How types of accentuated characters manifest themselves in life. Accented personality. Features of accentuation in adolescents

You can often find people who have a noticeable predominance of one trait. Some are very restless, others are too pedantic, others are overly sarcastic, etc. This one predominant character trait can be considered at the same time both as a talent and also as a human flaw. A certain character trait presupposes a certain strategy of behavior characteristic of a given individual. So, for example, a pedantic person, as a rule, is assiduous and neat; a person prone to demonstrativeness strives for brightness and attractiveness.

In psychology, the predominant character traits of a person that are on the borders of the clinical norm are called accentuation. Accented individuals can achieve significant success in science, culture, sports, political activity, etc. However, these people also often encounter psychological difficulties in cases where situations arise that are opposite to their personality traits. Avoiding such situations can be difficult, and in order to overcome difficulties and discomfort in communication, you need to consult a psychologist to receive qualified help.

An accentuated personality can be selectively vulnerable in relation to some psychogenic influences, while to others, fairly good stability is maintained. Accentuations are not mental disorders, however, some properties are similar to those and this suggests the presence of connections between them. An accentuated personality experiences difficulties in maintaining a normal lifestyle. To identify accentuations, psychologists use special tests and psychological questionnaires. This work is carried out by practical psychologists who have higher psychological education.

In general, accentuation is " extreme variant of the norm" Accentuations include a group of persistent, pointed character traits of a person, congenital or acquired. The negative side of this problem can be minor disruptions in relationships with people, as well as adaptation in the outside world.

With accentuation, a disturbance of mental balance usually occurs; the depth of this disturbance depends on the degree of expression of some mental properties and the insufficient development of others. Excessive emotional excitability may occur in the absence of a person’s control over his own behavior, as well as reactions that were caused by emotional reasons. Anxiety, suspicion and uncertainty arise in the absence of an adequate assessment of current events, as well as a loss of sense of reality. A person’s behavior may manifest selfishness, excessive claims to one’s own importance in the absence of the necessary abilities and opportunities.
All these character traits can be inherent in a mentally normal person. However, in this case, they are balanced by other character traits and therefore appear more balanced. Harmony and disharmony are broader concepts used to qualify the mental states of a person. We can talk about a person as a harmonious personality if there is an optimal combination of his mental and physical properties. It is noted that in people with accentuations in the nature of the combination of these properties complicate social adaptation.

Psychologists consider those personality traits that prevent a person from being socially active and adapting in society as a violation. The potential of a person with accentuations to socially adapt depends on the degree of personality disharmony and factors of the surrounding reality.

In favorable conditions accentuated personality feels satisfactory, that is, under these conditions the person is in a state of compensation. And, on the contrary, in unfavorable conditions a person may experience painful manifestations - anxious, neurotic. In such cases, a person needs a qualified person who will help the person overcome his problems and adapt to the social environment.

Character accentuations are strongly expressed character traits that are on the border with. With accentuations, certain traits are so pronounced in relation to other characteristics that they appear disproportionate to the overall picture of the personality.

For the first time, the concept of accentuations was discussed by Leonhard K, a German psychiatrist, who by this term understood the excessive expression of personality traits, which under unfavorable conditions take on pathological forms. In domestic practice, the successor of the German school was A.E. Lichko, who, based on the works of Leonhard, developed his own classification of accentuations and introduced into practice the very concept of “character accentuation.”

Of course, any type of accentuation should not be considered a disorder, but it is worth considering that accentuation is fertile ground for the development of psychoses, neuroses and psychosomatic disorders.

In truth, the line between “normal” and pathology is so thin that it is extremely difficult to squeeze borderline accentuations between it. It takes a long time to diagnose accentuation.

Accentuations can be divided into hidden and explicit. The obvious form is precisely a borderline state that runs like a red thread through a person’s entire life.

The latent form manifests itself only in conditions of a traumatic or stressful situation and, in general, is a normal phenomenon. It is important to note that accentuations are dynamic; they change throughout life, but the basis remains the same factor.

Now let’s look at personality accentuations according to A.E. Lichko:

It is worth noting that Lichko based his classification on teenagers, while his German teacher worked with a wider population. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide a classification according to Leonhard:

There is another modification of the Leonhard model, which we will touch upon briefly. Shmishek proposed dividing character accentuations into subtypes: in fact, characteristics of character and temperament.

