Four temperaments

This article is about the "four humours" in Greco-Roman medicine, a specific form of the more universal proto-medical concept of humourism. For the music by Hindemith choreographed by Balanchine, see The Four Temperaments. For the symphony by Carl Nielsen, see Symphony No. 2 (Nielsen).

The four temperament theory is a proto-psychological theory which suggests that there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic.^[2][3] Most formulations include the possibility of mixtures among the types where an individual's personality types overlap and they share two or more temperaments. Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) described the four temperaments as part of the ancient medical concept of humourism, that four bodily fluids affect human personality traits and behaviours. Modern medical science does not define a fixed relationship between internal secretions and personality, although some psychological personality type systems use categories similar to the Greek temperaments.

18th-century depiction of the four temperaments,^[1] Phlegmatic and choleric above, sanguine and melancholic below

History

Temperament theory has its roots in the ancient theory of humourism. It may have originated in Mesopotamia,^[4] but it was Greek physician Hippocrates (460–370 BC) (and later Galen) who developed it into a medical theory. He believed that certain human moods, emotions, and behaviours were caused by an excess or lack of body fluids (called "humours"), which he classified as blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.^[3] Each of which was responsible for different patterns in personalities, as well as how susceptible you were to getting a disease. Galen (AD 129 – c. 200) developed the first typology of temperament in his dissertation De temperamentis, and searched for physiological reasons for different behaviours in humans. He classified them as hot/cold and dry/wet taken from the four elements.^[5] There could also be balance between the qualities, yielding a total of nine temperaments. The word "temperament" itself comes from Latin "temperare", "to mix". In the ideal personality, the complementary characteristics were exquisitely balanced among warm-cool and dry-moist. In four less-ideal types, one of the four qualities was dominant over all the others. In the remaining four types, one pair of qualities dominated the complementary pair; for example, warm and moist dominated cool and dry. These last four were the temperamental categories which Galen named "sanguine", "choleric", "melancholic", and "phlegmatic" after the bodily humours. Each was the result of an excess of one of the humours which produced the imbalance in paired qualities.^[3][6][7][8]

For example, if one tended to be, or act, too happy, one can assume they have too much blood, since blood relates to sanguine, and can medically act accordingly. If one tended to be, or act, too calm or reserved, one can assume they have too much phlegm in the system, since phlegm relates to phlegmatic, and can medically act accordingly. If one tended to be, or act, too sad, one can assume they have too much black bile in the system, since black bile relates to melancholic, and can medically act accordingly. If one tended to be, or act, too angry, one can assume they have too much yellow bile in the system, since yellow biles relates to choleric, and can medically act accordingly.^[9]

The properties of these humours also corresponded to the four seasons.^[10] Thus blood, which was considered hot and wet, corresponded to spring. Yellow bile, considered hot and dry, corresponded to summer. Black bile, cold and dry, corresponded to autumn. And finally, phlegm, cold and wet, corresponded to winter.^[10]

These properties were considered the basis of health and disease. This meant that having a balance and good mixture of the humours defined good health, while an imbalance or separation of the humours led to disease.^[10] Because the humours corresponded to certain seasons, one way to avoid an imbalance or disease was to change health-related habits depending on the season. Some physicians did this by regulating a patient's diet, while some used remedies such as phlebotomy and purges to get rid of excess blood.^[11] Even Galen proposed a theory of the importance of proper digestion in forming healthy blood. The idea was that the two most important factors when digesting are the types of food and the person's body temperature.^[11] This meant that if too much heat were involved, then the blood would become "overcooked." This meant that it would contain too much of the yellow bile, and the patient would become feverish.^[11] If there were not enough heat involved, this would cause there to be too much phlegm.

