Temperament

The temperament describes the way how an animal acts and reacts, his behavioral style so. This is deeply rooted and is composed of emotional, motor, attention- related responses and self-regulation. The term describes relatively constant, so typical of the behavior characteristics such as endurance, threshold, mood, tempo.

Etymologically, the word was temperamentum in the 16th century in the sense of " balanced mixing ratio " used in pharmacy, then described the " mixing ratio of the humors " (see humoral pathology ) and was in the 18th century, the present meaning.

The traditional divisions in temperaments and their associated behaviors are highly dependent on culture. Best known are the Greek and the Chinese classification of temperaments.

Temperaments

For a long time different from the European culture four to Galen of Pergamon returning types that founded on the four- element theory and the humoral pathology. The world sat down accordingly from four elements that combine in turn four main characteristics: fire (hot and dry), air ( warm and wet ), water ( wet and cold) and earth ( cold and dry). Man also consists of these elements, which the four humors ( humours ) below: yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm. If the juices are mixed harmoniously, man has a harmonious temperament; outweighs a juice every other man has a distinct character: Phlegmatic - water; Sanguine - air; Choleric - fire; Melancholic - Earth.

Modern theories of temperament

In the 20th century, the research differentiated stronger, but could not agree on a typology. The most common formulation is the Myers -Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI ), the most famous development which comes from David Keirsey. In today's empirical psychology, however, the acceptance of personality types is generally disputed.

There are mainly four characteristics with which psychologists today describe the temperament:

• Activity - power, strength and speed of the movements of thought and speech
• Reactivity - speed and strength with which to respond to external stimuli
• Emotionality - are expressed frequency and intensity with the feelings and moods change
• To deal the desire to seek the proximity of other, and the way with them - sociability

From the composition of these personality characteristics results in the temperament. Temperament is especially predisposition, but it is not insignificant with influenced by the environment.

In personality psychology there are different temperament theories; the best known include:

• The research Hans Jürgen Eysenck a modification of Eysenck's model was made ​​by Jeffrey Alan Gray

Temperament has been defined by psychological side than the particularly pronounced susceptibility of a person for a certain feeling. A man with a shy, timid temperament, for example, therefore, is a person who tends more than others to react to certain stimuli (such as the encounter with strangers or new situations ) with anxiety.