Key points
- The four temperaments are about 2,000 years old: Galen, who lived from AD 129 to about 200, named them after four bodily humors that Hippocratic medicine linked to health (Four temperaments).
- In 1967 psychologist Hans Eysenck placed the four temperaments on 2 measured dimensions, extraversion and emotional stability (Eysenck, 1967).
- The Big Five, the model most research uses today, has 5 traits, so the temperaments cover only 2 of them (McCrae and Costa, 1997).
- Temperament shifts with age: across 92 samples from long-term studies, people grew more conscientious and emotionally stable, most of all between 20 and 40 (Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006).
Grace's small group
Grace is 52 and leads a Thursday evening study group at her church. One week the group works through a chapter on the four temperaments. Everyone fills in a quiz on paper. Tom is "obviously choleric". Ana laughs that she's the group's sanguine. Grace scores almost the same on melancholic and phlegmatic, and isn't sure which one she is.
On the drive home she wonders: is this real, or just a fun way to talk about ourselves?
Grace isn't a real person, but her question is the one most people reach after a temperament quiz. Here is where the four temperaments come from, what psychology says about them now, and how Grace used her result.
The four temperaments at a glance
humors in ancient medicine: blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. Each temperament is named after one.
Four temperamentsdimensions Eysenck used to place the four: extraversion and emotional stability.
Eysenck, 1967broad traits in the Big Five, the trait model most personality research reports today.
McCrae and Costa, 1997The model has lasted for two thousand years because it names differences people recognize. Science kept some of its ideas and dropped its explanation.
Where the four temperaments come from
- Hippocrates (5th century BC) and the doctors who followed him linked health to a balance of four bodily "humors": blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm (Humorism).
- Galen (2nd century AD) tied the mix of humors to character. The names come from there: sanguine (blood), choleric (yellow bile), melancholic (black bile), phlegmatic (phlegm) (Four temperaments).
- Today no one treats the humors as the cause of personality. The descriptions stay popular because they name differences people recognize. Many Christian readers know the model from books such as Tim LaHaye's Spirit-Controlled Temperament (LaHaye, 1966).
The four temperaments as tradition describes them
Pick a temperament. These are the classic descriptions, not research findings.
Temperament Sanguine
Tends to be
Sociable, lively, optimistic, makes friends easily.
Watch for
Starting many things at once and finishing few.
Temperament Choleric
Tends to be
Decisive, practical, energetic, likes to lead.
Watch for
Impatience with slower people.
Temperament Melancholic
Tends to be
Thoughtful, careful, detailed, sensitive.
Watch for
High standards for yourself, slow to call something done.
Temperament Phlegmatic
Tends to be
Calm, steady, diplomatic, a good listener.
Watch for
Putting off decisions, avoiding conflict.
Tradition itself says few people are one pure temperament. Most have a main one and a secondary one, such as choleric-melancholic.
What psychology says today
- There is a real link to modern research. Hans Eysenck placed the four temperaments on two dimensions he measured, extraversion and emotional stability: sanguine as outgoing and stable, choleric as outgoing and more reactive, melancholic as reserved and more reactive, phlegmatic as reserved and stable (Eysenck, 1967).
- The most used model today has five traits. The Big Five covers openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability, and the same five turn up across many languages (McCrae and Costa, 1997). The temperaments cover two of these. Curiosity, organization and care for others sit mostly outside them. Our Big Five guide explains all five.
- "Temperament" also has a separate scientific meaning: the early tendencies seen in babies, such as activity level and reaction to new things (Thomas and Chess, 1977). That is not the same thing as the four classic temperaments.
| Temperament | Extraversion | Emotional stability |
|---|---|---|
| Sanguine | Outgoing | Stable |
| Choleric | Outgoing | More reactive |
| Melancholic | Reserved | More reactive |
| Phlegmatic | Reserved | Stable |
So the four temperaments are a useful way to talk about differences, but not a measured scientific instrument. Most online temperament tests have not been through validation studies.
A label is not a verdict
"I'm choleric, so I'm impatient" closes the conversation. "I tend to decide fast, and slower people can feel rushed" opens it. Read any result, from any model, as a tendency you can work with.
The four temperaments and Tipolu's five types
Tipolu's five types draw on Big Five trait research. They aren't a translation of the temperaments, but there are resemblances that help if you already know the old model.
| Temperament | Closest Tipolu type | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Choleric | Peak (drive) | Initiative and decisions, without the "hot temper" idea |
| Sanguine | Campfire (warmth) | Sociability plus care for others |
| Phlegmatic | River (calm depth) | Calm under pressure and listening, not passivity |
| Melancholic | Root (order), sometimes River | The detail side goes to Root, the reflective side to River |
| No classic match | Horizon (curiosity) | Curiosity about new ideas has no temperament of its own |
As with temperaments, no one is a single type. You get a main type plus an accent (20 blends) and a 0 to 100 score on each of five traits. Tipolu is free, needs no signup or email, and takes about 5 minutes in the browser. It is a self-knowledge game, not a clinical or diagnostic test, and it publishes no accuracy numbers until its planned validation study is done.
