Master of Psychology, writer, researcher in the psychology of creativity, abilities and personal growth. He is the creator of several talent development websites such as talentdevelop.com. Interviewed by Therese J. Borchard.

Many of those who read our site are very highly sensitive people, so you will surely be interested.

Question: What are the top 5 benefits of highly sensitive people?

1. Ability to notice details.

One of the obvious "merits" of high sensitivity is the richness of sensory detail that is available to humans. Subtle nuances in the texture of clothes, cooked food, the sounds of music and the movement and conversations of people, scents and colors. They are brighter for highly sensitive people.

Of course, people are not divided into "sensitive" and "not sensitive" - ​​like other qualities and traits, this is a matter of degree.

Years ago, I took a color discrimination test to become a color print technician. The manager said that I scored more, recognized more subtle differences between the colors in the test pattern, than all the other subjects he had ever tested.

This sensitivity to color enriches the visual experience, helping artists and designers to be the best at what they do.

2. Semantic nuances

High sensitivity helps to distinguish subtle semantic nuances, to be more careful when making decisions, to carefully consider possible options and consequences.

3. Emotional understanding

We better understand our own inner emotional state, this makes the work of writers, musicians, actors and artists richer and deeper.

A more acute response to pain, discomfort, and other physical sensations helps sensitive people, at least potentially, take better care of their health.

4. Creativity

For example, many actors say they are shy. Director Katherine Bigelow (her film The Hurt Locker won 11 Oscars) said in an interview, "I'm pretty naturally shy." The title character in The Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner (who was also shy as a child), commented that "she can be painfully shy in social situations."

5. Greater empathy

High sensitivity to people's emotions is a powerful tool for teachers, managers, doctors, etc.

Question: And if I ask you to list 5 curses - what will you name? And what is the best way to get rid of or deal with them?

1. Suffer from stress, excessive overload

The big problem with high sensitivity is vulnerability to sensory or emotional overload. They perceive and process too much information from the external and internal world, and therefore get more pain, fatigue, stress, anxiety and other reactions.

I came across an interesting neuroscience study that explains this: it showed that people with a lower threshold for latent inhibition are more open to incoming stimuli. Which can be good sometimes and sometimes not so good.

Actress Amy Brenneman once remarked, “I'm too impressionable to watch most reality shows. It's very painful for me."

This pain or discomfort prevents us from perceiving some things that can be quite fun or enriching. Although this does not apply to reality shows.

2. Affected by other people's emotions

Another aspect of sensitivity can be a reaction to the emotions or even thoughts of other people. For example, being around angry people becomes difficult.

Actress Scarlett Johansson once said, "Deep understanding is good, but sometimes I want to be less sensitive."

3. Need more space and time for yourself

From time to time we need to emotionally "be alone" or "reboot", which is not always good for business or personal purposes. For example, at a professional conference, it is not always possible to leave a presentation or a seminar for a long time in order to relieve emotional tension.

4. Unhealthy perfectionism

Such features of thinking and analysis lead to unhealthy perfectionism. We overreact to people or situations that are "too many" or "do not fit" our sensitivities.

5. Life out of sync with our culture

American culture devalues ​​sensitivity and introversion by requiring a person to be "normal"—that is, extroverted, affable, and outgoing.

Jenna Avery, a coach for highly sensitive people, advises understanding this and allowing yourself to be out of sync. Accept that others find you too sensitive and too emotional.

Of course, emotional extremes (such as mood disorders) must be treated as a disease.

But "too emotional" or "too sensitive" are often just critical words based on the behavior and standards of the majority.

If you are a highly sensitive person, take this and use it for creativity and deep understanding. But you need to be able to treat life strategically. Learn to sometimes go beyond popular values ​​and avoid overload by developing your abilities and creative talents.

Morals, ethics, laws, customs, faith, doctrines are all trifles. What really matters is that the delicious becomes the norm. ~ Henry Miller

Do you consider yourself a highly sensitive person? Or someone close? How do you use it? And how do you deal with it?

The sensitive personality in the 19th century undergoes a process of feminization, covered with a touch of everydayness or sentimentality, but professional spheres remain in which the sensitive man retains his masculine identity. It is an art, a science, and, in particular, the narrow realm of invention. Vivid examples of this are Alfred Nobel and Rudolf Di-Zel. Nervous receptivity is thus associated? intellectual creativity (and further - with all kinds of Creativity).

This type is in many ways reminiscent of the classical melancholic, who also had a high intellectual status in the eyes of society. In the history of melancholy, thinkers have always been seen as easily hurt and vulnerable. High consumption of mental (not physical!) energy drains the personality.

Men-intellectuals often confirmed this conclusion by showing the public a hypersensitive feeble body, like the heroes of Proust's novel, Thomas Mann, Henry James or Rainer Maria Rilke.

The connection between the intellect and various forms of bodily refinement also finds expression in the ascetic tradition, and especially in its melancholic manifestation - akedia. Evidence of high intellectual status could be pedantic self-discipline (Kant), an all-devouring inner fire and drug use (Freud), mental burnout (Max Weber) or hypochondria (Nobel). Sensitivity manifested itself in the form of sensitivity to smells, sensations, work, food, sleep, or any other area of ​​a person's life. Sometimes she seemed to exactly copy the melancholy hypochondria, demonstrating a heightened perception and intolerance towards the world around her. Popular medicine has identified the following symptoms of sensitivity: headache, a feeling of heaviness in the chest, insomnia, shortness of breath, depression and aimless fussiness. It was believed that a sensitive person embodies the main aspirations of modern civilization and its vulnerability, and the latter, if not limited and controlled, can develop into a disease.

