Exalted personality type: features, causes, diagnosis and treatment. Exalted man and female exaltation in psychology

A person's behavior and his reactions to various events in life depend on the type nervous system(temperament) and the most striking personality traits (accentuations). On the existence of sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic scientific community has been known since ancient times. But the theory of accentuations is relatively young. The first works in this direction were published in Europe in the 70s of the XX century, and in Russia the names of the authors of the famous Leonhard and Shmishek questionnaire became known only in 1983. As a result of diagnostics based on the new approach, a person can be assigned to one of 10 types of accentuations, each of which is characterized by specific reactions to loads of different types and intensity. These include the exalted type, which is pronounced in about 15% of the world's population.

The concept of exaltation in psychology

Exaltation is a personality trait that manifests itself in an unusually intense reaction to any stimuli with a disproportionately bright and strong manifestation of emotions. Such behavior can be episodic, when a person, for example, cries of happiness when meeting after a long separation. In this case, we are talking about an exalted reaction, which manifested itself due to prolonged restrictions, after waiting, feeling anxious and afraid.

In cases where a person tends to react incredibly violently to any events always and everywhere, we are talking about accentuation - a fixed character trait that is associated with an extreme degree of manifestation of certain aspects of emotional life. This extreme, which has become a model of behavior, is not directly related to the type of nervous system (temperament), and is weakly amenable to correction by means of education and morality.

Exalted personalities inevitably attract attention. They are always in a whirlpool of passions and strong emotions. Mood swings occur instantly, a person in seconds goes from a state of unbridled fun and enthusiasm to the deepest despondency, tragically perceiving what is happening. The reason for such emotional "swings" is any everyday trifle, which, in the prism of perception of an exalted personality, is a significant reason for sobs or laughter.

Exaltation as a fixed model of behavior - business card many characters in literature and cinema.

There are many exalted personalities among romantic characters who are plunged into a storm of emotions in connection with love experiences (Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, Nikolai Rostov from War and Peace). If we talk about characters closer to us in time, then this is Ruby Rose (TV star from the movie "The Fifth Element") and King Julian (lemur from the cartoon "Madagascar").

The manifestation of this type of accentuation is observed in about 15% of people.. Their behavior is often mistaken for signs mental disorder. Affective outbursts of uncontrolled emotions have nothing to do with psychiatric diagnoses. Therefore, exalted individuals in psychology and medicine are considered as people with good mental health.

Signs of an exalted personality

In addition to sharp mood swings and unusually vivid emotions, the exalted type of accentuation is distinguished by the following features:

loud voice;
infectious laughter;
friendly attitude towards people;
openness and trust;
willingness to help;
good nature;
talkativeness;
sentimentality.

Such people are happy to participate in mass actions and global events, they like to be in the thick of things, but they do not always specifically strive to be in the spotlight. At first, this happens spontaneously with them - it’s hard not to notice such remarkable characters. Gradually, they get used to being in the forefront and gladly accept signs of attention from others. They are not at all embarrassed by the manifestations of their feelings and are very susceptible to other people's emotions - both positive and negative.

The owners of the exalted accentuation of character themselves are very amorous, they are often importunate in manifestations of their indifference, they create a lot of noise and fuss. In their feelings, they are always absolutely sincere and demonstrate exactly what they feel. People of the exalted type love and appreciate communication, their indefatigable energy requires constant activity, activity, and often the process is much more exciting than the result. If, during work, emotions faded and interest in the matter disappeared, the exalted person will quit what he started and will not return to him again.

These simple-hearted good people never set out to manipulate someone with tears. All their violent emotions come from a pure heart, and the overwhelming intensity of joy and sadness - psychological feature, which over time can smooth out or intensify.

In the first case, exaltation will gradually fade away and the character of a person will either become more harmonious and mature, or acquire signs of a different accentuation. In the event that the emotional "swing" acquires an even greater range, we will talk about a disorder borderline with hysterical psychosis. Unlike accentuation, which is an extreme version of the norm, psychotic disorders require mandatory medical intervention and adequate therapy.

How to determine the type of personality?

Knowledge characteristic features behavior is not enough to assert that a person has an accentuation of character according to an exalted type. For an accurate result, a simple diagnostic procedure is used.

