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PAEI - Structures of Concern: Cloninger, C. Robert - Biosocial Theory of Personality

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Cloninger, C. Robert - Biosocial

Theory of Personality
The Structure of Concern Project compares many
theoretical models from many disciplines to the
Adizes PAEI model, arguing that they must all be
reflecting the same underlying phenomenon. One
concern structure model is described below.
Cloninger is a major personality theorist, who
during the mid-1980s produced a model of
personality dimensions with three core
personality characteristics which he argued were
heritable and biologically based (Cloninger 1986a;
1986b). He later added a fourth element to this set. (Cloninger, 1994;
Stallings et al., 1996). The fourth element had been a facet of one of the
previous three factors that did not prove to be correlated to the other facets
of that factor. This four-factor model gave a satisfactory account of the
heritable cognitive, perceptual and affective differences underlying
temperamental differences.
However, Cloninger felt that this four-factor model ignored the
developmental aspect of personality. It obscured the differences between
two people of similar temperaments, one of whom was self-actualized and
one of whom was not. This reduced its clinical value. He thus later combined
his four factors with three additional factors based partly on concepts of selfactualization from humanistic psychology (Cloninger, 1994; Cloninger et al.,
1993). These three new factors measured character rather than
temperament. I leave them aside to focus on Cloningers four
temperamental dimensions, listed below:

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PAEI - Structures of Concern: Cloninger, C. Robert - Biosocial Theory of Personality

P Persistence (or Happiness Seeking): Determination and tenacity to

achieve a goal, industrious, stable and resolute in the face of frustration or
fatigue. Low persistence leads to underachievement.
A Harm Avoidance: Intense response to signs of impending aversive
stimuli, resulting in learned tactics for minimize behaviors that may expose
them to punishment, loss or novelty. Cautious, tense, inhibited, easily
fatigued, shy and apprehensive. Low harm avoidance implies people who are
optimistic, open to experience, outgoing, trusting and energetic. Associated
with the 5-HT system.
E Novelty Seeking: Excited and exhilarated responses to stimuli that are
novel or that signal potential reward or escape from punishment. Frequent
exploration to obtain rewards and avoid structure and monotony. Bases
decisions on vague impressions. Low novelty-seeking implies preference for
routine, order, details, frugality and social stability. This behavioral trait is
related to the DA system.
I - Reward Dependence (or Security-Seeking): Responds to stimuli that
suggest a reward is forthcoming, particularly verbal indications of social
succour, approval or sympathy. More able to maintain behaviors that have
been socially acknowledged and reinforced in the past. Low reward
dependence implies introversion, self-reliance and self-directedness.
Associated with the noradrenergic system.

Bibliography
1. Cloninger, C. R. (1986a). A systematic method for clinical description
and classification of personality variants: A proposal. Archives of General
Psychiatry, 44, 573-588.
2. Cloninger, C. R. (1986b). A unified biosocial theory of personality and its
role in the development of anxiety states. Psychiatric Developments, 3,
167-226.
: Cloninger3 :Cloninger, C. R. (1994). The Temperament and Character
Inventory (TCI): a guide to its development and use. Washington University,
St Louis,Missouri: Centre for Psychobiology of Personality.
3. Cloninger, C. R., Svrakic, D. M., & Przybeck, T. R. (1993). A

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PAEI - Structures of Concern: Cloninger, C. Robert - Biosocial Theory of Personality

psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General

Psychiatry, 50, 975-990.
4. Stallings, M. C., Hewitt, J. K., Cloninger, C. R., Heath, A. C., & Eaves, L.
J. (1996). Genetic and Environmental Structure of the Tridimensional
Personality Questionnaire: Three or Four Temperament Dimensions?
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(1), 127-140.
page revision: 2, last edited: 19 Dec 2008, 15:04 (2202 days ago)

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