Temperament

In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned. A great many classificatory schemes for temperament have been developed; none, though, has achieved general consensus in academia.

Historically, the concept of temperament was part of the theory of the four humors, with their corresponding four temperaments. The historical concept played an identifiable part in pre-modern psychology, and was explored by philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Hermann Lotze. David W. Keirsey also drew upon the early models of temperament when developing the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. More recently, scientists seeking evidence of a biological basis of personality have further examined the relationship between temperament and character (defined in this context as developmental aspects of personality). However, biological correlations have proven hard to confirm.

Temperament is determined through specific behavioral profiles, usually focusing on those that are both easily measurable and testable early in childhood. Commonly tested factors include irritability, activity, frequency of smiling, and an approach posture or avoidant posture to unfamiliar events. There is generally a low correlation between descriptions by teachers and behavioral observations by scientists of features used in determining temperament. Temperament is hypothesized to be associated with biological factors, but these have proven difficult to test directly.

Historically, in the second century A.D., the physician Galen described four temperaments (melancholic, phlegmatic, sanguine and choleric) based upon the four humours or bodily fluids. These became known as the four classical temperaments. In more recent history, Rudolf Steiner had emphasized the importance of the four classical temperaments in elementary education, the time when he believed the influence of temperament on the personality to be at its strongest. Neither Galen nor Steiner are generally applied to the contemporary study of temperament in the approaches of modern medicine or contemporary psychology.

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