{"id":169,"date":"2019-07-01T21:24:25","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T01:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=169"},"modified":"2022-04-13T23:17:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T03:17:39","slug":"the-four-temperaments-definition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-four-temperaments-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Four Temperaments: Modern Definition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are temperaments? Why does your emotional temperament matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before undersatnding the four temperaments, let&#8217;s take a step back and define emotional responses in general. Emotional reactions can feel very different to us, based on how long they last, how intense they are, and how they affect our bodies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Emotional Phases<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Goleman describes 4 different phases of emotional response: impulses, moods, temperaments, and on the extreme end, chronic disorders. We can distinguish between these phases primarily based on how long they last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emotional impulses are strong and immediate, but only last a few seconds. <\/strong>These are the knee-jerk reactions that happen before our conscious mind understands what\u2019s going on. (Shortform note: Think of \u201ccrimes of passion\u201d&#8211;most of them were probably committed in these few, brief seconds where the emotional mind is in complete control.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Moods are muted forms of emotions and last for much longer than the immediate emotional impulse.<\/strong> You\u2019ve probably never been in a full, terrifying rage for a whole day&#8211;but you might have been grumpy all day, where normal things make you angry that much faster. That\u2019s a mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Four Temperaments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, there\u2019s temperaments. Goleman suggests that<strong> temperaments are a product of nature, a predisposition from birth based on brain activity patterns<\/strong>, and that <strong>people generally fall into one of four temperaments: timid, bold, upbeat, and melancholy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Timid temperament people<\/strong> have amygdalas that are more responsive to even low-level stress. They avoid new or unfamiliar situations and dislike uncertainty.<\/li><li><strong>Bold temperament people<\/strong>  have a higher threshold for arousal, and can withstand more stress and uncertainty. They don\u2019t scare easily, have no trouble meeting people, and seek out new things.<\/li><li><strong>Upbeat temperament people<\/strong> have more activity in their left frontal lobes than their right. These people enjoy meeting others and seeing what life brings, and rally quicker after setbacks.<\/li><li><strong>Melancholic temperament people<\/strong> have more activity in their right frontal lobes. They\u2019re more frequently in bad moods and generally take a negative view of life. Because they have a hard time avoiding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/low-mood-and-anxiety\/\">anxiety and depression<\/a>, they are more easily defeated by difficulty.<\/li><li>(Shortform note: Goleman touches on this very briefly, and does not address some basic questions about them, such as whether they\u2019re genetic or can be influenced by early interactions, or whether people can be combinations of the four.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, <strong>chronic disorders occur when someone is trapped in a negative temperament or mood and most likely needs medication or therapy to help balance their emotions.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>What are temperaments? Why does your emotional temperament matter?<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Before undersatnding the four temperaments, let&#8217;s take a step back and define emotional responses in general. Emotional reactions can feel very different to us, based on how long they last, how intense they are, and how they affect our bodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","tag-emotional-intelligence","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Four Temperaments: Modern Definition - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Which of the four temperaments are you? 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