Temperaments: Definition, Examples, & Types

By Eser Yilmaz, M.S., Ph.D.
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
What are temperaments? Discover the meaning and origins of this concept, and explore its implications for child development and our behaviors.
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We humans come in all shapes and sizes, both physically and psychologically. Some of us get irritated quickly, and others can’t be bothered by anything. Some of us look for an opportunity to chit-chat with the stranger sitting next to us on a long flight. Yet, some of us pretend to sleep, so we can avoid talking to our seatmates. Whatever you think is a natural way to behave might be completely strange or brackish to someone else.
Typically, our behavioral and emotional inclinations are apparent even as infants. You might have noticed this phenomenon with the small ones in your life or overheard others label their children, siblings, or other young relatives as shy, sensitive, easy, or difficult. These labels are just a few examples of temperaments. In this article, we will define temperaments, discuss their development, and explore different temperament types.
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What Is Temperament? (A Definition)

Temperament is one of the many factors that influence our behaviors. Roughly, we can define temperament as the collection of our behavioral tendencies that determine our emotional and behavioral reactions to what’s happening around us. In short, temperament is the unique dispositional makeup of an individual. 

So, what do we mean by a collection of tendencies or dispositional makeup? Our temperaments are multidimensional, consisting of several independent behavioral traits, such as sociability, emotionality, reactivity, attention, and persistence. We all have distinct inclinations for each trait, and the overall combination of our inclinations makes up our unique temperaments. 

Let’s take sociability and emotionality, for instance. A person may be shy or outgoing, which is independent of whether they are sensitive or impassive. As you can imagine, a shy and sensitive person may perceive and react to a situation differently than her shy and insensitive friend or an outgoing and sensitive cousin. Therefore, the unique combinations of our personality traits provide the nuances of our emotional and behavioral reactions.

The Four Temperaments

The concept of temperaments is nothing new. In fact, it was first proposed by the father of medicine, Hippocrates, in the fourth century B.C., suggesting that human behavioral tendencies and moods are linked to four humors. Of course, there was nothing funny about the “humors” in this context, which simply signified to Hippocrates the four distinct types of bodily fluids: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm (Merenda, 1987). 

Hippocrates’s belief that changes in bodily fluids cause our moods and dispositions may sound ridiculous to you. However, his attempt at a physiological explanation for behavioral differences was a step in the right direction when everyone else thought our mental states, creativity, and poor decisions were controlled or caused by Olympian gods, muses, and evil spirits. 

Although Hippocrates was the first to think of a connection between bodily fluids and behavior, it was a physician named Galen of Pergamon in the second century A.D, who further developed and promoted the concept of temperaments. According to Galen, the optimal proportions of these four bodily fluids resulted in a balanced disposition and physical appearance (Merenda, 1987). After all, the word temperament originates from the Latin word temperamentum, which means a mixture of correct proportions of elements. Yet, any imbalance of these fluids, Galen thought, was the root cause of distinct emotions, moods, behaviors, and specific physical characteristics (Merenda, 1987). Hence, based on the supposed excess of each bodily fluid, he developed the four classic temperaments. Let’s discuss them.
Temperament 1: Sanguine
Sanguine means blood in Latin. Thus, as you may have already guessed, the sanguine temperament was associated with an excess of blood. Galen described people with sanguine temperaments as optimistic, social, and lively (Dammeyer & Zettler, 2018). In other words, individuals with a sanguine temperament tend to be talkative, friendly, and carefree. People have also attributed artistic tendencies and being imaginative to sanguine temperaments, as well as the tendencies to be disorganized and easily bored. 

Temperament 2: Phlegmatic
The phlegmatic temperament is associated with, well, phlegm - like the gooey mucus you cough up when you have a cold. Yet, unlike how tense and restless you might feel when your lungs are covered with phlegm, the phlegmatic temperament symbolizes being content, peaceful, and relaxed (Dammeyer & Zettler, 2018). And since phlegm is relatively dense, slow to move, and sticky, people thought phlegmatic individuals were slow to warm up to social situations and tended to stick to their routines, and were unwilling to welcome drastic changes to their lifestyles. 

Temperament 3: Choleric
The origin of the word choleric is from Greek kholerikos, which means gall or yellowish-green bile. Thus, the choleric temperament is linked to this shiny fluid that is less dense than blood. What did this signify for the thinkers in antiquity? According to them, individuals with choleric temperaments were short-tempered, irritable, and quick to react (Dammeyer & Zettler, 2018). Moreover, choleric individuals were also thought to be excitable and impulsive go-getters, who were more ambitious than others.

