TEMPERAMENT types and their characteristics

Temperament and character are two concepts that are often confused due to their strictly close relationship, however, they are different terms. If you want to know in depth the different types of temperament and their difference in relation to character, do not hesitate to continue reading this article from Psychology-Online: types of temperament and their characteristics. In this article you will discover what temperament is, the definition of temperament according to psychology, the types of temperament that exist and what each of the types of temperament is like.

Index

1. Temperament and character: difference
2. 4 types of temperament
3. Blood temperament
4. Choleric temperament
5. Melancholic temperament
6. Phlegmatic temperament

What is temperament?

According to the psychological definition of temperament, the term temperament refers to the combination of biological aspects that characterize us since we are born and have a stable duration throughout life, in addition, the temperament is responsible for regulating our behavior and behaviors in different situations. There are different types of temperament that we will see below.

What is character?

The definition of character refers to the the way people express our temperament internal and innate, but, in this case, there is not such a marked stability as in the case of temperament, since in the character changes can occur as time passes. Thus, these modifications are possible because people learn with time and experience and, in Depending on what has been learned, a series of changes will be made in the character or not, depending on the benefits that carry.

Difference between temperament and character

Both character and temperament are sets of characteristics of people that define personality. The main difference between temperament and character is The originWhile temperament is biological and innate, character is learned. In this sense, when we intend to describe a person exhaustively, we normally go to detail the aspects that define the character of that person, since character is what people show on a social level. The second difference difference between temperament and character derives from the first and is its possibility of modification. Temperament, being biological, is more stable and remains the same, while character, being learned, can be modified through learning.

In short, as we have been able to show, temperament and character are two concepts that are easily confused due to the relationship between them, since both are part of the personality.

The classification of Hippocrates offers 4 types of temperament. That is, it classifies temperament into four different types according to its characteristics. The 4 types of temperament are: temperament sanguine, temperament choleric, temperament melancholic and temperament phlegmatic. Next we will present each of the types of temperaments.

The sanguine temperament It is considered as the hot and humid temperament due to an excess of blood. This type of temperament is based on a fast and balanced nervous system, which encourages people to have a level high sensitivity, low degree of activity, little concentration, high flexibility in the face of changes, and so on.

This type of temperament, that is, the sanguine temperament is typical of the warm, cheerful, optimistic, outgoing, communicative people, talkative, enthusiastic, sociable and of great sensitivity. People with a sanguine temperament are people emotionally unstable, selfish, self-centered, undisciplined, with a little willpowerThey want to be the center of attention and they do their best for it, they are restless, carefree, disorganized and, despite being outgoing, they prove to be insecure people. They are usually people who put feelings before thoughts when making decisions, they have an easy excitability of the feelings, and these feelings are not deep or stable over time, emotionally they need a lot of affection and they tend to have a very emotional mood. variable.

The choleric temperament is defined by a fast and unbalanced nervous system, which is characterized by causing people to have a level high sensitivity, activity, of attention and concentration and, they are flexible people to changes.

This type of temperament, that is, the choleric temperament refers to those people who demonstrate fast, very active, bold, excitable, irascible, practical in making their decisions, self-sufficient, independent, extroverted (but not as much as blood people), they set goals and objectives, they are ambitious, intuitive, warm, willing, determined people, with firm opinions, imposing, dominant, manipulative, creative (they have many ideas, plans, goals, objectives ...), they consider themselves very capable of achieving what they want. propose, among others. In addition, it should be noted that these are people with great ease to turn on and download emotions with great intensity.

The melancholic temperament is characterized by a weak nervous system, a fact that causes people with a high predominance in this type of temperament to have a high sensitivity, high level of activity, concentration and attention, and a low degree of flexibility between changes.

In addition, people with a melancholic temperament are characterized by being introverted, not very expressive, perfectionist, pessimistic, jealous, anxious, unsociable, distrustful, overly emotionally sensitive, prone to suffering, their mood is usually a deep and stable sadness in the time, they tend to give great importance to everything creating unnecessary worries and difficulties, etc.

Phlegmatic temperament is understood to be one that is based on a slow and balanced nervous system, which characterizes people by having a low level of sensitivity, high activity, concentration and attention, with low flexibility in the face of changes.

People with this type of temperament are characterized by being introverted, calm, emotionally balanced, apathetic, calm, serious, impassive, rational, calculators, analytical, capable, cold, firm, they are people who almost never lose their composure or get angry frequently, they take their time to say and may have difficulties in making decisions, among others. People with this type of temperament tend to be easy-going people compared to the other temperaments, therefore, it also turns out to be the most pleasant temperament.

Finally, it should be noted that the phlegmatic temperament is distinguished from the other three due, especially, to its tendency to focus on its inner life and try not to enter or get involved in the activities and personal life of others, showing little expressive affection.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of temperament and their characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.

• Delgado, H. (1943). Character types.
• McBride, R. (2013). Characteristics of temperament - Sanguineous, Choleric, Phlegmatic and Melancholic.