Determining the Basic Psychotype Through Nervous System Traits

Questions about basic psychotypes are among the most common from participants in our courses. Variations include:

• How can you quickly determine a person’s psychotype?
• How can you accurately identify someone’s basic psychotype?
• Which psychotype should you adapt to if you don’t know the base?
• How do you determine which of two highlighted psychotypes is the basic one?
• How do you identify your own psychotype?

This article answers these questions by outlining an initial personality profiling algorithm. Why focus on the initial stage? In any skill—driving, playing an instrument, and so on—abilities are developed and internalized through targeted, systematic practice. There’s no more effective way to master a profession or craft than daily practice, whether on the street, at work, watching movies, or interacting with clients. Over time, you develop an “eye” for it, and as soon as a new person enters your field of view, you can make accurate assumptions, which are then confirmed through further interaction and observation.

But until you reach that point, it’s important to recall what we base our descriptions of different psychotypes on. Higher nervous activity in humans is characterized by innate anatomical and physiological features of the nervous system—these are the nervous system’s traits. They significantly influence the formation of individual behavior and character. While they don’t directly reflect the content of the psyche, they provide the physiological foundation for it. Certain traits make it easier to develop some behaviors, while opposite traits foster others.

The main nervous system traits are: strength, mobility, and balance. When describing psychotypes, we refer to these traits. So, when meeting someone new, the first thing you can do is try to identify behavioral indicators that correspond to these nervous system traits. Through further observation, you can draw conclusions about their basic psychotype.

Key Nervous System Traits and Their Behavioral Indicators

Strength of the Nervous System

This trait reflects the working capacity of the brain’s cortex cells—their ability to withstand either very strong or prolonged (even if not intense) stimulation without becoming inhibited.

Signs of a Strong Nervous System:

• High work capacity: Can work long and hard without tiring. They don’t get distracted or lose productivity during work, though it may take them longer to get into a working rhythm compared to those with a weak nervous system.
• Slower learning: Takes longer to master new material due to slower formation of conditioned reflexes, but they excel at memorizing large amounts of information.
• Low sensitivity to feedback: May seem indifferent to low-intensity stimuli. For example, they may not care much about how their words affect others and are hard to interrupt once they start speaking.
• Adaptability to various environments: Can work effectively amid distractions, noise, or multiple simultaneous stimuli (e.g., open office environments).
• Strong willpower: High endurance, patience (especially if also inert), persistence, and stubbornness. Stubbornness is particularly noticeable in interactions.

Signs of a Weak Nervous System:

• Low work capacity: Quickly engages in activity but makes mistakes and tires during prolonged work. Needs frequent breaks, more rest, and sleep. Tasks should be structured from complex to simple, with the main workload at the start.
• Poor resistance to external stimuli: Easily distracted by surroundings, leading to lower efficiency, especially in open or noisy environments.
• High sensitivity and vulnerability: More attuned to subtle signals, better at reading nonverbal cues, and more emotionally reactive to perceived injustice—even if it’s not real.
• Quick learning: Forms conditioned reflexes faster, adapts quickly to new situations, and easily adjusts to changes—this is their strength.
• Need for feedback: Frequently seeks others’ opinions, struggles with independent decision-making, and is easily influenced or interrupted in conversation. Watches for others’ reactions and approval.
• Prone to inhibition: Doesn’t handle criticism or negative feedback well. Public reprimands can cause them to disengage or even sabotage further work.

Mobility of the Nervous System

This trait is the ability to quickly respond to changes in the environment and switch between excitation and inhibition processes.

Signs of an Inert (Stuck) Nervous System:

• Difficulty switching tasks: Struggles to move from one activity to another until the previous one is finished. In conversation, finds it hard to change topics before the current one is resolved.
• Slower learning and skill acquisition: Needs more time to process new information and master unfamiliar tasks. High performance is possible only after actions become automatic.
• Slower information processing: May react later to jokes or group cues, and often speaks more slowly.
• Ineffective under time pressure, but effective in monotonous conditions: Struggles in brainstorming sessions but excels in routine, repetitive tasks.
• Resilient and focused: Can work independently without supervision, maintaining concentration for long periods.
• Thoroughness: Pays attention to detail and is methodical in both work and conversation.
• Endurance: Can handle prolonged stress and often increases productivity toward the end of a task. Shows slow but sustained activity.
• Good long-term memory: Retains information for a long time due to slow forgetting.

Signs of a Mobile Nervous System:

• Restlessness and excitability: Can’t sit still, often fidgety, and highly reactive to their environment.
• Easily distracted: Struggles to focus on one thing for long, even without major distractions. Not suited for monotonous work.
• Works best in short bursts: Most effective with alternating short periods of work and rest.
• Fast-paced: Handles short, clear tasks quickly, and speaks or thinks rapidly.
• Quick adaptation and task switching: Easily moves from one activity to another, such as switching from reading to exercise or from leisure to business calls.
• High reaction speed: Responds quickly to new information, jokes, questions, or sudden topic changes.
• Short attention span and memory: Loses interest and forgets information quickly if not used, leading to decreased motivation if results aren’t immediate.

Applying These Traits to Psychotype Profiling

We don’t consider the trait of balance here, as some psychotypes can include both balanced and unbalanced representatives (for example, among epileptoid types: both balanced-pedantic and unbalanced-explosive). By identifying, through behavioral cues, the strength/weakness and mobility/inertia of the nervous system, you can narrow down the possible psychotypes. From there, further observation and analysis of adaptive reactions will help you pinpoint the basic psychotype you’re seeking.