Temperament 4: Melancholic
Even if you have never heard of the three temperaments we have discussed so far, you might be somewhat familiar with the name of the fourth. In fact, many people use the words melancholy or melancholic when they talk about feeling sad or gloomy. Nonetheless, the melancholic temperament isn’t limited to sitting quietly in a corner and nursing your sorrows. 

Melancholic comes from the Greek words melan (black) and khole (bile), which simply means black bile. In ancient times, people called the dark and viscous humor located in the kidneys and spleen black bile. Given these organs are rich in blood, what they likely observed was the dark sediment of blood in these organs upon their removal from an animal’s body. Regardless, the thinkers in those times attributed traits such as being reserved, quiet, cautious, and analytical to this elusive bodily fluid.

Temperaments in Modern Psychology

We still use temperaments as a way to describe people’s behavioral and emotional inclinations. Yet, our understanding of temperaments has come a long way since antiquity. Psychologists define temperaments as “psychological tendencies with intrinsic paths of development” that reflect the personality traits of the five-factor model (McCrae et al., 2000).  

So, if temperaments reflect the traits of the “big five personality traits” or other personality models, then are the concepts of personality and temperament interchangeable? Although some equate them or think of temperament as an element of personality, others acknowledge these two terms as related (yet distinct) concepts (Strelau, 1987). 

Simply put, temperaments are our innate tendencies or our natural ways to feel and behave. In other words, temperaments are the collections of traits we are born with. Therefore, there is very little we can do to change our temperaments. Personality, however, encompasses the characteristic behavior and thought patterns of an individual that may be shaped and molded by our social interactions, education, economic status, and other circumstances and major events throughout our lives. Hence, one may think of temperament as reflecting the “nature” origin of our behavior, whereas personality incorporates “nurture” into how we act and think. Here is a brief video that explains temperament and personality.

Video: Temperament and Personality ​

Is Temperament Genetic?

Now that we have mentioned that temperaments are our inborn behavioral qualities, you may be wondering whether there is a genetic basis for how we behave. Indeed, this is something I used to ask myself quite often when I was growing up. I was one of those shy children typically referred to as “quiet as a mouse” whereas my brother was the energetic, outgoing, and popular kid. Although we were siblings, our temperaments were completely opposite of each other in every aspect. However, my stoical nature combined with my sluggish movements often deeply frustrated my mother, who was the grown-up version of my brother. “You are just like your grandmother!” she’d tell me in those moments of anger and annoyance, referring to her mother-in-law. 

As you might have guessed, thinking about the temperamental differences between me and my brother made me believe that our behavioral tendencies can’t be genetic. Because if they were, we’d have similar dispositions, I would argue. So, I would try to mimic my brother’s actions to be more like him and end up feeling exhausted and overstimulated. Then, I’d look at the similarities between my mother and brother and contemplate whether I was really like my grandmother. This time, I’d be convinced that temperaments must be inherited. Finally, as an adult, I have a better understanding. 

Some scientists argue that genetics is responsible for up to 60 percent of our temperamental traits, such as the ones in the Big Five personality model. For instance, studies comparing twins' behaviors have shown that 40 to 60 percent of their behavior traits were shared (Power & Pluess, 2015). Until recently, however, underlying genetic architecture remained primarily elusive. This is because genes contain hereditary information for proteins (and other physical structures) in our cells and tissues, and linking a specific behavioral tendency to the function of a protein or two isn’t an easy task. Nevertheless, this has started to change.

Curiosity and openness to experience are traits that a group of researchers was curious about its biological underpinnings. Thus, they hypothesized that genes expressed in the prefrontal cortex - the cognitive control hub in the brain - might be responsible. A signaling pathway integral for the proper functioning of this brain region is the dopamine pathway, also known as the motivation circuitry. After analyzing genetic variations in more than 800 subjects, they identified two genes involved in dopamine signaling: dopamine receptor type 4 (DDR4) and an enzyme that degrades dopamine, known as COMT. Certain variations of these genes were associated with exploratory tendencies and openness to experience (DeYoung et al., 2011). 

Similar studies have been done to characterize the genetic variations underlying other behavioral traits, such as introversion and aggression (Godar et al., 2016). Yet, the biological basis of temperaments isn’t limited to the presence of unique gene variants. Biologists have known for a long time that environmental influences (i.e., malnutrition, child abuse, excellent parenting, etc.) can act like light switches that can turn specific genes on or off. If these changes are persistent in an individual’s life, they can cause semi-permanent changes to these genes’ activation states, which we call epigenetic modifications. In other words, environmental factors can also have a long-lasting influence on temperamental traits. Indeed, epigenetic modifications have been identified for risk-taking tendencies (Kaminsky et al., 2008).

