Testing different versions of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales in a clinical sample

The German version of the brief affective neuroscience personality scales including a LUST scale (BANPS-GL)

Objectives

This study presents the German version of the Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (BANPS), which includes an additional subscale for the dimension LUST. The BANPS represents a shortened version of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), a self-report instrument to assess individual dispositions toward primary emotional systems as proposed by Jaak Panksepp.

Methods

In a large sample (N = 926), the reliability and various facets of validity of the German translation of the BANPS were examined together with the newly included LUST scale. The BANPS-GL was related to the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS) and analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

Overall, the BANPS-GL exhibited reliabilities ranging from McDonald's ω = 0.70 (CARE) to α = 0.86 (SADNESS) and plausible correlations with external criteria. For CFA a correlated 7-factor model demonstrated good fit [TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.04 (90% CI: 0.04, 0.05); SRMR = 0.06]. A similar fit was demonstrated for a 2-higher-factor model [TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.05 (90% CI: 0.05, 0.06); SRMR = 0.07].

Conclusion

In broad agreement with the results of the original English version, the BANPS-GL showed good reliability and acceptable factorial validity, and overall improved the psychometric properties of the original long form. Finally, the inclusion of the dimension LUST allows for a complete coverage of the primary emotion dispositions as originally conceptualized by Panksepp.

The Affective Neuroscience of Sexuality: Development of a LUST Scale

Background

In recent years, there have been many studies using the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) to investigate individual differences in primary emotion traits. However, in contrast to other primary emotion traits proposed by Jaak Panksepp and colleagues, there is a considerable lack of research on the LUST (L) dimension – defined as an individual’s capacity to attain sexual desire and satisfaction – a circumstance mainly caused by its exclusion from the ANPS. Therefore, this study aims to take a first step toward the development of a standardized self-rate measurement for the L-disposition. For this purpose, two versions of the L-scales (L-12 and L-5) were developed and evaluated regarding reliability and aspects of validity.

Materials and Methods

After a pilot study (N = 204; female: 81%) with an initial 20-item pool item reductions were conducted. This led to the construction of a 12-item (L-12) version and a 5-item version (L-5), which were assessed in a second sample consisting of 371 German-speaking healthy adults (58.50% female) aged 18–69 years (M = 28; SD = 9.75). Aspects of external validity were assessed by investigation of correlations with the ANPS, psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory-18), attachment security (Adult Attachment Scales) and personality functioning (Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics Structure Questionnaire). To evaluate structural validity, both L-scales were investigated via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

Cronbach’s α indicated excellent internal consistency regarding L-12 (α = 0.90), while L-5 showed acceptable reliability (α = 0.82). CFA of a bifactor model of the L-12 indicated excellent model fit. Moreover, an excellent model fit was observed regarding a single factor model of L-5. For both scales small to moderate positive correlations were observed with SEEKING, PLAY, and secure attachment, while they exhibited small to moderate negative correlations with SADNESS, insecure attachment, lower personality functioning, and increased psychiatric symptom load.

Conclusion

Both newly developed scales exhibit satisfying psychometric properties, indicating high reliability, good structural validity and plausible correlations with external criteria. Hence, this study poses an important step toward the operationalization of the LUST concept. However, more research is needed in particular with respect to the scale’s external validity and its applicability in clinical populations.

Testosterone administration in women increases the size of their peripersonal space

Peripersonal space (PPS) is the space immediately surrounding the body, conceptualised as a sensory-motor interface between body and environment. PPS size differs between individuals and contexts, with intrapersonal traits and states, as well as social factors having a determining role on the size of PPS. Testosterone plays an important role in regulating social-motivational behaviour and is known to enhance dominance motivation in an implicit and unconscious manner. We investigated whether the dominance-enhancing effects of testosterone reflect as changes in the representation of PPS in a within-subjects testosterone administration study in women (N = 19). Participants performed a visuo-tactile integration task in a mixed-reality setup. Results indicated that the administration of testosterone caused a significant enlargement of participants' PPS, suggesting that testosterone caused participants to implicitly appropriate a larger space as their own. These findings suggest that the dominance-enhancing effects of testosterone reflect at the level of sensory-motor processing in PPS.

