No two people on earth are alike, and the personality that each of us has is a vivid example of this. Nevertheless, our character and our personality are built on a foundation that is believed to be determined from birth; these foundations are called temperament.
From Hippocrates to the present day, we have been grouped according to human temperaments, in an attempt to highlight those innate characteristics of our way of being that we share with others. We tell you all about the 4 types of temperament that exist.
- Related article: “The 17 types of feelings (that a person can experience)”.
What is temperament?
The temperament is the basic structure on which we build our personality, and it is that peculiarity and it is that peculiarity that predominates in the form in which our mood and our motivation is constituted.
This structure is given from our genetic configuration, which therefore has a component of our personality that is inherited. This is important to highlight because it means that we cannot change our temperament type, it remains almost always the sameIt remains almost always the same, independent of the situations to which we are exposed in our lives, as well as the way in which we live our emotions.
- Related article: “The 6 types of different emotions that we can feel”.
From the 4 moods to the 4 temperaments
We know that since the beginning of our civilizations we have been interested in studying and understanding the human personality. Well, there are 4 types of temperaments that we can have and we have been able to determine them thanks to the theory of the four humors written by Hippocrates around the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
Hippocrates was a physician of ancient Greece who, based on the belief of the time that only a few elements combined together make up everything that exists in the world, built the idea that our body is composed of 4 basic liquid substances which he called humors.
These 4 liquid substances or 4 humors were: phlegm, whose element is water; blood, whose element is air; yellow bile, associated with the element fire; and black bile, with its element earth. For Hippocrates and his medical vision, the balance of these 4 liquids in the body is what keeps us healthy.while an imbalance in these liquids produced illnesses.
It was some time later, in the 2nd century B.C. that Galen of Pergamon transformed the theory of humors into the theory of basic temperaments that we know today. For him, these 4 humors and the level at which we have them in the body determine our type of temperament, so that according to the amounts of substances we could know the behavior of people or the way they express their emotions.
The 4 types of temperament of the human being
These are the 4 types of temperament that we have as people according to Galen’s theory of temperaments:
1. Phlegmatic temperament
People with a phlegmatic temperament are characterized by having a calm type of behavior, they do not get angry easily and always keep their composure, so there are those who consider it to be the most pleasant temperament of all.
Phlegmatic people avoid being the center of attention, they tend to be somewhat shy and do not like to have leadership roles. They are also people who avoid commitments and do not show their emotions too much, which does not mean that they do not experience them intensely.
People with this type of temperament are kind-hearted and very compassionate.. They like to share with others, so they are surrounded by friends and have a natural sense of humor. They do very well in the areas of engineering, mathematics, drawing, public administration and teaching.
Their associated element is water.
2. Blood Temperament
You will easily realize which of your friends have this type of temperament, because they are cheerful people, they are always the life of the party, they love to be surrounded by people and they are very extroverted.
The sanguine ones are warm and very sensitive people. and although many times we can think that they are completely sure of themselves, they are not so sure of themselves. People with this type of temperament are more driven by feelings than by reason.
These people are always active and like to live in the moment. If anything, they can be somewhat disorderly and weak-willed, especially when it comes to having a good time.
The element of sanguine people is air.
3. Choleric temperament
People with this type of temperament are characterized by being super energetic, independent and proactive. They are fast and very active people.They are always involved in new projects and activities, because they like to keep busy.
Choleric people are extroverted but less so than sanguine people. They are determined, self-confident and are not deterred by obstacles. They perform very well in positions of leadership and productivity, and are excellent motivators. They can be explosive, they can be explosiveThey can be explosive, somewhat hostile and perhaps insensitive to the problems of others.
The element of this temperament type is fire.
4. Melancholic Temperament
These are those people who are highly sensitive in their emotions, very creative, somewhat introvertedvery creative, somewhat introverted and self-sacrificing. It is said that people with a melancholic temperament have a higher level of intelligence than others.
Melancholic people are very good and faithful friends, although they do not seek friends, but rather wait to be approached. They are also very talented, analytical and critical. They regulate their disciplines very well and perform best in any vocation that requires talent and creativity.
In any case, this type of temperament can be depressive and a bit egocentric, as they tend to compare themselves with others.They tend to compare themselves with others.
His element is the earth.
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