Personality Plus by Florence Littauer Summary

Personality Plus by Florence Littauer is a Christian self-help book that explores four basic personality types: Sanguine, Melancholy, Choleric, and Phlegmatic. The book helps readers understand their own temperament and the personalities of others through a self-assessment tool called the Personality Profile. Florence Littauer explains how recognizing these personality patterns can improve relationships, communication, and personal growth by identifying individual strengths and weaknesses.

Florence Littauer (1928-2020) was an award-winning Christian speaker and author who wrote over 40 books during her 50-year ministry career. She created Personality Plus after overcoming personal tragedy and depression, including the loss of two sons and her own emotional struggles. Her best-selling book sold over two million copies and was translated into more than 25 languages, helping millions better understand themselves and others. Littauer founded CLASSpeakers, Inc. and was designated a Certified Speaking Professional by the National Speakers Association.

Personality Plus is ideal for anyone seeking to improve their relationships, communication skills, and self-awareness. The book particularly benefits Christian women, mothers, mentors, and leaders who want to understand different personality types in ministry and family settings. It's also valuable for couples, parents, work associates, and anyone fascinated by human behavior and personal development. Both introverts and extroverts can gain insights into their strengths and areas for growth through Florence Littauer's accessible personality framework.

Personality Plus is worth reading if you want a practical, accessible introduction to personality types and their impact on relationships. The book has helped millions of people worldwide, with best-selling author John C. Maxwell calling it "life changing" for understanding personalities. While not a comprehensive psychological assessment, Florence Littauer's Personality Profile provides an effective tool for characterizing people in social and business situations. The book's Christian perspective and focus on personal transformation through faith add spiritual depth to the personality insights.

Personality Plus identifies four temperament types based on medieval humours: Popular Sanguine (outgoing, talkative, enthusiastic), Perfect Melancholy (analytical, detail-oriented, thoughtful), Powerful Choleric (driven, leader-oriented, goal-focused), and Peaceful Phlegmatic (calm, kind, gentle, easygoing). Each personality type has distinct strengths and weaknesses that affect how people think, work, and connect with others. Florence Littauer emphasizes that understanding all four types—not just your own—is essential for effective relationships and communication.

The Personality Profile in Personality Plus is a self-scoring personality assessment tool created by Florence Littauer that helps identify your dominant personality type. The test involves answering a series of questions and scoring your responses to determine your unique personality blend. This self-assessment reveals how your traits affect your emotions, work performance, and relationships, providing a foundation for personal growth. The Personality Profile has been used by millions of people and remains popular today for its simplicity and practical insights.

Florence Littauer makes a crucial distinction in Personality Plus: "My temperament is the real me; my personality is the dress I put on over me".

Temperament refers to your inborn, God-given traits that form your core identity and cannot be changed.
Personality is how you express that temperament through learned behaviors, habits, and responses that can be modified and improved.

This framework encourages readers to embrace their authentic temperament while working to overcome negative personality traits through personal growth and faith.

According to Florence Littauer, the Choleric personality is characterized by natural leadership, determination, and goal-oriented drive. Choleric strengths include being excellent at getting things done, highly motivated, decisive, and strong-willed leaders who overcome obstacles. However, Choleric weaknesses involve being bossy, running over others' feelings, losing friends easily due to their aggressive approach, and displaying egoistic tendencies. Understanding these traits helps Cholerics leverage their leadership abilities while tempering their domineering tendencies in relationships.

The Popular Sanguine in Personality Plus is extroverted, talkative, and thrives on being the center of attention. Florence Littauer describes Sanguines as optimistic, enthusiastic, cheerful, and fun-loving with a positive outlook on life. They are creative, spontaneous, imaginative people who enjoy new experiences and often act on impulse. However, Sanguines struggle with follow-through, can be disorganized, forgetful, and may lack discipline in completing tasks. Their social nature makes them excellent at connecting with others but requires awareness of their weaknesses.

Personality Plus improves relationships by teaching readers to recognize and appreciate different personality types rather than expecting everyone to think and act alike. Florence Littauer explains how each temperament type thinks, works, and feels connected and loved, enabling better communication and empathy. Understanding that a Choleric's directness isn't personal or a Phlegmatic's slowness isn't laziness reduces conflict and frustration. The book provides practical tools for adapting your communication style to connect with different personalities in family, work, and ministry settings.

Florence Littauer integrates Christian principles throughout Personality Plus, emphasizing that God created each temperament with unique beauty and purpose. The book encourages readers that while temperament is God-given and unchangeable, negative personality traits can be transformed through God's grace and power. Littauer promotes the truth that Christians aren't "stuck with the ugly"—awareness of weaknesses allows believers to surrender them to God for transformation into something beautiful. This spiritual perspective makes Personality Plus particularly valuable for Christian women, mothers, mentors, and ministry leaders seeking personal growth.

While Personality Plus is highly practical and accessible, it is not a comprehensive psychological assessment compared to validated personality inventories used in academic psychology. The four-temperament model based on medieval humours is simplified and may not capture the full complexity of human personality. Some critics note that reducing people to four types can lead to stereotyping or oversimplification of individual differences. However, readers consistently report that despite its limitations, Florence Littauer's framework remains highly effective for understanding people in social and business situations and has proven valuable for millions worldwide.