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Although the word "temperament" has been used in social, psychological and personality research for a long time, the temperament model of personality referred to in this section is the model in current popular usage, as originally described by David Keirsey in his book Please Understand Me. As Keirsey notes, temperament is a concept dating back at least to the time of the early Greek and Roman philosophers, who divided people into four broad styles of personality - four styles characterized by different needs, values, skills and behaviors.
In the general meaning of personality, the temperament model is indeed a model of personality. From Keirsey's perspective, personality has two sides, (1) temperament - the inborn form of one's nature, and (2) character - the emergent form that arises from the interaction of one's temperament with one's environment. Not all temperament users make this distinction.This section offers a basic description of the four temperament styles.
Temperaments may be identified by peoples' differences in language (abstract vs. concrete ways of thinking and using words) and peoples' differences in ways of accomplishing things (affiliative vs. pragmatic roles and approaches to getting things done).
The four temperaments are widely referred to these days as the Idealists, Guardians, Rationals, and Artisans. They have the following general characteristics
To learn more about the temperaments, click on the grid below.
Some theorists believe Jungian psychological type and temperament map perfectly onto one another (e.g., someone who identifies as an Jung-Myers SP type is by definition an Artisan temperament), while others do not make that assumption. Both systems have something to offer even - and perhaps more so - if they do not perfectly map onto each other. Ultimately we are interested in awakening and creating things we care about in our lives - not whether or not different models are completely theoretically consistent.
Remember - from the perspective of personal and professional mastery,
the temperament model of personality (or any other model) is not an
end in itself, but is useful insofar as it gives us insight into our
habits - and thereby helps us to wake up to our true freedom and uncover
our authentic power.