Definition

Individual differences in human motivation and emotion that appear early in life, usually thought to be biological in origin. Temperament is sometimes considered the biological or physiological component of personality, which refers to the sum total of the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social dimensions of an individual.

Description

History

Ancient Greek and Roman physicians invoked nature, claiming that the proportions of the various humors or fluids in the bodies influenced personality. They thought that there were four basic temperaments—sanguine (cheerful), choleric (irritable), melancholic (gloomy), and phlegmatic (apathetic)—which were determined by the predominance of blood, yellow...