Dr. W.A. Kritsonis - International Refereed Publication(s)

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCHOLARLY ACADEMIC INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 1, 2008
1
Distribution Patterns of the Four Fundamental
Temperaments among Secondary School Students in Cross
River State, Nigeria: National and International
Implications
Dr. (Mrs.) Akon M. Joshua
Faculty of Education
Cross River University of
Technology
Akamkpa Campus, Nigeria
Professor Eno M. Ukpong
Professor of Education
University of Calabar
Calabar, Nigeria
Dr. Monday T. Joshua
Faculty of Education
University of Calabar
Calabar, Nigeria
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
College of Education and Professional Studies
Central Washington University
Tyrone Tanner, EdD
Associate Professor
PhD Program in Educational
Leadership
Prairie View A&M University
Donald F. DeMoulin
Argosy University - Atlanta
ABSTRACT
This study was designed to assess the distribution pattern of the four basic
temperaments (Plegmatics, melancholics, sanquines and cholerics) among senior
secondary school students in Cross River State of Nigeria. The study was a survey, and
the questionnaire was the data gathering instrument. The sample for the study
consisted of 1080 students, drawn from senior classes of secondary schools in the
research area using stratified random sampling technique. The research instrument
had 40 items, with 10 items describing each of the four temperament types. Percentages
and bar charts were used to summarize the data collected. The research findings
showed that there were more introverts (phlegmatics and melancholics) then there were
extroverts (sanquines and cholerics) in the population studied; and that the distribution
pattern was not influenced by the gender and geographical location of the respondents

2_________________________________________________________________________________
studied. It is recommended that all youth handlers (parents, counselors, teachers,
church/youth workers, etc) should be knowledgeable in the temperaments of their
clients.
_____________________________________________________________________
Introduction and Review of the Literature
Temperament as a concept is said to be a combination of traits we inherit from our
parents, and it influences everything that we do including sexual activities. Temperament sets
broad guidelines on everyone’s behaviour pattern which will influence a person as long as
he/she lives. Also described as behaviour style, temperament also provides guidelines for
value development especially among young growing adolescents. As put by Lahaye (1984),
one way of learning to know oneself is the study of the four basic dominant temperaments.
The four basic temperaments are melancholic, phlegmatic, sanguine and choleric (Mullins,
1996, Lahaye, 1984; Hock, 1998). Secondary school students especially those in the senior
classes fall in the range of 13 – 19 years. It is always a unique period laden with all manners
of behaviours which are greatly influenced by temperament types.
Heineman (1995) quoted Thomas and Chess (1977) as stating that temperament can
be equated to the term “behaviour style”. Similarly, Santrock (1999, 179) defines
temperament as an individual’s behaviour style and characteristic way of responding.
Temperament makes an individual outgoing (or extroverted) or shy (or introverted). Lahaye
(1984) and other adherents of the four basic temperaments show that each type presents its
own characteristic behaviour patterns. Lahaye also provides blends of temperaments.
A person with melancholic temperament is an introvert and is gifted in many areas.
This is because he is a self – disciplined, self – sacrificing and analytical individual. He is
quiet and has inclination to reflection. The thinking of a melancholic person quickly turns
into reflection, his thoughts being far reaching. The melancholic person is not satisfied with
the superficial, does not feel at home in a crowd for a length of time, and loves silence and
solitude life. A melancholic person is said to be occasionally passive and slow, not easily
moved into quick action. He is reserved, finds it difficult to make new acquaintances, and
often does not find the right words to express or describe his sentiments. Melancholics hardly
consider things or issues unless they maintain calm and safe judgment. However,
melancholics are critics, negative, resentful and excessively sensitive in the face of small
humiliations. Often times, melancholics retire to themselves. They are often found in
jobs that need reasoning, critical calculations and deep thinking.
Phlegmatic individuals are also introverts. They are calm, quiet, easy going and
never – get-upset individuals. The phlegmatic person is the easiest type of person to get along
with (Lahaye, 1984), and by nature, the most likeable of all the four basic temperaments. The
phlegmatic person is dependable, efficient and organized. An individual with this
temperament is said to be loyal to authority. He does not like to accept leadership, but when
forced on him, he is a good leader since he can easily get along with others. Phlegmatic
individuals are known to have high value system. However, a person with phlegmatic
temperament is known to be slow in making decisions and is a victim of procrastination.
A person with sanguine temperament is an extrovert. He is outgoing, warm, friendly
and fun-loving. He is a talkative and loves social settings. A person with sanguine
temperament values tradition and security; he is pushful but carefree about issues in life. He
is easily given to elation of spirit and is not given to worries and anxiety. He often longs to
express himself in public, loves to be heard and prefers group activities to individual work.
However, a sanguine person is not organized and loves travelling to meet people.