He classified as temperamental:

• hyperthymia;
• dystimacy;
• anxiety;
• emotiveness;
• cyclothymic;
• exaltation.

And to character accentuations:

• getting stuck;
• pedantry;
• excitability;
• demonstrativeness.

Now let's move on to the reasons for the formation of these changes in character.

Reasons for development

Accentuations develop due to the influence of many factors, the key role among which is most likely played by heredity. The manifestation of such hereditary burden is facilitated by:

Character accentuations manifest themselves most clearly at puberty, when the whole world of a teenager changes. Over time, they often turn into a latent form.

For the most part, it has been shown that heredity plays a leading role in the formation of such character. Social conditions themselves cannot turn a person into a hysteroid, although they can teach an overprotected child to use hysterical behavior as a means of achieving goals. In addition, most people with character traits exhibit mixed and dynamic complexes of manifestations, which suggests that accentuations tend to change.

Important Notes

It is worth understanding that the above classifications are only a supporting structure, an abstraction that extremely rarely actually works in practice. Of course, all these character accentuations exist, but their “pure” forms do not occur - except in the case of gross pathologies.

For children whose behavior clearly shows signs of changes in character, it is extremely important to create special educational conditions that neutralize the readiness to develop obvious forms. Moreover, a clear understanding of character traits is extremely important when determining a person’s professional affiliation. After all, pronounced accentuations automatically exclude certain types of professions from consideration.

Often, character accentuations are close to psychopathy, so it is extremely important to take into account the only difference: the manifestations of accentuations are not permanent, they are situational and, in principle, predictable. Moreover, most people are aware of their characteristics and strive to control them.

Psychopathy constantly affects a person’s life, negatively affecting his social contacts, roles in society and close relationships. Psychopathy practically does not smooth out or change over time, much less disappear. They are beyond human control.

Accented people have the opportunity to reveal the strengths of their character; psychopathic changes are negative in nature and, in principle, have a destructive effect on the individual and the social environment.

When it comes to the topic of prevalence among adolescents, this is a very pressing problem. Approximately 82% of children aged 12 to 18 years have problems of this kind. Of course, such characteristics are assessed as related to age, but an inadequate response to them on the part of adults and the education system can “reinforce” such behavior.

At the same time, the problem of character accentuations can be corrected during this period. Left uncontrolled, the characteristic features of a teenager’s behavior, on the contrary, can evolve into serious psychological problems in the future.

Treatment

In principle, unexpressed accentuations do not require treatment. However, character accentuation that interferes with leading a full social life may require some correction.

It is especially worth paying attention to people with character accentuations who have suffered head injuries. After a TBI, a serious exacerbation of the severity of certain character traits may follow.

If exacerbations are associated with some other diseases (infections, injuries, paralysis), then first of all it is worth treating the primary disease, and then starting psychotherapeutic work.

We also note that accentuations are not considered by psychiatrists as pathologies, but their closeness to psychopathy requires psychotherapeutic treatment. The usual course of therapy is aimed at teaching a person greater control over their conditions and literally enlightening them about their own characteristics. As a rule, people who better understand their behavior are more successful in controlling it.

Character accentuations are diagnosed through filling out a battery of tests and talking with a doctor, and sometimes through additional medical history collection. Treatment is psychocorrective in nature and is carried out in a group, individual or family form.

Pharmacological agents are used extremely rarely, but their use may indicate an incorrect diagnosis - probably it concerns psychopathy.

In general, character accentuations are amenable to psychological correction and are overcome by people.

The concept of “accentuation” was first introduced by the German psychiatrist and psychologist, professor of neurology at the neurological clinic of the University of Berlin, Karl Leonhard. He also developed and described the well-known classification of personality accentuations. In our country, a different classification of accentuations has become widespread, which was proposed by the famous child psychiatrist, Professor A.E. Lichko. However, both approaches retain a common understanding of the meaning of accentuation.

In the most succinct form, accentuation can be defined as disharmony in character development, hypertrophied expression of individual traits, which causes increased vulnerability of the individual to certain types of influences and complicates its adaptation in some specific situations.

