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The Affective Temperaments: Differences between Adolescents in the Big Five Model and Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model of Personality

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Abstract

Positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) are indicators or markers of well-being that also reflect stable emotional- temperamental dispositions. In three different studies, self-reported affect was measured by the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The PANAS measures affect as two separate dimensions and was therefore used to generate four affective temperaments (AFTs): self-actualizing (high PA and Low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). The present set of studies investigated differences in personality between AFTs in an adolescent sample (N = 398). Personality was measured by two different models: The Big Five and Cloninger’s psychobiological model. The interaction of PA and NA was expected to reveal differences and similarities in intrapersonal behavior measured by both models of personality. The results show that low NA adolescents reported lower levels of neurotic behavior than high NA adolescents. Nevertheless, despite the experience of high NA respectively, low PA, high and low affective reported higher Self-Directedness than self-destructive adolescents. Implications of the AFTs framework are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Self-actualizing in Norlander’s framework is not to be understood as Maslow’s Self-actualization. Instead it describes self-fulfillment (see among others: Archer et al. 2007; Palomo et al. 2007).

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this article was facilitated thanks to the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS). I would like to thank the participants for their help facilitating the studies and to the reviewers who helped to improve the manuscript. I would also like to convey my gratitude to Professor C. Robert Cloninger at the Washington University in St. Louis, Sven Brändström at the University of Linköping, and Anver Siddiqui at the University of Gothenburg for their most valued help with the TCI instrument. Appreciation is also directed to Professor Trevor Archer at the University of Gothenburg, and Torsten Norlander at Karlstad University for their most valuable insights on the Affective Temperament framework. Last but not least I would like to thank Dr. Antonella Delle Fave for her encouraging words and open-mindedness.

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  1. Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Forensic Psychiatry, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Lillhagsparken 3, Gothenburg, 422 50, Hisings Backa, Sweden

    Danilo Garcia

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Garcia, D. The Affective Temperaments: Differences between Adolescents in the Big Five Model and Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model of Personality. J Happiness Stud 13, 999–1017 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9303-5

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