Temperament: A Way
to Self-knowledge

Introduction

Behind his placid exterior, Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" is a character who suffers because he has held what turns out to be the wrong job for him. By the time the lawyer-narrator of of the short story encounters him, the damage has been done and Bartleby's descent into depression and death already has begun.

As with the other characters in the short story, Melville created Bartleby to represent one of the four ancient temperament types. Because of these temperament differences, the story's other characters probably would not have reacted as Bartleby did to his work-related problems. As Melville points out, though, this was the wrong type of employment for this particularly sensitive, shy young man.

No one wants to turn out like Bartleby. This project will allow you to become familiar with the idea of temperament--as it has evolved over time and as it exists today--and to begin thinking about some parenting strategies and career choices appropriate to your own temperament.
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The Task

The task involves doing some basic research on temperament and writing a narrative of your research and findings. You will need to ascertain the answers to most of the following questions:

--What is the history of the idea of human temperament?
--What is the current thinking on the topic?
--What resources are available to assess people's temperament types,
and what do these assessments reveal about you personally?
--What are the implications of temperament types for prospective parents?
--What are the implications of temperament types for making wise career choices?

Please remember the guidelines for avoiding plagiarism. Your final product obviously will draw from many sources, and one assumes that most of the information will be new to you or at least not common knowledge. You should, therefore, provide the source of any information not previously known to you, and refrain from the "copy-and-paste" method of composition.
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The Process

People typically have an interest in predicting their acquaintances' behavior in given situations. Since temperament typing facilitates that somewhat, it has a surprisingly ancient history. The first step, then, is to consult the Resources section below and find out some of the basics of the topic.

Then fill out your knowledge by seeing how the concept has been adapted to modern knowledge and thought. Take some of the temperament typing assessments and explore some of the issues related to finding the best fit between your own basic tendencies and the other aspects of your life.
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Resources

General Info on Temperament

-- Temperament Theory
-- Personality Type and Temperament
-- History of Temperament and Temperament Theory
-- Four classic temperaments and spirituality

Temperament: The Asian Tradition of Ayurveda

-- What is Ayurveda
-- What Is Ayurveda?
-- Basic Principles Of Ayurveda
-- Determining Your Ayurvedic Constitutional Type
-- Ayurveda - Your Dosha

Modern Theory on Temperament Typing and Personality

--Temperament.com
-- The PSI Cafe
-- Jung Typology Test
-- Five Factor Personality Test
-- TEMPERAMENT (with an emphasis on childhood)
--Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site
-- The Personality Project

Temperament Testing and Typing

--Online Personality Tests
-- Online Myers-Briggs Test
-- Keirsey Temperament Sorter II
-- Other Online Tests (from Google)
--Enneagram Introduction
-- Enneagram Institute - Personality Types Help.
-- Four Online Enneagram Tests
--The Myers-Briggs Types
--MYERS-BRIGGS (general info)
--Discover Your Type

Some Resources for Matching Temperament and Career Choice

--The Career Key
-- Career Search (from College Board Online)
--The Career Interests Game
20 Tech-Oriented Career-Counseling Services
(We are a tech-oriented school, remember?)
--In table form for your convenience!

Some Resources for Matching Temperament and Parenting Style

-- Temperament and Parenting
-- The Challenge of Difficult Children (especially this page)
-- The Preventive Ounce
-- The Temperament Project
-- The Enneagram of Parenting

General Melville Information

-- Encyclopædia Britannica | Herman Melville
--The Life and Works of Herman Melville (from Melville.org)

E-Texts - Online editions of "Bartleby, the Scrivener"

-- Melville, Herman. 1853. "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (from Bartleby.com)
-- "Bartleby, the Scrivener" - Herman Melville
-- Bartleby Hypertext Base
-- "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (from Twenty Great American Short Stories)

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Evaluation

I hope you can find your own good reasons for doing a creditable job on this project.

I am called upon to give grades, though, so I will give them on the following basis: The best grades will go to the projects that show the best overall treatment of the topic. They will show a sincere effort at obtaining the necessary background information and making the best use of it in arriving at some preliminary thoughts about the career choices best suited to the writer.
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Conclusion

Sometimes people think they can mold themselves unlimitedly. Research indicates, however, that we really are not as malleable as we'd like to think. Barring huge trauma, our basic tendencies as babies remain remarkably stable as we age. We might as well acknowledge this fact and make it part of our career-choice process.
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Designed by Michael Byers
Orange High School
Hillsborough, NC
Last updated June, 2008.
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