It is important to note that selective vulnerability to a certain type of influence, which occurs with one or another accentuation, can be combined with good or even increased resistance to other influences. In the same way, difficulties with personality adaptation in some specific situations (associated with this accentuation) can be combined with good and even increased abilities for social adaptation in other situations. Moreover, these “other” situations themselves may be objectively more complex, but not associated with this accentuation.

In the works of K. Leonhard, both the combination of “accentuated personality” and “accentuated character traits” are used. Although the main thing for him is the concept of “personality accentuation”. K. Leonhard's classification itself is a classification of accentuated personalities. A.E. Lichko believes that it would be more correct to talk about accentuations of character, because in reality it is precisely the characteristics of character and typology of character that we are talking about. Most likely, it should be considered that it is fair to use both combinations - both accentuated personality and accentuation of character. In Russian psychology, there has been a tradition of clearly and sometimes sharply emphasizing the difference in the concepts of personality and character. This means that the concept of personality is broader, including orientation, motives, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, etc. Meanwhile, in Western psychology, when people often say “personality,” they mean its characterology. There are certain reasons for this, because character is not only the basis of personality (many people think so, although this is debatable), but also an integrative formation. The system of relationships of the individual, his attitudes, orientation, etc. are also expressed in character. If we turn specifically to the descriptions of various accentuations (no matter in what typology - K. Leonhard or A. Lichko), then it is easy to see that much in them characterizes the personality in its various aspects. In the future, we will use both terms equally and with equal meaning - accentuated personality and accentuation of character.

One of the common practical mistakes that we would like to warn against is the interpretation of accentuation as an established pathology. Very often such an interpretation can be heard not only in oral presentations and lectures, but even in very respectable psychological publications. Thus, in one (generally very good) textbook addressed to school psychologists, we read: “in a mainstream school, accented ones are no more common among “difficult” teenagers than among others. From this it follows that psychopathological (emphasis added - A.R.) character traits are not a factor directly causing school difficulties” (School Psychological Service. M. 1995). However, identifying accentuations with character psychopathology is incorrect. Perhaps this erroneous stereotype has acquired such noticeable stability and prevalence because the very concept of “accentuation” appeared and was initially used mainly in clinical psychology. However, already in the works of K. Leonhard it was specially emphasized that accentuated people are not abnormal. Otherwise, only average mediocrity should be considered the norm, and any deviation from it should be considered pathology (K. Leongard, 1981). K. Leongard even believed that a person without a hint of accentuation, of course, is not inclined to develop in an unfavorable direction; but it is equally unlikely that it will differ in any positive way. Accented individuals, on the contrary, are characterized by a readiness for the special, i.e. to both socially positive and socially negative development. Summarizing all that has been said, we can obviously conclude that accentuation is not a pathology, but an extreme variant of the norm.

According to various data, the prevalence of accentuations in the population varies greatly and depends on many factors. These factors include sociocultural characteristics of the environment, gender and age characteristics, etc. According to K. Leonhard and his colleagues, the proportion of accentuated individuals in the adult population is approximately 50%. However, the authors specifically emphasize that in other countries the ratio of accented and unaccented people may be different.

Although in general the issue of the dynamics of accentuations has not yet been sufficiently developed, we can already definitely talk about the phenomenon of sharpening of accentuated character traits in adolescence. In the future, obviously, they are smoothed out or compensated, as well as the transition from obvious accentuations to hidden ones. According to N.Ya. Ivanov (see Table 1), the prevalence of accentuations in adolescence, as well as in early adolescence, is different for boys and girls. In addition, the proportion of accented students varies depending on the type and characteristics of the educational institution.

Typically, accentuations develop during the development of character and smooth out as they grow older. Character traits with accentuations may not appear all the time, but only in some situations, in a certain environment, and are almost undetectable under normal conditions. Social maladjustment with accentuations is either completely absent or short-lived.

With accentuations, violations arise only with a certain kind of mental trauma, in certain difficult situations, namely, only when they are addressed to the “place of least resistance,” to the “weak link” of a given type of character. Other difficulties and shocks that do not touch this Achilles heel do not lead to violations and are endured with steadfastness. Each type of accentuation has its own “weak points” that are different from other types.

