Studying and Examining a Student's Character

Keep in mind that character-type test results can depend on many factors, including your mood at the time you take the test and the way you interpret the questions. Character tests are often used in psychology and personnel management, but they can also be useful for self-discovery and personal development.

The "Baker's Dozen" Method for Diagnosing Character Accentuation Type

(Prutchenkov A. S., Siyalov A. A., 1994)

Testing can be conducted either individually or in a group format.

For individual testing, the test taker is given the test text containing 104 statements, which must be rated based on agreement or disagreement, with the score entered in the cell corresponding to the statement number.

For group testing, the test text can either be handed out or the statements can be read aloud (each one must be read twice). If the test takers have questions about the content of the statements, unclear words or the entire statement should be explained.

The time needed to administer the test, including explaining the instructions, is approximately 35–40 minutes.

Instructions: In the cells (1–104), write in your answers — row by row, left to right. When answering the test statements, rate your degree of agreement or disagreement using the following scores:

+2 — completely true, this is usually how I act;

+1 — true, but there are still noticeable exceptions;

0 — hard to say;

-1 — not true, but there are still sometimes such situations;

-2 — completely untrue, this is not typical of my usual life.

Try not to answer "hard to say" — give preference to one of the other four answers, relating it to your habits, wishes, and actions. Any of the statements in the test should be assessed based on the principle of "as a rule" and your usual way of life. After all, we are all sometimes cheerful and sometimes irritable from time to time.

Test Form

1. I never trust strangers, and I have repeatedly confirmed that I am right to feel this way.

2. I have had to learn many times that friendships are formed out of self-interest.

3. I always feel energetic and full of strength; as a rule, my mood is good.

4. My well-being strongly depends on how the people around me treat me.

5. My mood improves when I am left alone.

6. I cannot sleep peacefully if I have to get up at a certain hour in the morning; I am too suspicious, endlessly worrying and fretting about everything.

7. The slightest troubles upset me; after upsets and worries I feel unwell.

8. I have poor and restless sleep, often with tormenting dreams; morning is the hardest time of day for me.

9. My mood is usually the same as that of the people around me.

10. I don't miss friends I've had to part with for long — I quickly find new ones.

11. I sleep poorly at night and feel drowsy during the day, and I am often irritable.

12. My mood changes easily over minor reasons.

13. Weeks of feeling well alternate for me with weeks when I feel unwell.

14. I believe a person should have a serious goal worth living for.

15. I have spells of bad mood with irritability and a feeling of gloom.

16. I sleep little, but I wake up in the morning energetic and full of energy.

17. My mood strongly depends on the company I am in.

18. I never follow general fashion, but wear what I myself like.

19. Feeling unwell comes over me from worries and anticipation of trouble.

20. I am often shy around strangers; I am excessively sensitive.

21. I am always afraid I won't have enough money, and I really dislike borrowing.

22. I believe one should not stand out from those around them.

23. I make new acquaintances easily.

24. I think little about my clothes.

25. On some days I wake up cheerful and full of life, on others — for no reason at all — I'm depressed and gloomy from the morning.

26. At times I have a "wolfish" appetite, and at times I don't want to eat anything at all.

27. Life has taught me not to be too candid even with friends.

28. My sleep is very deep, but sometimes I have terrifying, nightmarish dreams.

29. I love treats and delicacies, and I hate planning my expenses in advance.

30. My sleep is rich with vivid dreams.

31. I cannot find a kindred-spirit friend and suffer from not being understood; I try to keep my distance from those around me.

32. My mood is spoiled by anticipating possible troubles, by self-doubt, and by worrying about loved ones.

33. If someone has borrowed from me, I am not embarrassed to remind them of it.

34. It seems to me that the people around me despise me and look down on me.

35. Before getting to know someone, I want to find out what kind of person they are and what people say about them.

36. I strive to be with people; I find it hard to bear solitude.

37. In the future, what worries me most is my health; I reproach my parents for not paying enough attention to my health in childhood.

38. I like to dress in a way that suits me.

39. At times I love the company of friends, at times I avoid it and seek solitude.

40. I never feel dejection or sadness, but I may feel bitterness and anger.

41. I would never forgive betrayal.

42. I get along easily with people in any setting, readily make new acquaintances, love having many friends, and treat them warmly.

43. I love bright and flashy suits and clothing.

44. I love solitude; I deal with my failures on my own.

45. I weigh all the pros and cons many times over, but I still can't bring myself to take the risk; I may be ahead of others in reasoning, but not in action.

