8 character types and their characteristics

Character is a component of our personality which is defined as a set of characteristics, taken as a unit and as a whole, that distinguish us. Character represents a “something” that is fundamentally variable and common to all our actions and behavioral patterns. It should be considered as an added property rather than as something congenital, simple and immutable (Allers, 1943).

Let’s try not to confuse character with temperament. The main difference between the two is that temperament is innate, biological and unmodifiable, while character is learned and modifiable. Throughout life, our character can change according to experiences, environment, relationships, life experiences, among others.

Next, we will analyze the different types of character that exist.

character types

Character typologies vary from one author to another. In this article we will focus on those of René Le Senne (as cited in Fernández, sf). Before describing Le Senne’s proposal, we will define some key concepts that appear in it:

Emotional (E): refers to the ability to be easily moved.Not emotional (nE): refers to the difficulty of being moved.Primary (P): means that impressions have an effect on behavior at the moment of excitement. We react quickly to offenses, but they are quickly forgotten.Secondary (S): means that impressions influence a moment after arousal. It takes much longer to react to an offense, but there is greater difficulty in forgetting the displeasure.Active (A): refers to the person having the need to act. Obstacles reinforce his action.Not active (nA): Characterologically speaking, it is that person who is discouraged by the obstacle. He is inactive and acts with effort and wears out. He doubts, becomes discouraged and abandons.

1. Choleric character (emotional, active, primary)

The person with this type of character is active and sports fan. She is combative, persuasive and enthusiastic. She has the tendency to communicate what she thinks, to command and dominate. She has high ideals. She has a talent for improvising. Sometimes he tends to be scattered and prone to leaving projects unfinished.

How is your intelligence?

His intelligence is inclined towards the concrete, immediate and imaginative. He demonstrates the ability to improvise. He has few skills to synthesize. He is not very disciplined in carrying out work. He prefers subjects with practical application: drawings, declamation, geography. Mathematics is difficult for him. and the physical sciences.

2. Passionate character (emotional, active, secondary)

This type of person has difficulty being inactive. She has strong passions and gets angry easily. He knows how to be firm, systematic and goal-oriented. When he directs himself towards an ideal he is capable of carrying out extraordinary activities. His aspirations are always great.

How is your intelligence?

He is a person suitable for abstraction and logical reasoning. He is imaginative, has good memory, attention, imagination and understanding. He enjoys learning. He excels in mathematics, physical and natural sciences.

3. Nervous character (emotional, inactive, primary)

The person with this type of character is usually labile in the emotional sphere.. His imagination is lively and he has a way with words. She feels the insults keenly. He has a very fine tact and knows how to be diplomatic. He is inclined to kindness, compassion, vanity and sensuality.

How is your intelligence?

His intelligence operates with images. He has a good imagination. He has difficulties in understanding, memorization and logical reasoning. He finds it difficult to make an effort. He prefers emotional subjects, avoiding those that are more abstract.

4. Sentimental character (emotional, inactive, secondary)

He is a deep and persevering person, at the same time he is sensitive.. Their friendship is faithful and constant. His strength is affectivity, not activity. He is prone to reflection and self-analysis. These people tend to be very indecisive, often getting stuck in doubt.

How is your intelligence?

His intelligence is concrete. He has difficulties in understanding. He works with interest, order and method, and he likes to do things well. He becomes discouraged when faced with difficulties. He prefers subjects related to his emotional interests. He prefers emotional subjects, avoiding those that are more abstract.

5. Sanguine character (non-emotional, active, primary)

The person with this type of character is capable of working in many dimensions, but in a superficial way. She is generally happy, open and talkative. She is usually very sociable, and is not characterized by having very intense passions. She needs to be busy and does not get distressed easily. Furthermore, she does not usually opt for the projects that require the most effort.

How is your intelligence?

Quick understanding, clarity and precision in ideas. He has good critical ability and flexibility. He has difficulty synthesizing and systematizing his thoughts. He is a good observer and very independent in his opinions.

6. Phlegmatic character (non-emotional, active, secondary)

This person does not have intense feelings or great passions. He is very patient, not very talkative and does not usually like social life. He is very methodical, simple, prudent, thoughtful, thrifty, honest, practical and unimaginative. He doesn’t worry easily. He is usually cautious in his actions and has a deep sense of duty.

How is your intelligence?

Her intelligence is conceptual, slow, but profound. She has good aptitude for understanding the essentials, ordering, classifying and systematizing what she learns. She is very well equipped for abstract sciences. She has good memory and concentration skills. She works intensely. and methodical. Has writing difficulties.

7. Amorphous character (non-emotional, inactive, primary)

Within the different types of character, The person with an amorphous character is characterized by being very lazy and not very organized.. He lives in the immediate present and is not usually reflective about the consequences of his actions. He is impressionable, optimistic, kind, unconstant and imperturbable. He has accommodation capacity.

How is your intelligence?

He reasons very slowly and superficially. He has many difficulties with abstract thinking. The lack of curiosity means that he does not observe or read anything on his own. He does not excel in any subject.

8. Apathetic character (not emotional, inactive, secondary)

The apathetic person prefers solitude and needs to move in environments where there is not great stimulation. He doesn’t give much importance to social life. He has little emotional tension. She is balanced and disciplined and does not usually commit to tasks or activities that require a lot of effort.

How is your intelligence?

He is not usually very skilled with logic. His thinking is incoherent and poor in ideas. He is not usually interested in any academic activity.

To conclude, a person can present several traits of different types of character. Some traits connect better than others, for example, the traits of the amorphous connect better with those of the apathetic, but not so with the traits of the passionate. Now that you know a little more about the character, do you know what yours is? Do you have different types of traits?

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