Temperamente

Temperamente refers to temperament—the enduring style with which a person tends to respond to the world. In English the term is temperament; temperamente appears in Italian and other Romance-language contexts as the noun for temperament, and in some cases as an adverb meaning calmly or moderately. The concept denotes relatively stable patterns of affect, activity, and attention that emerge early in life and influence behavior.

Historically, temperaments were linked to bodily humors in ancient medical theory. Galen associated sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic temperaments with particular balances of blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. The framework influenced medicine, philosophy, and education for centuries. In modern times, the four-humor scheme is viewed as a historical precursor rather than a scientific taxonomy.

In contemporary psychology, temperament refers to biologically based individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation that appear in infancy and persist into adulthood. The field features several models. Thomas and Chess described patterns in infancy such as Easy, Difficult, and Slow-to-Warm-Up. The Rothbart model identifies dimensions including negative affect, surgent/extraversion, and effortful control. Temperament interacts with environment to shape personality across development.

Applications include pediatrics, parenting guidance, and education, where awareness of temperament helps support learning and social development. Criticisms center on measurement challenges and the overlap between temperament and later personality, as well as cultural variation in norms for emotional expression. See also temperament (psychology), four temperaments, and personality psychology.