What are hysterical and schizoid personality types: psychology explained by experts 0 9

Profiling is a set of psychological methods for assessing and predicting human behavior based on their characteristics.

"Profiling helps to understand how a person thinks and how to communicate with them in their language. The method emerged in the 1980s and was used in forensics to help investigators find criminals based on their behavioral patterns," says Ekaterina Sila, an expert in profiling and coaching. The profiling methodology includes many subtypes for analysis: for example, aviation profiling — whether a person has a potential fear of flying — or personnel profiling — identifying more suitable job candidates.

Profiling methods are applied in various fields: from lie detection to marketing and sales. The main tool of the method is the determination of psychotypes. "They help to understand a person and the motives behind their actions. It is important to consider that personality is influenced by many factors beyond psychotypes: from upbringing to psychological trauma," explains Ekaterina.

How can one determine another person's psychotype and find an approach to them? Let's try to figure it out.

What psychotypes exist?

Here, Ekaterina provided a complete overview of the classification of people into psychotypes (also called radicals) based on the strength of the nervous system and basic emotions. There are seven psychotypes in total: each person may exhibit traits from three to seven types.

Hysterical

Such people are often very bright and noticeable to others: they love to look good, choose unusual clothing, and strive to stand out. For example, these might be people who spend a lot of time on their makeup in the morning, get the trendiest haircut, and iron their shirt the night before.

"These individuals typically have a weak but mobile nervous system. This means that their attention on a specific task does not last long; they can get distracted every 30 minutes to go out for a smoke," explains Ekaterina Sila.

A distinctive feature of this psychotype is rapid speech, with many pronouns "I". They love compliments and when others emphasize their significance.

Epileptoid

This is the type of person characterized by the expression "said — done." Everything is always structured for them, and they can work on one task for hours. "Energetically, they have a weakened and stuck nervous system. For this reason, it can be difficult to negotiate with them. They also dislike being interrupted or argued with," describes the epileptoid psychotype expert.

For example, this might be a father who can be given examples for an hour about why freelancing is better than working in an office, but he remains convinced of his exceptional correctness. This type is also not very emotional. Therefore, these people often do not understand complaints such as "you don’t love me or spend little time with me."

People of this psychotype simply cannot understand that they are wrong: they are confident in their exceptional correctness. They may not possess strong emotions and do not understand why they are accused of spending too little time with someone. They often prefer sportswear, but if an event requires evening attire, they will put on a dress or suit.

Paranoid

They see the goal and do not see obstacles — this is about them. People of this psychotype will always find a way, resources, and opportunities. For them, nothing is impossible. "The paranoid psychotype has a strong, stuck, and less mobile nervous system, but it is more flexible than that of epileptoids, with whom they are very similar. These types are difficult to distinguish unless you are a professional profiler. However, paranoids have more global plans and goals and love to share them with others," says Ekaterina about the nuances of the radical.

Often, these people will arrive at a meeting in something classic, even if it is a walk in the park with coffee.

Schizoid

Do not be alarmed by the name — it is not related to other mental disorders. These are intellectually developed individuals with noted creative abilities. They may have some issues with social contacts and communication with people in general, and may appear somewhat unusual: in baggy clothing, with a backpack over a blazer and strange socks with funny prints.

Regarding the schizoid psychotype, Ekaterina says: "They have a special type of thinking. Sometimes such a person can create the impression of being strange and 'out of this world.' In dialogue, if you are not schizoid, you may not even understand what they are saying. Sheldon Cooper from 'The Big Bang Theory' is a vivid example."

Hyperthymic

Do you have an acquaintance with whom something is always happening, and your eyes widen more and more at their life stories? If so, you are already familiar with the hyperthymic personality type. These are very cheerful and energetic people who can move to another country with not a cent to their name or are always in a hurry. "They have a strong and mobile nervous system; they can remain tense for a long time but have trouble maintaining attention on a specific task. Usually, they speak quickly, but unlike hysterics, they talk less about themselves and more in general: any stories or jokes — you rarely get bored with hyperthymics," explains Ekaterina.

Hyperthymics have a good sense of humor, high social intelligence, and a commitment to comfort.

Emotive

Meet people who often prioritize others over themselves and are characterized by sentimentality, altruism, sacrificing their interests for others. "They have rich and lively facial expressions, flexible systemic thinking. Their nervous system is undefined, highly sensitive to low signals. This means that such people are empathetic and seem to subconsciously sense even slight changes in another person's mood," explains Ekaterina about the features of the emotive psychotype.

Such individuals appear neat and harmonious, possessing perfect taste. They know how to listen but speak softly. They dislike being treated rudely or with disdain.

Anxious

People of this radical have a weak, less mobile nervous system, prone to frequent states of anxiety and fear. Anxious individuals often expect something bad to happen to them, so they primarily seek a sense of security in others.

"They can be good performers because they notice all the small details and will never miss an important point in a contract written in fine print. In times of crisis, these are the people who survive first because they prepare in advance for any consequences and come up with plans 'B', 'C', 'D', and so on until the end of the list. They often appear inconspicuous and prefer black and gray tones in their clothing," describes Ekaterina Sila in more detail about the anxious psychotype.

A common situation for the anxious psychotype is not taking on a project themselves but involving others in joint work so that the responsibility is shared among everyone.

"There is also the '51 metaprogram' — a filter for perceiving reality that divides into poles. For example, there is the metaprogram 'level of generalization' with two poles: details and general. Imagine that you and your partner started renovating; your pole is details, so you care about small patterns and the size of the sockets. And theirs is general, and they don’t care; they hardly notice the details and won’t understand why you are worried about it," explains Ekaterina.

...What does knowledge of psychotypes give us? Understanding what types you and your loved ones have and what motivates your actions. "For example, a father with an epileptoid radical, with his stuck nervous system, will only be able to understand and accept your choice to switch to freelancing after viewing a chart about income statistics. And he will likely respond with something laconic, like 'clear-understandable'," gives an example Ekaterina.