BEHAVIORAL NEURSCIENCE
, Personality Foundations Overview
Key Points
Overview of 15+ centuries of temperament classifications and their modern equivalents.
Detailed walk‑through of the Cloninger TCI and TPQ, including scoring and subscales.
Neurochemical mapping of temperament traits and rodent experiments that illustrate these
links.
1. Personality Foundations
Temperament (nature)
= inborn form of human nature
Individual differences in the strength of basic drives (fear, anger, disgust, surprise).
It is a hard‑wired predisposition present from birth.
Character
= emergent form of human nature
Individual differences in goals and values that develop through interaction of temperament with the
environment.
It reflects habits acquired over a lifetime.
Historical classifications (You dont́ need to study this for the exam):
Era Model Core Types
590 BC Ezekiel’s “4 living creatures” Lion (bold), Ox (sturdy), Man
(humane), Eagle (far‑seeing)
400 BC Hippocrates’ “4 humours” Blood (cheerful), Black bile
(somber), Yellow bile
(enthusiastic), Phlegm (calm)
340 BC Plato’s “4 characters” Artistic, Sensible, Intuitive,
Reasoning
325 BC Aristotle’s “4 sources of Sensual, Material, Ethical,
happiness” Logical
185 AD Irenaeus’ “4 temperaments” Spontaneous, Historical,
Spiritual, Scholarly
, 190 AD Galen’s “4 temperaments” Sanguine, Melancholic,
Choleric, Phlegmatic
1550 AD Paracelsus’ “4 totem spirits” Changeable, Industrious,
Inspired, Curious
1905 AD Adickes’ “4 world views” Innovative, Traditional,
Doctrinaire, Skeptical
1912 AD Dreikurs/Adler “4 mistaken Retaliation, Service,
goals” Recognition, Power
1920 AD Kretschmer “4 character styles” Manic, Depressive,
Oversensitive, Insensitive
1947 AD Fromm “4 orientations” Exploitative, Hoarding,
Receptive, Marketing
1958 AD Myers “Jungian types” SP, SJ, NF, NT
1978 AD Keirsey “4 temperaments” Dionysian, Epimethean,
Apollonian, Promethean
1998 AD Keirsey “4 temperaments Artisan, Guardian, Idealist,
(modern)” Rational
2. Personality Definitions (Allport)
Omnibus definition (1937)
“Personality is everything that makes you an individual. It is the integration and interaction of your
genetic inheritance, your experience, and your ways to relate the two.”
Useless definition according to Allport
No guidance e.g. not defined how to distinguish different personalities
Trait/Integrative approach (1961)
“A trait is a dynamic trend of behavior resulting from the integration of numerous specific habits; it
expresses a characteristic mode of reaction to surroundings.”
Characteristic mode = genetic predisposition
Systems/Hierarchical approach
“Personality contains three layers:
The persona (public mask) → how the external world sees you
The self (private ego behind the mask) = dominates conscious experience
, Closely tied to personal memories → controlling mental processes
Unconscious processes (Freud/Jung).”
Not normally accessible to conscious awareness
The masks metaphorically illustrate the “persona” layer—different outward masks people wear in
varying contexts.
3. The Big Five Trait Model
Trait Core Description
Extraversion Energy, positive emotions, sociability, desire for
stimulation
Agreeableness Compassion, cooperation, trust
Conscientiousness Self‑discipline, dutifulness, achievement
orientation
Neuroticism Tendency toward unpleasant emotions, anxiety,
mood swings
Openness Appreciation for art, imagination, novel ideas,
curiosity
The Big Five emerged in the late‑20th‑century revival of trait theory and aligns with Cloninger’s
dimensions (e.g., NS ↔ Openness, HA ↔ Neuroticism, RD ↔ Agreeableness).
4. Temperament & Character Models
Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model
Research bases: twin & family studies, longitudinal development, neuropharmacology,
neuro‑behavioural learning, psychometrics.
