Keirsey Temperament Sorter
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The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) is a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves, first introduced in the book Please Understand Me. KTS is closely associated with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); however, there are significant practical and theoretical differences between the two personality questionnaires and their associated different descriptions.
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[edit] Historical development
David Keirsey introduced the Temperament Sorter after being introduced to the MBTI by a friend. Keirsey, however, traces the idea of temperament back to the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived from 460-377 B.C., proposed the four humours, which are related to the four temperaments. These were named and promoted by Galen: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic. Keirsey developed a modern temperament theory in his books Please Understand Me (1978) and Please Understand Me II (1998). By reading Isabel Myers' very brief portraits of sixteen types of high school students, which were based on Isabel's observations of real individuals in conjunction of her understanding of Jung's eight types, Keirsey found that by combining Sensation with the Perceiving (P) orientation (SP), Sensation with the Judging (J) orientation (SJ), iNtuition with the Judging functions of Thinking and Feeling (NF and NT), he had descriptions similar to the temperaments. Keirsey originally named the temperaments after Greek gods Dionysius, Apollo, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. Recognizing the temperaments from Ernst Kretschmer's descriptions of four forms of madness, he developed the positive aspects and named the temperaments after the mythological gods, but later renamed them, for clarity, as Artisan, Idealist, Rational and Guardian in his book Portraits of Temperament (1987).
The chart below compares modern and ancient aspects of the theory:
| Date | Author | Artisan temperament | Idealist temperament | Guardian temperament | Rational temperament |
| c. 400 BC | Hippocrates' four humours | blood | yellow bile | black bile | phlegm |
| Organ: | liver | gall bladder | spleen | brain/lungs | |
| Characteristics: | courageous, amorous | easily angered | despondent, sleepless | calm, unemotional | |
| c. 325 BC | Aristotle's four sources of happiness | hedone (sensuous pleasure) | ethikos (moral virtue) | propraitari (acquiring assets) | dialogike (logical investigation) |
| c. 190 AD | Galen's four temperaments | sanguine | choleric | melancholic | phlegmatic |
| c. 1030 | Avicenna's four primary temperaments | hot & moist | hot & dry | cold & dry | cold & moist |
| Morbid states: | inflammations become febrile, loss of vigour, lassitude | inflammations become febrile, loss of vigour | fevers related to serious humour, rheumatism | fevers related to serious humour, rheumatism, lassitude | |
| Functional power: | deficient energy, difficult digestion | deficient energy | deficient digestive power | deficient digestive power, difficult digestion | |
| Subjective sensations: | bitter taste, excessive thirst, burning at cardia, mucoid salivation, sleepiness | bitter taste, excessive thirst, burning at cardia, insomnia, wakefulness | lack of desire for fluids, insomnia, wakefulness | lack of desire for fluids, mucoid salivation, sleepiness | |
| Physical signs: | high pulse rate, lassitude, diarrhea, swollen eyelids | high pulse rate, lassitude, rough skin, acquired habit | flaccid joints, rough skin, acquired habit | flaccid joints, diarrhea, swollen eyelids | |
| c. 1550 | Paracelsus' four totem spirits | changeable salamanders | inspired nymphs | industrious gnomes | curious sylphs |
| c. 1905 | Adicke's four world views | innovative | doctrinaire | traditional | skeptical |
| c. 1910 | Steiner's Waldorf education | Sanguine | Choleric | Melancholic | Phlegmatic |
| c. 1912 | Dreikurs'/Adler four mistaken goals | Retaliation | Recognition | Service | Power |
| c. 1914 | Spränger's four value attitudes | artistic | religious | economic | theoretic |
| c. 1920 | Kretschmer's four character styles | hypomanic | hyperesthetic | depressive | anesthetic |
| c. 1947 | Erich Fromm's four orientations | exploitative | receptive | hoarding | marketing |
| c. 1958 | Myers' Jungian aspects of sixteen types | SP - sensory perception | NF - intuitive feeling | SJ - sensory judgement | NT - intuitive thinking |
| c. 1978 | Keirsey/Bates four temperaments (old) | Dionysian | Apollonian | Epimethean | Promethean |
| c. 1998 | Keirsey's four temperaments | Artisan | Idealist | Guardian | Rational |
| Keirsey, David [1978] (May 1, 1998). Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence, 1st Ed., Prometheus Nemesis Book Co. ISBN 1885705026. | |||||
| Lutz, Peter L. (2002), The Rise of Experimental Biology: An Illustrated History, Humana Press, p. 60, ISBN 0896038351 | |||||
[edit] About the sorter descriptions
Temperament can be seen like the rings of a tree:[1]
- The inner ring - abstract versus concrete
- According to Keirsey, everyone can engage in both observation and introspection. When people touch objects, watch a basketball game, taste food, or otherwise perceive the world through their five senses, they are observant. When people reflect and focus on their internal world, they are introspective. However, individuals cannot engage in observation and introspection at the same time. The extent to which people are more observant or introspective directly affects their behavior.