But how did these temperaments come about? It has to do with conception. For example, one can look at Sanguine. After about two to three hours since conception, if the conditions of the womb is hot and moist, or, hot and wet, then there is a predominance of blood, since the blood is the most abundant at these hours. So, the child will have red hair and its body will be full of blood where its skin will appear reddish. Besides reddish skin, it'll also be thin and heavy with full organs and body parts, like plump lips. All in all, the blood makes the child very beautiful with a charming and direct voice. The child will become joyous, cheerful, and laughter.^[12] Observations like these from the hour of conception to the birth of the baby can tell a lot about the type of humour that will prevail.

 

Choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic temperaments: 17c., part of the Grande Commande

Persian^[13] polymath Avicenna (980–1037 AD) extended the theory of temperaments in his Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. He applied them to "emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams."^[14] Nicholas Culpeper (1616–1654) suggested that the humors acted as governing principles in bodily health, with astrological correspondences,^[15] and explained their influence upon physiognomy and personality.^[16] He proposed that some people had a single temperament, while others had an admixture of two, a primary and secondary temperament.^[17]

Though, the humours did seem to have a big effect on personality, whether it was a mixture of two or not. The humours can be broken into categories, like extrovert and introvert. If one is Choleric or/and Sanguine, then they are most likely "outgoing" and "extroverted." If one is Melancholy and/or Phlegmatic, then they are most likely "reserved" or "introverted."^[18] One humour is not benefited nor desired more than the other, everyone needs all four of the temperaments in order to have good balance, but everyone is created differently by God and is unique.

Modern medical science has rejected the theories of the four temperaments, though their use persists as a metaphor within certain psychological fields.^[19] Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), Erich Adickes (1866–1925), Alfred Adler (1879–1937), Eduard Spranger (1914), Ernst Kretschmer (1920), and Erich Fromm (1947) all theorised on the four temperaments (with different names) and greatly shaped modern theories of temperament. Hans Eysenck (1916–1997) was one of the first psychologists to analyse personality differences using a psycho-statistical method called factor analysis, and his research led him to believe that temperament is biologically based. The factors that he proposed in his book Dimensions of Personality were neuroticism (N), the tendency to experience negative emotions, and extraversion (E), the tendency to enjoy positive events, especially social ones. By pairing the two dimensions, Eysenck noted how the results were similar to the four ancient temperaments.^{[citation needed]}

In the field of physiology, Ivan Pavlov studied on the types and properties of the nervous system, where three main properties were identified: (1) strength, (2) mobility of nervous processes and (3) balance between excitation and inhibition and derived four types based on these three properties.^[20]

Other researchers developed similar systems, many of which did not use the ancient temperament names, and several paired extraversion with a different factor which would determine relationship and task-orientation. Examples are DISC assessment and social styles. One of the most popular today is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, whose four temperaments were based largely on the Greek gods Apollo, Dionysus, Epimetheus, and Prometheus, and were mapped to the 16 types of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). They were renamed as Artisan (SP), Guardian (SJ), Idealist (NF), and Rational (NT).^{[citation needed]}

Relation of various four temperament theories

Classical	Element^[21]	Adler^[22]	Riemann^[23]	DISC^[24] (Different publishers use different names)
Melancholic	Earth	Leaning	Depressed	Steadiness/Supportive
Phlegmatic	Water	Avoiding	Schizoid	Conscientiousness/Cautious
Sanguine	Air	Socially Useful	Hysterical	Influence/Inspiring
Choleric	Fire	Ruling	Obsessive	Dominance/Direct

Modern views, implementations and restatements

Waldorf education and anthroposophy believe that the temperaments help to understand personality. They also believe that is useful for education, helping the teachers understand how the child learns. Christian writer Tim LaHaye has attempted to repopularize the ancient temperaments through his books.^[25][26][27]

But, just like the Hippocrates, others have made correspondences to the humours properties today.