, Personality Foundations Overview
Key Points
Overview of 15+ centuries of temperament classifications and their modern equivalents.
Detailed walk‑through of the Cloninger TCI and TPQ, including scoring and subscales.
Neurochemical mapping of temperament traits and rodent experiments that illustrate these
links.
1. Personality Foundations
Temperament (nature)
= inborn form of human nature
Individual differences in the strength of basic drives (fear, anger, disgust, surprise).
It is a hard‑wired predisposition present from birth.
Character
= emergent form of human nature
Individual differences in goals and values that develop through interaction of temperament with the
environment.
It reflects habits acquired over a lifetime.
Historical classifications (You dont́ need to study this for the exam):
Era Model Core Types
590 BC Ezekiel’s “4 living creatures” Lion (bold), Ox (sturdy), Man
(humane), Eagle (far‑seeing)
400 BC Hippocrates’ “4 humours” Blood (cheerful), Black bile
(somber), Yellow bile
(enthusiastic), Phlegm (calm)
340 BC Plato’s “4 characters” Artistic, Sensible, Intuitive,
Reasoning
325 BC Aristotle’s “4 sources of Sensual, Material, Ethical,
happiness” Logical
185 AD Irenaeus’ “4 temperaments” Spontaneous, Historical,
Spiritual, Scholarly
, 190 AD Galen’s “4 temperaments” Sanguine, Melancholic,
Choleric, Phlegmatic
1550 AD Paracelsus’ “4 totem spirits” Changeable, Industrious,
Inspired, Curious
1905 AD Adickes’ “4 world views” Innovative, Traditional,
Doctrinaire, Skeptical
1912 AD Dreikurs/Adler “4 mistaken Retaliation, Service,
goals” Recognition, Power
1920 AD Kretschmer “4 character styles” Manic, Depressive,
Oversensitive, Insensitive
1947 AD Fromm “4 orientations” Exploitative, Hoarding,
Receptive, Marketing
1958 AD Myers “Jungian types” SP, SJ, NF, NT
1978 AD Keirsey “4 temperaments” Dionysian, Epimethean,
Apollonian, Promethean
1998 AD Keirsey “4 temperaments Artisan, Guardian, Idealist,
(modern)” Rational
2. Personality Definitions (Allport)
Omnibus definition (1937)
“Personality is everything that makes you an individual. It is the integration and interaction of your
genetic inheritance, your experience, and your ways to relate the two.”
Useless definition according to Allport
No guidance e.g. not defined how to distinguish different personalities
Trait/Integrative approach (1961)
“A trait is a dynamic trend of behavior resulting from the integration of numerous specific habits; it
expresses a characteristic mode of reaction to surroundings.”
Characteristic mode = genetic predisposition
Systems/Hierarchical approach
“Personality contains three layers:
The persona (public mask) → how the external world sees you
The self (private ego behind the mask) = dominates conscious experience
, Closely tied to personal memories → controlling mental processes
Unconscious processes (Freud/Jung).”
Not normally accessible to conscious awareness
The masks metaphorically illustrate the “persona” layer—different outward masks people wear in
varying contexts.
3. The Big Five Trait Model
Trait Core Description
Extraversion Energy, positive emotions, sociability, desire for
stimulation
Agreeableness Compassion, cooperation, trust
Conscientiousness Self‑discipline, dutifulness, achievement
orientation
Neuroticism Tendency toward unpleasant emotions, anxiety,
mood swings
Openness Appreciation for art, imagination, novel ideas,
curiosity
The Big Five emerged in the late‑20th‑century revival of trait theory and aligns with Cloninger’s
dimensions (e.g., NS ↔ Openness, HA ↔ Neuroticism, RD ↔ Agreeableness).
4. Temperament & Character Models
Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model
Research bases: twin & family studies, longitudinal development, neuropharmacology,
neuro‑behavioural learning, psychometrics.
