Different Types of Personality
Scientists believe that your character is a mix of four basic personality types: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic.
The Difference Between
Character and Temperament
Scientists say that about 50 percent of the variations in human personality are defined by genetic factors. However, personality is built of two entirely different traits: character and temperament. What's the difference? The difference is that character traits come from your experiences like your parents' habits, preferences and values, norms of your society in expressing love and hate, what your relatives considered to be normal and acceptable, what was considered dangerous, what was considered funny and many other cultural aspects.
Temperament, however, is the balance of your personality. These are biologically based tendencies that you inherited from your parents. This is your disposition to think and feel in a certain way that appeared from your early childhood.
Learning about the temperaments will help you understand others and your own self better.
Biology of Different Types of Personality
Since the days of Ancient Greece and until nowadays it was confirmed that there are four different types of personality. These are broad basic personality types that are usually present in a unique mix that defines how you think, feel and behave. These are sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic. Long ago, each of these types was associated with a dominant humor present in the body: sanguine - blood humor, phlegmatic - phlegm humor, choleric - yellow bile humor, melancholic - black bile humor. Additionally to that, the latest research shows that these four basic temperaments are associated with chemicals, like dopamine (for sanguine type), estrogen (for phlegmatic type), testosterone (for choleric type) and serotonin (for melancholic type).
The sanguine type is characterized by spontaneity, optimism, enthusiasm, high energy, mental flexibility, novelty seeking, impulsiveness and curiosity. These traits are associated with specific genes in the dopamine system. These people often have very expressive faces and love using words like "adventure", "energy", "new", "fun", "active", "travel" and the like.
The phlegmatic type people are mainly defined by their social skills like their ability express themselves and read other people face expressions and body language. They do well at connecting facts and seeing "the big picture". They are nurturing, sympathetic, agreeable and emotionally expressive. Some of these character traits are linked with estrogen that is present in both, men and women. Physically you can recognize them by their smooth skin, full lips, round faces and small noses. Their favorite words are "passion", "passionate", "sensitive" and "sweet".
The choleric type is associated with testosterone, which is also present in men and women. These people are direct, focused, tough, analytical, logical and strategic. They have a great deal of courage and like to compete. They often have square jaws, high cheekbones and high foreheads. They use words like "intellect", "ambition" and "challenge".
Melancholics tend to be calm, loyal and orderly. They are cautious and conventional. These men and women inherited genes in the serotonin system. Their favorite words are "family", "loyal", "respect", "caring", "values" and "moral".
Most people are unique blend of four different types of personality, where all of the traits are present to some extend. However, some of these traits will be predominant. Your predominant type will be considered your main temperament. And while you most probably display all four temperaments to some extend, you still can easily identify two leading temperaments - your basic temperament and your secondary temperament.
