Supine Temperament
For many years, there have been four generally accepted temperament types. As a result of study by Drs. Richard & Phyllis Arno of the National Christian Counselors Association, the Supine temperament was added to the list and incorporated into the Arno Profile System.
Up until that time in 1984 there were people that didn’t “fit” into any of the other four temperaments. It is important to understand that, as for all types, temperament cannot be accurately assessed just by observation; temperament analysis via the Arno Profile System is necessary to accurately identify a person’s temperament.
The dictionary definition of Supine is “lying on the back or with the face turned upward.” Some dictionaries go on to say “having no interest or care, inactive, negligent, listless.” It must be noted that the NCCA’s choice of the name Supine is based ONLY on the first definition of “lying on the back or with the face turned upward.”, like a servant looking up to their master.
Worth repeating… There are three areas of the temperament: Inclusion (social interaction, surface relationships and intellectual energies), Control (decision making abilities, willingness to take on responsibilities, and the need for independence) and Affection (the need for love and affection and for deep personal relationships). Few people are the same temperament in all three areas. Let’s now look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Supine in these three areas.
Inclusion Strengths of The Supine: A great capacity for service, liking people, and the desire to serve others. The possess an inborn gentle spirit.
Inclusion Weaknesses of The Supine: Indirect behavior that expects others to read their mind, high fear of rejection, and harboring anger viewed as “hurt feelings”.
Control Strengths of The Supine: Dependability, ability to enforce “the policies” set by others and to serve those they follow, their caretakers, with absolute loyalty.
Control Weaknesses of The Supine: Aggressive disorders, open dependence, defensive against loss of position, weak willpower, a tendency to feel powerless and at the mercy of others.
Affection Strengths of The Supine: The ability to respond to love and to open up emotionally when they feel emotionally “safe.” If treated properly, they are capable of absolute and total commitment to deep personal relationships.
Affection Weaknesses of The Supine: The inability to initiate love and affection. They require constant reassurance that they are loved, needed and appreciated
While this is just a brief overview of the Supine temperament, you can see the importance of learning to live in the strengths of one’s temperament instead of living in the weaknesses. The Supine temperament is a beautiful temperament; it “naturally” has “the servant’s heart.” The Supine just like the other temperaments can be open to abuse, unless they learn to live in the strengths of their temperament under the control of Christ.
Melancholy Temperament
It is important to understand that temperament cannot be accuratel assessed just by observation; temperament analysis via the Arno Profile System is necessary to accurately identify a person’s temperament.
The pure Melancholy for example is an introvert and a loner. God does not make any mistakes when He makes us, and it is ok to be a Melancholy when you are living out of your strengths and not the weaknesses.
Melancholies are very family oriented individuals, and are closely bonded to those within the family unit. Even though they can be very exclusive and quiet with people in their families; the family relationship is of major importance with them. Melancholies need to learn to communicate their feelings; emotionally they are very protective and guarded. The way that a Melancholy demonstrates or says that they love someone is by being dependable and responsible not in physical terms such as hugging, touching and holding.
Melancholies are more task oriented as opposed to relationship-oriented. They simply relate better to jobs than to people. Because of their intellectual and analytical energies they can see the end results of a project before moving forward. Melancholies make good supervisors, as long as they are comfortable in those known areas of management. Melancholies are very creative people, but are prone to deep depression.
Melancholies tend to be perfectionists and set unreasonable standards and goals for themselves and the people around them. They are very private people, as well as very serious. They are self-motivated, and do not respond to the promise of reward nor the threat of punishment.
Melancholies are very loyal people: to their family and friends. If they make a promise the Melancholy will keep it. Melancholies have a tendency to be self-sacrificing to those close to them and mankind in general.
Inclusion Strengths In The Melancholy: Introvert, loner, great thinker, genius-prone, very artistic and creative, often found alone in thought, perfectionistic, slow-paced, great understanding of tasks and systems, a critical and challenging mind, and seeing both the pitfalls and the end results of a project undertaken.
Inclusion Weaknesses In The Melancholy: Extremely moody, suffer from “black” depressions, reject people, set standards neither they nor anyone else can meet, develop habits that are very hard to break, have suicidal tendencies, low self-esteem and are pessimistic.
Control Strengths In The Melancholy: Good at decisions and responsibilities in known areas, very good leadership abilities. They adhere to the rules and they need very little control over the lives and behavior of others.
