What is temperament mean

Temperament Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

tem·per·a·ment ˈtem-p(ə-)rə-mənt

-pər-mənt

: characteristic or habitual inclination or mode of emotional response

a nervous temperament

: extremely high sensibility

especially : excessive sensitiveness or irritability

: the peculiar or distinguishing mental or physical character determined by the relative proportions of the humors according to medieval physiology

: the act or process of tempering or modifying : adjustment, compromise

: middle course : mean

: the slight modification of acoustically pure intervals in tuning a musical instrument

especially : modification that produces a set of 12 equally spaced tones to the octave

obsolete

: constitution of a substance, body, or organism with respect to the mixture or balance of its elements, qualities, or parts : makeup

: complexion sense 1

obsolete

: climate

: temperature sense 1

Did you know?

Blame Latin.

Like the related noun temper (which most often refers to a person's tendency to become angry, but also has a neutral sense very close to that of temperament, among other meanings) temperament traces back to a Latin word, temperare, which means "to mix or blend." The a in temperare lives on in the modern spelling of temperament.

Temperament is an old word (it dates to the 15th century) with multiple meanings, but in modern use it typically refers to the usual attitude, mood, or behavior of a person or animal. If you're adopting a dog, you might look for one with a sweet temperament; you might describe someone who is often nervous as having a nervous temperament.

Did you know?

What exactly is someone's disposition? And is it different from a predisposition? A person's disposition is his or her usual mood or attitude. Are you typically pretty happy? You could be described as having a happy—or cheerful, or sunny—disposition. Animals have dispositions too; a dog with a nervous disposition doesn't easily relax into a restful pup curled up at someone’s feet. In this use, disposition is a synonym of temperament; both words refer to the complex set of attitudes and inclinations that guide behavior.

Disposition can also mean "tendency" or "inclination," and in such cases it has a surprising synonym: predisposition. A disposition to exaggerate is the same as a predisposition to exaggerate. A disposition toward humility is likewise the same thing as a predisposition toward humility. The fact of being "in advance" that the prefix pre- implies hardly matters when tendency and inclination are concerned, since both concern what is likely to happen in the future.

While phrases like "a disposition to cooperate" are about as common as "a predisposition to cooperate," when the context is medical, predisposition is far more common. Phrases like "a genetic predisposition to nearsightedness" appear much more frequently in published, edited text than similar phrases employing disposition.

Synonyms

disposition
grain
nature
temper

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Example Sentences

The two women were opposite in temperament. looking for a dog with a sweet temperament

Recent Examples on the Web Her presence alludes to the fierce-yet-enticing temperament of María Felix while in dramatic drag makeup and an industrial goth touch. Isabela Raygoza, refinery29.com, 1 Sep. 2022 The temperament that had worked so well with students backfired more often than not. John Fabian Witt, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 Having cops with troublesome pasts and concerning temperament on police forces does not benefit the public, other officers or the men and women who have to supervise them. Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2022 Wray, whose low-key temperament is in many ways the opposite of Comey’s, is seen as a calming presence in a turbulent period for the bureau. Anchorage Daily News, 20 Aug. 2022 Wray, whose low-key temperament is in many ways the opposite of Comey's, is seen as a calming presence in a turbulent period for the bureau. BostonGlobe.com, 20 Aug. 2022 Fetterman’s temperament is needed in climate politics. Liza Featherstone, The New Republic, 30 Sep. 2022 Gaudelli, who grew up in Harrison, N.Y., is low drama—a temperament Michaels appreciates after working with former colleagues like the late Chet Forte, a talented producer who later would publicly discuss his compulsive gambling habit. Jason Gay, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022 When their babies turned 3 months old, mothers filled out the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, a survey that measures infant temperament. Megan Marples, CNN, 7 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'temperament. ' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "regulation of the body's vital spirit, proportion of humors in the body," borrowed from Latin temperāmentum "mixture of substances in proper proportion, mean between hot and cold, compromise between extremes, moderation" (Medieval Latin, "proper balance of bodily humors"), from temperāre "to moderate, bring to a proper strength or consistency by mixing, maintain in a state of balance" + -mentum -ment — more at temper entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler

The first known use of temperament was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

temperament

temperality

temperament

temperamental

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

MLAChicagoAPAMerriam-Webster

“Temperament. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temperament. Accessed 13 Nov. 2022.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

temperament

tem·per·a·ment ˈtem-p(ə-)rə-mənt

: a person's attitude as it affects what he or she says or does

nervous temperament

: the quality of being very excitable or irritable

Medical Definition

temperament

tem·per·a·ment ˈtem-p(ə-)rə-mənt, -pər-mənt

: the peculiar or distinguishing mental or physical character determined by the relative proportions of the humors according to medieval physiology

: characteristic or habitual inclination or mode of emotional response

a nervous temperament

More from Merriam-Webster on

temperament

Nglish: Translation of temperament for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of temperament for Arabic Speakers

Britannica. com: Encyclopedia article about temperament

Last Updated: 31 Oct 2022 - Updated example sentences

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Merriam-Webster unabridged

Temperament – Wikipedie

Z Wikipedie, otevřené encyklopedie

Skočit na navigaciSkočit na vyhledávání

Temperament (lat. temperare = mísit) znamená souhrn charakteristických nebo vrozených rysů osobnosti, které se trvale projevují způsobem reagování, jednání a prožívání. Temperament je spjat se vzrušivostí – tj. mírou odpovědi určitého člověka na různé podněty – a zahrnuje i tendenci měnit nálady. Název vyjadřuje starou představu, že každou osobu lze charakterizovat jako určitou směs čtyř základních tělesných šťáv čili humorů.

Kruh Hippocratovy typologie temperamentu s vlastnostmi přidanými I. P. Pavlovem, C. G. Jungem, H. Eysenckem a J. P. Guilfordem.

Lidé se navzájem liší nejen obsahem svého duševního života (tj. vnímáním, pamatováním, myšlením, zájmy), ale i formou – reakcemi na podněty. Temperament tedy určuje dynamiku celého prožívání a chování osobnosti.

Obsah

1 Dynamika prožívání
2 Typologie osobnosti
- 2.1 Hippokratova typologie temperamentu
- 2.2 Typologie Carla Gustava Junga
- 2.3 Typologie vycházející z MBTI
- 2.4 Typologie Ernsta Kretschmera
- 2.5 Typologie Socionika
3 Odkazy
- 3.1 Reference
- 3.2 Související články
- 3.3 Literatura
- 3.4 Externí odkazy

Dynamika prožívání je tempo průběhu a střídání psychických procesů, stavů, činností a jednání a jejich intenzitou. Prožívání se liší:

rychlostí, intenzitou a délkou reakcí člověka na různé podněty (tj. prožíváním)
projevem prožívaného navenek (tj. chováním)

Lidé si odedávna všímali, že lidé reagují na podněty různě, ale charakteristicky, a tak vznikaly snahy každého jedince zařadit do určitého typu. Vznikly čtyři slavné typologie.

Hippokratova typologie temperamentu[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Čtyři temperamenty (flegmatik, cholerik, sangvinik, melancholik)

Hippokrates (přibližně 460 př. n. l. – 377 př. n. l.) byl lékař starověkého Řecka pokládaný za otce lékařství. Jeho spisy Corpus Hippocraticum se staly základem středověkého lékařství. Přisuzuje se mu autorství lékařské přísahy – tzv. Hippokratova přísaha. Hippokrates vycházel z představy o čtyřech tělesných šťávách (humorech), jejichž poměr určuje reakce na okolí. Rozdělil temperament na 4 typy, které byly rozvíjeny pozdějšími badateli (Galénos, Jung, Eysenck, Pavlov, Kretschmer, Sheldon, …)

