INSPIRATION

Introduction

Personality type theory aims to classify people into distinct CATEGORIES. i.e. this type or that. Personality types are synonymous with "personality styles".

Types refers to categories that are distinct and discontinuous. e.g. you are one or the other. This is important to understand, because it helps to distinguish a personality type approach from a personality trait approach, which takes a continuous approach.

To clearly understand the difference between types and traits, consider the example of the personality dimension of "introversion". We can view introversion as:

• A personality type approach says you are either an introvert or an extravert

• A personality trait approach says you can be anywhere on a continuum ranging from introversion to extraversion, with most people clustering in the middle, and fewer people towards the extremes

The following sections provide an overview of some of the more popular and commonly known personality type taxonomies.

Allport and Odbert (1936, cited in Funder, 1999) found over 17,000 words in the dictionary which referred to psychological differences between people, e.g., trustworthy, shy, arrogant. Typically, modern personality taxonomies have emphasized between two, three, four, and five personality types, through to identifying 16 or more subtypes.

The Four Humors - Ancient Greeks (~2000 BC - 0 AD)

Ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates 400 BC and Galen, 140/150 AD classified 4 types of "humors" in people. Each type was believed to be due to an excess of one of four bodily fluids, corresponding to their character. The personalities were termed "humors".

http://wilderdom.com/personality/L6-1PersonalityTypes.html