Character accentuations are extreme variants of the norm, in which certain character traits are excessively strengthened, as a result of which selective vulnerability to a certain kind of psychogenic influence is revealed with good and even increased resistance to others...

two degrees of character accentuation are identified: explicit and hidden

Explicit accentuation. This degree of accentuation refers to extreme variants of the norm. She is distinguished by the presence of fairly constant traits of a certain type of character...

In adolescence, character traits often become sharper, and under the influence of psychogenic factors that address the “place of least resistance,” temporary adaptation disorders and behavioral deviations may occur. As one grows up, character traits remain quite pronounced, but are compensated for and usually do not interfere with adaptation.

Hidden accentuation. This degree, apparently, should be classified not as extreme, but as normal variants of the norm. In ordinary, familiar conditions, traits of a certain type of character are weakly expressed or do not appear at all. Even with prolonged observation, varied contacts and detailed acquaintance with the biography, it is difficult to form a clear idea of ​​a certain type of character. However, traits of this type can clearly, sometimes unexpectedly, emerge under the influence of those situations and mental traumas that place increased demands on the “place of least resistance.” Psychogenic factors of a different kind, even severe ones, not only do not cause mental disorders, but may not even reveal the type of character. If such traits are revealed, this, as a rule, does not lead to noticeable social maladjustment...

Description of types of accentuations (according to K. Leonhard)

Hyperthymic type

A noticeable feature of the hyperthymic personality type is the constant (or frequent) presence in high spirits. Hyperthym can be in high spirits, despite the absence of any external reasons for this. An elevated mood is combined with high activity and a thirst for activity. Characterized by sociability and increased talkativeness. They look at life optimistically, without losing optimism even when difficulties arise. Difficulties are often overcome without much difficulty due to their inherent activity and activity.

Stuck type

The stuck personality type is characterized by high stability of affect, duration of emotional response, and experiences. An insult to personal interests and dignity, as a rule, is not forgotten for a long time and is never simply forgiven. In this regard, others often characterize them as vindictive and vindictive people. There are reasons for this: experiences of affect are often combined with fantasizing, hatching a plan for responding to the offender, for revenge. The painful sensitivity of these people, as a rule, is clearly visible. They can also be called sensitive and easily vulnerable, but in combination and in the context of the above.

Emotive type

The main feature of an emotive personality is high sensitivity and deep reactions in the field of subtle emotions. Characterized by kindness, kindness, sincerity, emotional responsiveness, and highly developed empathy. All these features, as a rule, are clearly visible and constantly manifest themselves in the external reactions of the individual in various situations. A characteristic feature is increased tearfulness (“wet eyes”).

Accentuations of personality character: essence of the concept and typology

03.04.2015

Snezhana Ivanova

Character accentuation is excessive intensity (or strengthening) of a person’s individual character traits...

In order to understand what is meant by character accentuations, it is necessary to analyze the concept of “character”. In psychology, this term is understood as a set (or set) of the most stable human traits that leave an imprint on a person’s entire life activity and determine his relationship to people, to himself and to business. Character finds its manifestation both in a person’s activities and in his interpersonal contacts and, of course, it gives his behavior a peculiar, characteristic shade only for him.

The term character itself was proposed Theophrastus, who was the first to give a broad description of the 31st type of human character ( read about), among which he identified boring, boastful, insincere, talkative, etc. Subsequently, many different classifications of character were proposed, but all of them were built on the basis of typical traits inherent in a certain group of people. But there are times when typical character traits manifest themselves in a more vivid and original way, which makes them unique and original. Sometimes these traits can “sharpen”, and most often they appear spontaneously, under the influence of certain factors and in appropriate conditions. Such sharpening (or rather the intensity of traits) in psychology is called character accentuation.

The concept of character accentuation: definition, essence and degree of expression

Accentuation of character– excessive intensity (or intensification) of a person’s individual character traits, which emphasizes the uniqueness of a person’s reactions to influencing factors or a specific situation. For example, anxiety as a character trait in its usual degree of manifestation is reflected in the behavior of most people who find themselves in extraordinary situations. But if anxiety acquires the characteristics of accentuation of a person’s character, then the person’s behavior and actions will be distinguished by the predominance of inadequate anxiety and nervousness. Such manifestations of traits are, as it were, on the border of normality and pathology, but, under the influence of negative factors, certain accentuations can turn into psychopathy or other deviations in a person’s mental activity.

