Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Temperament Traits: Insights from Temperament and Character Inventory and fMRI-Based Choice Tasks

A cognitive conflict that is negatively arousing and results in a divergence in preference attitudes toward the chosen and rejected alternatives occurs when individuals are compelled to choose between alternatives that are similarly preferable. This phenomenon, which is frequently referred to as "cognitive dissonance," is of interest in the fields of decision neuroscience and psychology. This study examines the behavioral and neural underpinnings of Cloningers temperament traits--Novelty Seeking (NS), Harm Avoidance (HA), Reward Dependence (RD), and Persistence (PS)--in a decision-making context.Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a modified free-choice paradigm were used to formalize the effect of Cloninger temperaments on cognitive conflict induced by choice. Behavioral analysis revealed significant individual differences across the four TCI dimensions, highlighting distinct variability in participants responses. Imaging data showed that participants with the highest and lowest scores in each temperament trait exhibited unique brain activation patterns during difficult and easy decision tasks. Notably, novelty-seeking was linked to heightened activation in brain regions associated with exploration and cognitive flexibility, while harm avoidance was associated with emotional processing and conflict detection. These findings provide deeper insights into how personality traits influence both behavior and neural responses during cognitive dissonance and decision-making tasks, offering implications for understanding individual differences in decision-related behaviors. The results of this study confirm the effect of temperaments on the degree of perceived dissonance of people, which can be used in many areas such as consumer behavior in marketing. The reason for this is the hesitancy of customers after purchasing the products. Significance StatementThis study provides novel insights into how Cloningers temperament traits--Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, and Persistence--modulate both neural and behavioral responses during decision-making processes. By combining fMRI with a modified free-choice paradigm, we reveal that temperament traits significantly impact cognitive dissonance, with distinct brain activation patterns corresponding to individual differences in decision conflict. These findings enhance our understanding of the neural basis of cognitive dissonance and have practical implications for areas such as consumer behavior, where temperament-driven decision conflict can influence post-purchase attitudes. This research highlights the importance of accounting for personality traits when examining decision-related behaviors and suggests that tailoring strategies based on temperament could improve decision outcomes in various applied fields.