CHARACTER: DEFINITION, HOW IT IS FORMED AND TYPES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The character, in psychology, refers to a set of ways of being and feeling, personality traits and ways of relating to others that a person has. In general, when we speak of character we speak of a tendency to behave in a certain way in a specific situation.

For some streams of psychology, the character is formed due to our genetic inheritance and remains constant throughout life. Thus, we can say that a person is altruistic, spiteful, obsessive or calm; and we tend to believe that it will always be so.

The science that studies character is known as characterology. This discipline predominated in psychology at the beginning of the 20th century, but was later discarded when the more modern concept of personality appeared. This happened mainly because personality is easier to measure and observe than character.

At present, academic psychology has practically discarded the use of the concept of character, but it is still used in other contexts, such as in the selection of personnel or human resources.

Definition

According to René Le Senne's characterology model, the one most used today in the field of companies, the character has the following peculiarities:

- It is about the part of our way of being that is created at birth, due to our genes and the influence of hormones during pregnancy. Therefore, it differs from the personality in that it can be modified during the person's life.

- The character is solid and permanent, it cannot change; and for this reason, it forms the base on which the identity of each person is built.

- It is formed by three factors, which are present in all people to a lesser or greater extent. These three elements combine to form eight personality types, and are as follows: emotionality, activity, and primarity.

Emotionality

Emotion is the tendency to be emotionally affected by different situations. The more emotional a person is, the more they will tend to get upset at different times, but we are all emotional to some degree.

However, it is necessary to make a couple of clarifications about the concept of emotionality. For each of us, some situations are emotionally charged in and of themselves, so we are naturally moved by them.

An emotional person would be the one who feels the same way in situations that naturally do not have a great importance for them.

On the other hand, when observing a person's emotionality it is necessary to realize that most of us hide our emotional reactions from others, especially in certain cultures. Thus, we might think that a person is unemotional, when in reality they feel very moved and are just hiding it.

We can say that a person is emotional if they change their moods quickly, if they are very extreme, if they are very impulsive, if they are quickly upset, and if they frequently feel feelings such as anxiety or restlessness.

Exercise

Active people are those who need to be constantly busy and they do it because they feel better that way. Although a non-active person may also be frequently on the move, they will do so out of obligation and not of their own free will.

On the contrary, an active person will take almost any situation as an invitation to action. If you come across an obstacle, instead of cowering you will find the best way to overcome it; does not tend to postpone decisions or tasks, and is usually independent, persevering, objective, pragmatic and honest.

Primarity

The name primarity (and that of the opposite characteristic, secondariness) comes from the two main ways that the brain has to respond to an external or internal stimulus.

A primary person would be one who lives in the moment without worrying about the past or the future; on the contrary, a secondary person would analyze the present based on what has happened to him and what he expects to happen later.

Primary people, due to this way of living in the moment, tend to be quick in their way of acting and easily get excited about things, but their interests are very changeable. Your emotions and concerns do not last long.

On the other hand, people with a secondary character feel the same way for a long period of time. Their emotions are long-lasting, and for them the past influences how they feel in the present and what they plan for the future. Therefore, they are usually more stable than the primaries.

How is character formed?

As in many other issues addressed by psychology, there is no consensus on the way in which character is formed. However, the most accepted way to approach this issue is that character is a mixture of innate and acquired traits, which is forged in early childhood and cannot be changed during a person's lifetime.

What, then, is the difference with personality? The most important is that the most influential part of character building is our genetics. According to most scholars of characterology, the traits we acquire from our ancestors make up the bulk of our character, known as temperament.

The rest of our character would be formed both by the hormones that have influenced us in the womb, and by the experiences we live in our early childhood and that leave an indelible mark on us.

On the contrary, the personality can be modified throughout life based on our later experiences.

Character types

Combining the three character factors (emotionality, activity, and primarity / secondariness), we find eight different types of character.

