Personality Temperaments: Fun with 4s

[causticus]

A very rough sketch of the kinds of personality types and temperaments we can render using the number 4; some of these are build upon existing models from various points in time and from places around the world.

Greek Humors:

Choleric - Hot-headed, driven, active, action-oriented, results-focused, disciplined, impatient

Sanguine - Affable, gregarious, active, action-oriented, pleasure-seeking, optimistic

Melancholic - Reserved, deliberate, pessimistic, results-focused, disciplined, withdrawn, irritable, ascetic, gratification-delaying

Phlegmatic - Laid-back, reserved, unflappable, humble, self-conscious, non-disclosing


Hindu Varna (not to be confused with hereditary classes):

Brahmin - Knowledge/wisdom-seeking, scholarly, truth-seeking, creative, gratification-delaying, risk-averse, spiritual, idealistic

Kshatriya - Honor-seeking, driven, ambitious, active, action-oriented, hot-headed self-sacrificing, risk-taking, spiritual, idealistic

Vaishya - Acquisitive, driven, ambitious, goal-oriented, shrewd business sense, results-focused, disciplined, gratification-delaying, pragmatic, risk-averse, materialistic, comfort-seeking

Shudra - Laid-back, risk-averse, unambitious, goes with the flow, humble, down to earth, habitual, materialistic, comfort-seeking, hedonistic


Classical Elements:

Fire - Hot-headed, driven, active, creative, action-oriented, aggressive, quick to anger, natural leader, impatient, expansive, sets the pace, pushy

Water - Affable, expressive, people-oriented, sentimental, diplomatic, agreeable, emotional, smooth, collaborative, consensus-oriented, charismatic, irrational, faithful

Air - Cerebral, deliberative, knowledge/wisdom-seeking, cold, calculating, scholarly, curious, arrogant, limber, impersonal, nimble, mercurial, clandestine, hubristic, presumptuous

Earth - Grounded, solid, habitual, down-to-earth, reliable, stubborn, risk-averse, change-averse, boring, conventional, lacking in creativity or novelty, repetitive


Jungian Types:

Intuition - Creative, mystical, novelty-oriented, big-picture-seeking, holistic-minded, visionary, idealistic, unconventional, idiosyncratic, qualitative, weird, crankish, neurotic

Sensing - Conventional, experiential, quantitative, grounded, solid, habitual, here-and-now, pragmatic, reliable, stubborn, change-averse, boring, lacking in creativity or novelty

Thinking - Cerebral, deliberative, experimental, cold, calculating, impersonal, challenging, scholarly, mercurial, results-oriented

Feeling - Expressive, people-oriented, sentimental, diplomatic, agreeable, emotional, collaborative, consensus-oriented, charismatic, irrational, faithful, wellbeing-oriented


Keirsey Temperaments:

Idealist - Idealistic, creative, mystical, novelty-oriented, big-picture-seeking, holistic-minded, people-oriented, sentimental, diplomatic, agreeable, unconventional, idiosyncratic, qualitative, consensus-oriented, wellbeing-oriented

Guardian - Honorable, law and order-seeking, ambitious, conventional, experiential, quantitative, grounded, solid, habitual, stubborn, change-averse, goal-oriented, disciplined, gratification-delaying, pragmatic

Rationalist - Cerebral, creative, novelty-oriented, big-picture-seeking, deliberative, cold, calculating, impersonal, challenging, scholarly, experimental

Artisan - Affable, active, action-oriented, pleasure-seeking, goes with the flow, down to earth, habitual, materialistic, novelty-seeking, hedonistic