Personality formation by the type of exalted accentuation (as well as by any other) can be determined using a classic diagnostic tool - the Schmishek questionnaire, based on the theory of German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard on accentuations. Initially, a test of 88 questions relating to various aspects of a person's personality was used in psychiatric practice to distinguish between true disorders and borderline conditions. Later found wide application in the work of psychologists with disharmonic personalities. At the end of the 70s. In the twentieth century, the Russian psychiatrist E. A. Lichko created an alternative diagnostic option that allows for a comprehensive assessment of the severity of all possible personality accentuations. The interpretation of the results allows one to obtain detailed description specific character traits inherent in each of the types.

Often, diagnostics show that a person who formally demonstrates signs of an exalted character has a pronounced hysteroid accentuation. Outwardly, it manifests itself very similarly - vivid emotions, noisy behavior, sudden mood swings. But, unlike exaltation, the hysteroid skillfully imitates emotions and demonstrates them in order to manipulate others. In this sense, an accurate diagnosis of accentuation is very useful: it allows you to reveal the deception and stop believing in the theatrical emotions of the hysteroid.

People who, with their emotional outbursts, resemble an exalted type, according to the results of diagnostics, can be identified as representatives of the paranoid (paranoid) personality type. Their bright fiery speeches, constant presence in the thick of things, a tendency to excessive gestures are similar to exaltation. But all paranoid activity is always associated with imaginary or real dangers which he tries with all his might to eliminate.

It is important to understand that maximum values on a scale of exaltation, obtained from the results of diagnostics, are an alarming signal - such a model of behavior has become incredibly strong, a person does not know how to control his emotions and does not always understand the inappropriateness of their intensity. Such a state can be borderline, and after crossing the dangerous line, we will talk about the development of a mental disorder. Therefore, based on the results of the diagnosis, a good specialist will definitely give recommendations that will help to correct the behavior and smooth out the extremely violent manifestations of accentuations.

At what age does exaltation cease to be the norm?

Directly in exaltation there is nothing bad and dangerous. At a certain age, this behavior is a variant of the norm. For preschoolers aged 3-5 years, unrestrained laughter, intense gesticulation, and strong chagrin for reasons that are insignificant for adults are characteristic. It is to this period that affective-exalted reactions belong, when the child laughs or cries so that he cannot stop himself, literally choking on emotions. As the emotional-volitional sphere develops, the child learns to control his emotions and correlate their intensity with the strength of the stimulus.

The next stage, when accentuations of the exalted type are again clearly manifested, is adolescence. Against the background of a hormonal explosion and puberty, a growing child cannot cope with emotions, laughs and cries for no apparent reason, not always coping with himself. And again, as the hormones return to normal and the nervous system matures, the adolescent's exaltation fades.

If the nervous system is characterized by increased excitability, the social environment or other conditions prevented the strengthening of the nervous system and the emotional-volitional sphere, adolescent exaltation is sometimes observed in adults. The state of emotional instability returns at any age in lovers, young parents. Exaltation often becomes an integral part of people's lives. creative professions- artists, poets, musicians, writers, designers. Many masterpieces of art were created in a state of emotional affect. This fact is in perfect agreement with the fact that in psychological terms, many geniuses in a sense forever remain children, capable of directly and vividly responding to the world around them.

Talking about accentuation as a fixed character trait is appropriate only in situations where excessive and too intense emotions are a constant characteristic of the behavior and reactions of an adult.

Psychology considers exaltation as a manifestation of temperament, close to psychopathy. The German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard was the first to describe the concept of exaltation, singled out and classified this type, and also characterized it as "temperament of anxiety and happiness".

Manifestations of exaltation are characteristic of certain types of temperament: sanguine and choleric. Exaltation in behavior is inherent in women more often than in men. In people from the acting environment, exaltation is an inherent feature that helps them in the profession.

Manifestations of exaltation

Exaltation is the tendency to exaggeration and abrupt transitions from a state of happiness to unreasonable grief.

How early does exaltation start to appear?

The behavior of children is quite early age exaltation is quite common. Aged 2–5 years almost every child throws tantrums from time to time with loud crying, can move from a joyful mood to sadness and tears. Sometimes children roll with laughter in such a way that it is impossible to calm them down, sometimes they run excitedly, wave their arms and shout, attracting attention. We can say that all this is characteristic of a certain stage of growth and development of each individual.

