Classifying Temperaments comes from the Psychology school of thought that believes in categorising people. They believe that people can be put into distinct groups with similar behaviour. This, if such is the case, will mean that people in each category will behave similarly in a given situation. There are some Psychologists, not a few, that insist that people should not be categorised as each individual is very unique.
Most Psychologists and other lay men readily classify human temperaments into four broad groups, viz, Sanguine, Choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. All people were thought to have a combination of any of those four supposed temperaments. The sanguine and the choleric are outgoing, outspoken, popular people. They are good at making social connections and make a lot of gesture when talking.
The Choleric is a goal oriented person and good at leading people to achieve any group target. He/she would hardly back down on his goals or opinions in the face of opposition. This diminishes their popularity as compared to the sanguine. The choleric is impatient with people especially when he/she perceives they are not moving fast enough towards his goals. They have the tendency to loose passion in an object once that goal object is achieved. For instance, when trying to court a potential spouse, the choleric would move heaven and earth to win that person, showing himself to be very romantic. But after winning over that spouse he stops showing that affection that he once showed. They are motivated by their goals and people are their tools to reach those goals. Thus they can be very manipulative in any relationship or partnership.
But the sanguine is not as steel willed as the choleric. He is a team player and considers the feelings of others in decision making. They are very good at public speaking. They are entertainers. They make people around them happy. Their main motivation is their need for attention; that is why they make a lot of friends. Their self esteem becomes deflated if they are rejected by people they try to court or befriend. But they don’t easily give up. Their need for attention makes them try again to gain that person(s)’s attention and they mostly succeed. Thus, they have very few enemies.
The melancholic and the phlegmatic are introverts and people of few words. The phlegmatics are very sluggish and show moderate emotion as compared to the other temperaments. They seem to fear risk taking. They are pessimistic about issues. They are peace makers and try to avoid conflicts as much as possible. They do not show much emotion. They express a moderate need for acceptance and expect a moderate amount in return. They are vey peaceful, their emotions are not easily aroused or excited either by anger or happiness, for instance.
The melancholic are deep thinkers and moody. They are usually intelligent and have a lot of brilliant ideas. They can be good philosophers and scientists. But they are very suspicious and can be manipulative like the choleric. They reject people and turn down friendship opportunities because they think people do not like them
So much is known about the sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments. But does every one fit into the four moulds of temperaments? There are some people who obviously do not fit into the four moulds of temperaments. Such people mainly fall into the fifth temperament, the Supine. What characterises the supine temperament?
The supine is someone who has a high need for acceptance or control from others but is unable to communicate this need to the people around him/her. Instead, the supine expects people to be able to “read” or recognise this need on their own. They try to gain acceptance by liking others and serving them even some times to their own disadvantage. Like the phlegmatics, supines have low self esteem. They become so frustrated if their efforts or “service” is not given the necessary recognition, love, remuneration, etc.
