Keirsey system
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Keirsey Temperament Theory
Keirsey splits personalities into four categories: Rationals, Idealists, Artisans, and Guardians. These correspond roughly to MBTI NTs, NFs, SPs and SJs respectively.
Keirsey does not place as much emphasis on individual functions as Myers-Briggs or Jung did, and sometimes seems to have discarded that concept altogether.
The roots of his theory go back to the fathers of medicine, Hippocrates, Plato and Aristotle. He also has cited more modern works as his influences, such as those of Ernst Kretschmer.
Keirsey took Jungs and Briggs theory of sixteen types and organized that into four temperaments from Kretschmer, and provided his own descriptions of the sixteen types and the four temperaments.
It should be noted that the theory of four temperaments goes back to Hippocrates' four humours (c. 400 BC), and Aristotle's four sources of happiness (c. 325 BC).
Galen (c. 190 BC) used the terms Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic and Phlegmatic to describe four different temperaments; again, these correspond roughly to SP, NF, SJ and NT, or Artisan, Idealist, Guardian and Rational in Keirsey's system.
Rationals
Rationals are abstract in communicating and utilitarian in implementing goals, and their strength is in strategic analysis. With NTJs this would be organizing and planning, and NTPs inventing and configuring. They value autonomy and independence, tend to be interested in sciences, have insatiable thirst for knowledge, and trust reason over anything else.
Rationals are very infrequent, comprising as few as 5% and no more than 7% of the population.
Idealists
Idealists are abstract in communicating and cooperative in implementing goals, and are highly skilled in diplomatic integration. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations are usually teaching and counseling (NFJ mentoring), or conferring and tutoring (NFP advocating).
Idealists are only a little more common than Rationals, from 8% to 10% of the population.
Artisans
Artisans are concrete in communication and utilitarian in implementing goals, making them particularly skilled in tactical variation. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations are usually promoting and operating (SPT expediting), or displaying and composing (SPF improvising). They are spontaneous and adaptable, often seeking adventure in life, seeking impact on others, and live concretely in the here and now.
Artisans are from 35% to 40% of the population, making them the second most common type.
Guardians
Guardians are concrete in communication and cooperative in implementing goals, their strength being in logistics. Their most skilled operations are often inspecting and supervising (STJ administering) or supplying and protecting (SFJ conserving). They seek security, respect traditions, and are highly reliable and responsible. They tend to respect authorities, even when they might disagree with it.
There are even more Guardians than Artisans around, at least 40% and as many as 45% of the population.