This is how one of the central ideas of our time was born: the pain expressed through the body is more significant than the pain of the soul. The nerves were assigned a new function, and they began to be responsible not only for feelings, but also for psychosomatics.

In practice, bodily sensitivity had great advantages. It gave the right to withdraw from the world, marked the ascension to higher spiritual spheres and created the conditions for inner concentration. In addition, it could explain any deviations from generally accepted norms, unwillingness to be like everyone else.

The classic example is Charles Darwin. They say that he was in poor health and suffered from a whole "bouquet" of mental and physical infirmities 38 . In addition to chronic diseases, he was tormented by "constant fatigue, primarily from conversations and communication." He wrote these words at the age of 34. The difference between the Darwin who stepped onto the deck of the Beagle at the age of 20 and the sick, tired man whose role he chose ten years later was enormous.

Many of Darwin's biographers have explained his sensitivity as a reaction to his own evolutionary teaching and fear of the consequences it might have for religion. Psychoanalysts have offered a whole list of different explanations, ranging from the Oedipus complex and latent rebellion against the father to sadomasochistic tendencies. But Darwin's hypersensitivity can be viewed differently - as a resource and a very successful form of protection. The sensitivity of the digestive system exempted him from numerous dinner parties ("I'm tired of intellectual exertion and can not dine out"). Poor health allows him to reduce travel and tedious movement (“Any deviation from the usual schedule deprives me of strength, every visit to London unsettles me”). The deadly fatigue that binds him after a ten-minute lecture protects him from many importunate invitations. Sudden attacks of dizziness, rolling over Darwin during conversations with colleagues - Ernst Haeckel, Thomas Henry Huxley and Charles Lyell *, allow him to avoid heated scientific discussions. “Illness ... saved me from the troubles of social and secular life,” Darwin himself remarks succinctly.

Friedrich Nietzsche also liked to display his sensibility. It extended to everything German, in particular

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) - German naturalist and philosopher; Thomas Henry Huxley (or Haeckel, 1825-1895) - English zoologist and evolutionist; Charles Lyell (1797-1875) - English naturalist, founder of modern geology.

for German food (“soup before dinner ... boiled meat, fatty and mealy cooked vegetables”) 39 . But it was also about language. “Nietzsche has an almost physical sense of language and style,” writes one of his biographers. He reacts to words with bodily symptoms - dizziness, restlessness, fatigue and vomiting. (Interestingly, male sensitivities often take the form of nausea, vomiting, or the urge to vomit.) Nietzsche's reaction to music is just as acute. He repeatedly had migraine attacks after listening to the works of Richard Wagner. When one evening a friend played an excerpt from The Twilight of the Gods on the piano in front of him, Nietzsche felt unwell and made a friend promise never to perform “that crazy, disgusting Wagner music” in front of him, because he, Nietzsche, “generally had difficulty transfers music" 40 .

Marcel Proust had asthma from early childhood, while all his life he flirted and flaunted his sensitivity. At his brother's wedding, for example, he attracted everyone's attention by dressing up in three coats, several pairs of gloves, and wrapping a warm scarf around his neck and chest. Proust announced to the guests that he had been ill for several months and felt that he might be ill again at any moment. From the age of 35, he almost never gets out of bed, demonstrating to the world the extreme degree of hypersensitivity: bodily weakness and acuteness of feelings. Proust eats almost nothing and cannot stand the smell of food; in his Parisian apartment at 102 Boulevard Haussmann, one cannot cook, so as not to annoy the owner with the smells of food. He himself lies in the bedroom, the interior of which resembles a salon, the walls are finished with cork for soundproofing. The curtains are drawn to block out light and noise from the street. The only smell that Proust liked was the aroma of his tobacco. He always lit a cigarette from a wax candle that burned day and night in the bedroom - the smell of match sulfur was disgusting to him, the strike of a match on the box irritated him even more. Proust works at night, when it is quiet around him, and spends the day half-conscious, intoxicated with opium, veronal, or trional. "I see best in the dark," he writes 41 .

Among European intellectuals who lived at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, there were a lot of cases of the bodily embodiment of sensitivity. These people reacted to the slightest ailment. Many of them worked as productively as Darwin, Nietzsche or Proust, and yet always believed that their lives were in danger. An active and active Swedish professor of mathematics, Gösta Mittag-Leffler, constantly worries about his health. He carefully chooses the menu: fish, toast, chopped spinach, boiled rice are healthy, everything else is forbidden. At the doctor's appointment, he complains of stomach pains, but explains them as professional failures. His brother Fritz, also a professor, visiting relatives, could sit in the hallway all evening - the air in houses with central heating was too dry for him, and if one of the guests smoked a cigar, Fritz did not enter the house at all. He was a vegetarian and was scared to death of germs. It happened that paralysis broke him, but after a few weeks Fritz was safely on his feet. The leitmotif of everything that happened was melancholy. "A birthday with letters and deep melancholy," writes Fritz Mittag-Leffler in his diary in 191142.

Depression, fatigue, agitation and irritability - these conditions were typical for Henry James, and for Virginia Woolf, and for Rainer Maria Rilke. The condition can be described as a kind of mental tinnitus": chaos in the senses, hypertrophied sensations, nervousness and indecision of the melancholic.

Creativity brings peace.

Hypersensitivity implies two directly opposite personality traits, each of which is equally dear to someone who seeks to emphasize their creative status. On the one hand, renunciation of one's own body and isolation in the spirit of asceticism. On the other hand, a romantic fixation on the inner "I", my feelings and, of course, "nerves".