What a crossroads looks like
A temperament quiz asks you to rate statements such as "I make decisions quickly." Tipolu shows you a moment on a trail instead. In one real crossroads, lightning flashes over a valley and your group starts arguing about which way to go. You pick "Pick a direction" or "Breathe first". The first leans Peak, the second River: roughly the choleric and phlegmatic poles of the old model. You can try it, and two others, at the end of this page.
The five types, for temperament readers
Tendencies, not rules. Each line says which temperament it echoes.
Peak
Tends to set the pace and decide.
Echoes: choleric.
You leaned this way in the crossroads below.
Horizon
Drawn to new ideas, places and questions.
Echoes: no classic temperament; curiosity was left out of the old model.
You leaned this way in the crossroads below.
Campfire
Tends to gather people and look after them.
Echoes: sanguine.
You leaned this way in the crossroads below.
River
Steady under pressure, listens before reacting.
Echoes: phlegmatic, and the reflective side of melancholic.
You leaned this way in the crossroads below.
Root
Plans, keeps order, finishes what it starts.
Echoes: the careful, detailed side of melancholic.
You leaned this way in the crossroads below.
How to use your result
Whatever model you use, the same four habits make a result useful. Here is how Grace used hers.
1. Read it as a tendency, not a label
"I tend to decide fast" helps more than "I'm choleric, so that's how I am."
Grace: "I tend to think a long time before I speak" felt truer than either melancholic or phlegmatic.
2. Look at the watch-for line
Every good description shows a strength and what needs care.
Grace: she noticed she often waits too long to raise a problem in the group.
3. Ask someone who knows you
A friend or partner often sees what a quiz misses.
Grace: her husband said "calm in a crisis, slow to decide on paint colors."
4. Compare two models
If you know your temperament, seeing your result in another model shows what repeats and what changes.
Grace: she took Tipolu after the meeting and brought both results the next Thursday.
If Grace took the test
Riverwith a Root accentA River with a Root accent matches Grace's split between phlegmatic and melancholic: the calm, listening side leads, and the careful, detailed side comes second. Her low Peak score fits the "slow to decide" her husband noticed. Two models, one story.
Grace's scores are made up to show what a result looks like.
Lu's tip: Take your temperament quiz and Tipolu in the same week. Where they agree, you've likely found something real about yourself.
Questions people ask
Is the four temperaments test scientific?
Not in the modern sense. It comes from ancient medicine and usually lacks validation studies. Two of its ideas, extraversion and emotional stability, reappear in current research, which is why the descriptions still sound familiar.
Can I have two temperaments?
Yes. Tradition speaks of a main and a secondary temperament. Modern trait models go further and give everyone a score on every trait.
Does temperament change over time?
The core is fairly stable, but personality keeps maturing. On average, people grow more organized and emotionally steady through adulthood (Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006).
What is the rarest temperament?
There is no reliable data on that. Temperament quizzes are not standardized, so no study can count how many people fall into each one.
What is the difference between temperament and personality?
In everyday talk they overlap. In psychology, temperament usually means the early, inborn tendencies seen in babies, and personality is the broader adult pattern built on top of them (Thomas and Chess, 1977).
Which temperament am I if I fit none of them well?
Maybe a mix, or maybe your strongest trait isn't in the model at all. Curiosity, for example, has no temperament of its own. A five-trait test like the Big Five or Tipolu can show it. See also what personality type am I?.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Four temperaments and Humorism, for the history of Hippocrates, Galen and the humors.
- Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The Biological Basis of Personality. Charles C Thomas.
- Thomas, A., and Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and Development. Brunner/Mazel.
- McCrae, R. R., and Costa, P. T. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52(5).
- Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., and Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1).
- LaHaye, T. (1966). Spirit-Controlled Temperament. Tyndale House.
You walk a trail instead of filling a form
Tipolu is a short 3D walk. At each crossroads you pick the path you'd really take, and the companion walking with you at the end shows who you are.
12 to 20 crossroadsEveryday choices on a trail, like a market, a lake, a broken well.
Two campfire questionsShort open answers in your own words.
Your mix, not a boxA main type, an accent, and 0 to 100 scores on five traits, with a report that includes work.
Try three crossroads from the real walk
Pick the path you would really take. No right answers.
Lightning flashes over the valley and your group starts arguing about which way to go.
A family of travelers asks to walk with your group through the forest.
In an empty village you find an old workshop full of odd tools and half-built machines.
Three forks are a guess. The full walk uses 12 to 20 of them plus two campfire questions, and shows your main type, your accent and what that means for work.
Play the free test · 5 minWhich one is walking with you?
Find out how you tend to work before you pick your next path. A short walk, 12 to 20 crossroads, and a report that includes work.
Play the free testAbout 5 minutes · no signup · free