An Exploration of French Culture Through the Four Temperaments By Bryan Bowes Intentions of this presentation To introduce the principles of the 4 Temperaments and show how an understanding of them can help one appreciate foreign cultures and peoples. Provide exposure to important underlying aspects of French culture and understand how these may relate to, and build upon, the 4 Temperaments. The 4 Temperaments; Where did They Come From? – May have originated in ancient Egypt or Asia Minor – First written about by the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) in relation to the ‘4 Humors’ and health. – Expanded by Roman physician Galen (130-201 CE) into temperament model and named them Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic – Work by Kant (1724-1804), Marston (1893-1947), Clarke (1940) and other professionals helped to explore and expand theory – Current research with MRI’s suggest physiological evidence based on neural/ hormone interactions (Fisher, Et. Al. 2015) What are They? According to John T. Cocoris, Th.M., Psy.D. – "Temperament is a cluster of inborn traits that causes you, in part, to do what you do.“ i.e. that influence the way one, thinks, behaves and interacts with others, themselves, and the world. – ‘The four temperaments are represented by four distinct clusters of "traits" or tendencies’ – ‘Each cluster of "traits" produces a distinct pattern of cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior that is different from the other groups’ – All people have a blend of traits on a sliding scale of intensity – Usually one or two are dominant, our ‘default mode’ Points to Remember when working with the Temperaments – Not intended to ‘pigeon hole’. Used as a means of moving from exclusion/misunderstanding to acceptance/co-operation – All four Temperaments are absolutely necessary in the world at large. – Can be affected by : – Trauma. – Upbringing; culture, family, friends, schooling, etc. – Does not change your temperament or ‘default mode’, but can alter the expression of it into a form less comfortable, intuitive, and/or natural. – Each temperament has strengths and struggles, the key to success with your temperament is the balanced expression of your strengths and a healthy awareness of your struggles. On to the Temperaments! The Powerful Choleric: Desire/Action Instinct Traits • Decides through sight and intuition • Looks at big picture • Extrovert • Dominant • Unemotional • Goal/Results/Action oriented • Risk taker • Rules were made to be broken mentality • Very time conscience • Future oriented • Quick thinking • Outspoken Struggles • Overly aggressive/competitive • Bulldoze dissenting people, ideas • Dismissive • Black and White mentality • Arrogance • Workaholic • Manipulative • Intolerant • Impatient Strengths • Growth: The Beginning • Visionary • Leadership • Good instant problem solver • Sense of pride and confidence • Persistence • Resourceful • Self reliant • Positive • Magnanimous • Inspiring The Playful Sanguine: Feeling/Communication Instinct Traits • Decides through senses and feeling • Looks for the source • Extrovert • Needs FUN • Trusting • Very Social • Loves being with/around people • Spontaneous • Optimist • Idealistic • Lives in the immediate present Struggles • No ‘sense’ of time • Overly emotional about trivial things • Can be loud/overbearing/obnoxious • Often speaks without thinking • Gets bored easily • Unreliable; can make promises and not follow through with them • Undisciplined • Setting goals and not following through Strengths • The Communicator/Connector • Social glue • Inclusive • Playful • Empathetic • Encouraging • Brings Fun • Persuasive • Adds color and spice to life • Great Promoter • Make friends easily • Great motivators The Peaceful Phlegmatic: Belief/Experience Instinct Traits • Decides through experience and personal involvement; show me it works • Looks for reliability and tranquility • Introvert • Very practical, pragmatic • Consistent • Enjoys home life • Needs Stability • Lives in an expanded present • Compassionate • Submissive Struggles • Lack of Initiative • Indecisive • Difficulty speaking up for themselves (often ‘run over’ by more dominant temperaments) • Daydreamer • Self-pity • Procrastination • Avoiding problems instead of dealing with them Strengths • Great at directing the flow of activity and helping to grow and organize systems. • Organization • Supportive • Loyal • Peace makers • Gentle • Caring • Calm • Emotionally very stable • Patient The Perfectionist Melancholic: Knowledge/Information Instinct Traits • Decides through validity of argument • Looks for details and accuracy • Introvert/Needs time alone • Needs Information • Loves tradition, history, ritual • Lives in the present-past • Most intellectual • Hates being rushed • Insightful • The original skeptic • Serious • Very sensitive • Highly values deference, honor, esteem Struggles Strengths • Depression • Pessimism • Loneliness • Fear • Can get too caught up in the details and lose sight of the bigger picture • Trust • Holding a grudge • Gets hurt easily • Difficulty embracing the new • Hypercritical of themselves and others • Lives in shades of gray • Maximizing efficiency in preexisting systems. • Brings clarity and definition to systems. • Strong sense of justice: right and wrong • Often produces the ‘Great works of Art’ • Perseverance • Endurance • Gifted planner, attending to all the details • Understands the entirety of a situation How do the 4 Temperaments relate to understanding French Culture? – Just like a person is a blend of the 4 types, so is the aggregated product of human social structures, i.e. family units, businesses, states, countries, etc. – The traits that are expressed by these social structures are determined by ideas, values, and leaders that are present and active within the structure. – Most social structures will present clusters of traits that can identify it as having a tendency towards one or another of the Temperaments. – Important to note that social structures, unlike people, can shift between Temperaments over time depending upon the ideas, values, and leaders of the day. – Once main temperament is known, one can understand how to best act and work with that social structure to have positive interactions where both sides benefit and move forward – Everybody can win! So, What is Culture