Temperament type is a key to understanding the classroom behavior of social studies teachers. Current criticisms of strategies employed, dependence on the textbook, fact oriented testing, and the dearth of problem solving in lesson planning are grounded in professional decisions based on temperament preferences. Employing four types of temperament identified by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates in "Please Understand Me," this study analyzes the responses of 124 undergraduate and graduate education students. Those types favoring use of the lecture, dependence on a textbook, and fact-oriented testing were dominant at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The author concludes that little change in practice is likely until social studies educators become sensitive to the role of temperament type in their own decision making processes. Only then will they be able to plan effectively for the range of types represented in the student body of the secondary school. (Author)