A Temperament-Attachment-Mentalization-Based (TAM) Theory of Personality and Its Disorders

Theories of personality and its disorders need, from time to time, to be revised and updated according to new empirical and conceptual developments. Such development has taken place in the realms of affective neuroscience, evolution, and social cognition. In this article, we outline a new personality theory, which claims that phenomena we usually ascribe to the concept personality are best understood by postulating a web consisting of three major constituents: temperament (mainly primary emotions), attachment, and self-consciousness (mentalizing). We describe these constituents, their neurobiological underpinnings, the subjective experiences they evoke, and their behavioral implications. We discuss the relevance of the espoused theory in the field of personality disorders with references to borderline, narcissistic, and avoidant personality disorders as well as the DSM-5 alternative model. Implications for social psychology, psychotherapy, and common sense self-understanding are outlined. The theory aims to bridge previous contradictions between natural sciences and hermeneutics by its propositions of the evolution of self-consciousness.

Affective Neuroscience Theory and Personality: An Update

The present work gives a short overview of central aspects of Jaak Panksepp's Affective Neuroscience Theory (AN theory) and its relevance for modern personality neuroscience. In contrast to the widely used Big Five approach to studying and understanding human personality, AN theory provides researchers with a distinct roadmap to the biological basis of personality, including molecular and neuroanatomical candidates, to understand individual differences in human behavior. Such molecular and neuroanatomical brain candidates have been derived by means of electrical brain stimulation and pharmacological challenges, while investigating primary emotional systems anchored in the subcortical mammalian brain. Research results derived from the study of emotions in mammals are also of relevance for humans because ancient layers of our minds-those layers where primary emotions originate-have been homologously conserved across species. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense because primal emotions represent "built-in tools for survival" for all mammals. In this context, Montag and Panksepp recently illustrated a potential ancient neurobiological effect by carving out robust associations between individual differences in primary emotions (assessed via self-report) and the Big Five in a cross-cultural study with data from the United States, Germany, and China. These associations together with some ideas derived from MacLean's Triune Brain concept highlighted (a) that primary emotions likely represent the phylogenetically oldest parts of human personality and (b) that primary emotions influence human personality in a bottom-up fashion given their localization in ancient subcortical brain regions. A comment on the work by Montag and Panksepp asked for insights on putative links between primary emotions and facets of the Big Five. Therefore, we provide some first insights into such associations from recent Germany data. In addition, the present work provides a new short version of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales to assess individual differences in primary emotions.

Identifying affective personality profiles: A latent profile analysis of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales

Based on evolutionary theory, a recent model in affective neuroscience delineated six emotional brain systems at the core of human personality: SEEKING, CARING, PLAYFULNESS, FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS. The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) assess their functioning. Using a person-centred approach of the ANPS, this study: (i) examined the existence of latent personality profiles, (ii) studied their gender invariance, (iii) assessed their longitudinal (4 years) stability, and (iv) explored how they relate to several intrapersonal, interpersonal, and emotion regulation skills. Latent Profile Analysis in 2 samples (Canadian, longitudinal, N = 520; French, cross-sectional, N = 830) found that, qualitatively, 3 profiles characterized both populations and genders, with one distinction for the second profile where the French women endorsed slightly higher and lower scores for, respectively, the negative and positive emotions. Whilst not being quantitatively similar across genders, the personality profiles remained consistent across time in the longitudinal sample. Associations between profiles and intrapersonal (e.g. depression), interpersonal (e.g. empathy), and emotion regulation skills measures (e.g. emotional intelligence) offered concurrent validity evidence. This person centred approach to ANPS offers a holistic and parsimonious way to study affective personality dimensions. It opens promising avenues for future studies on the predictive value of ANPS profiles, and for personality-targeted interventions.

Primary Emotional Systems and Personality: An Evolutionary Perspective

The present article highlights important concepts of personality including stability issues from the perspective of situational demands and stability over the life-course. Following this more introductory section, we argue why individual differences in primary emotional systems may represent the phylogenetically oldest parts of human personality. Our argumentation leads to the need to increasingly consider individual differences in the raw affects/emotions of people to understand human personality in a bottom-up fashion, which can be coordinated with top-down perspectives. In support of this idea, we also review existing evidence linking individual differences in primal emotions as assessed with the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales and the widely accepted Big Five Model of Personality. In this context, we provide additional evidence on the link between primal emotions and personality in German and Chinese sample populations. In short, this article addresses evolutionary perspectives in the evaluation of human personality, highlighting some of the ancestral emotional urges that probably still control variations in the construction of human personality structures. Moreover, we address how individual differences in primary emotional systems can illuminate linkages to major human psychopathologies and the potential advantages and disadvantages of carrying a certain personality trait within certain cultural/environmental niches.