46. My shyness keeps me from becoming friends with those I'd like to.

47. I avoid making new acquaintances; I lack decisiveness in everything.

48. I try to live in such a way that others cannot say anything bad about me.

49. I don't like thinking too much about my future, let alone planning my expenses in advance.

50. I feel so unwell that I have no room in my mind for friends.

51. At times I treat money lightly and spend it without thinking; at times I'm terrified of being left without money.

52. At some periods I feel good with people, at others they weigh on me.

53. I am only drawn to what is new if it matches my principles and interests.

54. For me, the main thing is that clothing be comfortable, neat, and clean.

55. I am convinced that my wishes and plans will come true in the future.

56. I prefer friends who are attentive to me.

57. I love inventing new things, changing everything around, and doing things my own way, not like everyone else.

58. I often worry that my clothes aren't in order.

59. I am afraid of solitude, but nevertheless it often turns out that I end up alone.

60. I feel calm when I'm alone.

61. I believe that no one should cut themselves off from the group.

62. I love variety and change in life.

63. Human company often tires and irritates me.

64. Periods when I don't pay much attention to following all the rules alternate with periods when I reproach myself for lack of discipline.

65. At times I'm pleased with myself, at times I reproach myself for indecisiveness and sluggishness.

66. I am not afraid of solitude; I deal with my failures myself and seek sympathy and help from no one.

67. I am very careful with money matters and get very upset and distressed when there isn't enough money.

68. I love changes in life — new impressions, new people, a new environment around me.

69. I cannot bear solitude; I strive to be among people, and what I value most from those around me is their attention to me.

70. I allow others to look after me in everyday life, but not over my inner spiritual world.

71. I often spend a long time wondering whether I said or did something right or wrong in relation to those around me.

72. I often fear that I will be mistaken for a lawbreaker.

73. The future seems bleak and hopeless to me; failures weigh me down, and above all I blame myself.

74. I try to live in such a way that the future will be good.

75. In the face of failure, I want to run off somewhere far away and never come back.

76. Strangers irritate me; I've already gotten somewhat used to people I know.

77. I quarrel easily, but I also make up quickly.

78. At times I love "setting the tone," being the first, but at times it becomes tiresome.

79. I am confident that in the future I will prove to everyone that I am right.

80. I prefer to establish order once and for all; I enjoy teaching people rules and order.

81. I love all kinds of adventures, even dangerous ones, and often take risks.

82. Adventure and risk attract me if I get the leading role in them.

83. I love looking after one particular person whom I like.

84. When alone, I reflect or converse with an imaginary companion, and I involuntarily think about possible troubles and misfortunes that might happen in the future.

85. Novelty attracts me, but at the same time worries and troubles me; failures drive me to despair.

86. I am afraid of changes in life; a new environment frightens me.

87. I willingly follow authoritative people.

88. I submit to some people, and I myself give orders to others.

89. I readily listen to advice concerning my health.

90. It happens that a completely unfamiliar person inspires trust and sympathy in me.

91. At times my future seems bright to me, at times gloomy.

92. There are always people who listen to me and recognize my authority.

93. If someone is to blame for my failures, I do not leave them unpunished.

94. I believe that for an interesting and appealing undertaking, any rules and laws can be gotten around.

95. I love being first, so that others imitate me and follow my lead.

96. I don't listen to objections and criticism; I always think and act my own way.

97. If a failure occurs, I always look for what I did wrong.

98. As a child I was a touchy and sensitive child.

99. I don't like giving people orders; responsibility frightens me.

100. I believe I am no different from most people.

101. I lack persistence and patience.

102. Novelty attracts me, but it often quickly tires and bores me — I have no room for adventures.

103. In good moments I am pleased with myself; in moments of bad mood it seems to me that I lack positive qualities.

104. At times I bear changes in my life easily, but at other times I begin to fear and avoid them.

Processing the Results

Decoding the test results proceeds as follows:

1. Add up the sum of points in each vertical column, for example in cells No. 1, 14, 27, 40, 53, 66, 79, 92, taking into account the "+" and "-" signs. The sum of points in any column falls within the range from +16 (all eight statements rated by the test taker as "+2," i.e., "completely true") to -16 (if all statements are rated "-2," i.e., "completely untrue").