Here again the question of cultural borrowing arises. Hypersensitivity has become a generally recognized and even obligatory quality of an intellectual. It manifested itself primarily in relation to food, and in symptoms resembled melancholy. The food irritated me with its appearance, smell and texture. The process of chewing, swallowing and subsequent digestion was disgusting from the point of view of a sensitive person. In the biographies of many great people - from Boyle and Newton to Byron, Kafka, Woolf and Wittgenstein - there are facts of refusal to eat, complaints of digestive problems, information about the rituals associated with eating 43 .

These stories may seem like nothing more than anecdotes. But history has preserved them, which means they are important for creating a certain image. Physical vulnerability, as it were, enhances the power of creative thought. With this approach, one can safely say that the wheelchair-bound genius physicist, the "oracle", Stephen Hawking, is the embodiment of the highest degree of sensitivity 44 .

But sensitivity can manifest itself at any level, and today this quality is associated with the names of many well-known politicians, economists, and scientists. Thus, certain personality traits are automatically correlated with a high cultural level and great achievements.

Sensitive people change the world

Although most of the time they don't realize it.

Sometimes they come to a psychologist and complain: “I don’t want to feel all this so much.”
They may not immediately believe that sensitivity is their special talent.

It's like a delicate ear for music. Attunement to the music of the soul. Your own and the souls of other people, of the whole world.
Well, yes, they are difficult. After all, since childhood, they felt they were not of this world. Because they were blamed for their sensitivity. Condemned for tears. Could not understand the "whims". They were skeptical about their desires. They were afraid of their feelings. Rejected for feeling.
With such qualities, it turned out to be difficult. There is nothing to nurse. Or: you have something painfully amused today.
Well, yes, there was, of course, one amazing fairy tale - "The Princess and the Pea." (Andersen himself was one of those.) A secret test to recognize this breed of people. But it is unlikely that it was ever used outside of the fairy tale in a positive context. Real life is not for princesses! No no.
It is difficult for sensitive people because they have to value, cherish and protect their sensitive talent. But they are not taught this. And they are difficult to learn, because ...

... they are usually shy, because of their sensitivity, it is difficult for them to resist aggression and get their way;
... it seems to them that, as they are, they cannot be accepted in this society.
... their sensitivity is hard to digest by relatives, hanging various labels: “you are too tender”, “exalted person”, etc., etc.;
... it is unpleasant for them to pretend, they are sincere (because they feel falseness more sharply) and do not know how to play generally accepted games, therefore they receive labels like “not of this world”, “he is somehow strange”;
... they may seem (to others and to themselves) incorrigible introverts and smarties, because they need their own personal space, it is difficult for them to stay for a long time where it is stuffy and cramped;
…they find it hard to keep up with the fast pace. Because they are sensitive to fuss. And so they most often cannot run with everyone.
... they are more acutely experiencing difficult situations - grief and longing, overload and indifference;
…they are receptive to other people's feelings, including heavy, denied, and repressed feelings.
Which means they get more.

Sometimes they do not even suspect that they are changing the world with their sensitivity.
First of all, they perceive it in a special way. They feel the shades of smells, see the nuances of color, feel the slightest roughness of surfaces, catch fleeting movements.
They have subtle indicators of perception, capable of capturing the slightest changes around and inside.
In the same way, they catch shades of feelings and understand people better. They may be sensitive. They can resonate with other people's moods. And capture the nuances of meaning. They are compassionate.
In general, they are creative people. Through their sensitivity, their empathy for the world, they change it. Gradually. Just responding. Just re-joying with him. Or co-suffering.
Their difficult experience of misunderstanding and rejection helps them to have subtle and attentive compassion.
So, sensitive ones, recognize these nerves in yourself. Enjoy the vibration of these strings within yourself. Without you, the world would be tougher and more monotonous. If only he could exist at all. You are the ones who, without knowing it, are walking ahead and who get more because of this.
Not only cones. But also sunrises, sunsets, aromas, breaths, touches, all this trembling, sometimes poisonous, sometimes beautiful. And so real.

About sensitives

The life of a modern person is full of incentives: everything around is too noisy,

smells too strong, too bright.

It is not surprising that a new category of people has appeared who aspire to

solitude and their name is “sensitivs”.

Sensitives are people who, due to the peculiarities of their nervous system, are more sensitive to everything that happens around them. That is why they overwork much faster than others, they strive to be in peace and quiet in order to recover.

Danish psychotherapist Ilse Sand describes several characteristics by which sensitives can be recognized.

Sign 1. Sensitivity

Has it ever happened to you that during a big family holiday you wanted to lock yourself somewhere in the bathroom to calm down a bit, because there are too many people, food and music around?

Ilse Sand explains that this is typical behavior of sensitives: “We have a rich imagination, thanks to which even minor events in the surrounding reality prompt us to build hypotheses and draw conclusions. Thus, our internal "hard drive" fills up faster, and we experience overexcitation.

Overexcitation causes panic and anxiety, makes you retire in order to somehow calm down and regain the ability to accept new impressions in the form of conversations, jokes and other people's stories.

Sign 2. Susceptibility to sensations

Sensitives are people who are always either blowing, sometimes stuffy, or talking too loudly on the phone next to them, making it difficult to concentrate. They are not from evil and not from harm - it's just that their sense organs are tuned much finer than that of ordinary people.