In the future, the majority of people begin to control their emotions and behavior - which can be considered sign of maturity. But individuals can remain an eternal child and deservedly gain opinion of themselves as an exalted person.

The attitude of others to exalted people

Like everything excessive, exaltation is subject to censure. For such people:

Often there are conflicts with others.
They try not to give important assignments at work.
Deep friendships with them are also not tied up, as they are difficult to trust. You never know what such a person can “throw out” in the next minute.

Exaltation is a huge problem for those close to the person who has a similar temperament. Living next to such a person is tantamount to living near a dormant volcano. Coexistence with such people is full of surprises, and not always pleasant ones.

How does an exalted personality live?

Not all individuals with a similar temperament consider its manifestations my problem. Confidence in their own infallibility does not let them understand that in most of their life failures they have no one to blame, except themselves. These people often make mistakes. Being poorly adapted to everyday life, they cannot cope with the "prose of life", they can become drunk, get bogged down in everyday problems, thoughtlessly lose their homes.

At the beginning life path, while parents are around, close people - they participate in their fate and do not allow something irreparable to happen. Over the years, these people, more often than others, begin to pursue loneliness. One can recall quite a lot of such broken destinies on the examples of great artists and famous artists who died in loneliness and poverty.

But even if the person himself is aware of his peculiarity and would like to get rid of exaltation - alas. Your natural temperament and mental characteristics no one is given change by the power of desire alone and the knowledge of what exaltation is.

Exalted personality type

Exaltation is called an extremely excited, primarily enthusiastic state. Many people are inspired, and not every football fan can be called exalted after the goal of their favorite team. The main thing here is that an exalted person may not have a special reason for joy.

T&P more than once about various types accentuations, but the affective-exalted type of temperament has not yet been touched. Recall that accentuation is a certain combination of clearly manifested character traits, in which a person's vulnerability to certain psychogenic influences increases. People with accentuations are normal in the generally accepted sense - however, sometimes their relationships with the outside world and with themselves are more complicated than those of people without such vivid manifestations. The first such temperaments were singled out into a separate group and classified by the German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard. One of the ten temperaments he described was just the affectively exalted type.

Leonhard called exaltation "the temperament of anxiety and happiness." From passionate jubilation to deadly longing, such people are one step away (or an ambiguous look, a friend’s inattention, sad news on the radio, a drop of coffee spilled on a shirt - whatever). It only saves that the way back to happiness is just as short for them. In psychology, the propensity for such drastic changes emotional state called increased lability.

In people with an exalted personality type, emotions are elevated to a cult. People with such a temperament not only do not restrain the manifestations of feelings, but also consider emotional experiences to be the most important component of human life. Often they seek to realize themselves in areas such as religion and art, and this makes sense: such people are distinguished by good taste and sensitivity. They often achieve success in creativity - largely because the value of a work of art is determined by the final emotional impact on the viewer / reader / listener, and it is quite logical that this is better for those who themselves are capable of a high intensity of sensory experiences.

There are many exalted personalities among the actors, because it is natural for them to generate a stream of emotions, you just need to learn to direct it in a constructive direction. Constructive, according to Leonhard, exaltation becomes when strong-willed abilities are added to it. In this combination, it turns into passion: delight and despair begin to be expressed in actions, and not in feelings and ideas, which is typical of a simply exalted person.

From passionate jubilation to mortal anguish, such people are one step away. The way back to happiness is just as short for them.

Another strong (or weak) trait of exalted personalities is compassion. A TV show about the hardships of life in concentration camps or a puppy with a broken paw can drive them to despair; they experience the ordinary trouble of a friend more painfully than the victim himself. In an impulse, they are ready for real feats of altruism and self-sacrifice. And this is often used by others: in order to borrow money from an exalted person, it is enough to convince him that, for example, buying a new car for you is a matter of life and death.

Increased emotionality in people of this type is manifested in various features: they are contact, smiling, often fall in love and talk a lot, but at the same time they are touchy and prone to alarmism. People with this temperament often argue, but as a rule, it does not come to open conflicts. Fear in an exalted personality tends to increase sharply, and even in frivolous situations, its physiological manifestations will be noticeable - trembling, cold sweat.