So, accentuation of a person’s character traits ( in the lane from lat. accentus means emphasis, intensification) inherently do not go beyond the boundaries of the norm, but in some situations they quite often prevent a person from building normal relationships with people around him. This is due to the fact that each type of accentuation has its own “Achilles heel” (the most vulnerable spot) and most often the impact of negative factors (or a traumatic situation) falls on it, which can further lead to mental disorders and inappropriate behavior person. But it is necessary to clarify that accentuations themselves are not mental abnormalities or disorders, although in the current International Classification of Diseases (10th revision), accentuations are all included and are included in class 21/item Z73 as a problem that is associated with certain difficulties in maintaining normal for a person's lifestyle.

Despite the fact that the accentuation of certain character traits, in their strength and characteristics of manifestation, quite often go beyond the boundaries of normal human behavior, they cannot in themselves be classified as pathological manifestations. But it must be remembered that under the influence of difficult life circumstances, traumatic factors and other stimuli that destroy the human psyche, the manifestation of accentuations intensifies and the frequency of their repetitions increases. And this can lead to various neurotic and hysterical reactions.

Self concept of “character accentuation” was introduced by a German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard(or rather, he used the terms “accentuated personality” and “accentuated personality trait”). He also made the first attempt at their classification (it was presented to the scientific community in the second half of the last century). The term was later clarified A.E. Lichko, who by accentuations understood extreme variants of the norm of character, when some of his traits are excessively strengthened. According to the scientist, there is a selective vulnerability that relates to certain psychogenic influences (even in the case of good and high resistance). A.E. Lichko emphasized that, regardless of the fact that any accentuation, although it is an extreme option, is still the norm, and therefore it cannot be presented as a psychiatric diagnosis.

Degree of severity of accentuations

Andrei Lichko identified two degrees of manifestation of accentuated traits, namely: explicit (the presence of clearly defined traits of a certain accentuated type) and hidden (under standard conditions, traits of a particular type appear very weakly or are not visible at all). The table below provides a more detailed description of these degrees.

Degrees of severity of accentuations

Degree of expression	Standard options	Peculiarities
explicit	extreme	Accented features are well expressed and appear throughout a person’s individual life. Accented traits are most often well compensated (even if there is no mental trauma), but in adolescence maladaptation can be observed.
hidden	ordinary	Accentuations manifest themselves most often as a result of mental trauma or under the influence of a traumatic situation. In general, accentuated traits do not lead to disruption of adaptation (short-term maladjustment is occasionally possible).

Dynamics of personality character accentuation

In psychology, unfortunately, today problems related to the development and dynamics of accentuations have not yet been sufficiently studied. The most significant contribution to the development of this issue was made by A.E. Lichko, who emphasized the following phenomena in the dynamics of types of accentuations (stage by stage):

• the formation of accentuations and sharpening of their features in a person (this happens during puberty), and later they can be smoothed out and compensated (explicit accentuations are replaced by hidden ones);
• with hidden accentuations, the features of a particular accentuated type are revealed under the influence of psychotraumatic factors (the blow is applied to the most vulnerable place, that is, where there is the least resistance);
• against the background of a certain accentuation, certain disorders and deviations arise (deviant behavior, neurosis, acute affective reaction, etc.);
• types of accentuations undergo a certain transformation under the influence of the environment or due to mechanisms that were constitutionally laid down;
• the formation of acquired psychopathy occurs (accentuations were the basis for this, creating a vulnerability that is selective to the adverse effects of external factors).

Typology of character accentuations

As soon as scientists turned their attention to the peculiarities of human character and the presence of some similarities, various typologies and classifications immediately began to appear. In the last century, the scientific research of psychologists was focused on the peculiarities of the manifestation of accentuations - this is how the first typology of character accentuations in psychology appeared, which was proposed back in 1968 by Karl Leonhard. His typology became widely known, but the classification of types of accentuations developed by Andrei Lichko, who, when creating it, relied on the work of K. Leonhard and P. Gannushkin (he developed a classification of psychopathy), became even more popular. Each of these classifications is designed to describe certain types of character accentuation, some of which (both in Leonhard’s typology and Lichko’s typology) have common features of their manifestations.

