Four Temperaments and MBTI Take 2

Earlier I tried to correlate the classic four temperaments with the Myers-Briggs types, but I’m not completely convinced of my original conclusion, and have been revisiting other theories I’ve entertained throughout the years. It is also possible that there actually is no correlation, but being the intuitive feeler that I am, I “sense” there is a connection between the temperaments and type.

First, a clarification: when I say four temperaments, I am NOT referring to David Keirsey’s classifications which are actually based on the MBTI. As I mentioned in my previous post, people have (I believe) inaccurately correlated his system with the classic four temperaments like this: NF=phlegmatic, NT=melancholic, SJ=choleric, SP=sanguine. I find Keirsey’s classifications quite useful, but at the same time, a bit restrictive. I think there are commonalities between people who have any two preferences in common, and in fact, Isabella Myers was more prone to group them together like this: IN, EN, ST, SF. That makes a bit more sense to me since at least two of those (IN and EN) tap into the 8 functions, which is really the heart of the MBTI, and what so few people know about (including me for many years), but that’s a whole nuther topic…

…unless of course it relates to what I’m trying to do here, in which case maybe I should only use the 8 functions to try to make the correlation, and we’ll end up with this:

IN = melancholic (dominant or auxiliary function = introverted intuiting)
IS = phlegmatic (dominant or auxiliary function = introverted sensing)
EJ = choleric (dominant function = extraverted thinking or feeling)
EP = sanguine (dominant function = extraverted intuiting or sensing)

What’s interesting about this interpretation is that I checked it against my personality code and it still works with all the examples I gave.

The reason I reject the IF=melancholic and IT=phlegmatic is because I’ve known too many INTJs who were clearly melancholic (they’re way too intense to be golden retriever types).  And the ISFJs I’ve known have been the gentle more passive types (which is another reason I doubt my original conclusion that IJ=melancholic).