title: Cloninger's temperament dimensions and affective responses to different challenges.
abstract: Cloninger's psychobiological model of temperament and character postulates that each of the temperament dimensions is associated with a specific emotional experience, depending on the situational cues. The aim of the present study was to test this postulate in a variety of challenging experimental tasks. The participants were 91 healthy young adults whose temperament was assessed with the temperament and character inventory. The subjects rated their emotions during each task and rest period using an adjective checklist. Novelty seeking was associated with dullness during monotonous and aversive situations and with a higher level of pleasantness during the initial baseline period and the appetitive situation. Harm avoidance was associated with higher levels of fear and unpleasant emotions and lower levels of positively valenced emotions. The present study provides support for the validity of Cloninger's temperament dimensions as predictors of emotional responses during different challenges. Especially, novelty seeking and harm avoidance appear to have a significant influence on emotional experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Sampsa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puttonen
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ravaja
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keltikangas-Järvinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D002605:Character; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004644:Emotions; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011340:Problem Solving; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D011930:Reaction Time; D013216:Reflex, Startle; D013060:Speech; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D013694:Temperament; D014434:Type A Personality