What represents the identity of the person? It is complex, diverse structure which acquires a set of additional functions and subclasses with age. Many psychologists were engaged in studying the structure of the personality. And everyone had the view of what the personality and in what hierarchy inherent characteristics have to be located it consists of. However it is difficult to explain with language of science all completeness of the components inherent in the healthy and harmoniously developed individual. Therefore the concept by means of which even the one who has no relation to psychology can consider structure of human identity was created. A name to it – "a tree of the personality".
"Identity tree"
If to plunge into national folklore of many people, then in stories, beliefs and bylinas it is often possible to meet mentions of trees. Our ancestors gave them with considerable functions. For example, in one of old fairy tales the young man sees a huge tree in the forest. He makes the decision to climb on it to see the world. In 3 days of clamber on a wonderful plant he finds the lock where there is in an imprisonment a princess. As usual, the young man could come into all rooms except one room. And exactly there he also came. There he met an evil ghost in shape of a raven and, having given in to arrangements, released it. As a result, having passed through the mass of adventures, the young man and the princess safely appeared on the earth.
This fairy tale can be compared to the Bible where beauty acting through the princess has to descend from heaven on the earth, by signing of the contract with an evil ghost and through human disobedience. These examples in the works were reviewed by the famous psychologist K.G. Jung. He possesses the concept "tree of the personality" or in a different way "an identity tree". Jung claimed that he in terms of psychology of people is similar to a tree, and their common feature – identity. For example, the oak is a symbol of the unconscious center of the personality, and vegetation transfers unconsciousness.
Besides Jung, a number of psychologists considered the possibility to judge the identity of the person how he draws a tree. In this regard the approval by J. Bouck and R. Burn created a technique "Dom-derevo-chelovek". A K. Koch interpreting the drawing created by the person by this technique connected tree roots with unconscious, a trunk with instincts, and branches with the relation to life (passivity or opposition).
The scheme of the personality in the form of a tree of the personality
By the nature the person has complex structure of the personality. To present all variety of the factors doing the person by a peculiar complete system it is possible to draw an example of a tree of the personality schematically:
- The soil – genetic inheritance of the person. I.e. a praroditelsky gene pool in which are and from which tree roots eat. They can absorb in themselves both fatherly, and maternal genetic features. Takeover of features of other relatives which are shown in behavior and character of the person is also possible.
- Trunk – mentality of the person and its property which the person gets in development with age. It depends on interaction of basic, congenital features with an environment of the person. Usually the trunk is connected with character, intelligence, emotions and style of communication with other people. Also here knowledge and various cultural values acquired in development of the person belong.
- The krone of "a tree of the personality" represents a combination of interests, moral and moral principles of the person, his social activity and living position, thirst for some phenomena of the world around and pushing away from others. Here both features of the choice of a circle of contacts and other factors which characterize the person as identity belong.
Symbolical character of interaction of a tree and the person consists not only in similarity of structure, but also in reflection of important vital aspects: participation in life and immortality, to the good and evil, knowledge, wisdom, etc. For certain for the same reason besides the birth of the child and creation of own house, for full-fledged and successful life the person should plant a tree.
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