sangvinik (krev) – vyznačuje se především přiměřenou reaktivitou; na slabé podněty reaguje slabě, na silné silně; dominuje u něho reakce typu „slaměný oheň“ tj. rychlé doznívání zážitku a rychlé změny zaměření; je přizpůsobivý, emočně vyrovnaný, ale poněkud nestálý a lehkovážný, vesele laděný, optimistický, jeho prožitky jsou spíše mělké a stejně tak i jeho city – emočně stabilní extrovert
flegmatik (sliz; hlen) – je emočně celkem vyrovnaný, navenek se jeví jako lhostejný, vzrušují ho jen velmi silné podněty, vykazuje stálost a vcelku spokojenost, klid a až chladnokrevnost či apatii; hlubší vztahy má jen k vybraným osobám; je spíše pasivní a bez velkých životních ambicí a požadavků, nemá rád změny a pohybově je spíše úsporný – emočně stabilní introvert
melancholik (černá žluč) – vyznačuje se hlubokými prožitky a spíše smutným laděním, pesimismem a strachem z budoucnosti; život je pro něj často obtížný, usiluje o klid a nesnáší vypjaté situace, vzruchy, hlučnost, jeho city jsou trvalé, ale jejich intenzita se neprojevuje navenek, žije spíše vnitřně; obtížně navazuje kontakty, vztahy, které naváže, jsou trvalé a hluboké – emočně labilní introvert.
cholerik (žluč) – je silně vzrušivý, má sklon k výbuchům hněvu a k agresi, těžko se ovládá a reaguje často impulzivně, nerozvážně, má sklon „prorážet hlavou zeď“, je netrpělivý, panovačný, vyžaduje často od jiných ústupky, je egocentrický, soužití s ním je obtížné; emočně je labilní, city jsou u něho vyvolány snadno, navenek reaguje rychle, silně, často bez zábran – emočně labilní extrovert.

(Existují samozřejmě i „směsice“, tzn. že jste například flegmatik a některé situace z vás třeba dočasně udělají cholerika atd.)

Typologie Carla Gustava Junga[editovat | editovat zdroj]

C. G. Jung položil základy dělení temperamentu v závislosti na přístupu k okolnímu světu.

introvert: člověk žijící především svým vnitřním životem, avšak velmi vnímavý ke svému okolí, přemýšlivý, empatický pozorovatel, rozvážný ve svém jednání a opatrný ve svých citech, sklony k mlčenlivosti v případě neexistence relevantního tématu, preferuje nepřímou komunikaci (e-maily, dopisy, SMS) před hovorem. Ve společnosti preferuje menší skupinky (méně než 5-10 osob) introvertních lidí. V případě nutnosti je po určitou dobu schopen se chovat extrovertně.

extrovert: člověk žijící navenek – povrchní a spontánní ⇒ snadno komunikuje a dokáže zahajovat a udržovat i hovor „o ničem“, jedná rozhodně a rychle až zbrkle, po citové stránce je velmi otevřený ale jeho city jsou taktéž povrchní a je méně vnímavý ke svému okolí. Ke spokojenosti potřebuje být v centru dění, nejlépe i pozornosti, tudíž se rád objevuje na akcích s větším množstvím lidí.; Často rozšířeným mýtem je tvrzení, že introvertní osobnost je nevšímavá vůči svému okolí a naopak extravertní velmi všímavá.; Ve skutečnosti je to však obráceně – extrovertní osobnost je sice schopna vjemy ze svého okolí vnímat ve velkém množství, ale méně intenzivně…; Důvodem vytrvalého přežívání tohoto mýtu je skutečnost, že introvertní osobnost si sice všímá mnohem více detailů, ale nechává si je pro sebe. Zároveň však vysoká kvalita vjemů způsobuje problémy s přetížením vnitřního myšlenkového procesu a pocity zmatenosti, vyčerpání.; Míra introverze též často roste s narůstajícím intelektem a kreativitou.

Poměr introvertů a extrovertů v populaci je přibližně 1:3.