2. The names of the character accentuation types encoded in the vertical columns are decoded.

I. (1, 14, 27, 40, 53, 66, 79, 92) — paranoid type.

II. (2, 15, 28, 41, 54, 57, 80, 93) — epileptoid type.

III. (3, 19, 29, 42, 55, 68, 81, 94) — hyperthymic type.

IV. (4, 17, 30, 43, 56, 69, 82, 95) — hysteroid type.

V. (5, 18, 31, 44, 57, 70, 83, 96) — schizoid type.

VI. (6, 19, 32, 45, 58, 71, 84, 97) — psychasthenic type.

VII. (7, 20, 33, 46, 59, 72, 85, 98) — sensitive type.

VIII. (8, 21, 34, 47, 60, 73, 86, 99) — hypothymic type.

IX. (9, 22, 35, 48, 61, 74, 87, 100) — conformal type.

X. (10, 23, 36, 49, 62, 75, 88, 101) — unstable type.

XI. (11, 24, 37, 50, 63, 76, 89, 102) — asthenic type.

XII. (12, 25, 38, 51, 64, 77, 90, 103) — labile type.

XIII. (13, 26, 39, 52, 65, 78, 91, 104) — cycloid type.

3. The degree of expression of each type is determined by constructing a "Personality Profile" graph, where the horizontal axis plots the type number and the vertical axis plots the sum of points in the column. If the curve does not go beyond the limits bounded by the numbers +10 to -10, this means that the psychotype falls within the range of an ordinary personality profile (these points have been adopted by specialists as norms). If, on the other hand, the curve goes beyond +10, this means that the corresponding psychotype is most pronounced in the test taker. And if one or more points reach -10, this indicates that the test taker displays an antitype, i.e., traits characteristic of a person with the opposite character.

Interpretation

Scale 1 — paranoid type.

Traits of this psychotype rarely appear in childhood, but such children are usually focused on one thing, serious, preoccupied, thinking about something, and striving at all costs to achieve what they want.

Dominant character trait: a high degree of purposefulness.

Such a teenager subordinates their life to achieving a specific goal (usually of fairly large scale), and in doing so may sometimes disregard the interests of the people around them. To achieve the set goal, they are ready to sacrifice their own well-being and give up entertainment, comfort, and other joys normal for children.

Attractive character traits: high energy, independence, self-reliance, reliability in cooperation, if their goals coincide with the goals of the people they work with.

Off-putting character traits: irritability, anger, which appear whenever something or someone stands in the way of achieving the set goal; low sensitivity to others' grief, authoritarianism.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they are extremely ambitious, but on a grand scale, not over trifles.

Communication and friendship features: when they have to interact with people, they often overwhelm the interlocutor, tend to be overly categorical in their judgments, and can wound others with their words. They do not notice their own tendency to conflict.

Completely unsentimental, they view friendship as an extension of a shared major cause. Friends, for them, are only comrades-in-arms.

Attitude toward study and work. They usually study carefully only those subjects that they need now or will need in the future to successfully achieve their goals. For this, they may go to the library, take extra classes, buy many books, and read during breaks. Everything else at school holds no value for them.

They achieve the greatest success in individual creative work. They are unsurpassed suppliers, generators of big ideas and unconventional approaches to solving complex problems.

Scale 2 — epileptoid type.

From preschool age, children predisposed to this type of accentuation show an unchildlike thriftiness toward their clothes, toys, and everything "of their own," a sharp reaction to anyone who tries to take possession of their property, and from their first school years they display heightened neatness.

Dominant character traits: love of order, a striving to maintain an already established order, conservatism; high energy level (such schoolchildren are full of vital energy, they willingly engage in physical activity, run, speak loudly, and organize everyone around them; their activity often gets in others' way); in extreme situations teenagers become brave and even reckless, while in everyday life they show anger, explosiveness, and fault-finding.

Attractive character traits: thoroughness, neatness, diligence, thriftiness (often bordering on excessive pedantry), reliability (always keeps their promises), punctuality (to avoid being late, they will set two alarm clocks and ask their parents to wake them), attentiveness to their own health.

Off-putting character traits: insensitivity to others' grief, excessive demandingness leading to irritability over noticed disorder, others' untidiness, or their violation of certain rules.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they can barely tolerate insubordination toward themselves and violently resist any infringement of their interests.

Communication and friendship features. As in everything else, they love an established order in friendship and in dealing with people. They do not make casual acquaintances but prefer to associate with childhood friends and schoolmates. But if a teenager considers someone a friend, they fulfill all the obligations that friendship places on them. They will never forgive betrayal in friendship (as in love).

