One of the most famous branches of psychology is the Psychology of individual differences , also known as Differential Psychology.

It is in charge of researching the psychological differences that exist between individuals and, sometimes, how these relate to other individual characteristics of a non-psychological nature. In other words, allows us to distinguish between types of people on the basis of different characteristics of their body or their behaviour.

However, throughout the history of this psychological field, different criteria have been created with which to classify the different types of people. In fact, there is not just one model or personality test, but several, which are used depending on the objective sought. For example, there is the 16 FP, the model of the 5 major personality traits, etc.

The main types of people

In this article we will make a general review of the main types of person defined by several of the most used personality dimensions . That means that each category from which a portion of these types of people can live inside oneself in certain amounts, although one of them will stand out more than the rest, depending on each case.

1. Extraverted

This type of person is defined by the constant need to look for sources of activation through interaction with the environment . In practice, this means that extraverted people enjoy the company of others, because dialogue (verbal or non-verbal) is a source of constant stimuli. Similarly, they tend to prefer to move around rather than stay in one place.

2. Introverted

Although often confused, introverts are not technically shy people, but very often they are both. What defines introverts is that they do not need to be exposed to external stimuli constantly , and that if these are very intense or prolonged in time, they tend to cause discomfort before the rest of the people.

The introverts live turned towards their mental life, their imagination and their memories, that is to say, towards the actions that can be carried out only by means of mental processes that do not produce movements of muscles.

3. Emotionally stable

This is one of the types of people with a greater capacity to manage difficult or stressful moments, since this type of experience does not produce such a noticeable impact on their way of thinking, feeling and acting . However, this does not mean that they should necessarily be joyful. In fact, in some cases they may seem to be the opposite and present emotional flattening.

4. Rebels

Although these days it seems that the word “rebel” is only used in advertising campaigns and marketing strategies, it is also part of one of the most widely used personality measurement tools: Cattell’s 16PF. This type of person tends to be more receptive to ways of thinking and doing that are shocking and innovative , and shows much less respect for authority than the rest.

5. Conservatives

Conservative people also appear in the 16PF, and are the antithesis of the rebels. They tend to take for granted the customs and ways of doing things that have been practiced for a long time and are suspicious of novelties.

6. Cyclothymics

Cyclothymia is a concept used to refer to high affectivity and great sensitivity in general. This type of person is capable of experiencing the most intense emotions from the most everyday and insignificant experiences. For example, they may cry with a certain ease when remembering a film.

7. Schizotypes

This type of person is the opposite side of the cyclothymic, and experiences emotions in a very weak way. In addition, they show a tendency to isolate themselves, among other things because informal interaction with others does not give them as much of a sense of well-being.

This is a characteristic that, when it is very extreme, is linked to schizophrenia, although not in all cases does the passage to this disease have to occur.

8. Cunning

Smart people are characterized by the ability to see things with a distance that allows them to discover alternative explanations for what is happening and what can happen. In this way, they will not think from a mental framework that comes to them from other people , but they build their own.

9. Naive

Naive people are the opposite of cunning people. They are much more confident and take for granted the ideas and proposals of others , thinking from this kind of externally imposed discourses. This means that they can be manipulated relatively easily, or even apologize for what is not their fault. They are also sensitive to a type of deception called gaslighting.

10. Obsessive

Obsessive people tend to get caught up in thought loops that they have trouble getting out of, a phenomenon known as rumination. For this reason it is more difficult for them to make decisions and put their proposals into practice , or else they get stuck because of the paralysis of analysis.

11. Hostile

Hostile people experience anger more easily than others, and their threshold for frustration tends to be low . Therefore, they are especially prone to create conflictive situations and to express their disagreement with the opinions, intentions or attitudes of others.This is a personality characteristic that is usually high in people with disorders such as Intermittent Explosive Disorder, although this is a clearly pathological category.

12. Cynics

This is one of the types of people who could be related to pessimism , although they are not exactly the same. Cynical people tend to think that others have unnoble motivations that they want to hide, although without falling into the extreme of persecution mania, since they do not place themselves at the centre of a specific narrative about what is happening around them.

13. Neurotics

Neuroticism is a broad concept that groups several psychological characteristics related to emotions and the way stress is experienced, some of which are already represented in the rest of the personality dimensions. In particular, neurotic people are those who have a low tolerance to frustration, experience anger easily, are prone to depressive states and anxiety, change moods easily, and often feel unpleasant emotions such as fear.