If you want to learn a little more about this topic, you may enjoy this video.

Video: Temperament, Heredity, And Genes

Temperament in Child Development

If you have learned one thing so far in this article, it might be that temperaments are behavioral traits that we are born with. This means we should be able to distinguish different temperaments even in the youngest people. In fact, if you were to visit any daycare facility and observe the babies and toddlers for a while, you would likely notice a variety of temperaments. Some little ones would crawl toward you and start poking your legs, and some would smile and wave gleefully from where they sit, some would cry and hide behind their caregivers as soon as you enter the room, and some would ignore your presence as if you are invisible. But what do temperaments mean during child development?

Each child has a unique temperament, consisting of a specific combination of behavioral traits. Therefore, each child has their own way of interacting with other people and reacting to the events and circumstances in their surroundings. Understanding a child’s temperament can help parents, teachers, and other caregivers understand the child's strengths, weaknesses, and specific needs and allow the grown-ups to provide appropriate support. Moreover, knowing a child’s temperament also enables you to set realistic behavioral expectations. For instance, if your little one is reserved and slow to warm up to strangers, he might not want to sit on Santa’s lap or give your aunt’s sister-in-law a hug, and forcing him otherwise might get you both stressed out.  

Temperament in child development has been a focus of research since the mid-twentieth century. A classic study by psychologists Thomas and Chess examined several temperamental qualities in infants and observed the influences of these qualities over many years (Thomas & Chess, 1986). As a result, they came up with nine main temperament traits, which child psychologists and educators still use. Let’s discuss these nine temperament traits with examples.

Examples of Temperaments

  1. Activity level: This temperament refers to how active a person is. For instance, some individuals feel the need to move constantly. These high-activity individuals tend to move from one physical activity to another. As children, they may have trouble sitting still in class and fidget with their pencils. In contrast, low activity individuals tend to enjoy calmer activities. 
  2. Biological rhythms: This temperament is associated with the regularity of fulfilling biological needs, such as eating and sleeping. People with regular rhythms tend to stick to routines and have predictable daily patterns. On the other hand, people with irregular rhythms might forget to eat a meal, feel sleepy sometime during the day or not feel sleepy past their bedtime. 
  3. Sensitivity: Sensitivity refers to the intensity of the perception of certain stimuli. For instance, highly sensitive people may be bothered by many sounds, textures, and bright lights that others don’t even notice. 
  4. Intensity of reaction: This temperament is associated with how strongly a person reacts to something. High-intensity individuals tend to have powerful reactions to even the slightest situations and create drama. In contrast, low-intensity individuals respond to even a major event as if it isn’t a big deal.
  5. Adaptability: Adaptability indicates whether someone can easily adjust to changes in their environment. Highly adaptable individuals can handle unexpected changes with ease. However, slow to adapt individuals may need additional time to feel comfortable with the same change.
  6. Approach/withdrawal: Similar to adaptability, this temperament refers to how people tend to approach new situations or changes. People with an approaching style can easily meet new people or try new things. Yet, withdrawing individuals may hang back, observe, and assess the new situation or people before joining in or taking action.
  7. Persistence: This trait focuses on how long someone is willing to try and stick to a task. Persistent individuals tend to do whatever they can to reach the finish line. People with low persistence can be overwhelmed by the slightest challenge and give up easily.
  8. Distractibility: This trait refers to whether a person tends to be distracted easily. Highly distractible people have difficulties paying attention to a task for long periods. They may also find it challenging to focus on a task when there are distractions in the environment. On the other hand, people with low distractibility can be absorbed in what they are doing, even in the loudest places.
  9. Mood: Mood indicates the direction of our feelings. People with positive moods tend to see things from a brighter perspective and appear generally cheerful. In contrast, people with negative moods may have a gloomier attitude. ​

Articles Related to Temperament​

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Books Related to Temperament​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

Final Thoughts on Temperament

Temperaments are essential behavioral characteristics that make us who we are. Since temperaments are the behavioral inclinations we are born with, there isn’t much we can do to change them. Yet, knowing our temperaments may allow us to understand our strengths and weaknesses better. Similarly, understanding the temperaments of our loved ones can help us set realistic behavioral expectations.

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