Fireworks do not cause delight in them, because they are accompanied by too loud explosions. The chemical smells in the barbershop seem unbearable to them, and the radio, turned on by colleagues in the background, is the main hindrance to their work. This is because their perceptual systems seem to work twice as hard as the rest.

Sign 3. Impressibility

Hypersensitive people quickly get tired of the manifestation of other people's emotions, especially negative ones. Therefore, sensitives are always the first to feel if the situation around them is emotionally tense and, in order not to endure inconvenience, they try to reconcile everyone.

Sign 4. Hyperresponsibility

Sensitives are very understanding people. However, understanding and accepting others as they are, sensitives seem to take responsibility for their behavior. They believe that they should reconcile everyone, make sure that everyone is comfortable. And they spend a lot of effort and attention on it; there is absolutely nothing left to take care of yourself.

Hypersensitivity prevents them from criticizing others, and it is also the reason for the sharp reaction to criticism. Negative feedback unsettles them, makes them suffer, because other, less empathetic people usually do not stand on ceremony with other people's feelings.

Sign 5. Inner peace

An excess of emotional, visual and auditory impressions abundantly fills the inner world of the sensitive. His brain is constantly working to analyze and sort out the constantly incoming information, otherwise chaos will come.

“Sensitives almost never suffer from a lack of inspiration, but some of them are even afraid of inspiration: they perceive it as a stimulus to action that cannot be resisted.”

Sign 6. Slow reaction

Since the hypersensitive person constantly feels as if he is being bombarded by audio-sound-visual and his brain is busy processing "incoming data" without interruption, he reacts more slowly than usual. It is about these people that they say: "A good thought comes after."

According to the author of the book, sensitives, despite their sociability, rather slowly establish contact with other people. But, if you show patience, in their face you can find a reliable, attentive friend.

How do hypersensitive people recover?

Learn to say no. As a sympathetic person, you often undertake to help others, spending a lot of your energy. Feel free to say no to others by directly saying that you are tired. In your case, this is a good reason.

Limit audiovisual stimuli. 80% of impressions are what we see with our eyes. It is enough to close them several times a day for a few minutes to stop the flow of sensations. If unpleasant noises are annoying, you can isolate yourself from them with headphones with your favorite music.

Keep up the routine. Any mechanical work that does not require careful involvement helps to calm down and allows the brain to calmly organize all impressions. Therefore, it is useful to walk, wash dishes, read.

Show your feelings. "Listening to other people's words, but not

expressing your point of view, you quickly get tired. Choose a circle of communication so that loved ones allow you to talk.

Confess to others your hypersensitivity. This is scary, given that others take such a quality for weakness. Therefore, try to make at least those close to you take your words seriously: “I'm sorry, this is very tiring for me, I need to rest

"A truly creative mind in any field is a human being born with abnormal, inhuman sensitivity"
- Pearl Buck

Recalling the process of recording songs with a young Michael Jackson, producer Quincy Jones said that "Michael was so shy that he sang behind the sofa with his back to me, and I sat with my hands over my eyes and turned off the lights."

Watching his incendiary performances on stage, most did not even guess that Michael Jackson was a deeply shy and sensitive person. The king of pop radiated energy, strength, charm on stage, but in his personal life he was extremely sensitive and lonely.

Jackson embodied the contradiction of many performers: they are incredibly open, and at the same time extremely sensitive. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi considered openness and sensitivity to be opposite personality traits that not only coexist in the character of creative performers, but form the core of their personality. This paradox helps explain how performers can be bold and charismatic on the one hand, and emotionally fragile on the other.

“The openness and sensitivity of creative people is often not only the cause of suffering and pain, but also of great joy,” writes Csikszentmihalyi. “Loneliness and popularity makes a person very vulnerable.”

The fact that many seemingly extroverted performers are also very sensitive people is proven by many musicians belonging to the metal and rock genre. On stage, the musicians seem to be the prototype of extraversion: bold, loud and unbridled. But behind the scenes, they show a different side of their personality. They need solitude to recharge their batteries, and they prefer solitary activities - reading, playing instruments. Many musicians have spoken of heightened sensitivity to surroundings, sound, lighting, and smells. They are often prone to daydreaming and fantasies.

Having hypersensitivity can be both a blessing and a curse, and often requires creative people to spend more time alone. As psychologist Jennifer Grimes writes, sometimes people tend to block "overwhelming stimuli." All the subjects of her research said that music is a way to express oneself, to find a connection with others, to fulfill oneself.

Grimes' findings suggest that a highly creative person hides behind a façade the depth, complexity, and contradictions of their personality. Creative people of all types tend to be acutely sensitive, and conversely, sensitive people are often quite creative.

A very creative and highly sensitive person observes more, notices more, needs to process more information. Very sensitive people, as Pulitzer Prize winner Pearl Buck said, see the world more colorful, tragic and beautiful. Sensitive people often notice small things that others miss, see patterns where others see randomness, and find meaning and metaphor in the little things of everyday life. Not surprisingly, this personality type often comes to creative expression.
A study led by psychologist Elaine Aron identified sensitivity as a fundamental dimension of the human personality. It turned out that highly sensitive people tend to process more sensory information in both internal and external environments.

It is estimated that jn 15% to 20% of people are considered highly sensitive, but this percentage is much higher among artists and creative thinkers. High levels of sensitivity correlate yt only with creativity, but also with such character traits as spirituality, intuition, mystical experiences, connection with art and nature.

