Helen Fisher, PhD, is a Biological Anthropologist who has conducted extensive research and written five books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, gender differences in the brain and how your personality type shapes who you are and who you love. She has identified four basic personality types that correspond to chemical system dominance (dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, estrogen).

These are the ways she defines the four types:

EXPLORERS (dopamine)

Traits: Seek novelty, risk taking, spontaneity, energy, curiosity, creativity, optimism, enthusiasm, flexibility, spontaneous generosity, autonomy, liberal, untraditional, irreverent, get bored easily, adaptable, many interests. 

Words: 'Adventure' is the word most often used by Explorers as they describe themselves and what they are looking for in a mate.  The other nine of their top ten most-used words (in descending order) are: venture, spontaneity/ spontaneous, energy, new, fun, travelling, outgoing, passion and active.  

Friends: Adventurers 

Doodles: Modern, off centre, open, active.   

Foods:  Spicy Foods: Mexican, Indian, Barbecue. Exotic foods:  Indonesian, Ethiopian. Sugary foods: candy, chocolate. The body changes protein into tyrosine and then dopamine.  The sources for building blocks for dopamine include:  Apples, beets, blue-green algae, celery, chicken, cucumber, fish, leafy green vegetables, honey, cheese, sweet peppers, tofu, watermelon, almonds, avocados, bananas, dairy products, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds. Alcohol, sugar and caffeine all reduce dopamine. If I were cooking a meal for a group of Explorers I would try to make it somewhat exotic, highly flavoured, untraditional, colourful and varied. I might cook Moroccan beef stew, with couscous, Indian relishes, yogurt, and dark chocolate, figs and candied fruits for desert, with plenty of  exotic liquors.  

Exercise:  Dangerous, novel, exciting things, like mountain climbing, sky diving, car racing, scuba diving;  and action oriented things like sailing, swimming, kayaking and running. 

Dieting:  Explorers may adopt crazy diets, such as 'just carrots,' or 'just meat,' or the 'drinking man’s diet'. 

Income: Highest of the four groups 

Education: Most of the four groups 

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BUILDERS (serotonin)

Traits:  Cautious but not fearful, calm, social, popular, networking, conventional, traditional, guardians, managerial, loyal, persistent, literal, fact oriented, fond of rules and schedules, orderly, conscientious, community oriented.  

Words: 'Family' is the most-used word by Builders.  Following this: honesty, caring, moral/morals, respect, loyal, trust, values, loving and trustworthy.  Friends: Social crowd.  

Doodles: Repetitive, grids.  

Food: Rice, potatoes, pasta, breads, crackers, cereal and fruit, all of which produce serotonin. Builders probably also like to eat turkey and other poultry, milk, cottage cheese, eggs and nuts, especially almonds.  All loaded with tryptophan, the building block of serotonin.  Other serotonin promoting foods include: avocados, bananas, eggplant, pineapples, plums, tomatoes and walnuts. For dessert, cakes and pies and lots of milk fats.  If I were cooking a meal for Builders I would make it very conventional, such as roast chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and cake. 

Exercise: Social sports, such as golf which is relaxing, meticulous and social; also weekend baseball, basketball, volleyball. 

Dieting: They may go for the whole grains diet, giving up meat and fats.  They may meticulously research different diets too.  And they may count calories. 

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DIRECTORS (testosterone)

Traits: Direct, decisive, focused, analytical, logical, tough-minded, exacting, emotionally-contained and good at strategic thinking.  They get to the point.  Many are bold and competitive. They excel at figuring out machines, mathematical formulae or other rule-based systems. Many are good at understanding the structure of music. 

Words: Intelligent and intelligence together top the list of words used by Directors.  Also intellectual, debate, geek, nerd/nerdy, ambition/ ambitious, driven, politics, challenge/challenging and real. 

Friends: Intellectuals 

Doodles: Geometric: squares, triangles, arrows. 

