[Relationship between two models of personality in old individuals]

The relationships between the seven dimensions of the Cloninger psychobiological model and the five factors of the Costa and McCrae model were examined in 54 elderly subjects from the French general population. The dimensions of temperament (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence) and character (determination, cooperation, transcendence) from the Cloninger's model were measured by the temperament and character inventory whereas the five factors of Costa and McCrae model (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness) were evaluated using the NEO PI-R. Multiple regression analyses show that some dimensions of the temperament and character inventory predict some dimensions of the Big five and vice versa. Therefore we suggest that the Big five model could be related to brain monoaminergic activities.