Claude Robert Cloninger: biography of this famous psychologist

The study of human personality has been carried out from very different approaches and through different strategies. Today we know that personality traits are characteristics that are elaborated and solidified throughout our development, based on an innate biological predisposition.

And it is that a part of our personality and the traits that make us up are inherited from our ancestors. Claude Robert Cloninger is one of the many authors who have developed a theoretical model regarding the structure of personality, based on psychobiology. In this article We will briefly review the biography of Cloninger and his contributions to the world of psychiatry and personality psychology.

• Related article: "History of Psychology: authors and main theories"

Biography of Claude Robert Cloninger

Claude Robert Cloninger was born in the Texan community of Beaumont April 4, 1944. He is the son of Morris Cloninger, businessman and English teacher, and actress Marie Concetta Mazzagatti Cloninger. His family of origin shows great interest in the field of art, having been patrons of various associations linked to various arts and having taught him, according to the author's own words, to live in a consistent.

Academic training

Robert Cloninger he initially trained at the University of Texas, entering it in 1962. There he would carry out pre-medical studies and also trained in psychology, anthropology and philosophy. He would finish his studies at this university in 1966.

Later he was linked to the University of Washington, where he delved into the study and research in the health field and carried out a research grant in preventive medicine and public health.

In 1969 he would begin to be interested in and investigate together with Samuel Guze in the field of psychiatry, specifically in the reasons why some mental disorders are frequently replicated by different members of the same families. This would also lead him to work in the field of genetic and cultural transmission, carrying out different studies in this regard. He delved into these studies in different locations and together with other great researchers.

Studies and research fields

This author has been prolific and has conducted extensive research on various topics. He has made a large number of publications in the form of articles and books and has been awarded prizes such as the Adolf Meyer Prize by institutions as recognized as the American Psychiatric Association (or PAPA).

His research focuses on diagnosis and treatment in order to cause an increase in the quality of life of both healthy people and people with mental disorders, working from the identification and treatment of the causes of mental disorders and taking into account elements both biological (on which he focuses on studying the genetics of disorders) and cultural and educational.

So, your interests have focused on aspects such as personality traits, biological and environmental factors that facilitate and/or regulate mental disorders or well-being, genetics and anthropology. He has also expressed his interest in the study of human needs and how they influence our personality, selfconcept and wellness.

Cloninger and the study of personality

One of Cloninger's greatest and best-known contributions to the field of psychology is his studies in regarding personality, both in healthy subjects and in individuals with different disorders in this aspect.

• Related article: "Differences between personality, temperament and character"

Cloninger's model of personality

Specifically, the model proposed by the author stands out, which proposes that personality is a system of behavior models derived from the functioning of the neurochemical systems of our body and social learning, both working together in the management of behavior and patterns with which we usually Act.

He proposes the existence of temperament as an element of integration of the functioning of the different systems of a biological nature that allow the organism to regulate behavior to adapt to the environment (largely mediated by neurotransmitters). Within temperament we can find four variables that explain personality, these being avoidance pain, novelty seeking, reward dependency of behavior, and persistence of behavior behavior.

He also recognizes and incorporates the existence of variables in the control of behavior that derive from learning throughout the life cycle. It is about character, which allows us to relate to ourselves and the world voluntarily based on what we have experienced. Typical character variables in personality configuration are self-direction or ability to control one's own behavior, cooperation or ability to relate positively with our peers and self-transcendence as the aspect according to which we place ourselves in the world.

This model has been elaborated over more than fifteen years, beginning in 1986, and supposes a factorial approach to personality from a biopsychosocial perspective. Initially, only temperamental variables would be taken into account (with the exception of persistence, which was considered derived from the search for experience), although throughout the nineties temperament variables were added and persistence would be established as another independent temperamental variable.

Development of measurement instruments

Cloninger's performance in the study of personality has not been limited to the creation of a theoretical model, but he has also included the development of instruments that allow it to be evaluated.

In this regard, Cloninger developed in 1987 and would subsequently improve along with other authors. the Three Dimensional Personality Questionnaire or TPQ. This test is a questionnaire in which the patient or subject analyzed must answer a hundred questions (whose answers can only be true or false) and through which the dimensions of temperament are analyzed (avoidance of harm, dependency on reward and search for news)

This questionnaire would be modified and, after Cloninger considered the existence and importance of character variables, it would create the Temperament and Character Questionnaire or TCI in 1993 (which would later be revised).

• You may be interested in: "Types of psychological tests: their functions and characteristics"

Present

Currently, Robert Cloninger is a professor of psychiatry, psychology, and genetics at Wallace Renard. He is also director of the University of Washington Wellness Center. and he is part of various divisions and committees of different institutions, being a member among them of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bibliographic references:

• Bayon, C. (2006). Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality: Integrative approach in the evaluation of personality disorders and the psychotherapeutic process. Alcala de Henares University. Madrid. Spain.

• Bermudez, J. (2004). Psychology of personality. Theory and research. (Vol I and II). Didactic Unit of the UNED. Madrid.

• Cloninger, C.R. (2004). Feeling good: The science of well-being. New York: Oxford University Press.

• Hermangomez, L. & Fernández, C. (2012). Psychology of Personality and Differential. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 07. CEDE: Madrid.