas Müller: Psychoanalysis: an introduction to the psychology of unconscious processes. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-608-94437-2 .
  • Theophrast: characters. Thirty character sketches (translated by Kurt Steinmann). Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-458-34362-8 .
  • Helmut Thomä, Horst Kächele: Psychoanalytic Therapy. Volume 1. Basics. (3rd ed.). Springer, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 978-3-540-29750-5
  • Bernhard P. Wirth: "Everything about human knowledge, character studies and body language." 10th edition Moderne Verlagsgesellschaft / mvg, Heidelberg 2000, ISBN 3-636-06348-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Karl Jaspers : General Psychopathology . Springer, Berlin 9 1973, ISBN 3-540-03340-8 , 2nd part: Understanding psychology ; Chapter 4: Characterology; § 4 attempts at characterological basic classifications; b) Ideal types, p. 363 f.
  2. ↑ Peter R. Hofstätter (ed.): Psychology. The Fischer Lexicon, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1972, ISBN 3-436-01159-2 , page 204 f.
  3. ↑ Friedrich Nietzsche : Ecce homo - How one becomes what one is. 1908 KSA 6
  4. ↑ Ernst Bender (ed.): German poetry of the modern age. G. Braun Verlag approx. 1960, page 268
  5. ↑ Copper pointed out the priorities. For example, Professor Dr. Saller, head of the “Anthropological Institute” in Munich, in the Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau (March 1951), “that around 50 years ago Huter related certain types of differentiation in the three germ layers”. At that time, Dr. Sheldon describes himself as the discoverer of the three main constitution types that can be derived from the three cotyledons of the embryonic germinal vesicle, for example Dr. v. Rhoden, a colleague of Kretschmer, in the Archives for Psychiatry (1927, 5th issue) established the equality of Kretschmer and older Huterian body types.
  6. ↑ Bärbel Schwertfeger: Personnel selection by facial analysis. In: Spiegel Online , November 2006, as of April 10, 2008
  7. ↑ Obscure personnel selection-Failed at the skull interpreter. In: spiegel.de , April 26, 2011
  8. ↑ Textbook of Psychotherapy, Vol. 2 Psychoanalytical and depth psychologically founded therapy; Falk Leichsenring (editor) 2004, ISBN 3-932096-32-0
  9. ↑ Gustl Marlock: Handbook of body psychotherapy . Schattauer Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-7945-2473-0 . P. 21
  10. ^ Claudio Naranjo : Character and Neurosis. An integrative view. German translation: Know yourself in the Enneagram - The 9 types of personality. 6th edition. Kösel, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-466-34316-X , page 23 ff.
  11. ↑ Why Gd Doesn't Want You to Overprotect Your Child ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jewish-holiday.com