Before modern medicine, people thought there were four types of people: the sanguine, the choleric, the melancholy, and the phlegmatic. These personality types were thought to be caused by four "humor," or fluids, in the body. When these fluids are in a certain balance, they could cause a certain mood or personality.
This branch of science came before many of the personality tests we use today since these four types can be used as a guide. Our four temperament types, sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic, affect how we act and connect with others.
This picture by Hitchcock shows how four different responses can be made to a simple event. In the picture, a man sits by mistake on another man's hat. This causes the Choleric person to yell at the careless person, the Phlegmatic person to not care at all, the Melancholic person to cry big tears, and the Sanguine person to laugh at the situation.
In a business setting, choleric people tend to lead and make decisions, sanguines are great with clients and all kinds of negotiations, phlegmatic employees like to be told what to do, which makes them the best behind-the-scenes performers, and melancholics tend to do well in jobs that require perfectionism and patience.
There are, of course, many more things about these four personality types at work. Let's look at how to deal with different types of coworkers and what to expect from each one.
In a broad sense, temperament is a mix of different things. The word comes from the Latin word temperature, which means to blend or mix in the right amounts. In ancient Greco-Arabic medicine, temperament was first used to determine what was wrong with someone.
In developmental psychology, a person's temperament comprises the four senses of humor that make up their personality. In Latin, humor is body fluids that relate to different parts of a person's identity. For example, if a person had a lot of humor in their blood, they were thought to be happy or have a cheery personality.
Behaviors, good or bad, that you do repeatedly show your disposition. For example, a person may show a pattern of short-tempered actions that make it clear that they have a short-tempered personality. The assumed character pattern shows up as the person's natural way of being. The almost-like character was the sign, and disposition was the real problem.
This is a quick tool for figuring out who you are. It has 4 parts with 2 lists of traits in each. You are then asked to pick any of these traits that describe you, and you can choose as many from both lists. You have to go through all four tabs to get a good idea of most personality traits this model looks at.
The result is a list of numbers for each of the four studied temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic. You could say that the best value you got says the most about you. You can learn more about the temperaments theory and the main characteristics of each of the four temperaments as you read on.
Since the word was first used and I learned what it meant, a lot has changed. Psychology still uses the idea of character to put people into groups to make it easier to understand how people act. There are four types of personality and how they show up in the body:
Most people are said to have a mix of these personality types, just like they have a mix of real body parts. Even though the temperament model based on the four senses of humor is partly symbolic, many modern personality theories are just loosely disguised versions of the same basic parts.
Since this is true, a person's character finally turns into their personality type. Even though different types make up a person, the main parts of a person's personality stay mostly the same from childhood to adulthood.
Cholerics want to be in charge of other people but are also great goal-getters. Only 99% of clerics want to reach the top of the business ladder, but when they're with coworkers, they tend to be in charge of any situation.
They are usually good at handling difficult situations and are always ready to help their crew carry out their plan, sometimes by making them. If a choleric child grew up in a safe environment, they could become a great leader with a strong sense of responsibility for others and confidence in making decisions.
Cholerics have short tempers, which helps them act quickly and be tough when they need to be. They are happy to participate in any battle to show they are the best. Because they are so demanding, they sometimes talk and want to fight angrily. Because of this, it might be hard to fight against choleric since being aggressive isn't the way to go.
This seems to be the opposite of the choleric temperament type. Phlegmatics try to avoid disputes and a lot of talking because they are quiet and slow to move. They were happy to let others speak and take charge. But they don't work well with choleric because phlegmatics take a long time to do what they're told, while clerics want things to happen immediately.
Phlegmatic people choose the road of least resistance because they want to please other people first. In a fight, a choleric person would do anything to show he was right. On the other hand, a phlegmatic person wants peace and gets upset when there is a fight.
So, they never resist, and they never try to get ahead. This makes them accept managers' orders and makes them stable, loyal, and unlikely to change jobs. Phlegmatic people often need others to make decisions; sanguines are great for this job.
Most outgoing, sunny-tempered people get a boost from socializing and enjoy meeting new people. Even though sanguines are friendly and charming, people feel they've known their new sanguine friends for a long time.
So, they have a lot of friends, good communication skills, and a high level of emotional intelligence. People with this personality type like to show off and need praise to feel good about themselves. They care a lot about others and aren't afraid to show how they feel. They can be very sad one minute and then the happiest people ever the next.
The other social trait of sanguines is that they can persuade and interest others. They may work well with choleric and melancholics if they do what they do best: to be positive. Non-creative tasks that take a long time to do, on the other hand, could be hard or even upsetting for this personality type.
Melancholics strongly need things to be perfect, and they get upset when things aren't up to their standards. Self-pity and negativity are common in this personality type because they live in a world that isn't perfect. When working on a team with a depressive, a sanguine generally brings some hope to the group.
Melancholy people complain a lot, but they blame themselves for everything. This type is the shyest, and their responses rarely show that they have strong feelings. Melancholics have difficulty getting along with others because they are stubborn and want to be perfect. But melancholics who are deep and serious do well in critical jobs. They are good at planning because they don't make choices on the spot.
There is no one pure temperament type. We all have all four types but in different amounts. Depending on how we were raised and who we hang out with, our personality type and temperament mix in ways that can be quite surprising.
Though, it's not unusual to find a great leader whose temperament is mostly choleric and sanguine (50/50), which renders her both smart and tough when it comes to making quick choices.
Since everyone is thought to have a mix of the four temperaments, you will get a mix of percentages based on the traits you chose. Based on this finding, you can determine your Primary and Secondary Temperaments since they have the best score.
When making decisions about team building for employee-employee or employer-employee pairs, the following should be taken into account:
Ancient Greek thinkers thought everyone had the right amount of these four personality types. Even now, we all see that we have these basic personality traits at different times. But most of us are more like at least one of these personalities than the others. We can improve at being friends, coworkers, and people if we can be honest about our skills and flaws.
