The personality theory of Ivan Pavlov

This way of conceiving personality and temperament is based on the study of the nervous system.

The Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) is best known as the initiator of the classical conditioning paradigm, also called "Pavlovian". However, Pavlov and his followers made other significant contributions to psychology, such as his typology of personality based on the study of the nervous system.

In this article we will describe the 4 types of personality that exist according to Pavlov's theory, as well as the main concepts of this theory.The main concepts of this model, the most important of which are related to the basic nervous processes (excitation and inhibition) and their properties, which determine the behavioral differences between human beings.

Pavlov's theory of personality

Pavlov developed his theory of personality through the experiments he conducted in his laboratory. Specifically, this author specifically investigated the learning of reflex responses by conditioning using dogs as experimental subjects. as experimental subjects; in relation to these animals, Pavlov's studies on salivation are particularly well known.

Unlike other personality models in force at the time, among which Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory stands out, Pavlov's model does not focus only on the description of the psychological differences between individuals, but seeks to explain them through the study of the activity of the nervous system, which gives a clearer picture of the psychological differences between individuals. the activity of the nervous system, which gives rise to temperament, the basis of personality.the basis of personality.

This is why Pavlov's proposal on personality is framed within Biological theories, which use constructs related to biology to explain individual differences. The somatic typologies of Kretschmer and Sheldon, the phrenology of Gall or more current models such as those of Eysenck, Gray or Zuckerman are part of the same category.

Nervous processes and their properties

Pavlov's personality typology is derived from his hypotheses on the basic properties of the nervous system. In this regard it is important to consider two physiological processes, excitation and inhibition, and their three main properties: excitation and inhibition.as well as its three main properties: strength, balance and mobility.

Excitatory and inhibitory nervous processes occur independently, although they interact giving rise to different states of cortical activity depending on the degree of predominance of each of them. The definition of these concepts is similar to the one we use today when we speak of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Pavlov stated that interindividual differences in behavior are explained by the properties of the sympathetic and parasympathetic of the excitatory and inhibitory and inhibitory processes of each individual (or animal). He spoke of "strength" to refer to the general working capacity of neurons, the "balance" between excitation and inhibition, and the "mobility" or speed of these processes.

Strength, balance and mobility would be the most relevant properties, but Pavlov also described the irradiation, or diffusion of the process to other areas of the nervous system, and the concentration of the process in a given region. Later his disciple Vladimir Nebylitsyn added a fourth property: dynamism or speed of reflex formation.

The 4 types of nervous system

According to Pavlov the characteristics of the fundamental nervous processes in a particular person determine the type of activity of his nervous system, and therefore his temperament. These biological traits would constitute the basis of personality.These biological traits would form the basis of personality; interacting with environmental factors, they would produce differences in behavior among individuals.

The criteria Pavlov used to make his classification were quite arbitrary. He first divided the dogs into two groups based on whether their nervous system was strong or weak. Then he separated the strong according to whether they were balanced or unbalanced; finally, he created the categories "strong-balanced-slow" and "strong-balanced-impulsive".

1. Strong and unbalanced

This type of temperament is characterized by the lack of balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition.There is, therefore, a tendency to the appearance of physiological states in which one of the two predominates in a very marked way.

We can relate the strong and unbalanced (or impetuous) personality to the choleric temperament of the typology of the humors of Galen, a Greek physician who lived in the 2nd century A.D. and from whom Pavlov drew his inspiration. In Eysenck's PEN model it would be equated with high levels of extraversion and low levels of emotional stability.

2. Strong, balanced and slow

In this case the neurons have a good working capacity and the balance between excitation and inhibition is adequate, but the speed of initiation and termination of these processes is low. The strong-balanced-slow type corresponds to introversion and emotional stability in Eysenck's model, and to the phlegmatic type in Eysenck's model.and with Galen's phlegmatic type.

3. Strong, balanced and impulsive

Unlike the previous type, in the strong-balanced-impulsive type the speed of the excitation and inhibition processes is high. Following Galen's classification we would speak of the sanguine temperament.In Eysenck's classification, these people would have a high degree of extraversion and emotional stability.

4. Weak

The fourth type is equivalent to Galen's phlegmatic temperament and would present introversion and emotional instability in Eysenck's model. Pavlov defines it simply as a low working capacity of the cells of the nervous system.