Attitude toward study and work. They are distinguished by purposefulness, complete all their homework, and never skip lessons: they are usually top students.

Later in life, such students do best in work connected with maintaining order, rules, and norms established by someone else. For example, as a financier, lawyer, teacher, military officer, and so on.

Scale 3 — hyperthymic type.

Teenagers belonging to this psychotype have, since childhood, stood out for great boisterousness, sociability, and even boldness, and are prone to mischief. They have neither shyness nor timidity around strangers, yet they lack a sense of proper distance

with adults.

Dominant character traits: a constantly elevated mood, extraversion, openness to communicating with people, and the joy this communication brings, combined with good physical well-being and a blooming appearance.

Attractive character traits: energy, optimism, generosity, a desire to help people, initiative, talkativeness, cheerfulness — and their mood almost never depends on what is happening around them. But high vitality, bubbling energy, unstoppable activity, and a thirst for action combine with a tendency to spread themselves too thin and not finish what they've started.

Off-putting character traits: superficiality, an inability to concentrate for long on any one specific matter or thought, constant haste (a striving to take on something more interesting at the given moment), jumping from one thing to another (they may sign up for several clubs or sections at once, but won't attend any one of them for more than 1–2 months), disorganization, over-familiarity, frivolity, readiness for unrestrained risk.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they cannot bear a monotonous environment, monotonous work requiring careful, painstaking effort, or a sharp restriction on socializing; solitude or enforced idleness weighs on them.

Communication and friendship features. They always play the role of the life of the party and the joker. They love having guests over; their home is a meeting place for friends and mere acquaintances, where anyone can simply drop by and stay for as long as they like. They are always drawn to company, and among peers they strive for leadership. They can easily end up in an unfavorable environment and are prone to adventurism.

They are ready to be friends with the whole world, but are incapable of deep attachment. They possess altruism, love for their fellow man (though not for all of humanity), and can rush to help a person without a second thought. In friendship they are kind and hold no grudges. Having offended someone, they quickly forget about it and at the next meeting may sincerely be glad to see them; if needed, they can apologize wholeheartedly for the offense caused and immediately do something nice for the offended person.

Attitude toward study and work. Schoolchildren of this psychotype could achieve significant success, but they are frivolous and cannot concentrate on one subject, especially if mastering it requires sustained, lengthy effort. In principle, all school subjects come easily to them, but the knowledge they gain at school is superficial and often unsystematic.

They are constantly late to lessons and skip classes (especially ones where they're bored and have no chance to express themselves). But they easily catch up on what they've missed — for example, before a test or exam they can skip a night's sleep and learn almost all the necessary material.

They can achieve success in practically any endeavor. And indeed, at first everything goes smoothly for them and certain achievements appear, but as soon as ordinary routine work begins, they lose interest, the task stops being new, and they are ready to abandon it and switch to something else.

Often noisy and hyperactive, they merely create the appearance of productive activity (they eagerly and enthusiastically take on tasks, plan a mass of activities, hold meetings, and so on), and this helps them build a career.

Scale 4 — hysteroid type.

This psychotype is visible from early childhood. A sweet little child in the middle of a room, in the presence of many unfamiliar adults, recites poems and sings simple songs without a trace of embarrassment, displaying both their talents and their outfits. The main thing for them at that moment is the admiration of those around them. If all the guests sit down at the festive table and forget about them, they will certainly try again and again to draw everyone's attention to themselves. If that fails, they will simply knock a glass over onto the tablecloth or break a saucer.

Dominant character traits: demonstrativeness, i.e., a striving to be constantly the center of attention, sometimes at any cost, a thirst for constant attention to themselves, admiration, astonishment, reverence, worship.

Attractive character traits: persistence and initiative, sociability and purposefulness, resourcefulness and activity, clearly expressed organizational abilities, self-reliance and readiness to take charge, energy — although they quickly burn out after a burst of energy.

Off-putting character traits: a capacity for intrigue and demagoguery, hypocrisy, pugnaciousness and recklessness, ill-considered risk-taking (but only in front of an audience), boasting about nonexistent successes, taking only their own wishes into account, an inflated self-image, touchiness whenever something is taken personally.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: an inability to withstand blows to their egocentrism, or the exposure of their fabrications.

Communication and friendship features. Owing to the particulars of their character, they constantly need a large audience. In principle this is the basic form of their existence (living in public and for the public). But, as a rule, they associate only with those who openly or implicitly express admiration for them, who idolize their abilities and talent. They are very selective, seeking to be friends with very famous people so that some of their fame rubs off on them, or with people who fall short of them in some way, so as to further highlight their own abilities.

