We explain what temperament is for psychology and what types exist according to different theories. Also, differences with character.
What is temperament?
In psychiatry and psychology, temperament is the common and basic way in which a certain individual deals with the situations of his life. It refers to both the dominant structure of humor and motivation of the persons, as well as the intensity of his psychic affections, that is to say, it is his natural and spontaneous way of interacting with the environment. It should not be confused with personality nor with him character.
The temperament, unlike other psychic factors, is stable and hereditary, and the external factors of life do not intervene in it. In fact, in a child at an early age the temperament that he will have throughout his life can already be evidenced, according to the style of conduct It is more natural for you to react to situations.
From the antiquity classical study of temperament has interested the humanity, partly as a way to classify and predict human reactions. In fact, the word same comes from latin temperamentum, a form derived from the verb temperare ("Mix" or "dilute"), and that could be translated as "the unique mixture of each one" or "the combination of each one".
Types of temperament
The ancient greeks, and especially the physicians Hippocrates (460-370 BC) and Galen (129-200) based their studies on the Body and human psychology in the supposed existence of four fundamental humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile), which as emanations of the soul could determine the four human temperaments:
- Blood temperament. The one in which blood predominates, is outgoing and great flexibility in front of the environment, typical of lively, active, intuitive people, willing to enjoy themselves, whose decisions tend to be made based on feelings.
- Phlegmatic temperament. The one in whom phlegm predominates, is calm, calm, serious, impassive and rational, with a tendency towards the Balance and analytical thinking, without fanfare, that takes its time when making a decision.
- Melancholic temperament The person in whom black bile predominates is sad, perfectionist, analytical and highly emotionally sensitive, sometimes predisposed to depression and the introversion. It can present sudden emotional changes and has a low reactivity towards its surroundings.
- Choleric temperament. The one in whom yellow bile predominates, is nervous, unbalanced, hot, fast and very independent, dominant and manipulative, intolerant and not very sensitive to others. He does not require stimuli from his environment, but he is usually the one who stimulates others around him, and is prone to goals unreachable.
This four temperament model was around for centuries, and was in fact the basis of medieval European medicine. Later, however, these archetypes tended to be intermixed, since no one fits them 100%, thus obtaining combinations such as choleric-phlegmatic (COL-FLEM).
Subsequently, many other theories and approaches to the personality and constitution of individuals emerged, most of which used to combine the bodily aspects with the mental or emotional ones. Thus, for example, in his work Constitution and character , the German psychiatrist Ernst Kretschmer (1888-1964) proposed three fundamental physical types:
- Leptosomatic, with a slim body, slender, elongated, angular features, and which appears older than it is.
- Athletic, of average or above average height, muscular, with a large chest and strong shoulders.
- Pycnic, of medium or short stature, short and solid neck, thick and low belly, rounded torso.
According to Kretschmer, this typology corresponded to a certain propensity for one or other mental illnesses; a premise inherited by the American W. H. Sheldon (1898-1977) for his theory of somatotypes, in which said body classification corresponded to certain types of temperament. Thus, Sheldon proposed the following classification:
- Endomorph, similar to Kretschmer's picnic type, is dominated by the viscera, especially the stomach, and it is marked by the embryonic development of the endoderm (intestinal tract). Viscerotonia, an interest in visceral activity and all that this culturally implies dominates in this type of body.
- Mesomorph, similar to Kretschmer's leptosomatic type, is dominated by the nervous system, the senses and the skin, which are formed in the embryo from the ectoderm. Cerebrotonia, the interest in brain and nervous activity, and all that this culturally implies, dominates in this type of body.
- Ectomorph, similar to Kretschmer's athletic type, is dominated by muscles and the bone apparatus, derived from the embryonic mesoderm. Somatotonia, an interest in muscular activity and everything that this culturally implies dominates in this type of body.
These typologies were very popular in the mid-20th century, although today they are considered ancient and outdated approximations, since the union between body and mind (psychosomatic) is described in rather simplistic terms. However, this typology influenced psychoanalytic approaches to personality, such as those proposed by Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) in his personality types.
Temperament and character
While it is possible that in many areas these two terms are used synonymously, according to the American psychiatrist Claude Robert Cloninger (1944-) they are not exactly the same. Unlike temperament, character is usually associated with voluntary aspects of the personality that have to do with self-care and self-monitoring, and consists of four habits or dimensions:
- The avoidance of danger.
- The search for news.
- The dependence of the reward.
- Persistence.
The combination of these four traits thus make up what we call character, and it is about acquired forms, that is, learned, from initial genetic components and tendencies.
In other words, temperament is not modifiable and depends on heredity; while character is, although it is also based initially on the congenital. For this reason, there is a tendency to think that temperament is uncontrollable and ineducable, while character can be modeled.