Have you ever wondered how people can experience similar life situations and yet react so differently to them? How certain behaviors are so typical and predictable for each one of us?

The answer may lie in the four-temperament theory that originated with Hippocrates four hundred years before Christ was born, though it gained wide acceptance only a few decades back when Tim LaHaye and, more recently, Florence Littauer popularized it.

To understand the concept of four personalities, we must appreciate the fact that all of us are unique and were born with our own set of strengths and weaknesses. Until we recognize our uniqueness, we can’t understand how people can sit in the same seminar and listen to the same speaker for the same amount of time and all achieve different degrees of success.

Once we identify our basic temperament traits, it is easy to understand the following four personality types which define the entire human race:

Popular “Sanguine” Personality: If you are “Sanguine” then you are charismatic, have an appealing personality, are talkative and a storyteller, life of the party, have a good sense of humor, physically hold on to the listener, are emotional and demonstrative, cheerful and bubbling over, curious, good on stage, wide-eyed and innocent, live in the present, sincere at heart, and are always a child.

You start in a flashy way, volunteer for jobs, inspire others to join, charm others to work, make friends easily, thrive on compliments, seem exciting on surface, don’t hold grudges, apologize quickly, and like spontaneous activities.

Perfect “Melancholic” Personality: If you are “Melancholy” then you are deep and thoughtful, analytical, serious and purposeful, genius prone, talented and creative, artistic and philosophical, appreciative of beauty, seek the ideal mate, are sensitive to others, self-sacrificing, meticulous, and idealistic.

You want everything done right, are schedule oriented, perfectionist, detail conscious, orderly and organized, devoted and loyal, find creative solutions, set high standards, are moved to tears with compassion, and like charts, graphs, figures, and lists.

Powerful “Choleric” Personality: If you are “Choleric” then you are a born leader, dynamic and active, strong willed and decisive, unemotional, see display of emotions as weakness, not easily discouraged, independent and self-sufficient, organize well, exude confidence, can run anything, can see the whole picture, move quickly to action, delegate work, insist on production, set the goals, and stimulate activity.

You exert sound leadership, seek practical solutions, thrive on opposition, have little need for friends, must correct wrongs, are usually right, and excel in emergencies.

Peaceful “Phlegmatic” Personality: If you are “Phlegmatic” then you are a low-key personality, easygoing and relaxed, calm, cool, and collected, patient and well balanced, quiet but witty, sympathetic and kind, keep emotions hidden, are happily reconciled to life, can take good with the bad, don’t get upset easily, are peaceful and agreeable, have administrative ability, mediate problems, and are an all-purpose person.

You are good under pressure, find the easy way, easy to get along with, inoffensive, good listener, have a dry sense of humor, enjoy watching people, have many friends, and even your enemies don’t have anything bad to say about you.

Most of us have one dominant temperament with a secondary in another temperament, and some scattered traits.

Some of us have an equal proportion of two personality types and are called complimentary blends such as Choleric-Melancholy or Sanguine-Phlegmatic.

Even rarer are the “opposites combined” such as Sanguine-Melancholy (this is the most emotional combination) or Choleric-Phlegmatic which can put obvious internal conflicts into one person. People who function in these extremes are said to have acquired one of the “masks” as a learned response to the hurts of the past, but this falls under the purview of Clinical Psychology and thus beyond the scope of this article.

It is tempting at this point to quote statistics which show that many showbiz and page three personalities show marked Sanguine traits, many in uniform and business leaders tend to be Choleric, many people engaged in artistic or literary pursuits have a Melancholy disposition, and quite a few Psychiatrists and administrators seem to possess a Phlegmatic temperament.

However, we need to remember that people from all four personality types can be found in every trade and profession, though they are likely to be more successful in a particular field due to their respective inborn personality traits.

Does this theory attempt to “compartmentalize” us into categories? Not at all! Whether we want to accept or not, we are already in our own little “boxes” and do not believe that there is anybody else in this world quite like us, which is true. But, then it’s true for everybody else too, isn’t it?

The idea behind this discussion is just to gain a better understanding or our real selves. Remember all the great heroes we studied in Shakespeare: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and the Henry’s? They all were great men who accomplished much, but each one had a “tragic flaw” that caused his downfall. As with these men of old, each one of us has some “tragic flaw,” which, left untended, may result in a downfall for us.

Popular Sanguine’s great ability to carry on a colorful conversation is a plus envied by others, but carried to extremes, he is constantly talking, monopolizing, interrupting, and straying too far from the truth.

Perfect Melancholy’s deep analytical thinking is a genius trait, much respected by those of lighter minds; yet carried to extremes, he becomes brooding and depressed.

Powerful Choleric’ gift for quick, incisive leadership is desperately needed in every phase of life today; but carried to extremes, he becomes bossy, controlling, and manipulative.

Similarly, peaceful Phlegmatic’s easygoing nature is an admirable combination that makes him the favorite of any group; yet carried to extremes, he doesn’t care about doing anything and is indifferent and indecisive.

Whether we accept this theory or not is our individual choice, but I’m sure we all will agree that if it can help us emerge as the winners that we were born to be, it’s definitely worth our time of the day.

Each one of us has hero blood within our veins, and how exciting it is to discover our strengths and use them wisely and realize that God created us just a little lower than the angels!

About the Author

Parikshit Bhardwaj is a prolific writer, thought leader and media professional with 20+ years of rich experience in creating content for academic and professional audiences. He was chosen by the United States Department of State for its flagship International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) fellowship in 2023. He has spearheaded Content & Strategy functions across industries such as Online Media, Academic Books & Journals Publishing & Study Abroad and has worked with brands such as SAGE Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, and NIIT Ltd. He can be reached at parikshitbhardwaj7@gmail.com