Attitude toward study and work. For them, studying is often merely a pretext for socializing, an opportunity to show themselves off among people. They go to school not to learn but to socialize — that is where they get their main enjoyment. To attract attention, they must not simply do well in school, but do better than everyone else, amazing teachers with their abilities in various subjects.

In principle, this is a gifted, talented person, so professions connected with artistic creativity come easily to them. They work best independently, outside a team, outside obligatory constraints.

Scale 5 — schizoid type.

From their first school years, such children like to play alone, are little drawn to classmates, and avoid noisy children's games, preferring the company of older children.

In adolescence, what stands out above all is their withdrawal and isolation, combined with an inability to empathize with those around them.

Dominant character trait: introversion.

This is a pronounced thinking type, constantly reflecting on the surrounding reality.

Attractive character traits: seriousness, unhurriedness, few words, stability of interests, and constancy of pursuits.

These are, as a rule, talented, intelligent, and unpretentious schoolchildren. They are highly productive, can work on their ideas for a long time, but do not push them through or bring them into practice.

Off-putting character traits: aloofness, coldness, over-rationality. They are low in energy, not very active during intensive work, whether physical or intellectual. Emotionally cold, they express almost no emotions at all. Their egoism is not conscious. At the same time, they can also be easily hurt themselves, being quite self-regarding. They do not like it when their system of ideas is criticized.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they cannot bear situations requiring them to establish informal emotional contacts, or the forced intrusion of outsiders into their inner world.

Communication and friendship features. They are very selective; they mostly do not notice people, just as they fail to notice many things in the material world. Yet they still need communication, which must be marked by depth and substance. The circle of people they associate with is very limited, and, as a rule, these people are older than them.

Self-sufficiency in relationships is characteristic of them; they can be content with communicating with themselves or with one single person.

Their friend can be a person who understands their particularities well, and is able to overlook their oddities, withdrawal, and other negative character traits.

Attitude toward study and work. They can be very capable and even talented, but require an individual approach, since they are marked by a special view of the world, their own point of view — unlike anything else — on ordinary phenomena and objects. They can work a great deal, but not systematically, since it is hard for them to follow generally accepted requirements, especially according to schemes not devised by themselves.

So if they see that a teacher evaluates the outcome of their work rather than formal compliance with mandatory rules, they can display all their talent and all their abilities. But if a teacher (or parents) demands from children of this psychotype, for example, that a problem be solved in a strictly defined way (because that's how it was explained in the lesson), then such a teenager may fall behind, despite being fully capable of solving the very same problems in several original ways. This applies not only to mathematics but to all other school subjects.

They are most often a research worker — for example, a theoretical mathematician or a theoretical physicist.

Scale 6 — psychasthenic type.

In childhood, alongside a certain timidity and fearfulness, such children display a tendency toward reasoning and "intellectual interests" beyond their years. At the same age various phobias arise — fear of strangers, of new objects, of the dark, fear of being left alone at home, and so on.

Dominant character traits: insecurity and anxious apprehensiveness, worry about their own future and that of their loved ones.

Attractive character traits: neatness, seriousness, conscientiousness, prudence, self-criticism, an even mood, faithfulness to promises given, reliability.

Off-putting character traits: indecisiveness, a certain formalism, a tendency toward lengthy deliberation, self-analysis. Various apprehensions are possible, addressed mainly to a possible event, even one unlikely in the future, following the principle "just in case something happens" (what if a dog bites me or my relatives, or I get sick, or I get a failing grade, and so on).

This is why a representative of this psychotype believes so strongly in omens: they put on their shoes starting with the right foot only; if they stumble on their left foot, they will certainly spit three times over their right shoulder, and so on — considering these a cure for all misfortunes.

Another form of defense against constant fears is deliberate formalism and pedantry, based on the idea that if everything is carefully thought through and anticipated in advance, and then acted on without deviating a single step from the plan, nothing bad will happen — everything will turn out fine.

Such teenagers find it very hard to make practically any decision — they keep doubting whether they have taken all circumstances and possible consequences into account. But if a decision is nevertheless made, they begin to act immediately, since they are afraid of themselves — "what if I change my mind."

The "weak link" of this psychotype: fear of responsibility for themselves and for others.

Communication and friendship features. Shy, bashful, and dislikes establishing new contacts. In relationships with old friends they value precisely a deep personal connection; they have few friends, but that friendship is "for the ages." They remember the smallest details of their relationships and are wholeheartedly grateful for any attention shown to them.

