The Four Temperaments: Are You Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic
Way back in Ancient Greece, physicians Hippocrates and Aelius Galenus came up with a medical theory. They thought that human moods and human behavior are caused by either a lack or excess of four bodily fluids. They said that too much black bile made you melancholic and too much yellow bile made you choleric. They also said that too much phlegm made you phlegmatic and too much blood made you sanguine. The physicians believed having a good balance of all four humors led to good health.
While modern medicine has dismissed these findings, the four temperaments theory had remained popular as a physiological theory. Now, it’s time to find which temperament fits you. Do you belong with the ambitious choleric, the social sanguine, the easygoing phlegmatic, or the analytical melancholic?
If you’re curious about which of the four temperaments suits you best, this is the quiz for you. Continue on to see which temperament fits you!
Four Temperaments
The four temperaments is a theory that suggests there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic. People with a sanguine temperament are social, talkative, and active. Those with the choleric temperament are extroverted, ambitious, and goal-oriented. Those with a phlegmatic temperament are easygoing, quiet, and sympathetic to others. People with a melancholic temperament are deep thinkers, analytical, and introverted. It's also possible to have both a primary and secondary temperament — for instance, your primary temperament might be sanguine, but you could be choleric as your secondary temperament.
The four classical temperaments are also associated with the four seasons and the four elements. Melancholic temperament is associated with earth and winter. Sanguine temperament relates to air and spring. Choleric temperament is associated with fire and summer. Phlegmatic temperament relates to autumn and water.