Character accentuations according to Leonard

K. Leongard divided his classification of character accentuations into three groups, which he identified depending on the origin of the accentuations, or more precisely, where they are localized (related to temperament, character or personal level). In total, K. Leonhard identified 12 types and they were distributed as follows:

• temperament (natural formation) included hyperthymic, dysthymic, affectively-labile, affectively-exalted, anxious and emotive types;
• The scientist classified demonstrative, pedantic, stuck and excitable types as character (socially determined education);
• At the personal level there were two types – extra- and introverted.

Character accentuations according to Leonard

Type	Characteristic
hyperthymic	optimistic, active, luck-oriented; there is a desire for activity, a need for experiences
dysthymic	slow (inhibited), silent, failure-oriented; characterized by excessive emphasis on ethical manifestations, frequent fears and various experiences, a heightened sense of justice
affectively labile	oriented towards standards, compensation (mutual) of traits is observed
affectively exalted	emotional, (the desire to elevate feelings and elevate various emotions into a cult), excitable, inspired, contact
alarming	timid, fearful (fearful), submissive, confused, non-communicative, insecure, executive, friendly, self-critical
emotive	kind-hearted, sensitive, impressionable, fearful, executive, sympathetic (tendency to compassion)
demonstrative	self-confident, boastful, agile, ambitious, vain, easy, deceitful; focused on one’s “I” (is a standard)
pedantic	indecision, non-conflict and conscientiousness: hypochondria is observed; there is often a fear that one’s own “I” does not correspond to ideals
stuck	suspicious, touchy, responsible, vain, stubborn, conflictual; subject to jealousy; there are transitions from recovery to despair
excitable	hot-tempered, pedantic, difficult to climb, focuses primarily on instincts
extroverted	contact, sociable, open, non-conflict, frivolous, spontaneity
introverted	non-contact, closed, silent, reserved, principled, stubborn

K. Leonhard developed his typology of character accentuations based on an assessment of people’s interpersonal communication. Its classification is aimed primarily at adults. Based on Leonhard’s concept, a characterological questionnaire was developed, authored by H. Smišek. This questionnaire allows you to determine the dominant type of accentuation in a person.

The types of accentuation of Shmishek's character are as follows: hyperthymic, anxious-fearful, dysthymic, pedantic, excitable, emotive, stuck, demonstrative, cyclomitic and affectively exalted. In the Shmishek questionnaire, the characteristics of these types are presented according to Leonhard's classification.

Accentuations of character according to Lichko

Basis of classification A. Lichko were accentuations of character in adolescents, because he directed all his research on studying the characteristics of character manifestation in adolescence and the reasons for the appearance of psychopathy in this period. As Lichko argued, in adolescence, pathological character traits manifest themselves most clearly and find their expression in all areas of a teenager’s life (in family, school, interpersonal contacts, etc.). Adolescent character accentuations manifest themselves in a similar way, for example, a teenager with a hyperthymic type of accentuation splashes his energy everywhere, with a hysterical type he attracts as much attention as possible, and with a schizoid type, on the contrary, he tries to protect himself from others.

According to Lichko, they are relatively stable during puberty, but when talking about this, it is necessary to remember the following features:

• most types become more acute during adolescence, and this period is the most critical for the emergence of psychopathy;
• all types of psychopathy are formed at a certain age (the schizoid type is determined from an early age, the traits of a psychosthenic appear in elementary school, the hyperthymic type is most clearly noticeable in a teenager, the cycloid type is mainly in youth (although in girls it can manifest itself at the beginning of puberty), and the sensitive mainly formed by the age of 19);
• the presence of a pattern of transformation of types in adolescence (for example, hyperthymic features can change to cycloid), under the influence of biological and social factors.

Many psychologists, including Lichko himself, argue that for the puberty period the term “character accentuations” is most ideally suited, because it is teenage character accentuations that manifest themselves most clearly. By the time the puberty period comes to an end, accentuations are mostly smoothed out or compensated, and some move from obvious to hidden. But it should be remembered that adolescents who have obvious accentuations constitute a special risk group, since under the influence of negative factors or traumatic situations these traits can develop into psychopathy and affect their behavior (deviation, delinquency, suicidal behavior, etc.). ).

