Reinforcement sensitivity theory and personality

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.01.005

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Volume 28, Issue 3, May 2004, Pages 317-332

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.01.005 Get rights and content

Abstract

A fully fledged neuroscience of personality is beginning to emerge, shaped and guided in large measure by the seminal work of Jeffrey A. Gray over a period of 40 years. In this Festschrift, I trace the theoretical development of Gray's approach—now known as Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST)—out of the Eysenckian tradition to its most recent articulation. Experimental attempts to test RST are reviewed and the theoretical problems raised by this literature discussed. Also presented are data relating to a recent clarification of RST, viz. the joint subsystems hypothesis, which postulates a fundamental interdependence of appetitive and aversive systems in the typical human laboratory. The value of Gray's general approach to building behavioural theories on the bases of both the conceptual nervous system and the real nervous system is validated in personality, which has long been thought a philosophical mystery rather than a standard problem to be tackled by scientific method.

Introduction

Personality has long been the Cinderella of psychology: its scientific potential thwarted by psychoanalysis, social constructivism and statistical indeterminism, and neglected by experimental (cognitive) psychology. This dismal state of affairs has finally changed with the emergence of a rapidly developing neuroscience of personality [1], a shift in scientific fortune made possible, in large part, by the seminal work of Jeffrey A. Gray.

Another article in this Festschrift [2] outlines Gray's neuroscience of fear and anxiety; here I focus on those aspects of his general theory that are applied specifically in the human experimental laboratory. In particular, I summarise the theoretical development of Gray's neuropsychological theory of personality—now known as Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) [3]—outlining its theoretical antecedents and its development over the years, culminating in the most recent formulation [4]. Human experimental evidence for RST and the problems highlighted by these data, are discussed; and a recent clarification, which emphasizes the joint effects of the fundamental emotion systems, is presented in the light of empirical evidence.

Section snippets

Reinforcement sensitivity theory: background

The origins of RST are to be found in Pavlov's Typology [5] (also submitted as part of Gray's PhD thesis in the same year). This work was a literal and conceptual translation of Pavlovian ideas of personality prevalent in the Soviet Union at that time: it linked ideas of excitation–inhibition with Western concepts of arousal and activation [6]—the role of arousal and activation were later to play a key role in Hans Eysenck's highly influential biological theory of personality [7]. Importantly,

Human experimental data

This section provides a brief survey of most of the studies conducted to test RST in the human experimental laboratory. As we see, this literature is characterized by: (a) a wide variety of measures of punishment and reward sensitivity (some using E and N; others using purpose-built scales); (b) a wide range of psychophysiological and behavioural tasks; and (c) a bewildering array of experimental findings.

Gray and McNaughton (2000) revised theory

Theory clarification and development are desirable and signs of a progressive science—theory modification is less welcome when it is primarily designed to shore up theoretical cracks revealed by empirical data. The recent revision of the original BIS theory represents a major revision and clarification of RST, based upon principled arguments (indeed, in some ways, it undermines some of the central postulates of the earlier theory, e.g. the categorical distinction between unconditioned and

Personality in the human experimental laboratory

Although it is yet to be seen whether the revised theory is better able to generate consistent and interpretable data, one strength is its more detailed account of the cognitive processes of fear and anxiety—the apparent neglect of the cognitive nature of fear/anxiety has been a common criticism of the old model. For example, in a comparative review of Eysenck's and Gray's biological theories of personality, Matthews and Gilliland [15] concluded:

Cognitive constructs may be more appropriate than

Conclusion

In the intervening 30 years since the 1970 publication of RST, numerous studies have been conducted and there is now a consensus concerning the fundamental importance of reinforcement processes in personality, including the effects of personality on everyday behaviour [116], [117]; as noted by Pickering et al. [14]:

…one cannot but remain impressed by the sheer frequency with which significant relationships nonetheless do emerge between one or other relevant personality trait and one or other