Feeling and sensitivity as properties of a creative personality

Introduction

Features of the formation of a creative personality

Sharpening of sensations as a property of a creative personality

Sensitivity and its importance for a creative person

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Personality is a complex formation that is acquired by a person in a sociocultural environment in the process of interacting with other people in the course of joint activities and communication. The degree of formation of various personal formations, their development largely determines the life path of the individual. At the same time, personal formation is determined by a complex of various factors: biological, social, cognitive, and others. Development is characterized by quantitative and qualitative changes generated by external and internal conditions. So the well-known psychologist B.G. Ananiev writes: “Human development is due to the interaction of many factors: heredity, environment (social, biogenic, abiogenic), education (or rather, many types of directional impact of society on the formation of personality), a person’s own practical activity. These factors act not separately, but together on the complex structure of development.

This essay will consider such features of a creative person as sensation and sensitivity, and an attempt will be made to analyze these concepts.

Features of the formation of a creative personality

Creative personality is the subject of many psychological studies. The ways of its formation in primary school and adolescence were studied by many authors in Russian psychology (B.G. Ananiev, A.A. Bodalev, L.I. Bozhovich, L.S. Vygotsky, Ya.L. Kolominsky, etc.) . Quite often, the common thread in the various works of psychologists is the idea that personal characteristics have a significant impact on the development of other psychological phenomena. Researchers of higher abilities note that giftedness can significantly affect the formation of personality. The author of the concept of creative giftedness, A.M. Matyushkin, in particular, writes that "" giftedness can be considered as a general prerequisite for creativity in any profession, in science and art, as a prerequisite for the formation and development of a creative personality, capable of not only creating new things and discovering new ones. laws, but also to self-expression, to self-disclosure in works of literature and art; personality not only decisive, but posing problems for man and mankind. The creators of the conceptual models of giftedness include personality factors in its structure (A.M. Matyushkin, J. Renzulli, J. Feldhusen, K. Heller).

The evolution of giftedness depends on the level of development and formation of the personality. The well-known in psychology fact of the loss of bright abilities by the time of growing up, scientists also associate with the peculiarities of personal development. It is important not to miss the moment when pedagogical influences on the individual will be most favorable. Many authors emphasize that for the formation of a gifted and talented person, an approving attitude towards her from the society is necessary.

Psychologists who study gifted and talented children note that the gifted often stand out from the rest. Their dissimilarity is explained not only by the brightness and originality of talent, originality and originality of thinking. Many scientists are unanimous in their opinion: a gifted child often matures faster, his personality is formed earlier, and he differs among his peers due to the presence of certain personal qualities and properties.

The role of personality in the formation and development of giftedness is great. It is emphasized that giftedness involves the integral personality of a person, including the motivational sphere, interests, volitional manifestations, feelings, creativity (J. Gallagher, P. Klein, N.S. Leites, A.M. Matyushkin, V.E. Chudnovsky, V. S. Yurkevich). The psychology of giftedness recognizes the fact that gifted children and adolescents have features of personal development. Psychologists pay attention to the fact that the formation of the personality of a gifted child has certain age-related tendencies, often passes ambiguously and painfully.

K. Tekeks writes that gifted children are distinguished from their peers by a number of features in the field of psychosocial development. Among these properties and qualities, she highlights:

heightened sense of justice;

developed system of personal values;

well-formed sense of humor;

the presence of exaggerated fears;

persistence in achieving results.

At the same time, K. Tekeks emphasizes that the positive and negative in the personality of a capable child arises under the influence of the surrounding people. A gifted and talented child may have such properties and qualities that will repel others from him. Among them are:

Inability to listen to the interlocutor to the end, interrupting the interlocutor. Often the child is aware of what is being said or quickly understands the material being presented. The desire to demonstrate their knowledge is a reflection of the speed of perception.

The habit of correcting others. It occurs in a gifted child as a combination of altruism and egocentrism.

Making fun of others. May occur as a response to a traumatic factor. The main advantage of the child is the intellectual potential, and he strives to protect himself from the source of pain with the means available to him.

M. Carne notes several psychological factors that hinder the realization of children's abilities. These include: negative attitudes towards school and learning; violation of relations with parents; susceptibility to mood swings, depression, spirit of contradiction; low self-esteem, a feeling of "persecution"; a tendency to justify and explain one's shortcomings, shifting the blame onto others; propensity to fantasize; poor interpersonal relationships, distrust of others; lack of perseverance, a tendency to be distracted and put things off; hostile attitude towards leaders; boredom; lack of self-discipline and inability to take responsibility for their actions; lack of leadership abilities; lack of hobbies or excessive attention to them; rejection of competitiveness; emotional imbalance; sensitivity to criticism, a tendency to criticize others; unrealistic goals.

L. Hollingworth focuses on the following personal problems of gifted children:

dislike for school

conformity;

immersion in philosophical problems.

L. Hollingworth found that the adaptation of gifted children depends on their level of intellectual development. IQ 185 to 190 - Extremely gifted teenagers tend to isolate. Their self-perception can change in a negative direction, because. they are often not accepted by their peers, are not chosen for leadership roles. If their abilities are not in demand and the requirements for them are low, then they become inert, lazy. According to L. Hollingworth, individuals whose IQ approaches 170 are rarely understood by people due to their high intellectual potential. An intellectual IQ of 125-155 is "optimal intelligence", such children are socially adapted and excel others in emotional stability and control.

J. Whitmore identifies the following personal problems of gifted children:

perfectionism;

feeling of own inferiority;

unrealistic goals;

hypersensitivity;

need for adult attention;

intolerance.

