Temperament Theory
Temperament theory describes four organizing patterns of personality and is based in descriptions of behavior that go back over twenty-five centuries. It tells us the “why” of behavior, our motivators, and sources of deep psychological stress. Knowing our temperament patterns tells us our core needs and values as well as the talents we are more likely to be drawn to develop.
History of the Four Temperaments
The human community can be regarded as a system, holistic in nature, seeking survival. Throughout the ages, observers of human behavior have repeatedly identified four major patterns or configurations of behavior. Such holistic sorting of behavior patterns has been recorded for at least twenty-five centuries.
In 450 B.C., Hippocrates described four such dispositions he called temperaments—a choleric temperament with an ease of emotional arousal and sensitivity; a phlegmatic temperament with cool detachment and impassivity; a melancholic temperament with a very serious, dour, and downcast nature; and a sanguine temperament full of impulsivity, excitability, and quick reactivity. During the Middle Ages, Philippus Paracelsus described four natures whose behaviors were said to be influenced by four kinds of spirits: nymphs, sylphs, gnomes, and salamanders.
Most twentieth-century psychologists abandoned holistic observation of human behavior for a microscopic examination of parts, fragments, traits, and so on. To them, all human beings were basically alike, and individual differences were due to chance or conditioning.
Two German psychologists, Ernst Kretschmer and Eduard Spränger, were among the few to continue to view individuals holistically in terms of patterns. Inspired by their work, a modern psychologist, David Keirsey, noted common themes in the various observations and the consistent tendency of human behavior to sort itself into four similar patterns. These four major patterns are referred to as temperaments. They describe the ways human personality interacts with the environment to satisfy its needs. Linda Berens continues to expand our understanding of these four temperaments through her unique contributions; including the core needs, values, talents, and behaviors of the four temperament patterns.
The Theorist Temperament
The INTJ personality type is classified as belonging to the “Theorist” Temperament:
“The Theorist’s core needs are for mastery of concepts, knowledge, and competence. Theorists want to understand the operating principles of the universe and to learn or even develop theories for everything. They value expertise, logical consistency, concepts and ideas, and seek progress. They abstractly analyze a situation and consider previously un-thought-of possibilities. Research, analysis, searching for patterns, and developing hypotheses are quite likely to be their natural modus operandi.”
Adapted from: Understanding Yourself and Others®: An Introduction to Temperament-3.0
January 17th, 2009 at 11:27 am
You’re easily convinced.
January 17th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Actually, no — I’m a hardened skeptic. However, I’ve been using multiple models of psychological type for over 15 years (mainly in conjunction with my role a software development project manager), and I’ve discovered that these principles work in the real world, when applied correctly.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Reading a psychological review such as this can not be taken literally, as variables, some stronger in some areas and weaker in others as development allows, will likely come off as “wrong” when taken too literally. Life is flexible, and though individuals can be put in these categories, they can not be defined completely by them. Allowing for anomalies, is the best way to understand this.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:15 am
You are quite correct. Temperament theory is just that — a “theory.” And it’s not intended to be prescriptive, merely descriptive. Like if someone observes that you have blue eyes, that doesn’t define you as a person, it’s just a way of sorting and describing you. So to observe that I exhibit characteristics of the Theorist Temperament is just sorting me. This does not define me as a person, nor does it preclude me from exhibiting characteristics normally found in the other Temperaments. But when it comes to understanding my inner motivations and those of others around me, this theory can be very useful.