AKON M. JOSHUA, ENO M. UKPONG, MONDAY T. JOSHUA, WILLIAM ALLAN KRITSONIS,
TYRONNE TANNER, DONALD F. DEMOULIN
__________________________________________________________________________________3
A person with choleric temperament is an extrovert. He is hot – tempered, quick,
active, strong – willed, independent, and productive. He can make decisions easily for
himself and others. A choleric person thrives best in activities, is domineering and bossy,
using other people to accomplish his ends. He also values traditions and is focused. A
choleric is pushful, easily hurt, and reacts very strongly to praise and blame. He is not given
to worry and anxiety, is decisive in movement and has a lot of energy output. The choleric
will always insist on acceptance of his ideas in any issue that affects him.
Many theories in the last couple of years have been proposed for the understanding of
temperament, but as put by Hodgetts (1984), values, perceptions and attitudes are important
components of an individual’s behaviour. One of such theories is William Schutz’s
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientations (FIRO) theory, which is applicable in
understanding temperament. The theory has three major needs namely; inclusion need in
which people call attention to themselves and wish to be included in a group, such as the
sanguines and cholerics, while others have low inclusions needs, such as the melancholics and
the phlegmatics. The FIRO theory also presents the control need, in which people wish to
establish relationship with others in relation to power and authority. Those with choleric
temperament seem to have higher control need than the melancholic and phlegmatic persons.
The last form of need in the FIRO theory is the affection need. This need focuses on
establishing relations with others in terms of love and friendship. Those with sanguine
temperament often exhibit high desired affection, while those with melancholic temperament
have low affection need as they do not like to act close to other people. It is to be noted that
mixed temperaments or blends of temperaments do exist in which one temperament
dominates another. A human being is said to possess at least two temperaments, one
dominating over another.
According to Thomas and Chess (1977), quoted by Heineman (1999), temperament
can be measured using questionnaire or interview. Therefore, temperament can be measured.
Researchers who study temperaments often develop items describing respondents’
behavioural tendencies in general terms. The temperament dimensions are then scored by
summing up the scores across the items. A higher score is always an indicator of one’s
temperament type (Kawaguchi, 1998). In Lahaye’s temperament blob, the scoring ranges
from “least like me” (1) to “most like me” (5). At the end of the scoring, only scores of 3 – 5,
are regarded as being high enough to indicate person’s temperament.
One longitudinal study reported by Kawaguchi (1998) was to assess gender
differences in temperament and adolescent – parent same cross – gendered relationships. The
study assessed gender differences over 10 years in 776 children. The results showed that
gender differences peaked at adolescence period. In a related online personality test
conducted by John (2003), the researchers found that out of 150 respondents, 83% of
them were found to be introverts, while the remaining 17% by implication were
extroverts. Similarly, a related psychiatric study done by David Janowsky showed
that 74% of those he studied were introverts (that is either melancholic or
phlegmatic), while the remaining 26% were either choleric or sanguine (extroverts).
These research results are revealing.
Research on Temperament Conducted Abroad
In recent years, the behaviour of youths in the society has been of great
concern to all. Temperament is said to be behaviour styles inherited form parents.
The major problem addressed in this study derives from the fact that most of research
work on temperament was conducted abroad. There is the serious need to conduct a