A. Tannenbaum, who proposed a "psychosocial" model of giftedness, took into account both external and internal factors of the personality in its construction. The scientist notes that it is difficult to determine what personality traits determine human talents. There are reliable facts that the highest level of ability is associated with a strongly expressed desire for self-realization. The Munich model of giftedness, developed by K. Heller, also includes personal components. The author of this model notes that ""motivation for achievement, perseverance, resistance to stress and other personal qualities, and not just abilities, were typical of the most successful students"".

Based on experimental data, K. Heller comes to the conclusion that highly gifted people differ from average gifted people in the following diagnostically significant personal parameters:

high intellectual abilities;

outstanding creative ability (eg, originality, flexibility, sophistication);

the ability to faster assimilation and outstanding memory;

intellectual curiosity and desire for knowledge;

internal locus of control and high personal responsibility;

confidence in one's own effectiveness and independence of judgment;

positive academic self-concept associated with adequate self-esteem.

Gifted children need to have a positive self-image. In this case, it is important to adequately evaluate abilities: neither belittling, nor ignoring them, or, on the contrary, nor overly focusing on them. This state of affairs can lead to violations of personality formation, the emotional sphere of children suffers. The child needs to feel and understand that he is valuable; parents and adults love him and see him as a growing personality, and not just a set of certain outstanding abilities and achievements.

In some cases, children with a high level of development of abilities face rejection by their society. Parents try not to notice the talent of their child, trying to avoid difficulties. Peers do not accept a student "too" who knows a lot, who is knowledgeable in all matters. Awareness of inconsistency with the expectations of others, the perception of oneself as a "black sheep" leads to the fact that the child begins to hide his abilities, traits of a conforming personality appear. In this situation, one should speak not just about adaptation, about the adaptation of the personality, but about the falsification of one's own "I".

Gifted children are characterized by increased vulnerability and sensitivity. Harmless and neutral remarks often cause a violent emotional reaction in them. It is necessary to develop in children of this category a patient attitude towards the opinions of others, especially in those cases when one has to deal with less capable schoolchildren. The emergence of arrogance, selfishness, misanthropic traits kill the manifestations of talents.

Excessive perseverance in achieving the goal leads to the desire to bring everything to perfection. Works performed at a high level of skill are evaluated by the performer as unsuccessful. Exaggerated personal standards, dissatisfaction, evaluating one's own activities by adult standards lead to painful experiences, personal dramas. For a child of 7-8 years old, one of the strongest motives for activity is the desire to please parents, to succeed in their eyes. It is necessary to maintain a balance in priorities so that the development of the individual is not disturbed by one desire to look advantageous in the eyes of adults. Encouragement for various attempts, and not just for success, praise for diligence leads to the fact that the child will try himself in various activities, and not seek to avoid failure.

J. Freeman, an English researcher of gifted children, argues that the manifestations of giftedness are associated with the qualities and properties of a person. Analyzing in his article ""Review of modern ideas about the development of abilities"" the state of science in the field of psychology of giftedness, highlights some of the personal characteristics of gifted children. At the same time, J. Freeman emphasizes the role of the gender factor. Girls often underestimate their abilities. It is shown that this fact is often associated with the expectations of parents, which depend on sex-role stereotypes. Girls, who have an equally high intellectual and creative potential with boys, differ from them in social and emotional terms. They are more prone to depression. J. Freeman notes that studies of representatives of creative professions have shown that when a high level of specialization is achieved, personal characteristics, such as independence, contribute more to obtaining even more significant results than intellectual factors. J. Freeman focuses on the role of positive, positive emotions in the development of children's abilities. Fear can paralyze a child's intellectual manifestations, such as curiosity and inquisitiveness. Highly intelligent children have developed self-regulation of activities, excessive guidance from adults only hinders development.

Among the personal qualities of individuals who have achieved significant success, J. Freeman draws attention to emotional stability, high productivity, motivation, enthusiasm, and low levels of anxiety. However, very capable people have problems, the intellect "creates" psychological barriers. "Special stresses" of gifted teenagers can contribute to the development of depression and suicidal tendencies.

Thus, the most frequently mentioned personality traits of a gifted child that contribute to the development of potential are: diligence, perseverance in achieving goals, developed goal setting, a sense of justice, a sense of humor. In addition to positive personality traits, gifted children have personality traits that hinder the development of abilities. Often among them there are children with low self-esteem; schoolchildren who deny authority and do not know how to listen to other people's opinions; shy, silent, anxious children. Scientists note that the manifestation of certain personality traits may be due to the type of giftedness. Self-concept, self-assessment, activity motivation have the greatest influence on the formation of giftedness.

Sharpening of sensations as a property of a creative personality

Sensation is a reflection of the properties of objects of the objective world, arising from their direct impact on receptors. Within the framework of the reflex concept of I. M. Sechenov and I. P. Pavlov, studies were conducted that showed that, in terms of its physiological mechanisms, sensation is a holistic reflex that combines direct and feedback peripheral and central sections of the analyzer. At present, the problem of sensation is being intensively developed in the psychophysics of sensory processes and various branches of physiology. The English physiologist C. Sherrington identified three main classes of sensations: 1) exteroceptive, arising from the action of external stimuli on receptors located on the surface of the body; 2) proprioceptive (kinesthetic), reflecting the movement and relative position of body parts due to the work of receptors located in muscles, tendons and joint bags; 3) interoceptive (organic), signaling with the help of specialized receptors about the course of metabolic processes in the internal environment of the body. In turn, exteroceptive sensations are divided into two subclasses: distant (visual, auditory) and contact (tactile, gustatory). Olfactory sensations occupy an intermediate position between these subclasses.