Control Weaknesses In The Melancholy: Rigid, inflexible, sensitive to failure, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, apt to be a rebel and procrastinate.
Affection Strengths In The Melancholy: Very faithful, loyal friends and self-sacrificing. Their feelings run deep and tender (even though they lack the ability to express these feelings). They easily empathize with others and have the ability to make very deep commitments.
Affection Weaknesses In The Melancholy: They dissect the past with theoretical “what ifs,” i.e., “what if” he had given me flowers, I would feel loved; “what if” I were prettier, they would love me more. Also, they are critical of others, angry, cruel, vengeful, emotional, rarely tell people how they feel, have a low self-image and are sensitive to rejection from deep relationships. The loss of a deep relationship (even by death) is devastating to them. Melancholies “have sex” with their spouse; they do not “make love” to them. This causes marital problems.
Melancholies when rising to their strengths, and once these strengths are brought under God, the Melancholy is capable of great and wonderful things. When Melancholies sink to their weaknesses they become destructive to themselves and those close to them.
There is great comfort and reward when we submit ourselves to God (regardless of what temperament we possess) and learn to live out our strengths in temperament that He has given us. The Melancholy is very valuable in the body of Christ under His control. Read through the Melancholy’s strengths and carefully consider if the Melancholy would not be a blessing and asset to their family, to the Kingdom of God, the Church, and the community where they live. God help each of us to live in the strengths of our temperament, our in-born “nature”, God has given us.
Sanguine Temperament
They bring life and energy into a room by their very presence. Their cheerfulness and humor brighten everyone’s life. They are an optimistic type of person who believes life is an exciting and fun-filled experience that should be lived to the fullest. Inactivity causes them stress because the pace at which they like to live their lives is fast and furious. The Sanguine in Inclusion is the most impulsive of all the temperaments.
As with the other temperament types, it is important to understand that temperament cannot be accurately assessed just by observation; temperament analysis via the Arno Profile System is necessary to accurately identify a person’s temperament.
The Sanguine in Inclusion excels in communication-oriented things, but they do not relate well to tasks. They are the least disciplined and organized of all the temperaments. While they are outgoing, enthusiastic, warm, compassionate, and seem to relate well to other people’s feelings, yet they can be rude and uncaring. They tend not to be faithful nor loyal friends, since they do not want to be “burdened down” with commitments; they just want to have fun. They live as though they have no past or future, the Sanguine in Inclusion rarely learns from their past mistakes. They are prone to exaggerate. They never recognize their failures, but exaggerate to make themselves appear to be more successful than they truly are. The Sanguine’s major weakness is that they adopt severe and destructive behavior.
The Sanguine in Control (decision-making abilities, willingness to take on responsibilities, and the need for independence) is unique and very rare. Only 2% (two percent) of the population have this control, and they are predominantly male. What makes them so unique is they swing. All the other temperaments are stabilized. For example a Choleric is always domineering, but the Sanguine in Control behaves like a Choleric one day, totally in charge and domineering, and the next day they are totally dependent. In their independent / domineering mode, they are aggressive, responsible, demanding and capable of undertaking any task. In their dependent / self-indulging mode they are irresponsible, self-indulgent and nearly drown in their own pool of self-pity.
What causes the swing in the Sanguine in Control? They have an unquenchable need for recognition and approval; when this is withheld from them by people that are “important” to them, or when they are criticized, they do a “nose dive into the dependent mode. When the Sanguine in Control swings, they drop everything and shirk responsibilities. This person will volunteer for difficult tasks and they can and will complete the project so long as their ego is being fed. However, at the first sign indicating that they are not “the greatest thing that ever happened to the world,” the quit! They just stop and walk away and inwardly turn into themselves – caring nothing about the project or those depending upon them.
However, when the Sanguine in Control has remained in the dependent, self-indulgent side of their swing for a short period, they begin to feel ugly. This is an emotional “ugly” made up of feelings like guilt, worthlessness and selfishness. These feelings begin turning them around, and soon they are back to the “take charge,” responsible and dependable person everyone knows, loves and reveres.