Character accentuations according to Lichko were identified on the basis of the classification of accentuated personalities by K. Leonhard and psychopathy by P. Gannushkin. Lichko’s classification describes the following 11 types of character accentuations in adolescents: hyperthymic, cycloid, labile, asthenoneurotic, sensitive (or sensitive), psychasthenic (or anxious-hypochondriac), schizoid (or introverted), epileptoid (or inert-impulsive), hysterical ( or demonstrative), unstable and conformal types. In addition, the scientist also called a mixed type, which combined some features of various types of accentuations.

Accentuations of character according to Lichko

Type	Characteristic
hyperthymic	most often there is a good mood, sometimes short temper and irritability appear; good health, increased activity, energy, high performance
cycloid	frequent mood changes (polar) – from depressive and irritable to calm and elated (alternating phases)
labile	increased mood variability (and the reason may be the most insignificant), outwardly fragile and infantile, increased affectivity, need for friendship and
asthenoneurotic	high fatigue, irritability, moodiness, suspiciousness, low concentration, weakness and an increased level of pretension are observed
sensitive	high sensitivity and responsibility, instability of self-esteem, fearfulness, timidity, impressionability
psychasthenic	increased suspiciousness (anxious), indecision, prudence, pedantry,
schizoid	introversion, isolation, dryness (do not show empathy), low emotionality,
epileptoid	a combination of inert traits and impulsive manifestations (painstakingness, accuracy, determination, suspicion, conflict and hostility)
hysterical	emotionality, instability of self-esteem, need for increased attention
unstable	characterized by weak will, inability to resist negative influences
conformal	high comfort (adapts to the standards of behavior established in a particular group), therefore this type is characterized by stereotypes, banality, conservatism

Although A.E. Lichko studied mainly teenage accentuations of character; his typology is widely used to identify accentuations in adults.

Leonhard's theory of accentuated personalities quickly proved its validity and usefulness. However, its use was limited by the age of the subjects - the questionnaire for determining accentuation was designed for adult subjects. Children and adolescents, lacking relevant life experience, could not answer a number of test questions, so their accentuations turned out to be difficult to determine.

The domestic psychiatrist Andrei Evgenievich Lichko took up the solution to this problem. He modified it for use in childhood and adolescence, reworked the descriptions of the types of accentuation, changed the names for some of them and introduced new types. A.E. Lichko considered it more appropriate to study accentuations in adolescents, since most of them are formed before adolescence and are most clearly manifested during this period. He expanded the descriptions of accentuated characters with information about the manifestations of accentuations in children and adolescents, and the changes in these manifestations as they grow older. Peru A. E. Lichko owns the fundamental monographs “Adolescent Psychiatry”, “Psychopathy and Character Accentuations in Adolescents”, “Adolescent Narcology”.

Accentuations of character from the point of view of A. E. Lichko

A. E. Lichko was the first to propose replacing the term “personality accentuation” with “character accentuation,” citing the fact that it is impossible to unite all a person’s personal characteristics by defining only accentuation. Personality is a much broader concept, including worldview, characteristics of upbringing, education, and response to external events. Character, being an external reflection of the type of nervous system, serves as a narrow characteristic of the characteristics of human behavior.

Accentuations of character according to Lichko are temporary changes in character that change or disappear in the process of growth and development of the child. However, many of them can turn into psychopathy or persist for life. The path of development of accentuation is determined by its severity, social environment and type (hidden or obvious) of accentuation.

Like Karl Leonhard, A.E. Lichko considered accentuation a variant of character deformation, in which individual traits become excessively pronounced. This increases the sensitivity of the individual to certain types of influences and makes adaptation difficult in some cases. At the same time, in general, the ability to adapt remains at a high level, and with some types of influences (that do not affect the “place of least resistance”), accentuated individuals cope more easily than ordinary ones.

A.E. Lichko considered accentuations as borderline states between normality and psychopathy. Accordingly, their classification is based on the typology of psychopathy.

A. E. Lichko identified the following types of accentuations: hyperthymic, cycloid, sensitive, schizoid, hysteroid, conmorphic, psychasthenic, paranoid, unstable, emotionally labile, epileptoid.

Hyperthymic type

People with this accentuation are excellent tacticians and poor strategists. Resourceful, enterprising, active, easy to navigate in rapidly changing situations. Thanks to this, they can quickly improve their professional and social position. However, in the long term, they often lose their position due to the inability to think through the consequences of their actions, participation in adventures and the wrong choice of comrades.