This classification does not take into account, however, the well-known independence of the sensation function from the morphological localization of receptors. Thus, visual sensations can perform an important proprioceptive function. An attempt to create a genetic classification of sensations was made by the English neurologist X. Head, who singled out the more ancient - protopathic and younger - epicritical sensitivity. Protopathic sensations, unlike epicritical ones, do not give an exact localization of the source of irritation either in external space or in body space, are characterized by constant affective coloring and reflect subjective states rather than objective processes. Sensation arises in phylogenesis on the basis of elementary irritability as sensitivity to stimuli that have no direct ecological significance, thereby reflecting an objective relationship between biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

The criterion for the truth of sensations, as well as for any other reflection of reality, is the practice, the activity of the subject. The sensation arises as a result of the conversion of the specific energy of the stimulus that is currently acting on the receptor into the energy of nervous processes.

The sensitivity of the sense organ is determined by the minimum stimulus that, under given conditions, is capable of causing a sensation. The minimum strength of the stimulus that causes a barely noticeable sensation is called the lower absolute threshold of sensitivity. Irritants of lesser strength, the so-called subthreshold, do not cause sensations and signals about them are not transmitted to the cerebral cortex. However, subthreshold impulses are not indifferent to the organism.

The upper absolute threshold of sensation is the value of the stimulus at which the sensation either disappears or changes qualitatively, for example, turns into pain, as occurs with an increase in sound volume or light brightness. The minimum increase in the magnitude of the stimulus, accompanied by a barely noticeable change in sensation, is called the difference (or differential) threshold of sensation. The values ​​of all identified types of sensation thresholds change during adaptation processes and are influenced by a large number of factors. A change in the sensitivity of the analyzer under the influence of irritation of other sense organs is called the interaction of sensations. The interaction of sensations, like adaptation, manifests itself in two opposite processes: an increase and a decrease in sensitivity. An increase in sensitivity as a result of the interaction of analyzers and exercise is called sensitization. The interaction of sensations is manifested in another kind of phenomena called synesthesia. Synesthesia is the occurrence under the influence of irritation of one analyzer of a sensation characteristic of another analyzer. Sensation arises as a reaction of the nervous system to a particular stimulus and, like any mental phenomenon, has a reflex character.

The traditional understanding of sensation assumes that in the process of sensation the individual is not aware of the image of the object acting on him and, therefore, sensation is a manifestation of the unconscious.

Subsensory perception (as well as sub-threshold sensation) is characterized by the fact that the individual is not aware not only of the image or other properties of the reflected object, but is also not aware of the impact of the object itself. Undoubtedly, this is also a manifestation of the unconscious. Thus, in relation to a fully conscious perception, both sensation and subsensory perception (subthreshold sensations) act as the unconscious with different levels of awareness, and sensation is somewhat more conscious than subsensory perception (subthreshold sensations).

The function of sensations and perception as an element of a functional system is to receive (reflect) with the help of the senses the information necessary for the formation of a mental image that is adequate to the goal and the way to achieve it.

In accordance with the system concept of the psyche, sensation and perception are considered as unconscious and conscious aspects of the same process - mental reflection, and sensation is an involuntary, unconscious process of reflection. In relation to a fully conscious perception, both sensation and subsensory perception (subthreshold sensations) act as unconscious with different levels of awareness, namely, sensation is somewhat more conscious than subsensory perception or subthreshold sensations.

So, it should be concluded that "the immediacy of understanding the subject", as a feature of a creative personality, essentially evaporates and exists only in relation to consciousness, and not to the psyche as a whole. Sensual intuition is objective and dialectically connected with thinking and imagination. But it is pre-scientific and is only material for scientific processing.

Sensitivity and its importance for a creative person

Sensitivity is:

) general ability to feel; sensitivity appears in phylogenesis, when living organisms begin to react to environmental factors that perform a signal function in relation to influences that have direct biological significance;

) in differential psychology and characterology - increased readiness for affective reactions;

) in psychophysics - a value inversely proportional to the threshold of sensation. Accordingly, absolute and differential (difference) sensitivity are distinguished.

The classification of types of sensitivity coincides with the existing classifications of sensations. So, there are types of sensitivity that differ in the degree of detail of the sensory analysis. Given the nature of the stimulus, we can talk about sensitivity to the action of mechanical, optical, chemical, temperature and other stimuli. The sensitivity of the body can be assessed not only on the basis of sensations, but also by changing the course of various psychophysical processes.

As a result, as a rule, slightly different indicators are obtained. For example, visual sensitivity, determined by the reaction of changes in the integral brain rhythms, turns out to be higher than the sensitivity estimated on the basis of the subject's verbal report. In recent years, thanks to the use of new theoretical concepts (the theory of signal detection), more generalized definitions of sensitivity have appeared in psychophysics, independent of the concept of "sensation threshold".

As for the peculiarities of the sensitivity of a creative personality, in our opinion, it can be argued that in people with a high creative potential - either by nature or as a result of the individual history of the formation of this personality - the mechanisms of psychological defense to one degree or another turn out to be weakened. One side of this weakening is precisely that information that can undermine the existing system of knowledge and shake stereotypes, which currently have the status of indisputable (which is blocked for most people), gets freer access to the level of consciousness for creative individuals. This, so to speak, is a positive consequence of the weakening of psychological defense mechanisms. At the same time, it can hardly be assumed that this kind of weakening is so selective that it freely passes conceptually significant information to the level of consciousness and blocks traumatic information (one that can cause pain, suffering to the subject).