An Affective Neuroscience Framework for the Molecular Study of Internet Addiction

Internet addiction represents an emerging global health issue. Increasing efforts have been made to characterize risk factors for the development of Internet addiction and consequences of excessive Internet use. During the last years, classic research approaches from psychology considering personality variables as vulnerability factor, especially in conjunction with neuroscience approaches such as brain imaging, have led to coherent theoretical conceptualizations of Internet addiction. Although such conceptualizations can be valuable aid, the research field is currently lacking a comprehensive framework for determining brain-based and neurochemical markers of Internet addiction. The present work aims at providing a framework on the molecular level as a basis for future research on the neural and behavioral level, in order to facilitate a comprehensive neurobiological model of Internet addiction and its clinical symptomatology. To help establish such a molecular framework for the study of Internet addiction, we investigated in N = 680 participants associations between individual differences in tendencies toward Internet addiction measured by the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2 (GPIUS-2) and individual differences in primary emotional systems as assessed by the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS). Regression analysis revealed that the ANPS scales FEAR and SADNESS were the ANPS scales most robustly positively linked to several (sub)scales of the GPIUS-2. Also the scales SEEKING, CARE and PLAY explain variance in some of the GPIUS-2 subscales. As such, these scales are negatively linked to the GPIUS-2 subscales. As the ANPS has been constructed on substantial available brain data including an extensive molecular body with respect to evolutionary highly conserved emotional circuitry in the ancient mammalian brain, the present study gives first ideas on putative molecular mechanisms underlying different facets of Internet addiction as derived from associations between tendencies toward Internet addiction and individual differences in primary emotional systems. For example, as SADNESS is linked to the overall GPIUS-2 score, and the neuropeptide oxytocin is known to downregulate SADNESS, it is conceivable that the neuropeptide might play a role in Internet addition on the molecular level. Our findings provide a theoretical framework potentially illuminating the molecular underpinnings of Internet addiction. Finally, we also present data on the ANPS and smartphone addiction at the end of the paper. Similar to the reported associations between the ANPS and the GPIUS-2, these correlations might provide an initial outline for a framework guiding future studies that aim to address the molecular basis of smartphone addiction.

Longitudinal and Sex Measurement Invariance of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) is a personality instrument based on six evolutionary-related brain systems that are at the foundation of human emotions and behaviors: SEEKING, CARING, PLAYFULNESS, FEAR, ANGER, and SADNESS. We sought to assess for the short and long versions of the ANPS: (a) the longitudinal measurement invariance and long-term (4-year) stability and (b) the sex measurement invariance. Using data from a Canadian cohort ( N = 518), we used single-group confirmatory factor analysis to assess longitudinal invariance and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis to assess sex invariance, according to a five-step approach evaluating five invariance levels (configural, metric, scalar, residual, and complete). Results supported full longitudinal invariance for both versions for all invariance levels. Partial residual invariance was supported for sex invariance. The long-term stability of both versions was good to excellent. Implications for personality assessment and ANPS development are discussed.

Personality Disorder and Changes in Affect Consciousness: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study of Patients with Avoidant and Borderline Personality Disorder

Personality disorders (PDs) are highly prevalent in patients receiving psychiatric services, and are associated with significant personal and social costs. Over the past two decades, an increasing number of treatment studies have documented the effectiveness of treatment for patients with PDs, especially when it comes to reduction of symptom distress, risk taking behavior, self-harm, or suicide attempts. However, less is known about the more complex aims of improving the personality structure itself, such as identity- and interpersonal disturbances. Emotional dysfunction is closely associated with PD pathology. The present study investigated changes in affect consciousness (AC) in patients with avoidant or borderline PD, and how these changes were associated with clinical status after 3 years of follow-up. The study included 52 individuals; 79 percent were females, and mean age was 30 years. The evaluations included the Affect Consciousness Interview, Symptom Checklist-90-R, Circumplex of Interpersonal Problems, the Index of Self-Esteem, and three domains (Identity Integration, Relational Capacities, and Self-Control) of the Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118). There was a significant increase in the Global AC and AC scores for most of the specific affects from baseline to follow-up. As the present study did not include a control group, it cannot be concluded that changes in AC are effects of psychotherapy, and the possibility of age-related maturation processes cannot be excluded. The change in Global AC contributed significantly to explained variance in the follow-up levels of Circumplex of Interpersonal Problems, and the two SIPP-118 domains Relational Capacities and Identity Integration. Improved AC was not associated with change in the Self-Control domain or the Global Severity Index of Symptom Checklist-90-R. The results suggest that AC may be altered for patients with borderline and avoidant PDs, and this is the first study to report that improvement in AC contribute significantly to the variance in the self- and interpersonal domains of personality functioning.