Active, sociable, enterprising, always in a good mood. Children of this type are active, restless, and often play pranks. Inattentive and poorly disciplined, teenagers of this type are unstable students. Conflicts with adults often arise. They have many superficial hobbies. They often overestimate themselves, strive to stand out and earn praise.

Cycloid accentuation of character according to Lichko is characterized by high irritability and apathy. Children prefer to be alone at home instead of playing in the company of peers. They experience any troubles hard and become irritated in response to comments. The mood changes from good, elated, to depressed at intervals of several weeks.

With growing up, the manifestations of this accentuation usually smooth out, but in some people they can persist or get stuck for a long time in one stage, often a depressed-melancholic one. Sometimes there is a connection between mood changes and the seasons.

Sensitive type

It is highly sensitive to both joyful and frightening or sad events. Teenagers do not like active, active games, do not play pranks, and avoid large companies. They are timid and bashful with strangers and give the impression of being withdrawn. They can be good friends with close friends. They prefer to communicate with people younger or older than them. Obedient, love their parents.

It is possible to develop an inferiority complex or difficulty adapting to a team. They place high moral demands on themselves and the team. They have a developed sense of responsibility. They are assiduous and prefer complex activities. They are very careful in choosing friends, preferring older ones.

Schizoid type

Teenagers of this type are withdrawn, preferring loneliness or the company of elders to communicating with peers. They are demonstratively indifferent and not interested in communicating with other people. They do not understand the feelings, experiences, condition of others, and do not show sympathy. They also prefer not to show their own feelings. Peers often do not understand them, and therefore are hostile towards schizoids.

Hysteroids are distinguished by a high need for attention to themselves and egocentrism. Demonstrative, artistic. They do not like it when someone else pays attention to them or praises others. There is a high need for admiration from others. Teenagers of the hysterical type strive to occupy an exceptional position among their peers, attract attention to themselves, and influence others. They often become the initiators of various events. At the same time, hysterics are unable to organize those around them, cannot become an informal leader, or earn authority among their peers.

Conmorphic type

Children and adolescents of the conforming type are characterized by a lack of their own opinion, initiative, and criticality. They willingly submit to groups or authorities. Their attitude in life can be characterized by the words “be like everyone else.” At the same time, such teenagers are prone to moralizing and are very conservative. In order to protect their interests, representatives of this type are ready to do the most unseemly actions, and all these actions find explanation and justification in the eyes of a conforming personality.

Psychasthenic type

Adolescents of this type are characterized by a tendency to reflect, introspect, and evaluate the behavior of others. Their intellectual development is ahead of their peers. Their indecision is combined with self-confidence; their judgments and views are categorical. At moments when special caution and attentiveness are needed, they are prone to impulsive actions. This type changes little with age. They often have obsessions that serve as a means of overcoming anxiety. It is also possible to use alcohol or drugs. In relationships they are petty and despotic, which interferes with normal communication.

Paranoid type

The types of character accentuation according to Lichko do not always include this variant of accentuation due to its late development. The main manifestations of the paranoid type appear by the age of 30-40. In childhood and adolescence, such individuals are characterized by epileptoid or schizoid accentuation. Their main feature is an overestimation of their personality, and, accordingly, the presence of overvalued ideas about their exclusivity. These ideas differ from delusional ones in that they are perceived by others as real, although exaggerated.

Teenagers show an increased craving for entertainment and idleness. There are no interests, no life goals, they do not care about the future. They are often characterized as “going with the flow.”

Emotionally labile type

Children are unpredictable, with frequent and severe mood swings. The reasons for these differences are minor little things (a sideways glance or an unfriendly phrase). During periods of bad mood, they require the support of loved ones. They feel good about how others treat them.

Epileptoid type

At an early age, such children are often whiny. In the older ones, they offend the younger ones, torture animals, mock those who cannot fight back. They are characterized by power, cruelty, and pride. In the company of other children, they strive to be not just the boss, but the ruler. In the groups they control, they establish cruel, autocratic orders. However, their power rests largely on the voluntary submission of other children. They prefer conditions of strict discipline, know how to please management, take over prestigious positions that provide the opportunity to exercise power, and establish their own rules.