The Keirsey Temperament Sorter-II, established by Dr. David Keirsey in 1978, is one of the most widely used personality tests in the world. The test is comprised of 70 questions to help determine ones temperament. The Keirsey Temperament Theory states that there are four basic categories or temperament groups that describe human behavior. The four basic temperaments are artisan, guardian, rational, and idealist. An individuals temperament is determined by the neurotransmitter governing the brain in the greatest amount during fetal development. The four neurotransmitters that determine ones temperament are dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, and estrogen for the artisan, guardian, rational, and idealist, respectively. Every individuals brain is governed by each of these neurotransmitters to a certain extent during fetal development. However, one neurotransmitter overpowers and therefore, the individual predominantly practices the set of traits associated with that particular neurotransmitter. Although all these neurotransmitters are present during fetal development, they are less abundant than the more predominant neurotransmitter. Each temperament is then subdivided into character types, which can be equated to the temperament types using the Myers-Briggs Temperament Sorter.
Temperament is a configuration of observable personality traits that spring from two basic dimensions of human behavior: our communication and our action. Communication is essentially defined as what one says and action is how one conduct themselves. According to Keirseys Theory, the two ways of communicating are concrete communication and abstract communication. Concrete communicators tend to focus on the external concrete world of everyday reality. They stick to topics of conversation related to facts and figures, work and play, home and family, news, sports, and weather. Concrete individuals talk about reality. Abstract communicators focus on the internal abstract world of ideas such as theories, conjectures, dreams, philosophies, beliefs, fantasies.