Typologie vycházející z MBTI[editovat | editovat zdroj]

V návaznosti na Jungovu teorii vznikl během II. světové války osobnostní dotazník MBTI (Meyrs-Briggs Type Indicator). Jeho autorkami jsou Američanky Katharine Cook Briggs a její dcera Isabel Briggs Myers. Na bázi MBTI David Kiersey zkonstruoval typologii osobností dle dominantních vlastností, temperamentů. Temperament zde souvisí s ústřední, dominantní potřebou člověka:

Hráči hledající rozruch (méně než 40 % v populaci)
Strážci hledající bezpečí (méně než 40 % v populaci)
Racionálové hledající znalosti (více než 10 % v populaci)
Idealisté hledající identitu (více než 10 % v populaci)^[1]

Typologie Ernsta Kretschmera[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Vychází ze vztahu mezi tělesnou konstitucí a temperamentem, navazujíce na Hippokratovu konstituční typologii. Podle určitých rysů těla vypracoval typologii osobností a nemocí, které tyto osobnosti ohrožují:

pyknik – cyklotymní typ – stavba těla: menší zakulacená postava, slabé svalstvo, kulatá hlava, vyklenuté břicho, psychické vlastnosti: střídá nálady, otevřený, společenský, realistický, ohrožen bipolární afektivní poruchou (střídání nálad bez vnější příčiny – nálady jsou nepřiměřeně dlouhé a nedají se ovlivnit vůlí)

astenik (leptosom) – schizotymní typ – stavba těla: vysoký, štíhlý, úzká ramena, slabé svalstvo, ostrý profil, psychické vlastnosti: uzavřený, jednostranně zaměřený, idealista, málo přizpůsobivý, ohrožen schizofrenií (bludné představy, halucinace, rozpad osobnosti)

atletik (ixotym) – viskózní typ – stavba těla: silně vyvinutá kostra, výrazné svalstvo, široký hrudník, menší lebky s protáhlým obličejem, psychické vlastnosti: klidný, přizpůsobivý, těžkopádný, podle Kretschmera má sklony k epilepsii.

Tato typologie byla později zpochybněna.

Typologie Socionika[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Vychází ze základů Carla Gustava Junga a stejně jako MBTI rozpoznává 16 typů osobnosti. Na rozdíl od předešlých typologií u každého typu rozlišuje jeho vědomí a podvědomí, rozdílné reakce temperamentu v různých situacích a vzájemnou kompatibilitu či nekompatibilitu ve vztazích.

Reference[editovat | editovat zdroj]

↑ Článek o temperantech podle MBTI (ve webovém archivu, k datu 23. 3. 2010). eterapie.cz [online]. [cit. 2010-03-23]. Dostupné v archivu pořízeném dne 2010-03-23.

Související články[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Psychická vlastnost
Psychologie

Literatura[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Nakonečný, Milan: Lexikon psychologie, Vodnář, Praha 1995
Nakonečný, Milan: Základy psychologie, Academia, Praha 1998
Plháková, Alena: Učebnice obecné psychologie, Academia, Praha 2004 – poslední práce slouží jako vysokoškolská učebnice pro studenty psychologie na VŠ – doposud jedna z nejpřehlednějších prací o psychologii v češtině

Externí odkazy[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Obrázky, zvuky či videa k tématu Temperament na Wikimedia Commons
Souvislosti mezi temperamentem a písemným projevem z hlediska grafologie

WHAT IS TEMPERAMENT AND WHY DO WE KNOW IT? - I-NURE

Choleric, sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic - some very familiar words, but not everyone can remember what they mean. These are all designations of different types of temperament, that is, the basis of our behavior. So why do we need to know and be able to define these types? What will change from this?

The answer is very simple. The ability to find a common language with different people is the basis of any communication, because it is not always possible for us to make deals, maintain a conversation and get what we want from different people. It is knowledge about those m stones help to pick up the key when communicating.