James David Barber developed The Presidential Character, where, active related to hot, passive related to cold, positive related to moist, and negative related to dry. If one were to make a punnett square of these characters, one can find an Active-Positive, Passive-Positive, Active-Negative, or Passive-Negative individual. This diagram was made after an influential study of the U.S Presidency, hence the name.^[28]

Robert R. Blake created The Managerial Grid, where, high concern for production related to hot, low concern for production related to cold, high concern for people related to moist, and low concern for people related to dry. If one were to make the same punnett square of these characters, one can find a Team Management, a Country Club Management, a Task Management, or an Ineffective Management individual.^[28]

In 2022, a primary action with each quadrant of the brain’s neocortex was identified (right-front creates, right-back relates, left-back analyzes, and left-front decides).^[29] This unintendedly provided a unifying model of most of the other models related to temperaments, personality types, and societal roles, as well as also learning styles and much more. ^[30]

Through this underlying root pattern, we can more accurately align/sort the various models by Galen's temperaments (as shown in the following table), readily see the similarities between the various models, and more readily understand their differences. It also illuminates where these other models likely have errors and deficiencies, unveiling why they have been questioned and criticized. Lastly, through this sorting system, we can more readily agree that most people readily identify with primarily just one main temperament (in all its various system descriptions). Of note, though, most of us have a secondary or even a tertiary temperament, just as most of us have a secondary- and even tertiary-favored brain quadrant. Nonetheless, we use the entire brain, just as we all can display aspects of each of the four temperaments.

