The 8 types of character (and their characteristics)

What is the character? What types of character are there and how are they classified?

Le Senne himself defines characterology as "the methodical knowledge of men, inasmuch as each one is distinguished from the others by its originality." This concept will help us to understand the behavior of particular groups and of various individuals.

In simple words, characterology is the discipline that studies character and its classification. Therefore, it is evident that the study of character is of vital interest to the study of genesis and dynamics of the most common criminal phenomena insofar as the character is a criminogenic factor.

What is character?

In Psychology, as a science, many concepts are created that serve to summarize in descriptive terms sets of behavior patterns. These concepts, which are called psychological constructsThey can be more or less concrete, ranging from the description of specific actions, such as self-harm, to the more abstract, such as the tendency to neuroticism. Character is part of this second group.

Thus, character is a concept that tries to explain very diverse groups of behaviors and that are expressed in a wide variety of situations. For this reason, his study provides general patterns of behavior, although to know the details you have to refine more and go to the "micro", something that in turn, it is somewhat easier to study if one starts from these "macro" concepts to know where to start and what kind of hypothesis to put to proof.

Characterology and its importance in the criminological study

For the characterology applied to the study of the criminal (the so-called criminal characterology) the individual predisposition to commit a criminal act is represented by the hypertrophy of the characterological mechanisms, of a consecutive atrophy of the other mechanisms, which then lose their ability to neutralize.

Benigno Di Tulio, an eminent student of criminology, pointed out that there are dispositions and aptitudes of each criminal that make them is attracted to a specific form of crime, which in certain cases make the offender repudiate other manifestations criminal. For example, people with fetish traits (who commonly tend to be of sanguine character) who enters houses exclusively to steal women's clothing, but not other goods.

Character and predisposition to criminal behavior

On the other hand, Presten already adequately pointed out two points:

1. Certain characterological mechanisms predispose a subject to crime, so the character may be an endogenous criminogenic factor.

2. The criminogenic “power” of a mechanism seems to be directly linked to its hypertrophy. which can be global or selective (in relation to the three constitutive factors of this)

Criminal characterology: character classification

The characterological typology studied by Le Senne proposes the following classification with a total of eight character profiles.

1. Nervous character (emotional, inactive, primary)

Emotional above all, he vividly feels each and every stimulus from the outside world, the slightest touch is enough to excite his hyperesthetized sensitivity. Being inactive, it has a high energy potential, which by not being discharged by persistent activity remains available to the drives, antisocial instincts and tendencies. When it reaches its peak, it reacts instantly without measuring the consequences of its actions. The most criminogenic of all characters.

2. Passionate character (emotional, active, secondary)

Is about a subject par excellence related to the so-called "crimes of passion", despite the fact that it has a weak crime incidence. The dangerous element of the passionate character comes from the fact that their emotions, affected by their secondary nature, are prolonged with the passage of time, which are usually organized in occasions on a basis of hatred and / or jealousy that, linked to the activity they have, facilitate their actions and that could easily be transformed into actions with intentions murderers. The acquired hypertrophy is the consequence of a derivation of the psychic energy that uses the exit route that better favors the perpetration of homicide, caused by hatred, jealousy or revenge. Paranoid states occur quite frequently and easily orient the passionate mechanism toward aggressive antisocial behavior.

3. Choleric character (emotional, active, primary)

Easily observable in this type that emotion transforms into reaction. The choleric mechanism easily conditions initiative, combativeness, aggressiveness: these traits of the behavior easily run the risk of being directed against people by becoming antisocial acts. The need for action gives rise to certain tendencies such as greed or sexuality and even expressiveness. This choleric mechanism favors injury and fraud more than theft.

4. Sentimental character (emotional, inactive, secondary)

Heymans, Wiersma and Resten point out that this character does not predispose to crime. The sentimental person is restrained in the expressiveness of his emotions by his secondary nature, which traces before him some perspectives away from his behavior and also because of his inactivity that very seldom leads him down the path of delinquency. However, its secondary nature can organize emotions on a passionate theme, the basis of which may be hatred, resentment, envy, etc. Hence, violent, aggressive and unusual reactions, most of the time, are directed against people. Like the classic example of some guy who overnight decided to murder his entire family or cause a school shooting, and who later commits suicide. This fact can only be explained by a momentary eclipse of the sentimental mechanism that gives way to a nervous mechanism.

5. Blood character (unemotional, active, primary)

The sanguine tends to give quick and complete satisfaction to your body's claims: eating and drinking greedily for example, also trying to satisfy your sexual appetite. It intervenes relatively little in crimes against property (such as theft for example), instead it has a certain incidence in sexual crimes and violence against people.

6. Phlegmatic character (unemotional, active, secondary)

Individuals generally cold, calm, punctual, orderly, truthful and thoughtful. Low participation in crimes. However, their intellectual and meticulous traits can lead to antisocial behavior when the phlegmatic chooses to commit himself to crime. long meditated, carefully prepared and carried out, unlike, for example, the nervous or the choleric who can commit crimes by outbursts of impulsiveness. They are commonly associated with highly intricate intellectual crimes such as bank robberies, white collar crimes, etc.

7. Amorphous character (unemotional, inactive, primary)

Its dominant trait is an extremely radical laziness. He lives in the immediate present and is not usually thoughtful about the consequences of his actions, he only attends to their needs to always give them satisfaction with the minimum of effort. The amorphous is easily influenced to crime by the influence of others since he has no aptitude to resist suggestions from a group. The case of those who are only secondary collaborators in a crime (for example, in a kidnapping: the one who keeps the victim at home and feeds him).

8. Apathetic character (unemotional, inactive, secondary)

Characterologically poorly endowed and difficult to adapt to the environment. Sometimes they have mental weaknesses of some kind with flaws in the moral and volitional sphere. With notorious deficiencies in education. Especially participant in sexual crimes against minors, given his multiple difficulties in establishing relationships with other individuals.

Character and prevention of aggressive and criminal behavior

Finally we want to indicate that crime prevention must start with the clinic: for the early discovery of the aggressive or antisocial tendencies of the young people and the characteristic needs of each individual. Early diagnosis of these needs will make it possible to establish pertinent and proactive relationships on re-education and biopsychosociological intervention.

Bibliographic references:

• Bermúdez, J. (2004). Psychology of personality. Theory and research. (Vol I and II). Didactic Unit of the UNED. Madrid.
• Hermangómez, L. & Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and Differential Psychology. CEDE Preparation Manual PIR, 07. CEDE: Madrid.
• Marchiori, H. (2004) Criminal Psychology. 9th edition. Editorial Porrúa.
• Preiss, M; Kucharová, J; Novák, T; Stepánková, H (2007). The temperament and character inventory-revised (TCI-R): a psychometric characteristics of the Czech version. Psychiatria Danubina. 19 (1–2): pp. 27 - 34.