Myers-Briggs

There has been some disputation over which theory to follow: the Four Temperaments or Myers-Briggs. Obviously, Myers-Briggs has gotten more attention from the mainstream psychologists. But how did this theory come about? Why does everybody think it's more credible than the four temperaments? Well I'll tell you what I think, whether you like it or not. :-) I think that Myers-Briggs is probably the four temperaments with a facelift. Just think about it. Most of the qualities that both Myers-Briggs and the temperaments use to determine the particular person are the same. However, there could be one way in which Myers-Briggs could be it's own system. You see, the temperaments do not tell you what your personality is. They tell you what your temperament is. This temperament determines what our inclinations are and how we tend to act and what we tend to do. A lot of outside factors mold these tendencies, and our personality is a result of this molding.

Since the temperaments don't determine our entire personality and Myers-Briggs does (I think), then perhaps it could be a credible system. However, I would like to make it know that I have heard some rumors about the founder (was it more than one?) of this personality type indicator. I have heard that he was involved in some sort of occultic practices. Now, I haven't done any of my own research to confirm this, but if it were to be true then that would be a reason for scepticism.

Questions And Answers

If you have a question about psychology (especially the temperaments), leave it on a comment. I will answer it as best as I can. But remember, I am NOT infallible and you can NOT sue me if I am wrong. I will put my answers on the sidebar. Feel free to disagree with me.


I'm changing this from "Questions and Answers" to more of a discussion oriented post. I don't have my PhD in Psychology yet, so I don't think I should be answering questions like this right now. :-) But if you have a question on the temperament, drop it in the comment section. I could probably answer that one.

A Simple Explaination

I've been trying to write something in depth about each of the temperaments, but that doesn't seem to be working. If I tried to write everything that there is to know about just one temperament, I wouldn't be able to write anything else for years, maybe for the rest of my life!! So right now I'll just settle for a brief description. I'm going to ask: what would you do if you were a prisoner in a prison camp? And I'll give the answer for each of the temperaments.

Choleric:
The choleric would instantly conceive the goal of escaping. He wouldn't care about the method, only the result: freedom. He would continually and repeatedly try every possible way of escaping until he escapes or until he dies (think Colonel Crittendon from Hogan's Heroes).

Sanguine:
The sanguine would be content in the camp: until he gets bored. Then he'll either create some fun (probably by way of mischief) or he might consider escaping.

Melancholic:
The melancholic would instantly fall into despair about escaping. The fence is too high, there are too many guards, the cost is too high, the guards have a sixth sense that will give him away. If he comes out of his despair, he will then come up with the most brilliant plan, but be too afraid to put it into action. The time will come, and he will hesitate on account of some unforeseen problem that he didn't take into account.

Phlegmatic:
Simply put, the phlegmatic won't care to move!!! As long as he isn't mistreated, he'll be perfectly fine with staying. If his conditions aren't very pleasant though, he will simply become discouraged, unless someone talks him into escaping.

So what would you do?

Introversion

What goes on in an introvert's mind? Well, you might think that nothing goes on, simply because you do not see anything!!! This is a common misunderstanding, at least among extroverts. It can be quite easy to overlook the introvert simply because he does not grab our attention right away. So what should we do?

In dealing with introverts, one must remember not to skim the surface. There's always something going on under that boring look of theirs. Just because they do not react on the surface doesn't mean there's not a reaction under it. The key phrase is under the surface. If you dig a little, you'll find that the introvert can be quite an interesting person, if you can get them to talk. :-) However, remember that they won't bring much to the surface on their own. You'll have to do a lot of second guessing before you can really understand them.

So why are we bothering with them in the first place? Do they really want us to dig them up? Maybe. Then again. maybe not. But if you like challenges, go for the introvert!

Ancient Aristotelian Greek Psychology

Ancient Aristotelian Greek Psychology. The subject of this blog is
intended to be about psychology in general. However, my more
specific interest in psychology is the theory of the four
temperaments, which explains why I named this blog what it is.
Expect a lot about the temperaments!!!