Date (c.)	Author	Choleric temperament	Phlegmatic temperament	Sanguine temperament	Melancholic temperament
2022	Brain-Quadrant Unifying Theory of Personality Types and Societal Roles^[31]	Left-Front Quadrant, Decide/Direct, People Directors	Left-Rear Quadrant, Analyze/Inform, Plan Directors	Right-Front Quadrant, Create/Initiate, Plan Explorers	Right-Rear Quadrant, Relate/Respond, People Helpers
2015	Octopus Temperament (Sy Montgomery)	Assertive	Curious	Joyful	Gentle
2014	HUCMI	Controlling	Analytical	Experimental	Relational
2006	Berens	Stabilizer (SJ)	Theorists (NT)	Improvisor (SP)	Catalyst (NF)
1999/2001	Linda V. Berens' four Interaction Styles	In Charge	Chart the Course	Get Things Going	Behind the Scenes
1999	StrengthsFinder	Striving (Executing)	Thinking (Strategic Thinking)	Impacting (Influencing)	Relating (Relationships)
1998 (Erikson's behavior types are a 2014 revision)	Hartman Personality Profile	Red (Leaders; Bold & Brash)	Blue (Keen Minds; Analytical & Detail-oriented)	Yellow (Social Butterflies; Creative & Optimistic)	White > Green (Most Selfless; Relaxed, Friendly, & Loyal)
1996	Tony Alessandra Personality Styles	Director	Thinker	Socializer	Relater
1989	Benziger	Logic & Results	Process & Routine	Vision & Creativity	Intuition & Empathy
1978, 1988	Keirsey/Bates four temperaments (old), Keirsey's four temperaments	Epimethean (Dutiful) > Guardian (SF)	Promethean (Technological) > Rational (NT)	Dionysian (Artful) > Artisan (SP)	Apollonian (Soulful) > Idealist (NF)
1973/74	Conflict	Competing	Accommodating	Collaborating	Avoiding
1967	Dreikurs' four mistaken goals	Power or Defiance	Revenge or Retaliation	Undue Attention or Service	Inadequacy or Deficiency
1960s	Reimann	Obsessive	Schizoid	Hysterical	Depressed
	Stuart Atkins LIFO's four Orientations to Life	Controlling-Taking	Conserving-Holding	Adapting-Dealing	Supporting-Giving
	David Merrill, "Social Styles"	Driving	Analytical	Expressive	Amiable
1958	Myers' Jungian types	Judging (J); “Practical & Matter of Fact”	Thinking (T); “Logical & Ingenious”	Perceiving (P); “Enthusiastic & Insightful”	Feeling (F); “Sympathetic & Friendly”
1948, 1957, 1987	California Psychological Inventory CPI 260	Leader/Implementer (Alphas)	Supporter (Betas)	Innovator (Gammas)	Visualizer (Deltas)
1947	Eysenck	High Extraversion, High Neuroticism (Unstable-Extraverted)	Low Extraversion, Low Neuroticism (Stable-Introverted)	High Extraversion, Low Neuroticism (Stable-Extraverted)	Low Extraversion, High Neuroticism (Unstable-Introverted)
1947	Fromm's four orientations	Exploitative (Taking)	Hoarding (Preserving)	Marketing (Exchanging)	Receptive (Accepting)
1935, 1966	Alfred Adler's four Styles of Life, Temperament by LaHaye	Ruling/Dominant (Choleric)	Getting/Leaning (Phlegmatic)	Socially Useful (Sanguine)	Avoiding (melancholic)
1928, 1970s	William Marston and John G. Geier DiSC assessment	Dominance (D); Red	Conscientiousness (C); Yellow	Influence (I); Green	Steadiness (S); Blue
1921	Jung	Intuition	Thinking	Sensation	Feeling
1920s	Pavlov	Angry Dogs (High Excitation, Low Inhibition)	“Accepting” Dogs (feel asleep) (Low Excitation, High Inhibition)	High-spirited Dogs (High Excitation, High Inhibition)	“Weak” Dogs (whiny) (Low Excitation, Low Inhibition)
1920	Kretschmer's four character styles	Depressive	Anesthetic (insensitive)	Hypomanic	Hyperesthetic (oversensitive)
1914	Spranger's four* value attitudes	Economic/Political	Theoretical	Aesthetic	Religious/Social
1905	Adickes' four world views	Traditional	Agnostic (Skeptical)	Innovative	Dogmatic (Doctrinaire)
1894	Sasang	So-Yang (SY; Little Yang); Active (Unstable & Active)	Tae-Eum (TE; Big Yin); Organized (Stable & Passive)	Tae-Yang (TY; Big Yang); Originative (Stable & Active)	So-Eum (SE; Little Yang); Conservative (Unstable & Passive)
1798	Kant's four temperaments	Energetic & Emotional (Choleric)	Weak & Balanced (Phlegmatic)	Energetic & Balanced (Sanguine)	Weak & Emotional (Melancholic)
1550	Paracelsus' four totem spirits	Gnomes (Industrious & Guarded)	Sylphs (Curious & Calm)	salamanders (Impulsive & Changeable)	Nymphs (Inspiring & Passionate)
185 AD	Irenaeus' four temperaments	Historical	Scholarly	Spontatneous	Spiritual
325 BC	Aristotle's four sources of happiness	Propraieteri (Acquiring Assets)	Dialogike (Logical Investigation)	Hedone (Sensual Pleasure)	Ethikos (Moral Value)
325 BC	Aristotle's social order	Pistic (Common sense & Care-taking)	Dianoetic (Reasoning & Logical Investigator)	Iconic (Artistic & Art-making)	Noetic (Intuitive, Sensibility, Morality)
340 BC	Plato's four characters	Sensible	Reasoning	Artistic	Intuitive
307 BC	Hippocrates' four humours	Yellow Bile (Hot and Dry)	Phlegm (Cold and Wet)	Blood (Hot and Wet)	Black Bile (Cold and Dry)
450 BC	Empedocles	Fire (Zeus)	Water (Pluto/Nestis)	Air (Hera)	Earth (Perephone/Aidoneus)
590 BC	Ezekiel's four living creatures	Lion (Bold)	Ox (Sturdy)	Eagle (Far-seeing)	Man (Spiritual)
Adapted and modified from: Montgomery, Stephen (2002). People Patterns: A Modern Guide to the Four Temperaments (1st ed.). Archer Publications. p. 20. ISBN 1-885705-03-4.; Keirsey, David (May 1, 1998) [1978]. Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence (1st ed.). Prometheus Nemesis Book Co. ISBN 1-885705-02-6.

