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Neuroticism

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Synonyms

Behavioral inhibition; Negative affectivity; Negative emotionality

Definition

The tendency to experience frequent and intense negative emotions accompanied by a perceived inability to cope with such experiences.

Introduction

Temperament has been broadly described as an individual’s enduring emotional nature (Shiner et al. 2012). Neuroticism, one dimension of temperament, is defined as the tendency to experience intense negative emotions accompanied by aversive reactions to these experiences when they occur (such as a sense of uncontrollability or perceived inability to cope; Sauer-Zavala and Barlow 2014). Compared to other temperamental traits, neuroticism has received the most empirical attention, likely due to its association with a variety of psychological and physical health concerns. Previously thought to be a stable part of one’s character, there is increasing evidence to suggest that neuroticism is more malleable than previously thought, underscoring exciting...

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Correspondence to Clair Cassiello-Robbins .

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Cassiello-Robbins, C., Wilner, J.G., Sauer-Zavala, S. (2020). Neuroticism. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1256

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