Genetic Links Between Temperamental Traits of the Regulative Theory of Temperament and the Big Five

Abstract

This study investigated the phenotypic, genetic, and environmental relationships between Big Five personality traits and temperamental traits on the basis of the regulative theory of temperament (RTT) using a multitrait-multimethod twin dataset. This allowed us to test specific hypotheses of the five factor theory (FFT) and the RTT. The Big Five personality factors were measured with the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The six regulatory temperamental traits were captured by the Formal Characteristics of Behavior-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI). We analyzed self-reports as well as averaged peer ratings from 737 monozygotic and 395 dizygotic twins. Results showed phenotypic links between Big Five and RTT traits that could be attributed mainly to genetic factors. Genetic influences on the variance in Big Five personality traits did not account for the vast majority of genetic variance in all temperamental traits of the RTT contradicting the hypothesis of the FFT that the Big Five exhaustively cover basic temperamental traits. In line with the RTT, the FCB-TI scales showed large genetic links to Neuroticism and Extraversion and rather small links to Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, supporting the idea of a differentiation between regulative and integrative aspects of personality.

Regulative theory of temperament versus affective temperaments measured by the temperament evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A): a study in a non-clinical Polish sample

“…Hyperthymic temperament was positively correlated with BR, EN and AC and negatively correlated with ER and PE. These results are in line with findings suggesting that BR, EN and AC are phenotypically and genetically correlated with extraversion (Kandler et al, 2012). In a recent study, Watson, Stasik, Ellickson-Larew and Stanton (2015) showed that in general extraversion is negatively correlated with psychopathology, but some lower order facets of extraversion may be positively related to psychopathology, including bipolar disorder.…”

“…The highest positive correlation was observed between ER and PE and anxious, cyclothymic, depressive and irritable temperaments. Given that ER and PE play a similar role as neuroticism (Strelau, 2008;Kandler et al, 2012), these results are not surprising. They are consistent with the results of Blӧink et al (2005), who found positive correlations between neuroticism as measured by the NEO-FFI and all the affective temperaments, except hyperthymic.…”

“…Kandler et al (2012) showed phenotypic links between RTT and Big Five personality traits that could be attributed mainly to genetic correlations, especially between ER and PE and neuroticism, as well as between BR, EN, AC and extraversion. Furthermore, Hornowska (2011) showed the following associations between Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality dimensions and Strelau's RTT traits: strong positive correlations between harm avoidance (HA) and ER and PE, and negative correlations between HA and BR, EN and AC.…”

Temperamental correlates of trauma symptoms in firemen, policemen and soldiers

“…Some researchers suggest that temperament traits can play a significant role in responses to trauma both in emergency-services professionals as well as in soldiers. Most indicate that neuroticism and negative emotionality intensify symptoms of trauma [8][9][10], and extroversion and sensation seeking are buffers for its development [11][12][13][14]. The Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT) [15] also emphasizes the role of temperament in human responses to stressful situations.…”

“…These factors are, for example, burns and physical injuries, fire incidents with multiple deaths, motor vehicle accidents involving multiple deaths, suicides and others that may concern firemen and policemen [2,3]. On the other hand, combat experiences, number of times in combat, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, blast-related traumatic brain injuries and others are identified as factors affecting the symptoms of Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland IJOMEH 2014;27(4) 600 Emotional reactivity shows significant phenotypic and genetic links to neuroticism, while BR, EN and AC are phenotypically and genetically correlated with extraversion, as described in the 5-factor theory [17,18]. Taking the PTSD theoretical construct and its DSM-IV definition [19], we distinguished, using a factor analysis, 2 basic trauma symptoms: intrusion/arousal (I/A) and avoidance/numbing (A/N).…”