Usage

The 18th-century classical composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed a trio sonata in C minor known as Sanguineus et Melancholicus (Wq 161/1). In the 20th century, Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 2 (Op.16) is subtitled "The Four Temperaments", each of the four movements being inspired by a sketch of a particular temperament.^[32] Paul Hindemith's Theme and Four Variations for string orchestra and piano is also known as The Four Temperaments: although originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine,^[33][34] the score was ultimately completed as a commission for George Balanchine, who subsequently choreographed it as a neoclassical ballet, using the theory of the temperaments as a point of departure.^{[35][36]: 253}

The 19th-century French author Émile Zola used the four temperaments as a basis for his novel Thérèse Raquin.^[37]

See also

•  Psychology portal

• Big Five personality traits – Personality model consisting of five broad dimensions
• Blood type personality theory – Pseudoscience linking character and blood type
• Enneagram of Personality – Model of the human psyche used as a personality typology
• Four sons of Horus – Ancient Egyptian gods
• Fundamental interpersonal relations orientation – W. Schutz's social behavior theory
• Two-factor models of personality – Psychological factor analysis measurement including behavior and temperament
• Table of similar systems of comparison of temperaments
• Humorism - The theory of the four humours

References

1. Woodcut from Johann Kaspar Lavater, Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe (1775–1778)
2. "The Four Human Temperaments". www.thetransformedsoul.com.
3. Merenda, P. F. (1987). "Toward a Four-Factor Theory of Temperament and/or Personality". Journal of Personality Assessment. 51 (3): 367–374. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5103_4. PMID 16372840.
4. Sudhoff, Karl (1926). Essays in the History of Medicine. Medical Life Press, New York. pp. 67, 87, 104.
5. Boeree, C. George. "Early Medicine and Physiology". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
6. Kagan, Jerome (1998). Galen's Prophecy: Temperament In Human Nature. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-08405-2.
7. Osborn L. Ac., David K. "INHERENT TEMPERAMENT". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
8. . Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
9. "Judy Duchan's History of Speech - Language Pathology". www.acsu.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
10. Jouanna, Jacques (2012-01-01), "The Legacy of the Hippocratic Treatise The Nature of Man: The Theory of the Four Humours", Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen, BRILL, pp. 335–359, doi:10.1163/9789004232549_017, ISBN 9789004232549, S2CID 171176381
11. Ayoub, Lois (1995). "Old English Wæta and the Medical Theory of the Humours". The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 94 (3): 332–346. JSTOR 27711180 – via JSTOR.
12. Jouanna, Jacques; Allies, Neil (2012). "The Legacy of the Hippocratic Treatise the Nature of Man". In van der Eijk, Philip (ed.). THE LEGACY OF THE HIPPOCRATIC TREATISE THE NATURE OF MAN: THE THEORY OF THE FOUR HUMOURS. Selected Papers. Brill. pp. 335–360. JSTOR 10.1163/j.ctt1w76vxr.21. Retrieved 2023-04-07. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
13. • Corbin 2016, Overview. "In this work a distinguished scholar of Islamic religion examines the mysticism and psychological thought of the great eleventh-century Persian philosopher and physician Avicenna (Ibn Sina), author of over a hundred works on theology, logic, medicine, and mathematics."
    • Pasnau & Dyke 2010, p. 52. "Most important of these initially was the massive Book of Healing (Al-Shifa) of the eleventh-century Persian Avicenna, the parts of which labeled in Latin as De anima and De generatione having been translated in the second half of the twelfth century."
    • Daly 2013, p. 18. "The Persian polymath Ibn Sina (981–1037) consolidated all of this learning, along with Ancient Greek and Indian knowledge, into his The Canon of Medicine (1025), a work still taught in European medical schools in the seventeenth century."
