The four temperaments have been studied intensively and found that they exist as exact patterns in some individuals. In some individuals, there can be a mixture of the temperaments but this is primarily based on how much they have developed themselves.
Cholerics
Choleric derives its name from bile or yellowish colour (Latin. Cholericus for bilious). Cholerics are generally known to be extroverted and arrogant and we are going to explore these features together here.
Cholerics are dominant
Cholerics seek dominance, they are authoritative and daring. Cholerics would make statements like “get me a drink” instead of “can I have a drink?”. You can feel the commanding tone in the statements, don’t you?”.Cholerics would rather use authoritative words than use “please” words.
Cholerics are tough and domineering. They are often respected leaders and they love to challenge other people to prove themselves with the intention of helping them develop to their full potential. However, this may also be viewed as intrusive by those individuals. Cholerics are firm and forceful in their approach to problems, thus enabling them to get the work done as soon as they put their mind to it.
If faced with opposition, a choleric will likely react in a confrontational or defensive manner. This implies that most bullies have a choleric temperament – as they often desire to be feared. A choleric would stand up to defend someone who is/was being treated unfairly because they believe that they should be treated with dignity and respect, and also to exercise their dominance.
Cholerics are extroverted
Cholerics are highly extroverted and can sometimes meddle in the affairs of other people, rather than minding their own business. They can talk out of proportion under the umbrella of “speaking their mind”.
They seek to be prominent or popular and would take it out openly on anyone that stands in their way of achieving that. Cholerics are honest about their opinions, bluntly expressing them instead of “sugar-coating” (minding their words) them to suit the situation or individual.
They are proud
I don’t mean proud in the sense of “being proud” as you imagined but choleric generally believe they are always right. They are stubborn about admitting their flaws except if doing that will make them look better than others.
People with the choleric temperament seek respect from others and can hold grudges against those they consider rivals. If you are close to them, they can go the extra mile or would ‘take a bullet’ except if you have got on their bad side.
Finally, they strive for independence and see it as a sign of superiority over other people. Their high self-esteem makes them see dependence as a form of weakness.
Sanguines
The name ‘Sanguine” is derived from the colour of blood (of both Latin and French origin). Sanguines are social, expressive and loving.
Sanguines are social
A sanguine is often free-spirited, chatty, openly emotional and might be regarded as socially extroverted. They are very social and find social interactions interesting and easy to initiate. They are not picky and would interact with anyone who they like to interact with even if that was just the first time.
Sanguine love company. The more they are surrounded by people, the happier they get. This may be part of their attention-seeking desire and they just feel good about the fact that they are not lonely.
They are expressive
Talkative, energetic, and playful are the adjectives you can use to describe a sanguine. They speak in a friendly and lively manner. They are often charismatic and easy-going. When an interaction is started with them, you soon begin to feel you might have known them all your life because they make you feel so welcomed and relaxed.
They can be very emotional and would express their emotions using words like “I hate you”. They are however quick to forgive and forget and expect others to overlook things the same way. A good way to describe them is “living in the present”.
Just like a choleric, a sanguine also has high self-esteem and is show-offy. They may reflexively brag about themselves without minding if someone may feel offended by that.
Naturally, they express their affection and feelings without restraint, openly offering hugs, stroking and grabbing shoulders or other similar ways.
They are attention-seeking
Sanguine loves attention and would behave in ways that may suggest that the spotlights be beamed on them. They would go out of their way to get compliments and keep doing so.
In the world of the sanguine, attention is all that matters. When on their own, that is counted as extreme loneliness or boredom, so they would do things that will give them the desired attention. If these did not work, sanguines can intrude into a conversation or say something that makes people turn their eyes to them. Yeah, that’s the goal!
Phlegmatics
The name is derived from phlegm (Latin. for ‘flame’ and inflammation). However, for some unknown reasons, phlegmatic temperament was associated with the ‘cold or cool’ personality type. Phlegmatic individuals are described as calm, introverted, indecisive, and submissive.
Submissiveness and Introverted
Phlegmatic individuals are cool-headed, submissive and eager to please others and give in to their insistence rather than try to assert themselves. They wish for peace and would do anything to avoid conflict even if it will be to their own discomfort.
To the phlegmatics, as much as they want to win, there is no need to win or be the best if that would disrupt the peace everyone shares.
Indecisive
They are indecisive because they easily submit to the choices of other people to make their decisions. They are naturally unable to see themselves assuming the ‘leader’ role and work best as followers – when they are told what to do.
They are calm and less intrusive
Phlegmatics are introverted and enjoy being alone. They are not picky, do not judge others easily and are not so concerned with ‘perfectionism’.
They have few friends they love hanging out with. They enjoy the company of these selected friends and are very loyal to them, sticking with them through thick and thin loyal to a fault.
They are almost immune to anything that makes them get angry and can defuse such things very willfully. However, they would only snap after long periods of extreme tolerance.
Phlegmatics lead a calm and steady life; they are confident in familiar situations but may panic in unfamiliar ones. They are satisfied with predictable, quiet, ritualistic lifestyles rather than trendy, spontaneous or dynamic ones.
Melancholics
They derive their name from black bile (melan – black; chole – bile). They are generally emotionally sensitive and are best described as perfectionistic introverts.
They are perfectionistic
Melancholic individuals are characteristically described as perfectionistic. They believe things should be done in a certain ideal way and will get distressed if there is the slightest change.
They hold themselves and other people to high standards with very high expectations that should/must be met. This makes them very critical and often unsatisfied with others as they find it hard to meet up with their set standards.
If anyone would care about details, it will be the melancholics. They wish to understand every tiny bit of detail because being ignorant is considered a sign of imperfection. They don’t accept things just the way they are and will ask specific questions for more clarity and understanding.
They are stubborn and dogmatic to new behavioural trends and would not easily change their “carefully thought” views and standards. In other words, they don’t go with the flow, at least not easily.
They are introverts
Of the four temperaments, melancholic has the most introverted individuals. They are happier alone and would agree that they perform best when they are alone. They consider the presence of other people a burden to them because they will always be tempted to dive into every one of their actions or behaviours.
They are wary of making friends and it would take them a pretty long time to make a friend. But once they call you their friend, know that you have found the most loyal person ever. Because of the high standards they like to maintain, they prefer to have only a few close friends than flocking with everybody.
They are extremely sensitive
Melancholics are very emotional individuals, deeply moved by failure, distress, loss, and beauty. They are easily hurt as their moods are as delicate as the glass, easily shattered by other people’s behaviours.
They hold grudges for a long time because they believe that those who hurt them will not easily repent of their wrongs, or adjust to meet up with their standards.
When confronted with things they dislike, they respond to them with tears and feelings of misery, rather than rage or aggression. They would prefer to flee from things that might cause them to distress instead of trying to confront them. Their major comeback is making someone feel guilty for their actions rather than attacking them with abuse or inflicting physical harm on them.
The Ultimate Temperament
The ultimate temperament was first popularized by Prosper Yole on Knowseeker.com where it was described as a blend of all the four temperaments by accentuating their strengths and suppressing their weaknesses. It’s like a perfect blend of all four temperaments.
This fifth and ultimate temperament is a product of your conscious efforts to improve on yourself and conquer your innate temperamental weaknesses and build on your strengths while still acquiring strengths from other temperaments.
