Four broad temperament dimensions: description, convergent validation correlations, and comparison with the Big Five

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience and Psychology
• Behavioral Genetics
• Personality Research

Background:

• Recent brain physiology literature suggests temperament is linked to specific neural systems.
• The Fisher Temperament Inventory (FTI) was developed to measure these temperament dimensions.
• Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicated the FTI's potential to assess neural system influence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To further validate and characterize the four proposed temperament dimensions measured by the FTI.
• To examine correlations between FTI dimensions and demographic/attitudinal variables.
• To assess the convergent validity of the FTI with existing personality measures.

Main Methods:

• Correlational analysis of FTI scores with gender, education, religious preference, political orientation, and attitudes towards sex.
• Data collected from a large international sample (39,913 US dating site members and 70,000+ international members).
• Analysis of FTI and NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) using a college sample (n=215) for convergent validity.

Main Results:

• Four temperament dimensions (Curious/Energetic, Cautious/Social Norm Compliant, Analytical/Tough-minded, Prosocial/Empathetic) were identified and associated with specific neural systems (dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, estrogen/oxytocin).
• Significant correlations were found between FTI dimensions and gender, education, religiosity, political orientation, and attitudes about sex.
• Convergent validity was demonstrated through analysis with the NEO-FFI, and an Eigen analysis replicated the four clusters of co-varying items.

Conclusions:

• The FTI provides a valid measure of temperament dimensions linked to specific neurobiological systems.
• The FTI offers novel correlates, including religiosity, political orientation, and sexual attitudes, not typically found in other personality questionnaires.
• The FTI complements existing personality assessments and may be valuable in various professional fields such as psychotherapy, business, medicine, and law.