The problem with this narcissistic (self-indulgent) swing is that the person can indulge themselves in gambling and alcoholic binges, drugs, sexual sins, etc. Until the Sanguine in Control learns to control the swing instead of the swing controlling them, AND until the Sanguine in Control learns to be self-indulgent in godly ways they will have a very unstable life. But once this is learned they can have a very wonderful and productive life.
Inclusion Strengths of The Sanguine: Friendly, outgoing, inspiring to others, relationship oriented, enthusiastic, warm, optimistic, ability to see the bright side of life and the good in other people. They genuinely like people, are rarely found alone, and freely interact with people.
Inclusion Weaknesses of The Sanguine: Talkative, always the center of the conversation, apt to take on behavior and morals of the people around them, impulsive, undisciplined, rude, prone to exaggerate, need to appear successful (even to the point of exaggeration), will ignore responsibilities in order to be with people.
Control Strengths And Weaknesses of The Sanguine: Correlate with their dependent / independent conflict.
Dependent: To be narcissistic, self-indulgent (the need to self-indulgent is not a weakness, but the way that this indulgence is met is the weakness), lacking persistence and weak-willed. Independent: Solicitous, caring person who will do things for other people, almost to the point of servitude. A very charming, gracious person. Takes on responsibilities and makes decisions very well, until driven to the dependent mode.
Affection Strengths of The Sanguine: Able to express and receive large amounts of love and affection. They are warm and easy to get to know and emotionally open.
Affection Weaknesses of The Sanguine: Easily devastated if not constantly reassured they are loved and appreciated. Very demanding of other people for love and affection, plagued with feelings of jealousy when the love and attention they feel belongs exclusively to them is given to others.
Choleric Temperament
This temperament is identified as the most powerful (and destructive) of the temperaments. It is not unreasonable to state that the world’s greatest feared dictators and diabolical criminals were perhaps of the Choleric temperament.
However, when this person truly comes to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and uses their strengths for the glory of God they make some of the greatest leaders in Christianity.
The Apostle Paul was in my opinion a Choleric. Prior to his conversion on the Damascus Road Paul used his temperament strengths to advance the cause of Judaism, self interest and terrorizing Christians. After Paul’s salvation he soon became the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul’s example demonstrates that a person’s spiritual rebirth does not change their temperament. The individual is transformed in the sense of their temperament strengths being used for a different purpose as they feast on the Word of God and grow as a new creation in Christ. The Choleric remains a Choleric before and after their conversion / salvation experience.
It is important to understand that temperament cannot be accuratel assessed just by observation; temperament analysis via the Arno Profile System is necessary to accurately identify a person’s temperament.
Cholerics are extremely tough-willed. When they have made up their minds they rarely if ever change it, even if they are wrong. Cholerics will seldom listen to the advice of anyone else. They want to have total control over themselves and anyone around them.Cholerics are of the opinion and belief that they know what is best for those around them, and what is acceptable behavior according to them. They have a severe problem with anger; “the angry temperament”.
Cholerics have a tendency to seldom express other emotions such as love, tenderness, warmth and compassion. When other people express these emotions they consider them as unnecessary and useless.Cholerics believe that no one else can carry out a task as well as them. They have a tendency to overwork themselves, and are prone to burnout. When carrying out various tasks to accomplish goals they are capable of undertaking any behavior necessary to get it done. Unlike the Melancholy, who is capable of seeing the pitfalls of a project before taking action, Cholerics refuse to see any pitfalls. The Choleric will forge ahead regardless of the cost, the end justifies the means.
The Choleric is extremely self-centered and the needs of others do not matter, they are perfectionistic and even their own flaws are flawless. When they are wrong they will not accept it, their’s is the only way that is correct and matters. Yet, when the Choleric is brought under the authority of Jesus Christ, greatness can be accomplished for the Kingdom of God.
Facts to remember, there are 3 areas of the temperament: Inclusion (social interaction, surface relationships and intellectual energies), Control (decision making abilities, willingness to take on responsibilities, and the need for independence) and Affection (the need for love and affection and for deep personal relationships).
Inclusion Strengths of The Choleric: Being open, friendly, confident, outgoing, optimistic, tough-minded, task oriented, perfectionistic with a good mind for envisioning new projects, and an extrovert of a highly selective nature.
Inclusion Weaknesses of The Choleric: Hot-tempered, a people user, although everyone uses people to some degree, the Choleric in Inclusion “carries the red flag”. They think of themselves as people motivators. They become easily frustrated in their attempts to “motivate” people. They harbor anger and can be cruel and abusive.
