Psychometrics – or the study of behaviour has been around a long time.

Hippocrates (c.460-377/359BC) and Plato (428-348BC) discussed personality and character. At that time (and probably earlier) there was a strong link between how we were and health. Galen (131–201 AD) developed thoughts on how to make people “better”. Many of his thoughts spread round the world and for instance using leeches to blood- let is an example of a method used to bring the humours back into balance.

We know them as:

Sanguine – courageous, hopeful, amorous

Choleric – easily angered, bad tempered, excitable

Melancholic – despondent, sleepless, irritable

Phlegmatic – calm, unemotional

It is noticeable that there are 4 humours – and in much work on behaviour – there are also 4 principle “humours”.

For example the Eysenck brothers illustrated how they saw emotional stability linking with the humours in 1958

There are also links between the 4 humours and Carl Jung’s work. Commonly used indicators such as Myers Briggs have produced character types that involve intuition (N) – where the individual has a sense of what is possible and sensing (S) - where the individual works with what they know.  There are also feeling (F) and thinking (T), where individuals either have a sense of what is right (F) – principles develop from a feedback from society and peers. Alternatively individuals develop a sense of what works or what can be done – as a feedback from thought processes and logic.

Thus the phlegmatic person may have a lot in common with the NT or rational (Myers Briggs). From other psychometrics you may find a correlation to Dominance (Disc), Fiery Red (Insights) and Miro call this Driving.

The choleric is said to be NF (Myers Briggs), linking to Sunshine Yellow (Insights), Influencer (Disc) and with Miro it is called Energising.

Most of the early thoughts concern abnormal behaviour – and how to bring someone back into “balance”.

William Moulton Marston felt that most of us were “normal” and behaved normally. Rather than bring someone back into balance he was more concerned with how we could be the best person we could be. So for instance if we enjoy D or dominant behaviour – what tasks can we do where we will be engaged and motivated – where we are most useful.

Whilst there is no doubt that in a team a balance is a very useful thing to have – each behaviour can have a role – and one or more persons can have a valid contribution to make. If you have a team of one sort of person – how behaves in a similar way – you may find that a number of necessary tasks get ignored.

Today “humour” is more commonly about laughter and finding something funny. To be in “good humour” is about having the propensity to find something funny. Clearly there is a link – however faint to the 4 humours and a sense of wellness.

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