Personality

Chapter 1 - Worldview

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Welcome to the Personality page

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Modern personality psychology has shifted from grand theories of the past, such as Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers, Skinner, and others, to pragmatic models that focus on distinct domains of analysis:

personality traits,

motives, skills/abilities,

and narrative identity.

Each offers a unique lens for understanding individual differences and behavior.

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Core ideas

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Personality Traits

The Big Five taxonomy remains the dominant framework for organising traits:

• Extraversion: Assertive, sociable versus introverted.
• Agreeableness: Warm, kind versus antagonistic, cruel.
• Conscientiousness: Responsible, industrious versus undependable.
• Emotional Stability: Calm, composed versus anxious, neurotic.
• Openness to Experience: Creative, curious versus closed-minded.

Traits within the Big Five overlap, forming a complex and nuanced structure. While useful for broad assessment, this overlap highlights the importance of considering individual facets within each dimension to avoid oversimplification.

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Motives

The motives domain explores what drives people, whether consciously or unconsciously. Motives are grouped differently across frameworks:

• Three domains: Predictability, acceptance, competence.
• Four domains: Prominence, inclusiveness, negativity prevention, tradition.
• Seven domains: Physiological, self-protection, affiliation, status, mate acquisition, mate retention, and parenting.

These categorizations illustrate the diversity in understanding human desire, emphasizing needs ranging from basic survival to complex social and personal aspirations.

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Skills and Abilities

The skills domain includes both cognitive and noncognitive abilities:

• Cognitive skills: Traditional measures of intelligence, problem-solving, and reasoning.
• Noncognitive skills: Socioemotional factors like persistence, self-control, and interpersonal skills.

Emerging interest in noncognitive skills stems from their relevance to educational and real-world success. These skills, often labeled "socioemotional," encompass qualities beyond academic knowledge, such as adaptability and teamwork, highlighting their role in personal and professional achievement.

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Narrative Identity

Narrative identity focuses on the stories individuals tell about their lives, shaping their sense of self. Unlike traits or motives, narrative identity is:

• Concrete: Grounded in specific life events and experiences.
• Time-bound: Reflecting personal history and change over time.
• Qualitative: Rich in meaning and personal interpretation.

Narrative identity emphasizes the integration of experiences into a cohesive self-concept, linking individual stories to broader personality dynamics. It provides a unique, experiential dimension often absent from other personality assessments.

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Content source
Personality Psychology - B. Roberts - Annual Review of Psychology - 2022

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Roger Raveel

Your story: Looking inside, from the outside

Essay | Guido Van Nuffelen | 2025

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Avondliedeke 3

't Is goed in 't eigen hart te kijken

Nog even voor het slapengaan

Of ik van dageraad tot avond

Geen enkel hart heb zeer gedaan

Alice Nahon

(Flemish poem)

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Is this well-intentioned intention possible?

The human mind operates primarily out of sight of itself because that is the way it works best under many circumstances. It would not be easy to survive without such an efficient, powerful, and rapid means of understanding and acting upon the world. On the other hand, we cannot directly observe the workings of our minds. We experience a rich mental life, but that makes it difficult to acknowledge that the vast majority of our mental processes are not directly observable. (1)

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Internal Observation

A modern psychological definition of introspection can be found in Kurt Danziger's review article:

• The modern concept of introspection emerged out of the empiricist philosophers’ belief that self-knowledge was based on acts of internal observation that were closely analogous to the acts of observation by which we gain knowledge of the external world. (2)

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The foundation for this was laid by Descartes in the 17th century.*In the Meditations*, Descartes worries that he might be deceived by an evil demon. As a result, all his beliefs about the external world might be false. But however powerful the demon, Descartes claims that it cannot deceive him about the contents of his own mind.

• While it may not be true that he sees, hears, and feels what he thinks he sees, it is nevertheless true, he says, that "I certainly seem to see, hear, and be warmed. This cannot be false."

This passage is often interpreted in terms of infallibility. As such, it provides one of the strongest claims philosophers have made about the epistemic peculiarity of our self-knowledge: You cannot falsely believe in your own mental states. In this way, I am in a privileged position to judge my mental states, because other people can hold false beliefs about my mental states. But, necessarily, if I believe that I am in a certain mental state, then I am in that mental state. (3)

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The fundamental criticism of Descartes comes down to the fact that there is a viewer (myself) who looks internally at something (perhaps the soul), and thus, a division arises between the viewer and what is being looked at (= dualism).

The logician Wittgenstein added the following criticism to this:

• If introspective error is excluded by logical necessity, what meaning can we attach to the concept of acquiring knowledge through introspection? We can only speak of acquiring knowledge in cases where it makes sense to speak of wrongly thinking that we have acquired knowledge. In other words: 'If you can't be wrong, then you can't be right either'. Or: 'If failure is logically impossible, then talking about success is pointless.' (3)

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Stepping away from dualism

At first glance, moving away from dualism toward 'dual process theory' seems like a strange step.

This terminology suggests that exactly two systems underlie the two forms of processing, a stronger assumption than most theorists wish to make.

