The Role of Dopamine in Human Behavior and Cognition

Today I’m really excited to have Colin DeYoung on the podcast. Dr. DeYoung is associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota. He specializes in personality psychology but is especially interested in personality neuroscience. Besides being a prolific academic and researcher, I am also honored to count him as a dear friend and collaborator.

In this episode we discussed wide-range of topics relating to personality, including:

• The modern day personality hierarchy
• The “Big Two”: Stability and Plasticity
• How Carl Jung developed his theory of introversion
• The latest science of introversion
• The scientific validity of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• Dopamine as the “neuromodulator of exploration”
• The two major dopamingeric pathways
• Why personality variation evolved
• The neuroscience of conscientiousness
• The link between compassion and imagination
• The neuroscience of anxiety
• The cybernetics of personality
• Rethinking psychopathology
• The effects of therapy on personality change

Links

Cybernetic Big Five Theory

The neuromodulator of exploration: A unifying theory of the role of dopamine in personality

Personality neuroscience and the biology of traits

Opening up openness to experience: A four-factor model and relations to creative achievement in the arts and sciences

The neuroscience of anxiety

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