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to Dr Alan Pickering for his perceptive comments on an earlier draft of this paper. The paper also benefited from the comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) originated from the Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality. This study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the RST-PQ among a group of Iranian adults.
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The confirmatory factor analysis results showed an acceptable fit of the proposed six-factor model based on the English version of RST-PQ (CFI = 0.905; RMSEA = 0.053). Also, Cronbach's alpha values confirmed the internal consistency of the proposed structure. In addition, competing models were also used to select the best-proposed model. In this way, different models were evaluated, assuming a change in the correlation intensity between BIS and the Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS).
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Re-exploring the relationships of humor styles with dark triad and self-esteem using structural equation modelling
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Previous relationships between Dark Triad and Humor styles are theoretically difficult to interpret since Dark Triad traits present general and specific sources of variance. In the present study, we used structural equation modelling techniques to allow us to separate the two sources and detect which source of variance of Dark Triad plays the main role in the relationship observed with Humor styles. Similarly, it was tested if relationships among measures of Self-esteem and Humor styles are replicated at structural level. Moreover, the vast majority of previous studies have been conducted with university samples, which represents a limitation. Hence, a series of bi-factor models to test the relationship between Dark Triad and Humor styles and structural models for Self-esteem and Humor styles were fitted on a community sample of 987 Spanish people. Results suggest that the common variance of the Dark Triad traits was mainly responsible for the reported relationships with Humor styles. It is noteworthy that relations reported for Aggressive and Self-defeating humor styles were higher than those observed in previous studies. Similarly, a higher correlation between Self-esteem and Self-defeating was observed at the structural level. Futures studies are suggested to better establish the psychological reasons behind these relationships.
The functional connectivity between right parahippocampal gyrus and precuneus underlying the association between reward sensitivity and procrastination
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Procrastination has adverse effects on personal growth and social development. Behavior research has found reward sensitivity is positively correlated with procrastination. However, it remains unclear that the neural substrates underlie the relationship between reward sensitivity and procrastination. To address this issue, the present study used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses to investigate the neural substrates underlying the association with reward sensitivity and procrastination in two independent samples (N1 = 388, N2 = 330). In Sample 1, the behavioral result indicated reward sensitivity was positively correlated with procrastination. Moreover, the VBM analysis showed that reward sensitivity was positively associated with the gray matter volume (GMV) of the right parahippocampal gyrus. Furthermore, the RSFC result found reward sensitivity was negatively associated with the functional connectivity of the right parahippocampal gyrus-precuneus. Crucially, the mediation analysis revealed that functional connectivity of the right parahippocampal gyrus-precuneus mediated the relationship between reward sensitivity and procrastination. To verify the robustness of the results, confirmatory analysis was carried out in Sample 2. The results of Sample 1 (i.e., the behavioral, VBM, RSFC, and mediation results) can be verified in Sample 2. In brief, these findings suggested that the functional connectivity of the right parahippocampal gyrus-precuneus involved in reward impulsive control could modulate the relationship between reward sensitivity and procrastination, which is the first to reveal the neural underpinning of the association between reward sensitivity and procrastination.
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ReviewReinforcement sensitivity theory and personality

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Reinforcement sensitivity theory: background

Human experimental data

Gray and McNaughton (2000) revised theory

Personality in the human experimental laboratory

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Behav Res Ther

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Behav Ther

Behav Res Ther

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differernces

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

J Res Personal

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

J Res Personal

Personal Individual Differerences

Eur Neuropsychopharmacol

J Econ Psychol

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Personal Individual Differences

Neurobiology of the structure of personality: dopamine, facilitation of incentive motivation, and extraversion

Behav Brain Sci

A two-dimensional neuropsychology of defense: Fear/anxiety and defensive distance

Neurosci Biobehav Rev

The Neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system

Pavlov's typology

The conceptual nervous system and personality: from Pavlov to neural networks

Eur Psychol

The biological basis of personality

Review
Reinforcement sensitivity theory and personality