THE FOUR

TEMPERAMENTS
SANGUINE, PHLEGMATIC, CHOLERIC AND MELANCHOLIC PERSONALITY
TYPES
SANGUINE PERSONALITY TYPE
 People with sanguine personality type tend to be lively, optimistic, buoyant, and
carefree. They love adventure and have a high risk tolerance. Typically, Sanguine
people are very poor at tolerating boredom and will seek variety and
entertainment. Needless to say, this trait may sometimes negatively affect their
romantic relationships. Because this temperament is prone to pleasure-seeking
behaviors, many people with sanguine personality are likely to struggle with
addictions. Their constant cravings may lead to overeating and weight problems.
 These people are very creative and may become great artists. In addition, they
are fantastic entertainers and will naturally do well if they choose careers in
entertainment industry. Their natural abilities will also serve them well if they
choose jobs related to
 Marketing
 Travel
 Fashion
 Cooking
 Sports
PHLEGMATIC PERSONALITY TYPE
 Someone with phlegmatic personality type is usually a people person. They
seek interpersonal harmony and close relationships. Phlegmatic people are
loyal spouses and loving parents. They preserve their relationships with old
friends, distant family members, and neighbors. People with phlegmatic
temperament tend to avoid conflicts and always try to mediate between
others to restore peace and harmony. They are very much into charity and
helping others. Ideal careers for phlegmatic personality types should be
related to:
 Nursing
 Teaching
 Psychology or counseling
 Child development
 Or social services
CHOLERIC PERSONALITY TYPE
 Someone with pure choleric temperament is usually a goal-oriented person.
People with choleric personality type are very savvy, analytical, and logical.
Extremely practical and straightforward, choleric people aren’t necessary very
good companions or particularly social. They dislike small talk and enjoy deep and
meaningful conversations. They would rather be alone than in company of shallow,
superficial people. Ideally, they want to spend time with people who have similar
professional interests. Ideal jobs for choleric personality type are related to the
following industries:
 Management
 Technology
 Statistics
 Engineering
 Programming
 Business
MELANCHOLIC PERSONALITY TYPE

 People with melancholic personality type love traditions. Women cook for
men; men open doors for women. They love their families and friends and,
unlike sanguine temperament, do not look for novelty and adventure. In fact,
they avoid it at all costs. Someone with melancholic temperament is very
unlikely to marry a foreigner or leave their homeland for another country.
They are very social and seek to contribute to the community. Being
extremely orderly and accurate, melancholic people are fantastic people
managers. Perfect careers for melancholic personality type should be in:
 Management
 Accounting
 Social work
 administration
 SANGUINE AND PHLEGMATIC
COMPATIBILITY
 Now let’s look into Sanguine-Phlegmatic personality compatibility. This is an
interesting couple indeed! They are not similar in nature at all, but their
differences compensate for each other and, funnily enough, opposites attract
as the famous saying goes! Sanguine and Phlegmatic people are generally
attracted to each other, but Phlegmatic females approach Sanguine males
with caution because of their fear to get their feelings hurt by some of these
happy-go-lucky adventure seekers. Still, these two temperaments often fall in
love with each other and when they do, they make a very interesting couple
due to the creativeness of the Sanguine personality and imagination of
Phlegmatic partner. Both of these temperaments are verbally skilled – the
Sanguine partner will express himself or herself spontaneously, while the
phlegmatic partner finds the right words to describe his or her feelings. They
are both optimists, and they are also flexible and open-minded.
 Unpredictable Sanguines will be thrilled by the trust and patience of their
Phlegmatic partner. Secretive and mysterious, the Sanguine person will be
captivated by emotional openness of their Phlegmatic sweetheart.
 Phlegmatic partners will also surprise by their romanticism:
 special goodbye kisses,
 greeting cards and love notes,
 romantic weekends together,
 cute little gifts for no reason.
 This couple may have differences because of the Sanguine’s desperate need for
independence. The Phlegmatic partner will want genuine closeness and a
connection that sometimes, will not be completely understood by their Sanguine
partner. As a result, the Phlegmatic will feel lonely and abandoned, and the
Sanguine will feel smothered by the constant throw of emotions.
 Similarly, the desire to completely analyze every moment, discussion and action
from the side of the Phlegmatic will drive the Sanguine completely bonkers. On
the other hand, the Phlegmatic partner may want to discuss feelings and
emotions, but the Sanguine person is an extrovert and has no desire for such
intimate discussions. As a result, the Phlegmatic may decide that his or her
Sanguine partner is shallow.