Control Strengths of The Choleric: Tough-willed, a good leader, capable of making intuitive decisions, capable of taking on responsibilities, usually done in an efficient, well-disciplined military fashion. They possess the will power to carry through to completion.
Control Weaknesses of The Choleric: Anger, cruelty, capable of undertaking any behavior to keep control. They associate with weak people and then resent their weaknesses. To them, the end justifies the means; so they are capable of very poor behavior. They are highly susceptible to burn out.
Affection Strengths of The Choleric: Being open, optimistic, outgoing, express a great deal of love and affection, and approach only select people for deep relationships.
Affection Weaknesses of The Choleric: Extremely self-centered (although they do not appear this way), indirect behavior, reject people, reject the love and affections of people (they will accept love and affection only according to their terms), are usually cruel to those who reject their manipulation for love and affection.
What a wonderful temperament the Choleric is, when they are submissive to the Lord Jesus Christ. As is with any temperament living in their strengths and not their weaknesses. All things are possible with God, and what a blessing the Choleric can be (living in their strengths and not their weaknesses) for the Kingdom of God. In Hebrews 11: 32-34 we see some good examples from the heroes in the faith.
Phlegmatic Temperament
The Phlegmatic goes through life doing as little as possible, quietly, and expending little energy. It is not clear whether the Phlegmatic temperament has very little energy, or it is because they refuse to use what little energy they do have. They are task oriented with a great capacity for work that requires precision and accuracy and expends a minimal amount of energy. Only sleep can regenerate a Phlegmatic in Inclusion.
It is important to understand that the Phlegmatic’s temperament, just like all the other temperament, cannot be accuratel assessed just by observation; temperament analysis via the Arno Profile System is necessary to accurately identify a person’s temperament.
The world may never know all the brilliant thoughts, great books, spectacular works of art, or wonderful ministries that have been buried with the Phlegmatic. They seldom, if ever, use these ideas and talents because it would require expending to much energy and effort, to put these ideas into action. The Phlegmatic sits back and watches other temperaments busy doing things wrongly and looking at all the things in te world that need to be changed. Identifying the injustice is not difficult for the Phlegmatic in Inclusion; however, they will seldom, if ever, initiate action against injustice. They will try to inspire others to do something, but are not likely to personally get involved themselves.
The Phlegmatic is the only temperament the Choleric is unable to control (which frustrates the Choleric tremendously). The Phlegmatic is the most stable temperament. The Phlegmatic is the most stubborn of all the temperaments when it comes to making changes. Because of their tendency to uninvolvement, they are natural negotiators and diplomats. “Peace at all costs” is their motto.
The Phlegmatic has no fear of rejection and can handle unaffectionate and hostile people. They are calm, easygoing people who are not plagued with the emotional outbursts, exaggerated feelings, anger, bitterness or unforgiveness as are other temperaments. They are observers who do not get involved nor expend much energy. Their cool, complacent attitude an hurt people that love them. The way they observe can cause them to never to give of themselves and, therefore, never receive either.
Inclusion Strengths of The Phlegmatic: The ability to perform tedious tasks, relate to both tasks and people, calm easygoing, extremely efficient and perfectionistic. The Phlegmatic in Inclusion can function quite well in a hostile social setting. Nothing “ruffles their feathers.”
Inclusion Weaknesses of The Phlegmatic: Unwillingness to become involved, tendency to be an observer rather than a participant, and use of a verbal defense that often hurts others.
Control Strengths of The Phlegmatic: The tendency to be very practical, conservative, peace-loving and a good peace maker / arbitrator.
Control Weaknesses of The Phlegmatic: Indecisiveness, the tendency to procrastinate, and being very difficult to motivate. They use verbal defenses that often hurt others; it is used against anyone who tries to motivate or control them, particularly Cholerics.
Affection Strengths of The Phlegmatic: Well balanced, easygoing, non-demanding, calm and realistic in demands for love and affection.
Affection Weaknesses of The Phlegmatic: Unwillingness to become involved in deep relationships, tendency to be an observer only, rarely self-sacrificing, unemotional and inexpressive. Verbal defenses are used to protect low energy supply with regard to physical and sexual involvement
Credit: Arno Profile System
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