Therefore, most likely, as a result of the weakening of psychological defense mechanisms, along with information that provides the possibility of abandoning cognitive stereotypes (stamps) and, thereby, increasing the likelihood of taking a creative step, all information that for a given individual will rush to the level of consciousness in a wider stream. has a traumatic character and is usually blocked. Such an assumption, in our opinion, makes it possible to understand some other aspects in the problem of the specific thinking of a creative person. In particular, this concerns the ratio of sensitivity (sensitivity) and creativity. Sensitivity in this context refers to the body's ability to respond to a change in the stimulus by the appearance or change of sensation.

In studies devoted to the consideration of the parameters of thinking of people with high creative potential, their cognitive and emotional openness, a high degree of sensitivity, and susceptibility to both signals coming from the external world and internal ones are often noted. This dependence is quite obvious: a more developed ability to perceive and fix shades, details in incoming information, other things being equal, will provide a richer base of initial data of a very different nature. And this, in turn, will determine the possibility of verbalization and awareness of more subtle aspects, relationships, properties within the framework of the perceived and comprehended. As a result, the initial database for the formation of associative links will be much wider, and so on. However, it seems to us that one can also speak of a less trivial relationship between the degree of susceptibility, sensitivity of the subject and the creativity of his thinking. Namely, about receptivity, emotional and cognitive openness - as a consequence of developed creative ability (since, as already mentioned, the latter can be due, in particular, to the weakening of the psychological defense mechanisms). Therefore, a certain vulnerability, insecurity, non-standard behavior of people with high creative potential (widely known "eccentricities") should not be considered as their whim or a manifestation of their unwillingness to fit into the standard system of interpersonal relations. In essence, these features turn out to be the reverse side of the giftedness of these people and cannot be removed arbitrarily.

In this regard, I would like to consider the issue of the psycho-emotional characteristics of creative personalities in more detail. Considerable attention is paid to this side of the problem in modern literature. At the same time, a number of characteristics are considered by almost all researchers to be inalienable personal qualities of creative subjects. Among them - curiosity, even to some extent curiosity (however, not in the ordinary sense, but rather as an expression of the desire to obtain new information, probably approaching the concept of "inquisitiveness" in meaning), the ability to see a problem where others do not see it .

This circumstance, as rightly noted in passing, can bring a lot of trouble and inconvenience to its owner, since the perception of problems encourages talking about them, and this is not always welcomed by those around them, who - for the most part - do not see any problems in the corresponding state of affairs.

Mention is also made of such a quality as flexibility in the perception and evaluation of information (as opposed to rigidity, rigidity), which is inherent in most creative personalities. The latter also finds experimental confirmation. Thus, interesting studies of the characteristics of information perception under the condition of various methods of previous learning have shown that the so-called "yes-tendency" (i.e., the tendency to give a positive answer to the question of the inherent or not inherent in the newly presented configurations to that class of objects (prototype), which was formed by the subject on the basis of previous learning) is formed as a result of a more diverse previous personal experience of the subject and determines the following feature of perception: it is more likely that modifications that do not belong to this class will be erroneously assigned to it, than genuine versions of the prototype will be unreasonably rejected. Conversely, the so-called "no-tendency" (i.e., the tendency to give a negative answer to the question of whether some given object belongs to the corresponding class) is formed as a result of more uniform prior learning and causes the opposite feature of perception: rather, a genuine modification of some prototype will be erroneous is rejected than a configuration that is not actually a variant of the prototype will be incorrectly accepted.

It seems quite obvious that such features of perception are not indifferent to the formation of the ability to find non-trivial solutions in cognitive situations.

creative personality feeling sensibility

Conclusion

In addition to increased sensitivity and heightened sensations, researchers and a number of other parameters of individuals with high creative potential. Among them are high intuitiveness, perception of deeper meanings and consequences of what is perceived, self-confidence and at the same time dissatisfaction with the situation in which the subject finds himself, openness to perception of both the internal and external world.

Creative individuals are highly motivated and demonstrate a significant level of energy. They have reflective thinking, which they enjoy.

Creatives are independent, they are distinguished by a significant desire for autonomy. They are characterized by a low level of socialization and a high level of self-sufficiency. They are non-conformal.

Disobedience is one of the inevitable features that appear in a person who is always looking for and creating something new in science, art, literature, philosophy. One of the conditions for the development of human talent is the freedom of disobedience. I would like to end this chapter on the thinking of a creative person with the words of McKinnon, which seem to characterize her psychologically accurately and succinctly. "The main thing for a creative person is courage, courage of the mind and spirit, psychological and spiritual. Courage to be destructive for creating something new, courage to be open to perception from within and without, courage to follow intuition, not logic, courage to imagine the impossible and try to realize it. Courage to think in a way that no one thought. The courage to stand aside from the collectivity and conflict with it if necessary, the courage to become and be oneself. "

List of used literature

1.Ananiev B.G. Selected psychological works: in 2 vols. T. II. - M., 1980.

2.Matyushkin A.M. Creative talent // Social movements and social activity of youth / Proceedings of the All-Union Scientific Conference "Man in the System of General Scientific Relations"". - M., 1991.

.Gifted children: Per. from English. / Common ed. G.V. Burmenskaya, V.A. Slutsky. - M.: Progress, 1991.

4.Psychology of creativity. M., 1990.

5.Trick H.E. The main directions of the experimental study of creativity // Reader in General Psychology. Psychology of thinking. M., 1981. S.303

6.Heller K.A. Diagnosis and development of gifted children and adolescents // Basic modern concepts of creativity and giftedness / Ed. D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya. - M.: Young Guard, 1997.

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