WHAT IS "TEMPERAMENT" FROM A SCIENTIFIC POINT OF VIEW?

Temperament is a clear personality characteristic that determines its activity throughout life and is directly related to the type of higher nervous activity.

Temperament is often confused with character, but these are different concepts. Temperament is laid in us even before birth, in contrast to the character that develops throughout life.

Temperament does not change with time, as it might seem at first glance. It is important to note that in the modern world there are practically no people left with pure types, each personality contains several types, and sometimes all can be traced, just with varying degrees of manifestation.

In his teachings, Hippocrates, who became the founder and classifier of people according to temperaments, substantiated his theory as follows: each person has his own dominant "life juice". Cholerics are dominated by bile (chole), which does not allow full control of emotions. Sanguine people are ruled by blood (sangua), which gives them fun and energy. Melancholic people are subject to the influence of "black bile" (melane chole), which inspires them with fear, sadness and self-flagellation. And Phlegmatics are controlled by lymph (phlegm), which acts as a sedative.

Let's look at each type in more detail.

CHOLERICS

This type of people correspond to such characteristics as impulsiveness, irascibility, slight irritability, dynamism and drive. Choleric very often occupy high and leadership positions. They are active, purposeful, self-confident and risky. This type is focused on solving problems and communicating with people, but their weakness is maintaining relationships and excessive aggression.

SANGUINES

These are optimists in life who walk with their heads held high and a radiant smile. A sanguine person is a person of opportunity or a person with perspectives. Communication with people is their main feature, as well as talkativeness and a desire to be in the spotlight. Does everyone have that friend who tells the funniest stories and is impossible to talk to? So, this is sanguine. They are sensitive, emotional, always late and have heightened intuition.

PHEGMATICS

Slow, unhurried, insensitive, calm, they are stable in everything - in studies, in work, in relationships and preferences. They are really good listeners. But they are not strong in communication with other people. Phlegmatic people feel uncomfortable in large companies, and new acquaintances are always stressful, but among their friends they feel confident. They are reliable and thoughtful, “hovering somewhere in the clouds” is definitely about them.

MELANCHOLIC

These are real analysts. They are always watching everyone, drawing conclusions and remembering. Melancholics are inherently realists with a high degree of pessimism. Sad, sad, self-contained, more touchy, overly impressionable. The main drawback is the inability and fear of communicating with people, this aspect of everyday life is difficult for melancholic people, because of which they often suffer. Melancholic people always run into facts and logic, because for them such concepts as intuition, chance and chance are incomprehensible nonsense.

KEY POINTS IN COMMUNICATION

Being able to determine the temperament of a person with whom, for example, you have to make a deal, gives great advantages. Indeed, for each type (more precisely, for the dominant type among the rest in the temperament of the individual) there are key moments in communication.

FOR CHALERIC

For example, choleric people cannot stand going into details, for them the most important thing is the result of your or his actions. They also love to do everything in a hurry, and that is why they often lash out at those who do everything slowly, or even at a normal pace.

FOR SANGUINES

Sanguine people like to talk, and this is both a positive trait and a negative one. They also make terrible listeners, so the main advice would be to omit all the details if possible and bring the main information to their mind, preferably several times in a row. Sanguine people never start anything on time, so if you want to get feedback from them on time, you need to remind yourself more often.

FOR PHLEGMATIC

Phlegmatic people tend to worry about everything that might happen. It is difficult to pull them out into the street even for a walk, because at home under the covers they are more comfortable, to say nothing about trips and travels. Initiative is definitely not about them. You can safely take the planning part of their daily work and homework and tell them what needs to be done.

FOR MELANCHOLICS

Melancholic people take everything very seriously. And if you want to impress them, then you need to try and work out a detailed plan of action - a couple of graphs, several tables and at least one backup plan. Fantasizing and making plans for the future sounds like absurdity to them, so when talking, it is best to rely on facts.

In fact, these are just a few suggestions. The topic of the psychology of communication with people is very extensive, but extremely interesting. After all, finding common ground even with those whom we cannot understand is practically a superpower that anyone can master.

