What is your temperament?

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 12:54 pm

Are you guys familiar with the Four-Temperament Theory? Here's a link to a short review of it: http://halwarfield.com/archives/2002/08/31/temperament_and_personality.html

I thought it might be fun to get to know one another from this perspective. I, for example, am primarily a Melancholy and secondarily a Choleric, which combine to make me a MelChlor:

"MelChlor (Compliant Dominant) is both a perfectionist and a driver which may lead him into the law or medicine. They mix decisiveness and determination. Because of the critical nature of the melancholy they may be very difficult to please. If they become negative about someone or something it will have a tendency to stay with them for a long time. Their combination can lead them to 'nit-pick' others and be revengeful to those they have a grudge against."

I'm curious to know how the rest of you would assess your temperaments, using this system. Keep in mind that the negative things don't have to be true of your behavior, since these are only tendencies that can be moderated by maturity and self-control.

If you have questions about what the abbreviations mean for your particular temperament (e.g., NT, SJ, SI, etc), let me know.

Tim

Postby **Pastor Gary** » March 27th, 2004, 1:12 pm

We all probably have some of all of the permutations: I have been told I am PhlegSan, but I have a buddy who INSISTS I am a Mel-something, so who knows.

We have done the DISC analysis among our leadership at my church -- I am a High D/Strong secondary I in that scheme.

Kenya · Postby **Kenya** » March 27th, 2004, 1:20 pm

I love this kind of stuff - what makes people tick.

It has always been difficult for me to find my label though. My dad has his Masters in Counseling and when I was a teenager, he gave me one of these tests. I scored equally high (like 89, 90 and 90) in three of them - choleric, melancholy and phlegmatic.

The interesting thing is that even though I can be a "leader" and have proven to be that in the past, since I married Joey, I have taken more of a backseat roll (which is fine with me - I don't have to have the spotlight). So I am probably LESS choleric than I was as a teen. Now, I guess I would lean more toward a Phlegmatic - Melancholy blend.

Something else, we did a test like this when I worked for Maytag Customer Service and it was very helpful. AND, even more helpful was when we had all of our leadership at church take a test like this. Helped give us insight on people we really didn't understand. I would strongly suggest it for any church.

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 1:25 pm

Pastor Gary wrote:We all probably have some of all of the permutations: I have been told I am PhlegSan, but I have a buddy who INSISTS I am a Mel-something, so who knows.

Knowing what I do of you, Gary, I would guess that the PhlegSan is probably accurate, but maybe there is some Melancholy in you, too. PhlegSan is a very good temperament for a successful pastor.

We have done the DISC analysis among our leadership at my church -- I am a High D/Strong secondary I in that scheme.

I think the S in the DiSC system stands for 'Steady', which corresponds to Phlegmatic. There's a chart on this page that shows correspondences between various systems.

Tim

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 1:34 pm

Michael wrote:Is there an online test where one can be assessed? I don't like assessing myself. I took some tests one time (they were quite long) and when the counselor read back the results which told me the type of person I was, it was quite amazing to see how accurately they portrayed my character. But those tests did not categorize a person like the site you posted does. Rather, it just gave specific traits without classifying such traits as sanguine, melancholy, etc.

Michael,

I found an online test at the The Wedding Planner website that I linked to through the PTypes webpage, which provides a very well done entree into the topic.

Tim

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 1:47 pm

Kenya wrote:I love this kind of stuff - what makes people tick.

Me, too. It's been helpful in my business, church, and personal relationships. I think it can help reduce conflict because it provides a framework for viewing other people's different temperaments sympathetically.

I'm still looking for that "perfect" SanPhleg or PhlegSan woman, who is also an NF in the Myers-Briggs profile. I met and dated one last summer, but, unfortunately, she was too uncomfortable with some of my theological positions. But these tests give me a good idea of what is optimal in a life partner temperamentally, all other things being equal.

Tim

Poimen · Postby **Poimen** » March 27th, 2004, 2:06 pm

I'm a Sanguine-melancholy. :shock:

I'm dominant sanguine, but have a large percentage Melancholy as well. can you imagine ?!?!?!? :roll:

Poimen

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 2:18 pm

Poimen wrote:I'm a Sanguine-melancholy. I'm dominant sanguine, but have a large percentage Melancholy as well. can you imagine ?!?!?!?

I hear you, man. It must be tough. My ex-brother-in-law was a Sanguine-Melancholy. I liked him a lot (more, evidently, than my sister did), but he certainly did have some complex moods sometimes.

In the DiSC system I'm a Compliant/Dominant. Trying to reconcile those two all my life hasn't been easy, either.

Thanks for participating, Poimen.

Tim

Steve · Postby **Steve** » March 27th, 2004, 2:19 pm

Well, I took lessons, but I can't say I know how to play the Sanguine. I play trumpet, though! I don't get it much anymore myself, but all of my children had Choleric when they were babies..... Yes I just LOVE Melancholy! Especially when it has just been picked and is still warm from the summer sun......but I digress. And I must say, it is really NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS if I have Phlegmatic right now! I have been over my cold for DAYS now! Now, where's that stupid dictionary.....

Tim Elston · Postby **Tim Elston** » March 27th, 2004, 2:28 pm

Michael wrote:I am what I am right now, I guess.

WU WEI!

Popeye,

That's a different system. I'm 0+ and don't need to know anything about A and B.

Wu Wie!

Tim

DeWayneTN · Postby **DeWayneTN** » March 27th, 2004, 6:49 pm

I have taken the test twice - once in my mid-teens and the second time just starting my career. I scored as meloncholy the first time and sanguine the second. The test giver of the first was shocked at how different the second one came out but I just kind of attributed it to getting over those awkward teen "finding my place" years.

Mike Vande · Postby **Mike Vande** » March 27th, 2004, 6:53 pm

Which one is closest to "mean as a snake"?

Seriously, I took that personality profile some years ago, but it was long enough ago that I don't recall where I landed on it.

Vande

Jude 2