Over two decades ago, Stanovich (1999) used the generic terms System 1 and System 2 to avoid favouring one particular theory when labelling the two sets of properties. It is essential to prevent confusion between dual types and dual modes of thinking.

Modes of processing are cognitive styles manifest within the domain of what we regard as Type 2 thinking. Unlike types, they typically represent two poles of a continuum of processing styles. The confusion between modes and types is at the core of one of the main criticisms of dual-process theories. (4)

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Emotions

Lisa Feldman Barrett is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a leading expert on emotions. She is the author of How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. In her book, Barrett argues that emotions are not internal events but rather social constructs created by our thoughts, actions, and interactions with others. She argues that emotions are not in the head but in the body and that they are shaped by our experiences and our relationships with others.

Barrett's work has had a profound impact on our understanding of emotions. She has changed the way we think about emotions and developed new ways of examining and treating them. Her work has also led to new ways of thinking about the relationship between the mind and the body..

The key points of Barrett's work on introspection are:

• Emotions are social constructs. They are not made in the head, but in the body.
• Emotions are made by our thoughts, actions, and interactions with others.
• Emotions are not static. They are constantly changing.
• Emotions are not good or bad. They are simply information.
• Emotions can be used to help us learn and grow.

  Barrett's work has shown us that emotions are much more than we thought. They are not just internal events but also social constructs shaped by our experiences and relationships with others.

  This insight has helped us to understand better and manage emotions. (5)

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Consciousness is a process

Daniel Dennett is also sceptical of standard views on introspection. According to Dennett, in many cases where we think we are introspecting, we are actually theorizing (Dennett - Consciousness explained - 1991). Moreover, because we are notoriously bad at theorising, our first-person access to our own mental states is considerably less privileged than is commonly thought. (3)

Daniel Dennett compares introspection to "looking at a television set from the inside"—we can only see the images being broadcast, not the mechanisms generating them.

Dennett also argues that introspection is often biased. We tend to focus on the things we are aware of and ignore the things we are unaware of, which can lead us to overestimate the importance of our conscious thoughts and feelings. Consciousness is not a single thing but rather a collection of different processes that constantly interact with each other. These processes include perception, attention, memory, and language. Introspection is one of these processes, which is not the most important.

Dennett's views on introspection have been controversial, but they have also been influential. His work has helped to shift the focus of consciousness research away from introspection and towards other methods, such as brain imaging and behavioural studies.

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Observing your thoughts

It is almost impossible to think about the content of your thought processes through the thought processes by which that content is thought at that moment.

Mirroring your thought processes can help you get to know yourself. The interaction between a patient and a psychologist or psychiatrist has been scientifically proven to be efficient. Writing down your thoughts, talking to others, gaining new experiences, or reading about different theories about human nature are also beneficial.

The core message here is that it always starts from a personal action from the inside out, which aligns with current knowledge about how your brain works.

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Sources

• (1) Timothy D. Wilson - The Unseen Mind - SCIENCE VOL 321- 2008
• (2) Kurt Danziger - Introspection: History of the Concept
• (3) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Introspection
• (4) Jonathan St. B. T. Evans and Keith E. Stanovich - Dual-Process Theories of Higher Cognition: Advancing the Debate
• (5) Lisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
• ̈* Full title: Meditations on First Philosophy, in Which the Existence of God and the Immortal Soul are Proved; Latin: Meditationes de prima philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animae immortalitas demonstratur), written by the French philosopher René Descartes. The original work from 1641 was written in Latin, when Descartes lived in the United Netherlands; a French edition appeared in 1647.

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Dive deeper

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Your personality is shaped by the intricate interplay of nature (your genetic inheritance) and nurture (your upbringing and environment). However, these two factors are not isolated forces; they are deeply intertwined and influenced by the fundamental human drive for survival. This drive brings with it core emotions such as stress, fear, and loss aversion, which serve as adaptive mechanisms but also leave lasting imprints on personality.

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Nature and Nurture in Survival Context

• Nature: Genes establish the foundation of personality traits—such as temperament, emotional reactivity, and cognitive potential—that influence how you respond to challenges and opportunities.
• Nurture: Environmental factors shape how genetic predispositions manifest. For instance, a child genetically predisposed to anxiety may become more or less anxious depending on parental care or life experiences.

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Their Dynamic Interplay

Nature and nurture do not function independently. They interact dynamically, with genes influencing how we respond to our environment and the environment shaping how our genetic predispositions are expressed. For example:

• A naturally fearless child raised in a highly protective environment may develop risk-averse tendencies due to over-caution from caregivers.
• Conversely, a risk-averse genetic predisposition may be tempered in a supportive, exploratory upbringing.

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Fear / anxiety / vertigo

Increases in positive arousal states lead to a rise in people’s sense of agency. ‘Sense of agency’ refers to the subjective experience of controlling one’s voluntary actions and causing events in the external world through them.

Arousal states with negative emotional valence, such as fear, decrease the sense of agency. Fear reduces the subjective feeling of control over an action outcome, even though the objective causal link between action and outcome remains the same.

