The Four Temperaments

Sanguine

In a nutshell...

Sanguine people are boisterous, bubbly, chatty, openly emotional, social extroverts.

Social

Sanguines find social interactions with faces both familiar and unfamiliar invigorating. This is how they recharge, and time alone - while sometimes desirable - can bore them quickly.

The more people they're surrounded by, the better they feel, and they're not picky about who they get to know. They enjoy having many, many friends.

While sanguines enjoy being around other people, it's largely because they enjoy the attention of others and feel good about the fact that they are not lonely.

They are talkers more than they are listeners.

They may move away from friends that they consider to be boring or dull.

They are bubbly, fun-loving, extroverted people-people who are always in the mood for a good time. They love wild nights out.

They make friends quickly, and they'll cheerily talk to strangers. People of the melancholic temperament might perceive a room of twenty strangers as frightening or uncomfortable, while a sanguine might see them as opportunities to meet new friends.

They are not picky, and will usually like more things than they dislike. They tend to enjoy things that are trendy, popular, and so on.

They enjoy social situations, and believe that everyone else would too. They're likely to convince people to come along with things like 'come on, you'll enjoy it!' or 'you don't know what you're missing!'

Being friends with a Sanguine is often as simple as knowing each other's face and name.

They aren't particularly trustworthy... as they'll be too eager to spill secrets with others, and their general flightiness can make them unreliable as they're likely to get easily distracted by other things.

Expressive

They are talkative, and speak in a friendly, energetic, playful kind of way; they're often charismatic, and when interacting with them, you can feel like you've known them all your life.

They are very emotional, and their emotions can be extreme but fleeting. They are the sorts who will be screaming "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!!" one day, then mere hours later, they'll be profusely apologising about it, then expecting everything to all be water under the bridge after that.

They are quick to 'forgive and forget' - and expect others to do the same - because they live in the moment rather than dwelling in the past.

They tend to have open senses of humour (rather than dry or subtle humour), and laugh and smile often and clearly.

They may tease others in a 'playful' way, expecting them not to 'take it so seriously'.

They are very show-offy and have high self-esteem. They're prone to bragging, in a 'look how amazing I am!!' kind of way rather than 'I am better than you' (which is more choleric).

They are extreme in their emotions, and may go through stages of melodramatic misery and self-loathing as well.

They can be very easy-going, suggesting that more serious people 'mellow out' or 'take a chill pill'.

Sanguines can be great motivators, as they'll enthusiastically encourage others towards action, and they see things positively, optimistically, and would convince others to see things that way too.

They are naturally physical with others, very 'touchy-feely', openly expressing their affection through hugs and stroking and grabbing shoulders and things like that.

They could not be said to be neat and tidy. They live in the moment, which can lead to poor planning or disorganisation, messiness.

Attention-Seeking

They love attention. They desire to be in the spotlight, and for people to compliment and praise them. Everyone loves compliments, but sanguines will go out of their way to get them.

They are often performers, party animals, drama queens.

They wish to fit in and be popular. Or, they'll seek to be Different in a way that will make them remarkable.

The embarrassment of making a fool of themselves is outweighed by the pleasure of putting on a show. They will go to extraordinary lengths to add the life they feel is missing from any party, such as dancing on tables, eating food off the ground, etc.

Of course, the reason they'd do silly things isn't JUST to get attention. They do these things because them find them amusing themselves.

They require constant entertainment, and will complain about being bored if they are not sufficiently entertained, often at another person who's failing to entertain them.

They will show off their abilities to others in order to get praise.

They are dramatic, and will exaggerate to make things seem more extreme than they are.

They have a tendency to be vain, and to care about how they look.

If nobody is paying attention to them, they will barge into a conversation or say something in order to attract some attention. They are very uncomfortable being left out.

Role

In our distant past, the sanguine members of the pack might have played a supportive, encouraging, social role. They would have been the glue that kept the group together.

In modern society, you might see them as entertainers, singers, dancers, or perhaps simply as the energetic people at parties. In fantasy, they might be Bards.