A Psychobiological Model of Temperament and Character: TCI.

Abstract

Cloninger developed a dimensional psychobiological model of personality that accounts for both normal and abnormal variation in two major components of personality, temperament and character. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) is a self-administered dimensional questioannaire constructed to assess the seven basic dimensions of personality. TCI maintains the strong theoretical and empirical support of previously developed psychobiological models while overcoming some of their limitations for clinical use. Cloninger’s model of personality has a tremendous potential to provide comprehensive insight into human personality at multiple levels of analysis, including including the genetics of personality, neurobiological foundations of behavior, the cognitive emotional structure and development of personality, the behavioral correlates of individual differences in personality dimensions, and the interactions of personality constellations with developmental factors in relation to the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Within emerging neuroimaging technology, Cloninger’s model of personality will provide novel opportunities for elucidating the characterization of neural correlates of personality, and enable a better understanding of normal and pathological states. In this article, both underlying theory and empirically valiated findings along with its potential use in in both general population and