An exalted personality type can be well illustrated with the help of heroes of works of art. With their thoughtless impulses and emotional outbursts, they inflame passions and turn the course of the story, for which the authors love them. A similar exemplary type was created by Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov. His heroine Katerina Ivanovna is going to marry Mitya Karamazov not because she loves him, but because she is passionate about the idea of his salvation. At some point, inspired by the idea of making her rival Grushenka a partner in this matter, she invites her to her place. Katerina Ivanovna spiritually and enthusiastically speaks to the guest, but when she realizes that Grushenka laughed at her, the heroine experiences a severe mood swing, which ends with the fact that “Katerina Ivanovna had a seizure. She sobbed, spasms choked her. Approximately with such an amplitude of emotional fluctuations - from proud happiness to tragedy - she lives throughout the entire novel, at the end of which she finds herself in severe hysteria during the trial of Mitya. A prime example male exalted image can be called Shakespeare's Romeo. The hero is constantly in an extreme state of excitement and either suffocates from the happiness of being close to his beloved, or does not find a place for himself due to the tragedy of forced separation. Romeo is simply not capable of experiences of an average order and finds reasons in everything to strengthen his own feelings.

Exalted individuals have the ability to empathize with others, sincerely rejoice at other people's successes and sympathize with grief. But the repulsive traits of people with this temperament are about the same: excessive anxiety, a tendency to panic, drama, and “increasing the volume” for no apparent reason. Often effective communication with exalted people is possible only when their emotions begin to weaken, and best recommendation for them - to try to reduce the significance of the events experienced.

How to say

Wrong: "The Spanish Inquisition arranged terrible exaltations for all dissidents." That's right: executions.

That's right: "I have no life at all with this exalted lady: she either soars in the clouds, then beats in hysterics."

That's right: "Fedya's exaltation tired the whole group: screams, indignation and the struggle for the truth that he alone understood were his faithful companions."

- To an exalted admirer who only needs what is under the window

idol to stand all night long, he, excuse me, does not look like. - Why "sorry"?
- Well, you never know. Suddenly, for once, you decided to get a fan. And

definitely exalted. And I take away your last hope.

Max Fry. Yellow metal key

Exaltation (Exalted) as a personality trait - a tendency to show elevated mood with excessive enthusiasm, immoderate and unbridled enthusiasm for the simplest things and events, excessively violent emotional reaction, overestimation of one's qualities, appearance, abilities and capabilities.

Once, on a hot summer day, a neighbor called Hodge to visit. Sweet syrup was served in a large jug. The owner gave Hodja a teaspoon, and took a whole ladle for himself and began to scoop syrup from a jug. No matter how much Khoja tried, he could not keep up with him. And the owner, every time he scoops up, falls into a state of exaltation, exclaiming with delight: - Oh, I'm dying! I won't take it! Food of the gods! To die and not to live!

In the end, Nasreddin threw a teaspoon and grabbed a ladle from the owner: - Neighbor! Let me die for once!

Exaltation - excited enthusiasm, inspired liveliness. Exaltation is constantly in an excited state and incessant enthusiasm. When a neighbor accidentally runs into her to borrow salt, she shouts: - God, what a blessing that you looked at my light. I adore you, and have long dreamed of meeting such a wonderful and wonderful person.

That is, an insignificant fact causes a violent emotional outburst and boundless experiences in exaltation. If the neighbor had a kitten in her hands, the exaltation would surely experience a feeling of complete happiness and a feeling of emotional overflow. But if the neighbor, referring to being busy, refused to enter, her mood would turn one hundred and eighty degrees, giving way to despair and complete despondency.

Mood swings from passionate jubilation to deadly depression and melancholy are the signature of exaltation. The slightest failure, a slight disappointment for an ordinary person can become a sincere and deep grief for exaltation. She always has the "Tears of Happiness" and "Ready for Despair" buttons enabled.

There was once a wealthy collector of ancient statues, of which he had a great many. They stood along the alleys of his beautiful park. Friends sent a young student to the rich man with a recommendation from the local Historical Society so that he could get acquainted with the amazing collection.

