What is character? What types of character exist and how are they classified?

Le Senne himself defines characterology as “the methodical knowledge of men, insofar as each is distinguished from the others by his originality”. This concept will help us to understand the behaviour of particular groups and of various individuals.

In simple terms, characterology is the discipline that studies character and its classification . Therefore, it is evident that the study of character is of vital interest for the study of the genesis and dynamics of the most common criminal phenomena insofar as character is a criminogenic factor.

Characterology and its importance in the criminological study

For the characterology applied to the study of the criminal (the so-called criminal characterology ) the individual predisposition to the commission of a criminal act is represented by the hypertrophy of the characterological mechanisms , of a consecutive atrophy of the other mechanisms, which then lose their neutralization faculty.

Benigno Di Tulio, an eminent scholar of criminology, pointed out that there are dispositions and aptitudes specific to each criminal that make him feel attracted to a certain form of crime, which in certain cases make the criminal repudiate other criminal manifestations. For example, persons with fetishistic traits (who commonly tend to be of a blood nature ) enter houses exclusively to steal women’s clothing, but not other property.

Character and predisposition to criminal behavior

On the other hand, Presten already properly pointed out two points:

1. Certain characterological mechanisms predispose a subject to crime , so character can be an endogenous criminogenic factor.

The criminogenic “power” of a mechanism would seem to be directly linked to its hypertrophy which can be either global or selective (in relation to the three constitutive factors of it)

Criminal Characteristics: Character Classification

The character typology studied by Le Senne proposes the following classification with a total of eight character profiles .

1. Nervousness (emotional, inactive, primary)

Emotional above all, he feels vividly each and every stimulus from the outside world, the slightest touch is enough to excite his hyper-stimulated sensitivity . Being inactive, it possesses a high energetic potential, which when not discharged by the persistent activity remains available to the antisocial impulses, instincts and tendencies. When it reaches its maximum it reacts instantly without measuring the consequences of its actions. The most criminogenic of all characters.

2. Passionate character (emotional, active, secondary)

This is a subject par excellence related to the so-called “crimes of passion” , despite the fact that it has a weak criminogenic incidence. The dangerous element of the passionate character comes from the fact that his emotions, affected by his secondary nature, are prolonged over time and are usually organized on a basis of hatred and/or jealousy which, linked to the activity he possesses, facilitates his acts and could easily be transformed into actions with homicidal intentions. The acquired hypertrophy is the consequence of a derivation of psychic energy that uses the exit route that best favors the perpetration of the homicide, provoked by hate, jealousy or revenge. Paranoid states occur quite frequently and easily orient the passionate mechanism towards aggressive antisocial behavior.

3. Choleric character (emotional, active, primary)

Easily observable in this type that emotion is transformed into reaction. The choleric mechanism easily conditions initiative, combativeness, aggressiveness: these behavioural traits easily run the risk of being directed against people by becoming antisocial acts. The need for action gives rise to certain tendencies such as greed or sexuality and even expressiveness. This choleric mechanism favours injuries and fraud more than theft .

4. Sentimental character (emotional, inactive, secondary)

Heymans, Wiersma and Resten point out that this character does not predispose to crime . The sentimental person is restrained in the expressiveness of his emotions by his secondary nature, which traces in front of him perspectives that are far from his behaviour and also by his inactivity that very rarely channels him along the path of delinquency. However, his secondary nature can organize emotions on a passionate subject, the basis of which can be hatred, rancor, envy, etc. Hence, violent, aggressive and unusual reactions are most often directed against people. Like the classic example of some guy who decided overnight to murder his whole family or cause a school shooting, and later commits suicide. This fact can only be explained by a momentary eclipse of the sentimental mechanism that yields to a nervous mechanism.

5. Blood character (non-emotional, active, primary)

The blood tends to give quick and complete satisfaction to the demands of your body : eating and drinking avidly for example, also trying to satiate your sexual appetite. He intervenes relatively little in crimes against property (such as theft for example), but has some incidence in sexual crimes and violence against persons.

6. Phlegmatic character (non-emotional, active, secondary)

Individuals generally cold, calm, punctual, orderly, truthful and reflective . Of little participation in the crimes. However, their intellectual and meticulous characteristics can mean that when the phlegmatic person chooses to channel himself into the crime, he carries out antisocial behaviour that has been carefully prepared and carried out for a long time, unlike, for example, the nervous or choleric person who can commit crimes due to impulsive outbursts. They are commonly associated with extremely intricate intellectual crimes such as bank robberies, white-collar crime, etc.

7. Amorphous character (non-emotional, inactive, primary)

Its dominant feature is an extremely radical laziness . He lives in the immediate present and is not usually reflective about the consequences of his actions, only attending to his needs in order to satisfy them with the minimum effort. The amorphous person allows himself to be easily influenced by crime because he does not have the ability to resist the suggestions of a group. The case of those who are only secondary collaborators in a crime (for example in a kidnapping: the one who keeps the victim in the house and feeds her).

8. Apathetic character (non-emotional, inactive, secondary)

Characteristically poorly endowed and difficult to adapt to the environment . Sometimes they have mental weakness of some kind with flaws in the moral and volitional sphere. With notorious deficiencies in education. Especially involved in sexual crimes against minors, given their multiple difficulties in establishing relationships with other individuals.

Character and prevention of aggressive and criminal behavior

Finally, we would like to indicate that crime prevention should start with the clinic : by the early discovery of the aggressive or antisocial tendencies of young people and the characteristic needs of each individual. The early diagnosis of these needs will allow the establishment of relevant and proactive relationships on re-education and biopsychosocial intervention.

Bibliographic references:

  • Marchiori, H. (2004) Criminal Psychology. 9th edition. Editorial Porrúa.