4_________________________________________________________________________________
similar study in the Nigerian setting, in Cross River State in particular. Therefore, the
problem of the study is that of finding the answer to the poser: “what is the pattern of
temperaments (melancholic, phlegmatic, choleric and sanguine) among secondary
school students in Cross River State?
There is no readily available answer to this poser, hence the study is designed
to address this issue.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the pattern of
distribution of temperaments (being behaviour styles) among secondary school
students in Cross River State of Nigeria.
Only one research question was used in the study and is stated here:
What is the distribution pattern of the four dominant/basic
temperaments among secondary school students in Cross
River State, Nigeria?
Methodology
The research design for the study was survey, and this was selected because it
allowed for drawing inferences. Surveys study populations by selecting samples from
chosen populations. Surveys also focus on people, their beliefs, opinions, attitudes
and behaviours. The instrument used for data collection in this study was a
questionnaire constructed by the researchers. The population used for the study
consisted of all the students in the senior classes of secondary schools in the research
area. The research area was Cross River State, which is one of the 36 States in the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, and one of the 6 States in the South-South geo-political
Zone of the country. These students numbered 51, 979 in the year of the study being
2005/2006 school year. This number was made up of 27, 497 males and 24, 482
females in 227 secondary schools under three Education Zones. The Education Zones
were Calabar Zonez consisting of seven (7) local government areas, Ikom Zone with
six (6) local government areas and Ogoja zone with five (5) local government areas.
The stratified random sampling method was used to select one thousand and
eighty (1080) students of senior secondary classes to constitute the study sample. In
each Education Zone, six (6) schools were randomly selected, thus making a total of
eighteen (18) schools from the three Education Zones. All the schools selected were
mixed public schools where males and females attended the same schools and studied
together in the same classes. Senior secondary 1 – 3 students were used because of
their maturity. In each school, thirty (30) male students and thirty (30) female
students were randomly selected for the study, giving a total of sixty (60) students per
school, and 1080 students for the 18 schools selected.

__________________________________________________________________________________5
The instrument (the questionnaire) was constructed by the researchers and
vetted by experts in educational research, measurement and evaluation and
educational psychology. This was to ensure face and content validity. The
instrument had 40 items divided into 4 sections, each containing 10 statements that
described characteristic behaviour tendencies of a particular temperament type using
the Likert scale. The respondents were to tick ( ) one out of five possible responses
of ‘most like me’, ‘more like me’, ‘Like me,’ ‘less like me’, and ‘least like me’.
These responses were scored 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The scores for a
respondent on the 10 items for each temperament type were summed up. Where an
individual obtained the highest score indicated his/her temperament type.
Reliability of the instrument was done using Croncbach Co–efficient Alpha
and the reliability estimates of the four sections ranged .75 to .83. The copies of the
questionnaire were personally administered by the researchers with the assistance of
the teachers in the classes sampled. At the end of the rigorous exercise, 1060 of the
1080 completed copies of the instrument (constituting 98%) were found useable for
the study. The data collected were subjected to simple percentages and bar charts.
Data Analysis and Results
Bar chart and percentages were used as the data analysis techniques to answer
the one main research question of this study. Figure I shows the data analysis and
results of the distribution pattern of the four basic temperaments among the
respondents using bar charts.
.
Figure 1: Bar Chart showing the distribution pattern of the four basic
temperaments among sampled secondary school students.
The result presented in Figure I shows the distribution pattern of the four basic
temperaments among secondary school students in Cross River State. The pattern
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
332
311
176
241
Phlegmatics Melancholics Sanguines Cholerics

6_________________________________________________________________________________
shows that of the 1060 respondents in the study, 332 (constituting 31.3%) were
phlegmatics, 311 (constituting 29.3%) were melancholics, 176 (constituting 16.6%)
were sanguines and 241 (constituting 22.7%) were cholerics. By projection in the
population, there are more phlegmatics and melancholics (and these two groups are
usually referred to as “introverts)” than there are sanguines and cholerics (who are
also referred to as “extroverts”).
In order to have an in-dept study of the exhibition of temperaments by the
students, the distribution pattern of the four basic temperaments by gender and
geographical location were investigated.
(i) Distribution pattern of temperament by gender
The bar chart showing this is presented as Figure 2
Figure 2. Bar chart showing the distribution pattern of the four basic
temperaments by gender.
The result in Figure 2 shows that among the male respondents, 164 (30.4%) were
phlegmatics, 161 (29.5) were melancholics, 92 (17.0%) were sanguines and 123
(22.8%) were cholerics. The result also shows that among the females, 168 (29.8%)
were phlegmatics, 150 (28.8%) were melancholics, 84 (16.2) were sanguines and 118
(22.7%) were cholerics.
The distribution of the four basic temperaments among the students as per
gender shows that the frequencies of the respondents in the four basic temperaments
among males and females were almost the same.
200
150
100
50
0
164
168
161
150
92
84
123 118
Males
Females
Key