 When talking about the personality compatibility of Phlegmatic and Sanguine
partnerships, there is another interesting point that it is important to mention:
Phlegmatic people may go to great lengths to please and nurture their partners
but sadly, Sanguine people sometimes do not appreciate this, and in some cases
may even find their Phlegmatic partners weak, needy and spineless.
 However, both of them have traits that help them survive the troubled times – the
Phlegmatic’s need for harmony and tolerance of the Sanguine. Because of these
qualities and because of their flexibility, they may stay positive about each other
and remain together for years.
 PHLEGMATIC AND MELANCHOLIC
COMPATIBILITY
 Personality compatibility is how two different, or the same, temperaments
and personalities will get along together within a loving relationship. Being in
a relationship, regardless of whether you are the same personality type or
not, doesn’t mean you have to think, feel and act the same way as your
partner. Phlegmatic and Melancholic people have many differences in how
they feel and how they view the world, but these differences could become
their biggest advantages; and although there is no natural attraction between
these two personality types, they often fall in love, get married and live
happily ever after! Phlegmatic people often get lost in the big picture,
because they see the issue from so many different angles. This quality results
in a procrastinating habit, when they just keep ruminating about the problem
at hand, and never get around to actually trying to resolve it.
However, concrete-thinking Melancholics evaluate any problems carefully, and
set a deadline for getting things done. In the Phlegmatic-Melancholic pair, this
Melancholic trait provides a sense of security for the Phlegmatic partner,
resulting in a partnership that actually works very well together.
 On the other hand, the enthusiastic and optimistic Phlegmatic will be like a
breath of fresh air to the Melancholic. The Phlegmatic partner will energize
his or her calm partner, and bring new ideas for their partnership. Both
personalities are striving to build a strong and stable relationship. Despite the
fact that the Melancholic is less emotionally expressive, and won’t appreciate
the depth of connection that Phlegmatic is trying to make, they will admire
the emotional depth and loyalty of the Phlegmatic partner. Both types are
caring and nurturing by nature, although Phlegmatic will be often more
sensitive to the needs of his or her mate. Both are organized and orderly and
they will enjoy planning for their future together. Both are likely to be
attentive to their children, and although the Melancholic will tend to be
stricter when trying to implement rules and schedules, the Phlegmatic will
show a more loving and sensitive side, bringing about a “Good Cop, Bad Cop”
routine that works in harmony. These two types have similar feelings about
belonging to society — both are eager to help others, the only difference
being that the Phlegmatic will tend to be more compassionate to the
individuals, while the Melancholic concentrates on the idea of supporting the
community as a whole.
 On the negative side, emotionally contained Melancholic may feel uneasy
about the intense passion of emotional Phlegmatic. Alongside this, he or she
will not understand the Phlegmatic need to explore his or her own identity,
and may become critical in nature. Once the Phlegmatic realizes that the
Melancholic is not as romantic as they first may have hoped, he or she might
get disappointed. They are then likely to start to feel that the Melancholic is
superficial and at the same time, the Melancholic will feel unappreciated and
irritated by the Phlegmatic self-absorption, and habit of analyzing the
psychological aspects of the relationship.
 Total identification is a potential source of problems, because there’s nothing to
add, to complement each other. Two cholerics either find a common target or
they’ll end up fighting each other, for example (and the same happens to the
others, two melancholics will eventually bore each other to death, two sanguines
will discuss about absolutely everything, and two phlegmatics will either make the
other cry until they die, or will help each other consume every ounce of drink and
eat everything available). Total complementarity implies total lack of
identification. That is, they have everything the other lack… to the point that they
don’t understand each other. The choleric will hurt the feelings of the phlegmatic
all the time, without knowing why, while the phlegmatic will never understand
why the choleric must do all those things instead of cuddling and gazing into each
others eyes over some wine. The melancholic would be lost in all the social
distractions and chatter of the sanguine, who will resent not having any feedback.
At all. About anything said, sung, or written. So, living together has a good chance
of being easier when people of one temperament are paired with people having
neither the same, nor the opposite, temperament.
 So, cholerics live easier with sanguines and melancholics.
 Sanguines, with phlegmatic and cholerics.
 Melancholics, with phlegmatic and cholerics.
 Phlegmatics, with sanguines and melancholics.