The hierarchical structure of a person’s

Characteristics and its system organization

 

The above described principles and issues of system approach have found their incarnation in modern viewpoints on the structure of a person’s characteristics which is the object of system diagnostics.

The levels of hierarchical

Structure of a person’s characteristics

 

In the process of evolution (philogenesis) the qualities of alive substance, and then the human qualities formed layers on each other, creating a vertical (hierarchical) structure. The similar stratums (levels) of qualities are also formed in the process of ontogenetic (individual intravital) development of a man. Such structure can be presented as a multistage frustum cone, showed on picture 1.

Somatic level is the basis of this structure. Here there are psychological and biological qualities which are thoroughly described in special literature.

A man’s body has a system organization. The whole somatic system includes a number of separate systems (digestion, circulation, respiration, metabolism, nervous system, etc.). Each of them, being a subsystem, consists of organs also dividing into some parts. For example, nervous system consists of central and vegetative systems. Central system includes the brain and spinal cord, and vegetative one includes – sympatic and parasympatic systems. Brain consists of right and left hemispheres, each of them includes cortex (neocortex) and subcortical derivations. In its turn, neocortex consists of six hierarchically corresponding stratums, each of which includes neuronic groups, consisting of separate neurons. Each of twenty billion neurons, forming human brain, has a composite structure. A composite hierarchical structure is also typical of other somatic systems of a man.

Social qualities

Socio-psychological qualities

Psychological qualities

of personality

Psychic processes

Psychic states

  Psycho-physiological

qualities

Soma

                                      

 

      Picture 1. Hierarchical structure of a person’s qualities.

 

The fact that a man’s somatic system has system organization testifies about the expediency of its system diagnostics.

Psycho-psychological qualities occupy the next level. It includes nervous system qualities, activation and functional asymmetry of cerebral hemispheres.

The Following level is occupied by psychic states. Their structure is usually investigated according to quantitative and qualitative criteria. A quantitative criterion is the level of activation (wakefulness) with help of which we differ such psychic states as: dream, drowsiness, passive wakefulness, active wakefulness and excessive wakefulness.

A qualitative criterion is interconnected with a person’s hierarchical structure showed on picture 1 and reflects the hierarchical levels of states in the Following direction: from the psychological level – to the social one. So, according to V.A.Ganzen and V.N.Yurchenko (1981) the psychological level of psychic states is characterized by neuro-physiological, morphological and bio-chemical changes. Psycho-psychological level is characterized by the changes of vegetative reactions, psycho-motorics, and sensorics; psychological level – by the changes of psychic functions and the spirits of a person. Socio-psychological level – by the characteristics of a person’s activity, behavior and attitude.

Higher – there is a level of psychic processes which includes: sensations, perception, memory, thinking, imagination, attention, psychomotor system. The abilities representing psychic processes, the degree of development (expressiveness) of which is sufficient for successful execution of this or that activity, are also placed on this level. Naturally, psychic processes have also hierarchical relations with each other. So, perception occupies higher hierarchical position than sensations and the hierarchical position of thinking is higher than that if perception.

Sometimes this hierarchy is transferred mechanically on professionally important qualities (PIQ) which are formed on the basis of corresponding abilities. But this transference is not always justified, because the main criterion of hierarchical structure of PIQ is the successfulness of professional activity. Because of that one and the same quality can occupy different hierarchical positions in the structures of PIQ of the representatives of different professions. For example, in the structure of PIQ of musicians-performers the absolute hearing occupies lower hierarchical position than melodic and harmonic hearing. While in the structure of PIQ of the tuners of musical instruments the absolute hearing is higher by hierarchy than melodic and harmonic hearing.

Further the level of personality psychological characteristics is placed. Here there are: needs, personality orientation, motivation, anxiety, emotional reactivity and others. Being stable psychological characteristics, they are formed as a result of repetitions, characteristic of a given person, of corresponding psychic states and psychic processes. So, frequent states of anxiety form anxiety as a personality psychological characteristics, typical emotional manifestations form emotional reactivity, etc. In their turn, personality characteristics cause corresponding psychic states. For example, people with high emotional reactivity have more strong emotional responses on this or that irritant than those with low emotional reactivity, etc.

By analogy with the qualities of previous levels inner structures of personality psychological characteristics have also hierarchical character. For example, physiological needs are used to refer to a lower hierarchical level than cognitive ones, which, in their turn, yield by hierarchy to social needs.

Higher hierarchical level is occupied by social-psychological qualities. They provide interaction and communication between people and they are especially important in the activity “person-person” (for example, in the activity of a teacher, leader, actor, shop-assistant, etc.). On social-psychological level such problems (and qualities interconnected with them) as formal and informal leadership, the reference of the members of collective (i.e. their attitude towards the needs and value orientation of the collective), etc.

The highest hierarchical level is occupied by social qualities which are connected with a person’s outlook.