14. Lutz, Peter L. (2002). The Rise of Experimental Biology: An Illustrated History. Humana Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-89603-835-1.
15. Nicholas Culpeper (1653) An Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the Human Virtues in the Body of Man, transcribed and annotated by Deborah Houlding. Skyscript, 2009 (retrieved 16 November 2011). Originally published in Culpeper's Complete Herbal (English Physician). London: Peter Cole, 1652.
16. Nicholas Culpeper, Semeiotica Urania, or Astrological Judgement of Diseases. London: 1655. Reprint, Nottingham: Ascella, 1994.
17. Greenbaum, Dorian Gieseler (2005). Temperament: Astrology's Forgotten Key. Wessex Astrologer. pp. 42, 91. ISBN 1-902405-17-X.
18. Elkstrand, Dr. D. W. ""THE FOUR HUMAN TEMPERAMENTS"" (PDF).
19. Martindale, Anne E.; Martindale, Colin (1988). "Metaphorical equivalence of elements and temperaments: Empirical studies of Bachelard's theory of imagination". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 55 (5): 836. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.836.
20. Rokhin, L, Pavlov, I and Popov, Y. (1963), Psychopathology and Psychiatry, Foreign Languages Publication House: Moscow. [1]
21. Boeree, C. George. "Early Medicine and Physiology". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
22. Lundin, Robert W. (1989). Alfred-Adler's Basic Concepts and Implications. Taylor and Francis. p. 54. ISBN 0-915202-83-2.
23. Riemann, Fritz (2008). Anxiety. Reinhardt Ernst. ISBN 978-3-497-02043-0.
24. "What Are the Four DISC Types?". DISC Personality Testing Blog. 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
25. LaHaye, Tim (1966). The Spirit Controlled Temperament. Tyndale Publishing.
26. LaHaye, Tim (1984). Your Temperament: Discover Its Potential. Tyndale Publishing. ISBN 0-8423-6220-7.
27. LaHaye, Tim (1988). Why You Act the Way You Do. Tyndale Publishing. ISBN 0-8423-8212-7.
28. DOODY, JOHN A.; IMMERWAHR, JOHN (1983). "The Persistence of the Four Temperaments". Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 66 (3): 348–359. ISSN 0038-1861. JSTOR 41178265.
29. Schroeder, Thomas (20 August 2023). "Brain-based Societal Roles & Personality Types: A Unifying Model". Medium.
30. Schroeder, Thomas (1 September 2023). "Brain-Quadrant Unifying Theory of Personality Types & Societal Roles". Medium.
31. Schroeder, Thomas (1 September 2023). "Brain-Quadrant Unifying Theory of Personality Types & Societal Roles". Medium.
32. Foltmann, Niels Bo, ed. (1998). (PDF). II. Instrumental Music. Vol. 2. The Carl Nielsen Edition, Royal Danish Library. ISBN 978-87-598-0913-6. ISMN 979-0-66134-000-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2014. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
33. Corleonis, Adrian (19 November 2007). "Paul Hindemith, Theme and Variations, 'Die vier Temperamente' (The Four Temperaments)". American Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
34. Hindemith, Paul (1948). Theme and Four Variations (The Four Temperaments) (PDF). New York City: Associated Music Publishers.
35. Kant, Marion (June 7, 2007). The Cambridge Companion to Ballet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 231–232. ISBN 9781139827195.
36. Balanchine, George; Mason, Francis (1977). Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Great Ballets. Doubleday. ISBN 9780385113816.
37. Zola, Preface to Thérèse Raquin.

Works cited

• Corbin, Henry (2016). Avicenna and the visionary recital. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691630540.
• Daly, Jonathan (19 December 2013). The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-1851-6.
• Pasnau, Robert; Dyke, Christina Van (2010). Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy, Volume 1. Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

• Arikha, Noga (2007). Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours. Harpers. ISBN 978-0060731175
• Edelman, Kathleen (2019). I Said This, You Heard That: How Your Wiring Colors Your Communication. North Point Resources. ISBN 978-1943535415

External links

• In Our Time (BBC Radio 4) episode on the four humours in MP3 format, 45 minutes
• I Said This, You Heard That (A Group Study in the Four Temperaments) interactive workbook format that includes a temperament assessment; accompanying teaching videos available through the free app.
• Shakespeare and the Four Humors