temperament

temperament From at least classical times, temperament has referred to an individual's or a group's consistent and stable pattern of behaviour or reaction, one that persists across time, activity, and space. The roots of the theory of temperament lie in classical Greek medicine and astronomy. A central component of the humoral theory of the body, temperament (‘crasis’ in Greek) denoted the particular balance of the four primary qualities — hot, wet, cold, and dry — characteristic of a given individual in a healthy condition. The mixture was fixed at birth, largely through astrological influences, though modifications could occur with ageing, changes in environment, disease, geography, etc. Although each person was deemed to have his or her own individual temperament, they were generally described as variations on four basic types: choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic. These states were at once physiological and psychological, denoting both the organization of the internal body and what might be called an attitude toward life. Galen's On Complexions, drawing on Hippocratic sources and the ideas of the Pneumatics, presents an elaborated account of the theory of temperaments (complexio in Latin), one that had much influence on medieval medical authors. According to ancient and medieval medical theory, most internal illnesses could be explained as the result of complexional imbalances, and therapy consisted of various interventions designed to restore the proper mixture of the four elements. Because temperament was understood to be something individual, however, remedies had to be patient-specific, tailored to the unique complexion of the particular sufferer.

The medical theory of temperament began to lose favour in the early modern period. As a characterization of a person's psychological state, however, temperament continued to be employed by both psychologists and the lay public well into the twentieth century. In general, the concept has continued to refer to something both physiological and innate, although there is much dispute in the literature over whether temperaments are inborn or develop early in life through an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Whatever their origin, it is widely accepted that temperaments both help to shape, and are themselves shaped by, the social environments in which an individual develops and lives, and that they represent styles of thought and behaviour that are both personal and consistent. As an individual develops, it is his or her temperament that helps to orient that development, influencing the growth of both intellect and character along particular lines.

While the possible varieties of temperament are almost limitless, psychologists have identified a number of dimensions — including relative ego strength, radicalism–conservatism, dominance– submissiveness, and extroversion– interoversion — that they believe characterize important aspects of an individual's temperament. Research on temperaments has generally been oriented toward determining whether a functional unity exists within a given constellation of behaviours, so that it can be demonstrated that a recognizable style of action persists from one domain to another. Since the 1950s to 1960s, psychoanalytic ego psychology, personality psychology, and cognitive psychology have all become more interested in the phenomena associated with temperament, seeking to identify and understand individual differences or cognitive styles that are consistent across settings. It remains the case, however, that the term itself has fallen largely into disuse, especially within professional circles.

John Carson

See also personality.