Table 1.

TCI: description of temperament and character traits

Temperament traits

• Novelty seeking: tendency towards exploration, intense activation, and excitability

• Harm avoidance: tendency towards avoidance of aversive stimuli

• Reward dependence: tendency toward an intense response to social reward

• Persistence: perseverance in spite of fatigue and frustration

Character traits

• Self-directedness: strong-will individuals, capable of controlling, regulating and adapting their behavior in order to best reach their goals

• Cooperativeness: individuals who are tolerant, empathic, compassionate, and supportive of others

• Self-transcendence: relevant to individuals who conceive themselves as integral parts of the universe as a whole, a “unitary conscience” in which everything is part of a whole; this perspective can be described as acceptance, identification, or spiritual unity with nature and its origins

Note: Data from Tarsitani et al.³⁸