- People who are primarily observant are more 'down to earth', more concrete in their worldview, and tend to focus on practical matters such as food, shelter and their immediate relationships. Carl Jung used the word sensing to describe concrete people. People who are primarily introspective are more 'head in the clouds', are more abstract in their world view, and tend to focus on global issues. Carl Jung used the word intuition to describe abstract people.
- The second ring - cooperative versus utilitarian (pragmatic)
- Keirsey uses the words pragmatic and cooperative when comparing the differing temperaments. People who are cooperative pay more attention to other people's opinions and are more concerned with doing the right thing. People who are pragmatic pay more attention to their own thoughts or feelings and are more concerned with doing what works. There is no comparable idea of Myers or Jung that corresponds to this dichotomy, so this is a significant difference between the work of David Keirsey and that of Isabel Myers and Carl Jung.
- This ring, in combination with the inner ring, determines a person's temperament. The pragmatic temperaments are Rationals (pragmatic and abstract) and Artisans (pragmatic and concrete). The cooperative temperaments are Idealists (cooperative and abstract), and Guardians (cooperative and concrete).
- The third ring - directive versus informative
- The third ring distinguishes between people who primarily communicate by informing others versus people who primarily communicate by directing others. Each of the four temperaments is subdivided by this distinction for a result of eight roles.
- The directive roles are Operators (directive Artisans), Administrators (directive Guardians), Mentors (directive Idealists), and Coordinators (directive Rationals). The informative roles are Entertainers (informative Artisans), Conservators (informative Guardians), Advocates (informative Idealists), and Engineers (informative Rationals).
- The fourth ring - expressive versus reserved (attentive)
- The fourth ring describes how people interact with their environment. Individuals who primarily act before reflecting are described as expressive, whereas people who primarily reflect before acting are described as attentive. Each of the eight categories can be subdivided by this distinction, for a total of 16 role variants. These 16 role variants correlate to the 16 Myers-Briggs types.
- The expressive role variants are Promoters (expressive Operators), Performers (expressive Entertainers), Supervisors (expressive Administrators), Providers (expressive Conservators), Teachers (expressive Mentors), Champions (expressive Advocates), Fieldmarshals (expressive Coordinators), and Inventors (expressive Engineers).
- The reserved role variants are Crafters (reserved Operators), Composers (reserved Entertainers), Inspectors (reserved Administrators), Protectors (reserved Conservators), Counselors (reserved Mentors), Healers (reserved Advocates), Masterminds (reserved Coordinators), and Architects (reserved Engineers).
The following table shows how the four rings relate to one another and to the various temperaments.
| Temperament | Role | Role Variant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract or Concrete? |
Cooperative or Utilitarian? |
Directive or Informative? |
Expressive or Reserved? |
| Introspective (N) |
Idealist (NF) Diplomatic |
Mentor (NFJ) Developing |
Teacher (ENFJ): Educating |
| Counselor (INFJ): Guiding | |||
| Advocate (NFP) Mediating |
Champion (ENFP): Motivating | ||
| Healer (INFP): Conciliating | |||
| Rational (NT) Strategic |
Coordinator (NTJ) Arranging |
Fieldmarshal (ENTJ): Mobilizing | |
| Mastermind (INTJ): Entailing | |||
| Engineer (NTP) Constructing |
Inventor (ENTP): Devising | ||
| Architect (INTP): Designing | |||
| Observant (S) |
Guardian (SJ) Logistical |
Administrator (STJ) Regulating |
Supervisor (ESTJ): Enforcing |
| Inspector (ISTJ): Certifying | |||
| Conservator (SFJ) Supporting |
Provider (ESFJ): Supplying | ||
| Protector (ISFJ): Securing | |||
| Artisan (SP) Tactical |
Operator (STP) Expediting |
Promoter (ESTP): Persuading | |
| Crafter (ISTP): Instrumenting | |||
| Entertainer (SFP) Improvising |
Performer (ESFP): Demonstrating | ||
| Composer (ISFP): Synthesizing |
[edit] The Four Temperaments
- Artisans are observant and pragmatic. Composers, Crafters, Performers, and Promoters are the role variants contained within this temperament. Their greatest strength is tactical variation. Their most developed intelligence operations is either expediting or improvising.
