What Does A Temperament Test Tell Me About Myself, And Where Can I Take One?

Updated February 26, 2020

Medically Reviewed By: Tanya Harell

In life, we want to know more about ourselves and our personalities, and one way we can do this is through a personality test. A personality test can give us some insight into who we are, even if they are not necessarily the perfect measurement of one's self. A personality test is especially good if you want to find out what kind of temperament you are. What is the temperament? Let's talk about what they are and tell you how you can measure it.

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What Is A Temperament?

Temperament is a personality type that one is born with or prone to. While many parts of our personality are shaped up by life experiences, there are some aspects we are born with and will favor. Some people are just natural born leaders. Other people are naturally shy. By figuring out what type of temperament you are, you can learn more about yourself. You can't categorize yourself entirely into a single temperament, but what you can do is be able to get an insight.

The Four Temperaments

The four temperaments are an old way of measuring one's temperament. While they are not used much in contemporary times, they are still an intriguing way to categorize people. It should be noted that few people are truly one temperament or the other; usually, there are two dominant temperaments and two lesser temperaments.

Sanguine

This is a personality trait that is extroverted. You know someone who just doesn't seem to be satisfied socially. They always take risks, they are always open about what they do, and they are going to attract a crowd in a ghost town. They are the party animals of our kind.

Choleric

The choleric person is also extroverted, but instead of being a party animal, they are the leaders. They can be assertive, make decisions, can be bullying in many aspects, and they will be the people who believe in their facts.

Melancholic

A melancholic person tends to be someone who is introverted and doesn't like to be around people very often. Instead, they want to rely on themselves and get anxious when others try to help. They can be artistic and want to be perfectionists in many aspects of their life.

Phlegmatic

These are also introverted people. They are more caring of others, however, and instead try to be there for others without entirely showing their emotions. They want people to bury hatchets and make peace with each other. If people are not happy together, they will usually be upset as well.

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You can find many four temperaments tests online. The questions will vary, and how many questions you have will vary as well. Some quizzes take a minute to complete, while others are lengthy, but will give you a more accurate measurement. If you're curious about which of the four temperaments you favor, it's worth a shot.

It should be noted that these temperaments, while an intriguing way to categorize people, should not be treated as truth. Instead, you should do it for fun and not think about it too seriously. Grouping people into one group or another is hard. However, you can be able to get a guess as to what personality trait you are. Odds are, you push more towards introverted or extroverted. However, many are a combination of both. Few people are truly pure introverts or extroverts. Even the party animals are prone to wanting to some time alone. The people who like time alone can sometimes want to get out. It just all depends.

Thomas And Chess Temperaments

These are temperament measurements for children, done by Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, two psychologists. They believe that one's temperament is made up of nine traits, and how one measures in those traits can say a lot about your temperament. You can measure your child's temperament, or even your own, through online quizzes.

The nine temperaments are:

• The level of activity you have. Some people are much more energetic, and others have less energy or varying levels of energy.
• Some people are distracted easily. They won't be able to maintain focus on anything, even if they are interested. Meanwhile, other people may be able to maintain focus even if they find the subject completely boring. These people can get tasks done much better, but the world tends to pass them by.
• When one is faced with a stimulus or an emotion, this trait measures how intense the response is. Some people are cool, even if the stimulus they face is powerful. Others may not be able to keep their emotions regulated even if the stimulus isn't that powerful.
• This measures how much a child or an adult needs a routine. Some people have no set routine. They are always doing something different. Then, other people need to have a routine or a structure or else they get emotional. If a change is made to a routine suddenly, they may have a hard time being able to manage it.
• Sensory sensitivity. This is when someone reacts to environmental changes involving the sensory. Some people will not change that much, while others will react strongly to even the slightest change.
• Initial reaction. This is when someone reacts a certain way to a problem. Some people will approach the problem head-on and without a plan, while others may think about a problem a lot and wonder how they can be able to face it without much trouble. They may withdraw from a problem for a while and even avoid it altogether. And when the problem grows too big, they will not know how to handle it.

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• There are often changes one has to face, especially when they are a child. New school, new house, new friends, and other sudden changes can make life much more difficult. If a child has a hard time being able to adapt, they will be shy, reserved, and depressed when faced with a new situation. Meanwhile, other children love to be given new situations and dilemmas to face because they like change so much.
• When one has a project or a task to perform, some may work on the task for a while and then lose interest after a while, especially if their work is going nowhere. Meanwhile, others may never give up on a problem. For example, someone who is business-minded will take risks and keep their business going even if the waters are murky. Others may be in-between, taking risks and pursuing, but realizing there's a time when it's okay to withdraw.
• Finally, the last temperament is a mood. Some children and adults are always happy and being able to be prone to a happy or sad mood. Other people have a neutral mood or a mood that always changes. Getting a good look at a child's temperament is quite helpful.

Temperament Tests For Dogs

Humans aren't the only one with temperaments. An animal can be prone to certain temperaments, and an animal that does that quite a bit is a dog. The dog can be prone to one temperament or another. One test you can use is the ATTS temperament test. This test looks at a dog's shyness, friendliness, stability, and aggressiveness. It looks at how the dog handles its owners and others around them.

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As you probably know, some dogs are friendly towards everyone, while others may be a little aggressive towards a stranger. This can be how they were bred and raised, but some dogs just have a natural temperament. This test will look at a dog's traits with a simulated walk in the park. The dog will see different stimuli one may face while taking a walk. These stimuli can be dangerous, friendly, or just neutral, and the test measures how well a dog will respond to them.

This test is for dogs who are 18 months or older, and the test just takes about 10 minutes to finish. The dog is on a leash, and the person handling cannot interact with the dog beside carrying the leash.

As the dog is walked, the test fails when the dog is aggressive without provocation, no recovered panic, and a strong avoidance towards everything.

Seek Help!

You're born with a certain temperament, but this doesn't mean you can't change. How you were raised can determine your personality, and so can how you can change. If you speak to a counselor, you can be able to change your personality. If you want to be more extroverted, introverted, empathetic, or have other personality traits as well, a counselor can help you with that. By seeking help, you're proving that you can change.

A counselor can help you do that. Whether you want to be more sympathetic, empathetic, or just be friendlier to everyone, they can help.