The manager reported to the owner about the arrival of the guest, met him and led him along the paths of the park to the house. Overwhelmed by curiosity, the student stopped near each statue, sighed enthusiastically, fell into despondency and despair that there were no such statues in his society, then again, as if in a fever, trembled with joy and delight near the next statue and swallowed tears of sorrow from the understanding that their he will never have. In the end, the manager could not stand it: - Sir, you, in fact, to whom to introduce: the statues or their owner?

Exaltation sees either an embellished, elegant world, or a pronounced black color of reality. Having a craving for beauty, exaltation has a good taste: it makes good artistic natures, artists, designers, decorators. Love for high art, nature, religious experiences, passion for sports, worldview searches can completely, to the depths of the soul, absorb the attention of an exalted person. Uncontrollably dreamy and fantasy exaltation uses in its speech communication raised tones, colorful turns, ornate descriptions. Exalted people are close to compassion, sincerity and altruism. At the same time, they are prone to alarmism, amorousness and talkativeness.

Roughly expressing their feelings, exaltation can mortally annoy any most patient partner in a week. Who will like every minute screams: - No! You have no idea how much I love you! I adore you!? And it is pronounced everywhere - at dinner, on the street, in the car. Even the toilet and bathroom do not save from encroachments of exaltation. It is not surprising that partners with enviable constancy run away from her, having set their teeth on edge from such unbridled manifestations of love.

Exaltation is a variable state: either in incredible happiness or in hopeless grief. Ready now to embrace the whole world, in a minute, all in tears, she announces in a tragic voice: - Everything is lost!

As it turns out, the girlfriend's phone on the mobile phone was erased by mistake. She later remembers that he is in notebook and other acquaintances know him. Exaltation is one hundred percent sure of the sophistication of their tastes, manners, and the uniqueness of their worldview. She is always right, everyone else is stupid.

F.M. Dostoevsky created unforgettable images of exalted women in the novels The Idiot for Nastasya Filippovna and The Brothers Karamazov for Katerina Ivanovna. Katya never loved her fiancé, the thought dominated her - to save him. That is why she became his bride. Imagining herself as a savior, she says: “- And if so, then he has not died yet! He is only in despair, but I can still save him ... I want to save him forever! Let him forget me as his bride! And now he is afraid of me for his honor!? After all, Alexey Fyodorovich, he was not afraid to open up to you? Why didn't I deserve the same? — Last words she uttered in tears; tears gushed out of her eyes."

Exaltation makes her call Grushenka, her rival in relations with Mitya, to her home in order to make her her ally in saving Mitya. She is delighted with Grushenka: “Grushenka, angel, give me your hand, look at that plump, small, lovely hand, Alexey Fyodorovich; do you see her, she brought me happiness and resurrected me, and now I'm going to kiss her, and from above, and on the palm, here, here and there! .. - And she kissed the really lovely, too maybe Grushenka's plump hand." However, Katerina Ivanovna had to experience the mental anguish of disappointment. Grushenka does not agree to save Mitya and declares: “So stay with the memory that you kissed my hand, but I didn’t kiss you at all. So I and Mitya will now retell how you kissed my hand, but I don’t have it at all. And how he will laugh! Katerina Ivanovna's mood makes a sharp turn. Now Grushenka becomes a "dissolute woman" and "a creature always ready to serve." Further, “Katerina Ivanovna had a fit. She sobbed, spasms choking her. Everyone fussed around her."

A separate conversation about her behavior during the trial. At first she defends Mitya, going to the point of self-humiliation. In her testimony, she tells how one day, saving her father, she came to ask Mitya for money: “There was something unprecedented, so even from such an autocratic and contemptuously proud girl like her, it was almost impossible to expect such a highly frank testimony , such sacrifice, such self-sacrifice. And for what, for whom? To save his traitor and offender, to serve at least something, even small, to save him, making a good impression in his favor.

But a few minutes later she listens to the testimony of Mitya's brother, Ivan, whom she loves more than her fiancé. Ivan accuses himself of inciting patricide. And here the raging feelings force Katerina Ivanovna to take an absolutely opposite position. Shocked by pity for Ivan, and perhaps filled with fear that his confessions would be taken seriously, she felt a fierce hatred for Mitya, considering him responsible for her brother's mental illness. She screams: “I tried to defeat him (Mitya) with my love, love without end, I even wanted to endure his betrayal, but he didn’t understand anything. How can he understand anything! It's a fiend!"