- Guardians are observant and cooperative. Protectors, Inspectors, Supervisors, and Providers are the role variants contained within this category. Guardians seek membership or belonging and are concerned with responsibility and duty. Their greatest strength is logistical intelligence. They excel at organizing, facilitating, checking, and supporting.
- Idealists are introspective and cooperative. Healers, Counselors, Champions and Teachers are the role variants contained within this category. Idealists seek meaning and significance and are concerned with finding their own unique identity. Their greatest strength is diplomatic intelligence. They excel at clarifying, unifying, individualizing, and inspiring.
- Rationals are introspective and pragmatic. Architects, Masterminds, Inventors and Fieldmarshals are the role variants contained within this category. Rationals seek mastery, and self-control and are concerned with their own knowledge and competence. Their greatest strength is strategic intelligence. They excel in any kind of logical investigation such as engineering, conceptualizing, theorizing, and coordinating.
[edit] The Eight Roles
- Operators are observant, pragmatic, and directive. Crafters and Promoters are the two role variants of the directive Artisans.
- Entertainers are observant, pragmatic and informative. Composers and Performers are the two role variants of the informative Artisans.
- Administrators are observant, cooperative, and directive. Inspectors and Supervisors are the two role variants of the directive Guardians.
- Conservators are observant, cooperative, and informative. Protectors and Providers are the two role variants of the informative Guardians.
- Mentors are introspective, cooperative, and directive. Counselors and Teachers are the two role variants of the directive Idealists.
- Advocates are introspective, cooperative and informative. Healers and Champions are the two role variants of the informative Idealists.
- Coordinators are introspective, pragmatic and directive. Masterminds and Fieldmarshals are the two role variants of the directive Rationals.
- Engineers are introspective, pragmatic and informative. Architects and Inventors are the two role variants of the informative Rationals.
[edit] Myers-Briggs Types versus Keirsey's Temperaments
The type descriptions of Isabel Myers differ from the character descriptions of David Keirsey in several important ways:
- Myers primarily focused on how people think and feel; Keirsey focused more on behavior, which is directly observable.
- Myers' descriptions use a linear four-factor model; Keirsey's descriptions use a systems field theory model.
- Myers, following Jung's lead, emphasized the extraversion/introversion dichotomy; Keirsey's model places greater importance on the sensing/intuition dichotomy.
- Myers grouped types by ‘function attitudes’; Keirsey, by temperament.
Myers grouped types according to cognitive function: the ‘thinking type’ grouping for those with dominant thinking; the ‘intuitive type’ grouping for those with dominant intuition; the ‘feeling type’ grouping for those with dominant feeling; and the ‘sensing type’ grouping for those with dominant sensing. Keirsey's temperaments are based on combinations of preferences: Guardians with sensing plus judging; Artisans with sensing plus perceiving; Idealists with intuition plus feeling; and Rationals with intution plus thinking.
Myers paired ESTJs with ENTJs, ISFPs with INFPs, INTPs with ISTPs, and ENFJs with ESFJs because they share the same dominant function attitude. ESTJs and ENTJs are both extraverted thinkers, ISFPs and INFPs are both introverted feelers, INTPs and ISTPs are both introverted thinkers, and ENFJs and ESFJs are both extraverted feelers. Keirsey holds that these same groupings are very different from one another because they are of different temperaments. ESTJs are Guardians whereas ENTJs are Rationals; ISFPs are Artisans whereas INFPs are Idealists; INTPs are Rationals whereas ISTPs are Artisans; and ENFJs are Idealists whereas ESFJs are Guardians.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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