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Temperament and personality

C R Cloninger1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63110.

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|April 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Personality comprises temperament and character, distinguished by distinct brain systems. Temperament relates to percept-based habits regulated by the limbic system, while character involves concept-based goals linked to the hippocampus and neocortex.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Integrating psychometric and neurobiological data advances personality research.
  • Dissociating brain systems for memory and learning clarifies personality components.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To distinguish between temperament and character based on neurobiological underpinnings.
  • To explore the relationship between memory systems and personality dimensions.

Main Methods:

  • Review of descriptive, developmental, genetic, and neurobehavioral studies.
  • Analysis of brain systems associated with procedural and propositional learning.

Main Results:

  • Temperament is linked to percept-based habits and procedural memory, regulated by the limbic system (amygdala, hypothalamus, striatum).

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  • Character is associated with concept-based goals and propositional memory, encoded by the hippocampal formation and neocortex.
  • Four dimensions of temperament and three of character can be functionally dissociated.

    • Conclusions:

    • Temperament and character represent distinct, neurobiologically separable components of personality.
    • Understanding these components offers insights into personality development and clinical distinctions.