Anna Sobol

What is temperament? | Psychology

If we turn to psychology, temperament (from Latin temperamentum — proper ratio of parts, proportionality) is understood as a set of individual relatively stable properties of the human psyche, manifested in his behavior and activities.

And to put it a little more simply, these are simply properties of the nervous system inherited by a person that affect the speed of assimilation of knowledge and the formation of skills. It is these properties that determine the memory, attention, movements of a person, but they determine not what a person does, but how he does it.

The history of the emergence of the doctrine of temperaments has distant roots and dates back to the 5th century BC.

Once upon a time there was an ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, who is so famous today. So he put forward the idea that human life and health depend on the four main body juices: blood (sanguis), lymph (phlegma), bile (chole) and black bile (melanos chole). The alleged bust of Hippocrates
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

And seven centuries later, the ancient Roman physician Galen (II century AD), based on these ideas, formulated the so-called humoral theory, according to which the different ratio of these fluids not only affects health, but also determines the mental state, human behavior.

At the same time, Galen proposed the first classification of types of human temperament. Depending on the predominance of one or another fluid in the body, people, according to his theory, differ from each other in strength, speed, pace and rhythm of movements, expressiveness of the expression of feelings. From here came the names that are widely used today: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic types of temperament.

Later, the constitutional or somatic theory replaced the humoral theory, on the basis of which the German psychiatrist and psychologist E. Kretschmer tried to connect different types of temperaments with the structure of the human body, with the ratio of its individual parts and tissues.

However, modern science already knows that both the type of body structure and the dynamic properties of the psyche are largely due to the influence of hormones secreted by the endocrine glands. Photo: Depositphotos

The conditionality of this or that temperament began to be explained by the activity of the central nervous system, its excitability and sensitivity. An important role in the creation and development of this theory was played by studies of the properties of the brain, carried out by our famous physiologist IP Pavlov. He theoretically substantiated and experimentally confirmed the leading role in the dynamic processes of the central nervous system.

He singled out the properties of the nervous system later supplemented by other researchers, which today allow us to determine with great accuracy the belonging of an individual to one or another type of temperament.

Thus, people with a sanguine temperament are usually very active and productive in their work, especially if it arouses a keen interest in them. Sanguine people easily adapt to new conditions, they can easily make contacts with people, but they have difficulty performing long and monotonous operations. Such was our great poet A. S. Pushkin, who had an enviable capacity for work and showed interest in the most diverse aspects of life.
Photo: Depositphotos

Phlegmatic people always calmly react to events, can work long and hard without changing the type of activity and patiently endure all difficulties. These comrades are already more restrained in dealing with people, selective. Their manner of speech and movements are unhurried. Darwin can be attributed to the brightest representatives of phlegmatic people.

Photo: Depositphotos

People - choleric are probably the owners of the most complex temperament. These individuals are unbalanced and even quick-tempered, it is very difficult to communicate with them. They are as unbridled in their actions as they are harsh in their statements. Choleric people do not go into their pocket for a word, and they can easily get into a fight to prove their case. Such personalities were Peter the Great and Napoleon; in difficult times they were capable of displaying energy of extraordinary strength. Napoleon I Bonaparte
Photo: Paul Delaroche, ru.wikipedia.org

People melancholic are emotionally vulnerable, they are more likely to experience anxiety, fear, often overestimating the nature of the threat, and more easily become victims of violent crimes. If an unforeseen situation happens to them, they cannot find a way out of it for a long time. And timidity and shyness in melancholic people are generally abundant. Such people are completely unable to stand up for themselves and often become victims of ridicule and mockery of others. Such a pronounced sensitivity is noticeable in the works of Chopin. Fryderyk Chopin
Photo: Maria Wodzińska, ru.wikipedia.org

Why do you need to determine your temperament? The answer is simple: to find out what kind of person you are, what suit, what you are capable of.

Learn more