Each of these has different characteristics; and although it is very rare to find a pure type, they are usually described in this way to make it easier to recognize them.

The eight character types described by Le Senne are as follows:

- Choleric

- Passionate

- Sentimental

- Phlegmatic

- Nervous

- Blood

- Apathetic

- Amorphous

Choleric (emotional, active, primary)

Angry people are impulsive, outgoing, active, innovative, excitable, and talkative. They adapt easily to changes, are usually in a good mood but can get angry quickly, and are generally very intelligent and brave.

People with this type of character love change and need to be active at all times. They also tend to exaggerate what happens to them, and tend to get carried away by their impulses, which is why they enjoy food or sex a lot.

Their most negative part is that, due to their need for change, they do not have much patience and it is difficult for them to be disciplined.

Passionate (emotional, active, secondary)

Passionate people are aggressive and decisive, with a tendency towards pragmatism and efficiency. Although they like to keep moving, they are also more cautious than the wrathful ones, and they place great importance on concepts such as honor, loyalty or objectivity.

They tend to value traditions highly and behave altruistically with people over whom they have power. They like order and tend to be politically conservative. On the other hand, they face obstacles fearlessly and overcome them with their great capacity for work.

Phlegmatic (non-emotional, active, secondary)

Phlegmatic people tend to be calm, controlled, introspective, and highly intelligent. Their patience leads them to be persistent and methodical in achieving what they set out to do, and they tend to remain impassive in the face of difficulties.

In general, a phlegmatic person can appear indifferent from the outside, since in general his interests are inside. You have a hard time making decisions, but your opinions are independent and you worry about the long-term consequences of what you do.

On the other hand, phlegmatics are open-minded, concerned with their principles and with remaining stoic in the face of difficulties.

Bloodline (non-emotional, active, primary)

People with a sanguine character are calm and courageous, but they also tend to be selfish, skeptical, and cynical. They love to work and are passionate about money, as well as being tremendously practical.

They tend to have a great talent for understanding complex situations and get along easily with others. They are good at abstract thinking, but they are not interested in deep conversations; they prefer practical things and the here and now. They are usually very liberal in their political ideology.

Sentimental (emotional, not active, secondary)

Sentimental people have a very strong emotional component, but at the same time it is held back by its secondary nature. Therefore, they often feel very powerful but persistent emotions, which can be both positive and negative.

They are usually observant, subjective, retrospective, and obsessive. It is difficult for them to accept changes, but at the same time they are idealistic and romantic. In general, they are not very comfortable with themselves and tend to be very stubborn.

Nervous (emotional, not active, primary)

Assets are characterized by feeling very strongly everything that happens to them. They tend to have a lot of energy, which can be expressed in many ways. Therefore, they tend to be impulsive, playful, touchy, and frivolous.

On the other hand, this can lead them to have difficulties when making decisions, and to lose interest in any topic very quickly.

Their moods change very easily, and they tend to be very cinematic and live everything they do to the fullest. This makes your life full of adventures and new experiences.

Apathetic (unemotional, inactive, secondary)

Apathetic people tend to have few interests, and are more comfortable with themselves. They find it difficult to relate to others, and in general their emotions tend to be negative and long-lasting. However, they are fine in solitude, so they do not need the company of others to be happy.

Amorphous (unemotional, inactive, primary)

The main characteristic of amorphous is laziness. Living exclusively in the present, they do not pay much attention to the consequences of their actions and try to do the minimum necessary to meet their basic needs.

In general they tend to be quite calm and settle for almost anything; furthermore, they are very easily influenced by others.

References

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2. "Personality vs. Character ”in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: March 15, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
3. "Character structure" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 15, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "The Study of Character According to Le Senne" in: Check Notes. Retrieved on: March 15, 2018 from Check Notes: checknotes.wordpress.com.
5. "Character: Definition and Traits" in: Psychology and Mind. Retrieved on: March 15, 2018 from Psychology and Mind: psicologiaymente.net.