Advances in Neurosciene and Personality
HOW DO ADVANCES IN NEUROSCIENCE ADD TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PERSONALITY?
The scientific study of the nervous system, or “Neuroscience” as it’s universally known, has evolved in leaps and bounds over the past few decades. The field has heralded hugely varied and significant findings from the presence of protein plaques in the brains of dementia patients (1) to the effect of medication on brain chemistry (2) and most recently the discovery of neuroplasticity (3). With advancements as remarkable as these our understandings about the human mind and human behavior is being built upon on a daily basis. In particular huge insights have been gained into the study of personality thanks to research involving advanced neuroscientific techniques and approaches. In order to appreciate just how much these advances have influenced the study of personality we must first take a brief look at the history of personality research.
From Pavlov’s behavioral conditioning experiments to Freud’s psychoanalytic perspectives and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs many of Psychology’s most famous figures have proposed a variety of theories to explain how and why we think and act in such unique ways (8). Considering all the research and contrasting theories in the field most modern day researchers and psychologists take an eclectic approach to the study of personality (10). For the sake of this essay however I’m going to concentrate on one particular branch of personality research which has gained great credence thanks to advances in neuroscience; “Type Theory”. Type theory explains people’s behaviors in terms of fixed characteristics. According to CliffsNotes “A trait is a characteristic pattern of behavior or conscious motive which can be self-assessed or assessed by peers”. The term type is used “to identify a certain collection of traits that make up a broad, general personality classification.”(9) Thus by studying and identifying someone’s particular “traits” their personality “type” may
The scientific study of the nervous system, or “Neuroscience” as it’s universally known, has evolved in leaps and bounds over the past few decades. The field has heralded hugely varied and significant findings from the presence of protein plaques in the brains of dementia patients (1) to the effect of medication on brain chemistry (2) and most recently the discovery of neuroplasticity (3). With advancements as remarkable as these our understandings about the human mind and human behavior is being built upon on a daily basis. In particular huge insights have been gained into the study of personality thanks to research involving advanced neuroscientific techniques and approaches. In order to appreciate just how much these advances have influenced the study of personality we must first take a brief look at the history of personality research.
From Pavlov’s behavioral conditioning experiments to Freud’s psychoanalytic perspectives and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs many of Psychology’s most famous figures have proposed a variety of theories to explain how and why we think and act in such unique ways (8). Considering all the research and contrasting theories in the field most modern day researchers and psychologists take an eclectic approach to the study of personality (10). For the sake of this essay however I’m going to concentrate on one particular branch of personality research which has gained great credence thanks to advances in neuroscience; “Type Theory”. Type theory explains people’s behaviors in terms of fixed characteristics. According to CliffsNotes “A trait is a characteristic pattern of behavior or conscious motive which can be self-assessed or assessed by peers”. The term type is used “to identify a certain collection of traits that make up a broad, general personality classification.”(9) Thus by studying and identifying someone’s particular “traits” their personality “type” may
References: 1. Tuomo Polvikoski, et al. (1995).; N Engl J Med 333:1242-12485. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199511093331902 2 3. Bogdan Draganski1, Christian Gaser2, Volker Busch1, Gerhard Schuierer3, Ulrich Bogdahn1 & Arne May1. (2004). Nature 427, 311-312. doi:10.1038/427311a. 4. Kendra Cherry (2005). The Trait Approach to Personality. Retrieved 2 Dec 2012 from; http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/trait-theory.htm 5 10. McAdams, Dan P. (2009). The person: a new introduction to personality psychology(5th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-470-12913-5. 13. David J. Pittenger (1993). Journal of Career Planning & Placement. Retrieved 5 Dec 2012 from; http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/Articles/develop/mbti.pdf 14 15. Delong R (2009). The Socionist 24 Mar 2009. Retrieved 5 Dec 2012 from; http://socionist.blogspot.ie/2009/03/introduction-to-neuroscience-and.html 16 18. Robert J. Joynt (2004). The Birth of Modern Brain Science. The Dana Foundation: Cerebrum 22. Ann C. Holm (2012) 3 Important Trends in the Use of the MBTI and Psychological Type. Retrieved 6 Dec 2012 from; http://www.annholm.net/?s=neuroscience+of+personality 23 24. Bogdan Draganski et al. (2004) Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature 427, 311-312 (22 January 2004) doi:10.1038/427311a 25