Aristotle presents his version of the model this way, as did Hippocrates. When Galen wrote about the temperaments,sswhich which was the synthesis of the two models of Aristotle and Hippocrates, he described it as  a circumplex model. William Moulton Marston described his understanding of "emotions of normal people" as a circumplex model.

What is important about all these models being circumplex is it means we can look at the world of personality or behavioral style as being continuous-a 360 degree expression of two underlying dimensions (cartesian coordinates). As a result of the circumplex structure of the model,  we can describe the differences in individuals as being "more of, or less of" one of the underlying dimensions-a continuous state-rather than seeing the two styles or personalities as being completely different.

Aristotle used the underlying dimensions of Hot-Cold and Wet-Dry to describe four physical states found in fire, air, water and earth. Hippocrates used the same dimensions to describe four different humours or temperaments. If we look at what they meant by Hot-Cold and Wet-Dry, we can see how it applies to contemporary models of behavioral style. They described Hot as that which increases energy outward, Cold as that which increases energy inward, Wet as that which joins and Dry as that which separates. These qualities were considered to be part of a natural cycle of increase and decrease, most easily recognized in the changing seasons and the cycle of a person's life.

The reason it is important to identify where behavior falls on the DISC-in-the-Round Map is that it costs us energy to perform behaviors that are not natural for us,  and we need a way to acknowledge this expenditure of energy in ourselves and others. The concept of "getting points" has been introduced to acknowledge this energy expenditure. In other words, when I use behavior that is quite natural for my style, I don't get any points--I'm just doing what comes naturally. However, if I am using behavior that not only is not naturally occurring, but is quite different (180 degrees away) from my natural response, then I get points!!! A great example of this in my case is when I'm showing "patience" because that is not a behavior that comes easily for someone with my style. However, after years of negative consequences for displaying impatience inappropriately and a lot of learned adaptive behavior, I can display patience in many situations. But it costs me a lot of energy to do so! For someone else, patience may be much closer to their natural response, so they don't get any "points" for doing what comes naturally.