Dostoevsky continues: “Oh, of course, you can speak and confess like this only some time in your life - at the dying moment, for example, when ascending the scaffold. But Katya was exactly in her character and in her moment. It was the same impetuous Katya, who then rushed to the young libertine in order to save her father; the same Katya, who just now, in front of all this public, proud and chaste, sacrificed herself and her girlish shame, telling about Mitya's "noble deed" in order to only somewhat alleviate the fate that awaited him. And now, in exactly the same way, she also sacrificed herself, but for another, and maybe only now, only at this moment, having for the first time felt and fully comprehended how dear this other person is to her.

Having reached the limit of emotional excitement after her testimony against Mitya, Katerina Ivanovna falls into a hysterical fit: “The minute of revenge flew off unexpectedly, and everything that had been accumulating in the offended woman’s chest for so long and painfully at once, and again unexpectedly, burst out. She betrayed Mitya, but she betrayed herself! And of course, having just had time to speak out, the tension broke, and shame suppressed her. The hysteria began again, she fell down, sobbing and screaming. She was taken away."

Another example of exaltation. Nikolai Rostov, the hero of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, accepted the news of the war with enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Dreams of glory, courage, female enthusiasm literally put him in the saddle and drove him to war. Seeing the war with his own eyes, his exaltation went to the other extreme: “And the heated, alien physiognomy of this man, who, holding his breath, easily ran up to him with a bayonet, frightened Rostov. He grabbed a pistol and, instead of firing it, threw it at the Frenchman and ran to the bushes with all his strength. Not with that feeling of doubt and struggle with which he went to the Ensky Bridge, he fled, but with the feeling of a hare running away from dogs. One inseparable feeling of fear for his young, happy life dominated his entire being.

With the tail of years, Rostov’s youthful exaltation subsided, he considers his duty to defend the Motherland pragmatically: “Nikolai Rostov, without any goal of self-sacrifice, but by chance, since the war found him in the service, took a close and long part in the defense of the fatherland and therefore without despair and gloomy conclusions looked at what was happening only in Russia. If he were asked what he thinks about the current situation in Russia, he would say that he has nothing to think about, that is, Kutuzov and others. In a word, with age, the exaltation of Nikolai Rostov passed like “smoke from white apple trees”.

Petr Kovalev 2013

The meaning of the word exaltation is explained by psychologists as a tendency to pronounced outbursts of emotions. These emotions are usually caused by both positive and negative factors, and for other people they may be completely insignificant.

Accentuation of character - exaltation

The pronounced features of an exalted temperament are close to psychopathy. This feeling could be called the temperament of happiness and anxiety and compared with the psychosis of these two feelings, accompanied by sharp mood swings.

But often exaltation manifests itself, without accompanying mental disorders. In this case, one should not talk about it as a disease, rather it is just a character trait.

Emotional exaltation

Exalted people are maximalists, they react to life much more emotionally than others. They are equally easy to enthrall and despair. Minor forms of exaltation are manifested in selfish stimuli and pride. Such a person seems to be the best. He is attached to his loved ones, worries with them for their failures and rejoices in their victories. Most often, an exalted person is carried away. He loves music, art, is interested in religious prescriptions, goes in for sports and self-development.

Another meaning of exaltation is an incredible impressionability and a violent reaction to sad events. Compassion and pity for strangers and sick, abandoned animals sometimes reaches the point of absurdity. They can bring home and give tea to a homeless person and, noticing that some things have disappeared along with his departure, become discouraged. Mild disappointment or failure a common person forgets the very next day, can unsettle an exalted person. nervous tension can be read in external manifestations. The feeling of fear and anger that gripped a person causes trembling, sweating, etc.

How do you know if you are prone to exaltation?

You are exalted if:

If you are characterized by exaltation of feelings, there is nothing wrong with that. If it manifests itself to a small extent - it's even good. You see the world in more bright colors than other people. You just need to learn to be more restrained and not do stupid things dictated by your heightened emotionality.