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Neural Systems, Emotion and Personality

Disciplines:
neuroscience
personality psychology

Summary

Jeffrey Gray's neurobiological account of the two major personality dimensions — anxiety (BIS) and impulsivity (BAS) — and their neural substrates.

Core Contribution

BIS/BAS theory fully developed: the Behavioral Inhibition System (anxiety, sensitivity to punishment) and Behavioral Activation System (impulsivity, sensitivity to reward) as the two fundamental dimensions of personality — each with distinct neural substrates. The septo-hippocampal system as the neural basis of anxiety. A bridge between animal learning theory and human personality psychology.

Historical Influences

Hans Eysenck Jeffrey Gray's earlier work

Intellectual Lineage

Behavioral Neuroscience Personality Psychology

Allied Works

The Psychology of Fear and Stress The Neuropsychology of Anxiety

Contemporaries & Peers

The Emotional Brain

Minds Influenced

Personality Neuroscience Clinical Psychology

Intellectual Posterity

BIS/BAS Theory Personality Neuroscience

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