Vertigo is anxiety-oriented toward the future: it’s a recognition of the radical freedom of my future self about my present self. Philosophers think we have a strong motive to flee anxiety when it strikes us. Our freedom entails a heavy burden of individual responsibility, which is daunting. Much easier, then, to act as if the big questions of how to live and make sense of things were already settled. Anxiety is discomfiting because it presents us with the stark reminder that it doesn’t have to be this way while providing no guidance about what way it might be instead.

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Stress and the Survival Instinct

The human stress response, an evolutionary tool for survival, plays a pivotal role in shaping personality. Chronic exposure to stress in early life (e.g., poverty, unstable relationships, or trauma) can heighten emotional reactivity or foster traits such as resilience, depending on coping mechanisms and support systems.

In the short term, robust, well-orchestrated activations of the stress system support adaptive functioning. But, over prolonged periods of chronic activation, the suppressive effects of elevated cortisol can have deleterious effects on physical and mental health. As such, one of the most interesting findings emerging from the research on the psychobiology of stress is that in the absence of supportive care, stressors experienced during sensitive periods of development can, in fact, leave permanent imprints in the neural substrate of emotional and cognitive processes. Chronic, severe stress delivered during vulnerable periods of neural development will ripple through all levels of an organism’s vital activity. Frequent activation of the stress response tilts the organism toward consuming resources without sufficient recovery and increases the risk for physical and behavioural problems and even low self-esteem.

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Loss aversion

Loss aversion, the tendency to avoid losses even at the cost of potential gains, has a profound impact on everyone. It stems from a complex interplay of neurological, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that influence our responses to risk and reward:

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Neurological Foundations

Several brain regions play pivotal roles in loss aversion:

1. Amygdala: This region is integral to processing fear and anxiety, triggering hormonal responses like adrenaline and cortisol when danger or loss is perceived. This explains why the visceral response to losing possessions mirrors our instinctive reaction to physical threats.
2. Striatum: Responsible for evaluating prediction errors and anticipating outcomes, the striatum exhibits heightened activity in response to losses compared to equivalent gains. This imbalance suggests its primary function is to steer us away from losses rather than toward gains.
3. Insula: This area processes feelings of disgust and collaborates with the amygdala to amplify aversion to loss. Neuroscientific studies indicate that the insula's activity intensifies as the perceived likelihood of loss increases, reinforcing our reluctance to risk losing.

These neurological processes are foundational to understanding why loss aversion is so pervasive, with individual differences in brain activity contributing to varying levels of the bias.

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Socioeconomic Influences

Socioeconomic status significantly shapes loss aversion:

• Power and Wealth: Powerful individuals tend to be less loss-averse because their social and economic safety nets buffer potential losses. Similarly, wealthy individuals are more willing to take risks due to their financial security. Research shows that these groups not only fear loss less but also place greater emphasis on potential gains.
• Relative Wealth in Communities: A study highlighted the influence of community wealth. Affluent individuals in wealthy environments were less loss-averse, while those in poorer surroundings exhibited greater fear of loss. This indicates that socioeconomic context—both personal and communal—affects risk tolerance.

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Cultural Dynamics

Cultural values also play a crucial role in shaping loss aversion:

• Collectivist vs. Individualist Cultures: Collectivist societies, which prioritize social connections, often foster less loss-averse behavior. Their strong support networks provide a safety net that reduces the perceived impact of losses. Conversely, individualistic cultures, which emphasize personal independence, may exacerbate loss aversion due to the absence of such communal support.
• Geographic Variations: Studies reveal that individuals from Eastern Europe exhibit the highest levels of loss aversion, while those from African nations display the lowest. These patterns suggest that cultural norms, economic conditions, and social structures collectively influence how losses are perceived and managed.

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Feeling stressed: APGAR model

We all experience stress (in the workplace), but too much stress can affect you and cause your work and relationships to suffer. Thomas Hellwig and colleagues modeled the Stress-APGAR test after the APGAR scoring system used to evaluate newborns.

Each individual is different, so there are deliberately no devised good or bad scores. The Stress-APGAR can be used by anyone to gather information and begin a conversation with the individual concerned.

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	Factors	Description
A	Appearance	How does the person look? Does he/she seem overly tired? Has he/she been gaining or losing weight? Is there any indication of substance abuse?
P	Performance	A decrease in performance, particularly over time, may be linked to increasing distress. On the other hand, a forced effort to over-perform — becoming a workaholic — is also a warning sign.
G	Growth tension	Growth is a result of learning and stretch goals. Everyone is different; some people take to new challenges easily, whereas others may find them more difficult. Is the person becoming bored? Or conversely, does the person seem overwhelmed?
A	Affect control	“Affect” is another word for “emotion.” Everyone has good and bad days, but most people can regulate their emotions in a way that is appropriate for the workplace. However, noticeable and lasting changes in emotional state —including emotional outbursts or high and low mood swings — can be related to an overload of physical and psychological pressure.
R	Relationship	Personal relationships are an essential part of mental health. In situations of increased stress, it is possible to observe deterioration in the quality of relationships at work, including social isolation.

Content source
An Early Warning System for Your Team’s Stress Level - Thomas Hellwig - INSEAD - 2017

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