Anyway? Big ‘C’ and Little ‘c’ Many explanations for culture, but lets break it down to roughly two types: Big ‘C’ – Everything you can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. i.e. – architecture, sculpture, painting, food, music, dance, film, etc. Little ‘c’ – Everything you can’t. This is usually what provides the biggest ‘shock’ in culture shock. It’s all the unspoken values, beliefs, ideas, constraints, grievances, behaviors and more that provide the foundation of how a society thinks and acts. It’s what you’ll have the most difficulty understanding which is why it’s so important to know about! Just to note, no description can describe everybody in a society so everything mentioned further is a tendency of a segment of the population So time to take off your old Red, White, and Blue’s, And get ready for a world in Blue, White, and Red! History’s place is here now! – France defines itself by it’s history, and it’s serious. – History explains everything about the present while informing and providing direction for the future. – Seen as a way give context to current issues for a more complete and accurate understanding – Large portions of public presentations are used to cover the history of a subject before talking about it in the present – History is seen as a vital means of understanding who they are (as a country and as an individual) and what their place in society is. – Reticent to change. Why should I change if what I’ve been doing all along has always worked (well mostly)? – Traditions, rituals, and religious holidays are very important, even though most French no longer affiliate with a specific religion. – History and its influences are a huge part of French conversation, and they are well versed in it. Expect to talk about it, and make an effort to learn at least a basic outline. Education is KING! Your education is the beginning of your history (mostly) and thus is all important! From the beginning it determines, pretty much, the rest of you life. - After the decimation of the aristocracy, education became the vehicle for any wealth, power, influence, and position that could be gained in society, and the rules of society are very rigid in this regard. Poor grades = limited future, period. - French schooling is very rigorous and based on Cartesian logic. How you go about solving a problem is just as important (if not more so) as the solution. Complete and accurate information + proper methodology = correct solution by default. 20pts? - The goal is to gain entrance into one of Frances ‘grandes écoles’, their equivalent of our ‘ivy schools’, where their connections and reputation practically guarantee positions of influence, and excellent pay. But these schools are more exclusive and more desired. With People – The French have many layers to their social interactions but 2 distinct, broad categories exist. – Public/professional persona – Most interactions remain somewhat formal and vous form strictly observed – Work and money are never spoken of in polite conversation (as the former usually indicates the latter) – Personal matters are rarely discussed and if so, just in broad terms – Discretion is a priority in all interactions. Trust is not implicit and must be gained over time. Private Life with Family and Friends is almost the complete opposite Family and friends are deeply cherished and usually close contact is kept for ones entire life Usually trusted completely and use of tu form is the norm Time with family and friends is much more important than working overtime Feel comfortable being very honest with one another: not afraid of saying something that might hurt the others feelings if it’s true or could be helpful. Coffee, Cigarettes, and Conversation To the French, conversation is an art form and is revered as such. – The best conversations involve witty word play with lots of double meaning – They revel in intellectual discourse where they try to ‘1-up’ each other with rational arguments to back up whatever point or position they have on a particular topic. – Human feelings and emotions have just as much validity as proof of evidence to back up an argument as do empirical facts – The more novel the topic and the defense the better. Conversation, Face to Face, is often how things get done. France is largely a relational country, and as such, getting things done or getting something you want, is often a matter of tracking down the individual in person and having a face to face conversation. Personal connection and familiarity is 75% of the game. Texting or emails just won’t do. All for one and one for All! (kinda) A relationship with the State -In France there is a cultural notion that the centralized state should exists as an objective mediator between the rights of the people and the interests of private industry. -But there is also a notion that the citizens have a duty to add value back to the state/economy/society -This is in part why they are willing to deal with higher taxes (almost half their annual salaries! Talk about causing riots) because they see it as part of their civic ‘duty’ to help those who have fallen on hard times -Yet this ‘agreement’ is not perfect and protests often occur when workers feel the government is not holding up it’s end of the bargain. What Do You Think? What Temperament do you think France is? Review -History plays a huge part in the development of the French reality -The accumulation of accurate knowledge and logical thinking skills are considered paramount in education and the work place - Trust is slow to grow and a defined boundary exists between ones personal and private life - Intelligent, witty conversation is considered a great night out - Very relational. Face to Face contact is important in a society where feelings and emotions have intrinsic unquestioned value - View their relationship with the government as a give and take where both parties have responsibilities to the other How does this help? – Helps to give us insight on how to better communicate and interact with foreign cultures – If our interactions are going poorly can ask ourselves ‘are we out of balance?’ – Are we displaying behaviors that are favored in our culture but not others? – Can provide a point of reference to work from for both sides. Works Cited Asselin, Gilles, and Ruth Mastron. 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