Attitude toward study and work. Capable of working without lifting their head, showing an uncharacteristic degree of purposefulness, persistence, and diligence for a long time, since they fear upsetting their relatives and teachers with unsatisfactory marks. For a long time they check their results against reference books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, call a friend, ask them, and so on.

They are, as a rule, a subordinate who will carry out any task carefully, precisely, and on time, if the assignment is specific and the instructions received clearly regulate the order in which it should be done. Such people are drawn to quiet, tidy, calm work — for example, work as a librarian, an accountant, a lab assistant, or work done at home.

Scale 7 — sensitive type.

From the earliest years of childhood, such a child is fearful, afraid of solitude, darkness, and animals, especially dogs. They avoid active and noisy peers. But they are sociable enough with those they have already grown used to, love playing with younger children, feeling confident and calm with them.

They are very attached to family and loved ones — a "homebody child": they try to leave home as little as possible, dislike visiting others, and especially dislike traveling somewhere far away, for example to another city, even if a beloved grandmother lives there.

Dominant character traits: heightened sensitivity, impressionability.

They are timid and shy, especially among strangers and in unfamiliar settings. They see many flaws in themselves, especially in the moral-ethical and volitional spheres.

Attractive character traits: kindness, calmness, attentiveness to people, a sense of duty, high inner discipline, responsibility, conscientiousness, self-criticism, elevated demands on themselves. They strive to overcome their weak points.

Off-putting character traits: suspiciousness, timorousness, withdrawal, a tendency toward self-flagellation and self-abasement, being at a loss in difficult situations, heightened touchiness and a tendency to conflict on that basis.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they cannot bear mockery or others' suspicion of unseemly acts, or ill-disposed attention.

Communication and friendship features. They readily engage with a narrow circle of people for whom they feel particular sympathy. At the same time, they do everything possible to avoid acquaintance and communication with people who are overly lively and restless. Their pressing need to share their feelings and experiences is realized in communication with old friends.

Attitude toward study and work. They study out of a reluctance to upset their relatives and teachers. They are shy about answering at the blackboard, so as not to be seen as a show-off. But with a benevolent attitude from teachers, they can show excellent results. Work is something secondary for them, and the main thing is warm and kind relationships with colleagues and the attitude of their supervisor. Because of this, they can make an efficient and devoted secretary-assistant, typist, helper, and so on.

Scale 8 — hypothymic type.

In childhood, such a child almost never shows particular joy; they are offended with everyone, and especially with their own parents. Their face often bears an expression of displeasure and upset because things weren't done the way they wanted.

Dominant character trait: a persistently lowered mood.

Their mood is constantly changing, but is almost always bad.

Attractive character traits: conscientiousness and a sharp critical view of the world.

They seek to stay home more often, creating coziness and warmth, and thereby avoiding unnecessary anxiety.

Off-putting character traits: touchiness, vulnerability, constant despondency, a tendency to look for symptoms of ailments and various illnesses in themselves, an almost complete absence of interests and hobbies.

Low energy shows itself in rapid fatigue.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: open disagreement with them about their perception of reality.

Communication and friendship features. They can be offended with those around them and with their friends often and for a long time. But at the same time, they urgently need communication, so as to have an opportunity to complain about their life, about not being understood, not being appreciated. They like telling others about the difficult circumstances they have found themselves in. To any advice from their interlocutor, they will offer a host of arguments for why the situation cannot be changed, and how things will only get worse for them personally if they take any action.

It is difficult to be friends with them, first of all because they see in every person, first and foremost, a possible cause of a worsening of their own mood.

Attitude toward study and work. They can show themselves off by diligently memorizing material and carefully completing assignments, though the actual content particularly doesn't interest them. They do this out of fear of a bad grade. Citing feeling unwell, they may skip classes, most often physical education, vocational training, and subjects whose teachers make no allowances for their bad mood.

It happens that they complain about people, about circumstances, and ask to be given a different assignment. But the pattern repeats itself, since they see flaws and negative aspects in the organization of the work or in the people around them. It is hard for them to keep doing one thing all the time.

Scale 9 — conformal type.

This character type occurs quite often. The child agrees with everything proposed by their immediate surroundings, but as soon as they fall under the influence of another group, they change their attitude toward the very same things to the opposite. Such a teenager, as it were, loses their own personal attitude toward the world; their judgments and assessments of the surrounding world fully coincide with the opinion of the people they are associating with at that moment. Moreover, they do not stand out or impose their personal opinion, but simply represent the "mass" that agrees with the leader.