__________________________________________________________________________________7
(ii) Distribution pattern of temperament by geographical location
The bar chart showing this is presented as Figure 3.
Figure 3. Bar chart showing the distribution pattern of the four basic
temperaments by geographical location.
For geographical location in the urban areas, 175 (constituting 33%) were
phlegmatics, 154 (constituting 29.1%) were melancholics, while 97 (constituting
18.3%) were sanguines and 79 (constituting 14.9%) were cholerics. In the rural areas,
157 (constituting 29.6%) were phlegmatics, also 157 (constituting 29.6%) were
melancholics, 79 (constituting 14.9%) were sanguines and 137 (constituting 25.8%)
were cholerics. The distribution pattern of the four basic temperaments as per
geographical location shows that the frequencies were almost the same among urban
and rural dwellers in each temperament type.
Discussion of Findings
The findings of this study showed that the greatest percentage of the students
under study were phlegmatics (31.3%), followed by melancholics (29.3%). The least
percentage of students in the sample were the sanguines (16.6%), followed by
chlolerics (22.7%).
As per sex, the result showed that there is no serious difference in the
distribution pattern among males and females with regard to basic temperament types.
Among males studied, 30.4% were phlegmatics, 29.8% were melancholics, 22.8%
cholerics and 17% were sanguines. Among the females, 32.3% were phlegmatics,
28.8% were melancholics, 22.7% were cholerics and 16.2% were sanguines.
Interestingly, these results agree with research finding of Kawaguchi (1998) who
found that in his assessment of gender differences in temperament, adolescent boys
and girls reported remarkably similar characteristics. By interpretation, those studied
showed almost equal number of introverts and extroverts among the males and
females.
200
150
100
50
0
175
157 154 157
97
79 97
137
Urban
Rural
Key

8_________________________________________________________________________________
Concerning the distribution of temperaments according to geographical
location, the finding of the study showed that the greatest percentage of the
respondents who were phlegmatics (33%) reside in the urban area, while 29.6% of the
same temperament type live in the rural area. This was followed by melancholics
with 29.1% in the urban area, and 29.6% in the rural area. The least of the
temperament type residing in the urban area was sanguine (18.3%) while 14.9% of
those with sanguine temperament live in the rural area. This is followed by cholerics,
with 19.6% living in the urban area and 25.8% of the same temperament type living in
the rural area.
The result showed that the distribution pattern of the four basic temperaments
among respondents was similar with almost the same number of respondent in each
temperament type. The temperament types were evenly distributed in both the urban
and rural area of the area of study. Thus, the distribution patterns of the four basic
temperaments are not affected by the gender and geographical location of those
studied.
It is quite interesting how the creator of mankind mixes up people in term of
temperaments for a balance in behaviour within a given society. One can imagine
what a particular society will look like if there were only introverts (phlegmatics &
melancholics) or only extroverts (sanguines and cholerics).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Nature has made a good mix of people in the world – while some are
introverts (phlegmatics and melancholics), others are extroverts (cholerics and
sanguines). For area of study, there appears to be more introverts than extroverts in
the world particularly among secondary school students in Cross River State. The
researchers therefore recommends that every parent, teacher, preacher, counsellor and
other youth handlers should seek to know the temperament of each adolescent under
them. This is necessary in enhancing counseling and parenting practices and
therapies, since temperament affects everything that one does.
References
Heinaman, P. L. (1995). Temperament theory. Retrieved August 24, 220, from
http://pmc/psych.nwu.edu/perproj/others/heineman/assess.htm
Hock, G. (1998). The four temperaments. Wisconsin: Catholic Apostolate Press.
Hodgettes, R. M. (1980) Modern human relation at work (2nd
ed.). New York: The
Dryden Press.
Kawaguchi, M. C. (1998, January). Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters
temperament, gender and adolescent – parent relationship. Miller Palmer
Quarterly, 1, 1 – 8.
Lahaye, T. (1984). Why you act the way you do. Illinois: Living Books Tyndale
House.

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Mullins, L. J. (1996). Management and organizational behaviour (4th
ed.). London:
Macmillan.
Santrock, J. W. (1999). Life span development (7th
ed.). New York: McGraw – Hill.
_____________________________________________________________________
Formatted by Dr. Mary Alice Kritsonis, National Research and Manuscript
Preparation Editor, NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS, Houston, TX
www.nationalforum.com

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