Foods: Usually raise testosterone:  beef, pork, beef liver, lamb, turkey, chicken, garlic and olive oil.  Nuts also raise testosterone levels, particularly peanuts and peanut butter. They probably also gravitate to Oysters because these are a source of zinc (which is used to make testosterone), as well as beans which also give a powerful shot of zinc, including green beans, lima beans and baked beans.  Directors probably also particularly like eggs, as the proteins in eggs allow the adrenal glands to keep levels of bodily testosterone steady too. Broccoli, cabbage and sprouts also seem to enhance levels of testosterone. Orange juice can trigger testosterone. Directors should probably eat less meat, or supplement their diet with non-animal proteins, such as beans, brown rice, seeds, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  If I were cooking a meal for Directors, I might do a mixed grill of three kinds of meats, baked beans, oysters Rockefeller and garlic bread.  For desert I might serve ice cream sundaes.  

Exercise: Competitive and aggressive sports, such as tennis; body building (which drives up testosterone) 

Dieting: Directors may go 'cold turkey', and simply stop eating certain foods.  They are highly disciplined. 

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NEGOTIATORS (estrogen)

Traits: See the big picture, they connect disparate facts to think contextually and holistically, 'web thinking', imaginative, superior verbal skills and people skills, excel at reading postures, gestures, facial expressions and tones of voice, 'executive social skills', intuitive, sympathetic, nurturing, mentally flexible, agreeable, idealistic, altruistic and emotionally expressive. 

Words: 'Passion' and 'passionate', also real, heart, kind/kindness, sensitive, read/reader, sweet, learning. 

Friends: Activists 

Doodles: Hearts, flowers, faces, animals. 

Foods: Salads, fruits, vegetables, tofu. Less meat. I suspect negotiators are the most likely to be vegetarians and vegans. Estrogenic foods include:  Soy beans, apples, alfalfa, cherries, potatoes, rice, wheat and yams, flax, fish oil, tofu, bean sprouts, meat, apples, barley, beets, carrots, cherries, chickpeas,  black-eyed peas, cucumbers, dairy foods, dates, eggs, eggplant, liquorice, oats, olive oil, olives, papaya, peas, peppers, plums, pomegranates, pumpkins, red beans, rhubarb, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and tomatoes. Negotiators should probably eat more meat. If I were cooking a meal for Negotiators, I might make a big salad with lettuce, tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumbers, apples, onions and peppers, along with some chicken salad and some eggplant. Dessert might be fresh fruit and an array of very sweet cookies.   

Exercise: Yoga, stretching, palates, walking,  jogging

Dieting: Salads, fruits, vegetables, grains,  heavy on 'health foods'.

Back in 2010, Man of the House posted a video of her talking about the four types in relation to men. If you go the site, you can also read the transcript of her talk.

NOTE: Try to to ignore her hetero-normative perspectives, if you can. She says a man's natural place is beside a woman, but that's nonsense - men can love men, women can love women, and in general we all can love whoever it is that makes our hearts and groins vibrate in attraction.

Dr. Helen Fisher: 4 Personality Types in Men

November 05, 2010, By Dr. Helen Fisher 

Helen Fisher, PhD Biological Anthropologist, has conducted extensive research and written five books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, gender differences in the brain and how your personality type shapes who you are and who you love.

Transcript: Helen: Hi, I’m Helen Fisher, and just to answer one question today, what is the natural place for a man? In three words, beside a women. People have long asked me, “Is monogamy natural?” In fact, I’ve studied it for 30 years, and monogamy? Yes, it is natural. We are a monogamous species. We are creatures that pair up to rear our young. Monogamy. And as a matter of fact, this makes us rather unusual in the animal kingdom. Ninety-seven percent of mammals do no pair up to rear their young, only a few do. Beavers do, wolves do, the tiny little African antelope called the dik-dik does and indeed, human beings do, men and women do.

Read more. 


She has other videos from this site, all of them less than 5 minutes it seems:

• Dr. Helen Fisher: Understanding Men 
• Dr. Helen Fisher: The Secret to Making a  Marriage Work
• Dr. Helen Fisher: Your Personality Style at Work