Dominant character traits: excessive adaptability to their immediate surroundings, an almost complete dependence on the small group (family, circle of friends) they belong to at a given moment.

Life proceeds under the motto: "think like everyone, do like everyone, and have everything be like everyone else." This extends to their style of dress, their manner of behavior, and their views on the most important issues.

These teenagers become attached to their peer group and unconditionally accept its system of values without any criticism.

Attractive character traits: friendliness, diligence, discipline, easygoingness. Within a group, they are not a source of conflicts or discord.

They listen to stories from other kids about their "exploits," agree with proposals coming from the leaders, willingly take part in "adventures," but may later come to regret it. They usually lack sufficient boldness and decisiveness to propose anything themselves.

Off-putting character traits: a lack of independence, an almost complete absence of criticality both toward themselves and toward their immediate surroundings.

But if the group that matters to the teenager at a given moment has a positive orientation, then they too can achieve serious success — for example, by taking part in some section or club.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: they cannot bear sharp changes, or the breaking of a life stereotype.

Communication and friendship features. They establish contacts with people easily, imitating whoever they consider leaders. But friendly relationships are unstable, depending on the situation as it develops. Such teenagers do not strive to be first among friends and show no interest in new acquaintances.

Attitude toward study and work. In their studies, the conformal type shows themselves the same way as in everything else. If the surroundings, the group they belong to, studies well, then they too will put in effort so as not to fall behind their friends.

Their attitude toward work depends on the mood of the group: they can be very hardworking and diligent, doing everything assigned to them creatively and resourcefully. But they can also shirk work, doing it only for show. It all depends on the surroundings.

Scale 10 — unstable type.

Since childhood they are disobedient, restless, poking their nose everywhere, yet at the same time afraid of punishment, and easily submit to other children. Dominant character trait: complete inconsistency of behavior. They depend not on the group of people around them, but on whoever happens to be nearby at that moment. They are easily influenced.

Attractive character traits: sociability, openness, helpfulness, benevolence, quickness in switching between tasks and in communication.

Outwardly, such teenagers are often obedient and ready to sincerely carry out an adult's request, but their willingness quickly fades, and after some time (sometimes quite a short one) they either forget what they promised, or grow lazy and come up with a mass of reasons explaining why they cannot fulfill the promise.

Off-putting character traits: a pull toward empty pastimes and entertainment, talkativeness, appeasement, irresponsibility.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: lack of supervision, lack of control.

Communication and friendship features. Teenagers of this type try to avoid conflicts. Their contacts are, on the whole, aimless. They can belong to several groups at once, and in each one they genuinely adopt the rules and style of behavior of that particular group.

They tend to live for today, able to watch television or videos for hours, listen to music, doing nothing else in the meantime. When they join groups of peers, they play the role of the leaders' underlings. Occasionally a lack of inhibition is noted. For example, if such a teenager runs to the school cafeteria and cannot buy anything to eat there (nothing suitable available), they might just as easily run off to a nearby shop, even if this means being late for the next lesson.

Attitude toward study and work. Under the influence of their latest enthusiasm, they may start studying well or abandon their studies altogether. In the latter case, big gaps appear in their knowledge, and further mastery of new material (even if a great desire to study appears) becomes difficult.

In lessons their attention is unstable, and they often get distracted from work for long periods. They do homework reluctantly, and their knowledge is unsystematic.

Scale 11 — asthenic type.

Since childhood, poor sleep and appetite; the child is often fussy, cries, is afraid of everything. They are very sensitive to loud sounds and bright light, and even a small number of people quickly tires them, so they seek solitude.

Dominant character traits: heightened fatigability, irritability.

Attractive character traits: neatness, discipline, modesty, easygoingness, diligence, friendliness, an absence of grudge-holding.

Off-putting character traits: fussiness, self-doubt, sluggishness, forgetfulness.

Such teenagers are timid, shy, have low self-esteem, and cannot stand up for themselves when necessary. They experience great anxiety when external circumstances change or stereotypes are broken, since one of the mechanisms of psychological defense is habituation to the same things, to a set way of life.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: sudden affective outbursts caused by strong fatigue and irritability.

Communication and friendship features. They do not seek close relationships owing to their insecurity and show no initiative. Their circle of friends is limited.

Attitude toward study and work. They are often hampered by low self-esteem, especially if a teacher makes elevated demands, knowing this child could study better. But constant doubts, a feeling of anxiety, and fear of a possible mistake keep them from working normally in class — for example, answering at the blackboard, even when the material is well known to them.

Work sometimes tires them and brings no sense of joy or relief. Heavy and stressful work causes irritation. That is why they need periodic rest or an alternation between different types of activity.

Scale 12 — labile type.

In childhood they usually do not differ from their peers, but often catch colds. They can plunge into a sad mood because of an unflattering word, an unfriendly glance, a broken toy. Kind words, a new outfit or book, good news can lift their mood, giving a cheerful tone to conversation, but only until the next "trouble" ruins everything.

Dominant character trait: extreme mood changeability, which shifts too often and too sharply over trivial (imperceptible to others) reasons. Practically everything depends on their emotional state at a given moment: appetite, sleep, general well-being, the desire to socialize, working capacity, the desire to study, and so on.

Attractive character traits: sociability, good nature, sensitivity and attachment, sincerity and responsiveness (during periods of elevated mood). This teenager is marked by deep feelings, sincere attachment to those they are on good terms with, whom they love and care for. Moreover, this attachment persists despite the changeability of their mood.

Off-putting character traits: irritability, quick temper, combativeness, weakened self-control. During an ordinary conversation, they may flare up, tears may well up, and they may be ready to say something sharp and hurtful.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: emotional rejection by people important to them, the loss of loved ones, or separation from those to whom they are attached.

Communication and friendship features. Everything depends on their mood. If they are happy and content with life, they make contacts very willingly; if they are upset and dissatisfied with life, contacts sharply decrease.

Their mood often changes because of the slightest remark from whoever they are friends with.

They possess well-developed intuition about people and can quite easily identify a "good" or "bad" person when choosing a friend for themselves. They prefer to be friends with those who, during a downturn in mood, can distract them, comfort them, lift their mood, tell them something interesting, defend and shield them when others attack, and, in moments of emotional uplift, share their exuberant joy and merriment. They are capable of devoted friendship.

Scale 13 — cycloid type.

In childhood they differ little from their peers, but periodically may become unusually boisterous, mischievous, constantly up to something, and then again become a calm and manageable child. In adolescence, periodic phases of mood change arise, lasting anywhere from several days to a week or more.

Dominant character trait: cyclical changes in emotional background (periods of elevated mood alternate with phases of emotional decline).

Attractive character traits: initiative, cheerfulness, sociability (during periods of elevated mood); sadness, pensiveness, sluggishness, a loss of strength — everything falls out of their hands; what came easily yesterday doesn't come at all today, or requires incredible effort (during periods of mood decline).

Off-putting character traits: inconsistency, imbalance, indifference, flashes of irritability, excessive touchiness, and fault-finding toward those around them. During a downturn, it becomes harder to live, study, and socialize. Company begins to irritate them, and risk and adventure, entertainment and contacts lose their former appeal.

Mistakes and minor troubles that happen during this period because of feeling unwell are very hard for them to bear, especially since there is something to compare it to. After all, only a day or two ago everything was going wonderfully — for example, in sports — but today the game isn't working out, the coach is displeased, and the teenager themselves doesn't know what to do. And this weighs on them; they don't recognize themselves or their own body, cannot understand their irritation, their unwillingness to see even close people.

They respond to remarks and comments with displeasure, although deep down they suffer greatly over these sudden changes. But there is no sense of hopelessness, since they understand that a certain amount of time will pass and everything will be good again, everything will go well again, as before. They just need to wait out this period of decline.

The "weak link" of this psychotype: emotional rejection by people important to them and a radical breaking of life stereotypes.

Communication and friendship features. Relationships with people follow a cyclical pattern: a pull toward socializing, new acquaintances, and reckless daring alternates with withdrawal, an unwillingness to communicate even with their closest friends ("I'm tired of all of you"). They prefer to be truly friends with those who understand well the inevitability of a temporary change in the relationship and do not take offense at this, and who forgive outbursts of irritability and touchiness.

Attitude toward study and work. The same situation applies in their studies: periods of active work alternate with stages when complete indifference sets in toward school subjects and homework.

In work, things go smoothly and well for a while — but only as long as it remains interesting — after which they become dissatisfied with whatever work is offered to them.

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Studying a student's character helps create a more individualized and adapted approach to education, and fosters the development of a healthy personality and moral values. It can also help students better understand and manage their emotions and behavior.