Personality & The Brain: Why You Feel What You Feel

The question of who we are is one of the most frequently posed questions of human kind. This is the focus of this course. This course will focus on gaining a deeper understanding about who you are by shedding light on why we feel what we feel – and why we do what we do. This question will be addressed from a neuroscientific point of view.

In the first part of this course, you will gain insight into the processes that drive our decisions. Each decision we take is driven by a fast decision process, which is often called the more emotional part of our decision. Besides this fast process, our decisions are also influenced by a slower process, often referred to as the more rational part of our decision. Based on theory and practice, you will learn about the different brain structures that are related to these different processes. As these brain structures all operate in a particular manner, it will be explained which factors influence these structures and how we can actively steer our own decisions.

Our decision process is closely related to our personality, which is the topic of the second part of this course. In this part, we will focus on the emotional part of our decision process and how this is related to our unique personality. The emotions that drive us are a result of our unique personality. You will be introduced into one of the most widely accepted and researched biopsychological personality theories. Insights will be given into how our personality traits are anchored in the brain and how they influence our motivations, decisions, and behaviors. These insights will be used to take it one step further: How you can deal with unwanted emotions that block you in reaching your own life goals. In this context, practice and mindfulness will play a central role. It will be shown how mindfulness can help you flourish in your uniqueness and walk your own life path.

I believe in learning by interacting with the content. Please feel free to interact and share your ideas in the classroom.

The intro and meditation music was designed by the talented Ranghild Maria Mao. The background music for the meditation is called "We are one". Ranghild is a teacher here on Insight Timer and I highly recommend her.

I look forward to meeting you in the classroom.

Leçon 1: Getting Ready

The first session is about getting familiar with the main questions that will be answered in this course. This course will focus on gaining a deeper understanding about the neuroscience of decision making and personality. In the first part of this course, you will gain insight into how we make decisions and why we do what we do. Insights will be given on how our personality traits are anchored in the brain and how they influence our motivations, decisions, and behaviors. In the final part of this course, you will learn about the emotional foundation of our personality and how to regulate yourself to act in line with your life goals.

Leçon 2: It Takes Two To Decide: Why I Do What I Do

Most of the decisions that we make are the result of an interaction between different processes that take place in our brain. You might have noticed that there are many voices in our head trying to influence our decisions, especially when we make important decisions. Some of these voices are fast and loud, others are hardly noticeable or require a lot of mental effort to be heard. In this session, you will be introduced to the two main processes that influence our decisions: the fast and the slow process.

Leçon 3: The Neuroscience Of Thinking Fast & Slow

In this session, you will be introduced to the main brain structures that influence the fast and slow process of our decision making. The fast process is mainly driven by the emotional structures of our brain. As these structures are quickly activated, they mostly produce rapid and/or loud voices that try to influence our decisions. The slow process is mainly driven by brain structures that play an important role in cognitive reasoning, such as the prefrontal cortex. As the prefrontal cortex is related to cognitive performance and executive functions, this part of the decision is often called the rational part of our decisions.

Leçon 4: What I See Is Who I Am

What we see is not what is out there. What we see is who we are. In this session, you will learn about how we all have a unique filter to give the world a personal interpretation. Our experiences are a unique creation based on what is happening in our brain at this very moment. How does that happen? You might have noticed that your brain is never at rest. Your brain constantly produces spontaneous activation. It is the spontaneous activation in our brain that plays a significant role in filtering the information we are exposed to.

Based on an exercise, you will experience how this spontaneous activation can so easily be influenced. It is only in recent times that neuroscientists have discovered how personality traits are related tospontaneous activation in our brain. You will also receive a first insight into how personality traits are anchored in the brain.

Leçon 5: How Is Personality Anchored In My Brain?

Our personality is deeply anchored in our brain. In this session, you will be introduced to one of the most widely accepted and researched biopsychological personality theories proposed by J.A. Gray. In this theory, it is proposed that there are three emotional motivation systems that control our thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

You will be introduced to the first motivational system: the Fight Flight Freeze System (FFFS). When we perceive a danger, the FFFS will be triggered to increase our chances of survival. The activation of the FFFS is one of the most powerful forces that instantly influences our behavior to either fight, flight, or freeze in order to survive a particular situation.

Although we might have a personal tendency to flight, fight, or freeze, the FFFS is not typically associated with the personality traits that guide us on daily basis. The two motivational systems that guide us on a daily basis and, therefore, strongly contribute to our life quality are called the Behavioral Inhibition System (B.I.S.) and the Behavioral Activation System (B.A.S.).

Leçon 6: Meet Your B.A.S.: Sensitivity To Reward

The first emotional motivation system that drives us is called the Behavioral Activation System. This system is related to our sensitivity to reward and our motivation to approach a particular situation. A strong B.A.S. is related to stronger spontaneous activation in the reward system or striatum in our brain. You will gain insights into how a strong B.A.S. expresses itself in daily life.

Leçon 7: Meet Your B.I.S.: Sensitivity To Punishment

Besides the B.A.S., we are all born with another emotional motivation system called the Behavioral Inhibition System. This is our sensitivity to punishment or the occurrence of negative events. When the B.I.S. is triggered, it will activate a motivation to avoid a particular situation. Each one of us has a particular sensitivity in this system, which remains relatively stable throughout our lives. In other words, it is a strong part of our personality.

In this session, you will learn which brain areas play a significant role in the sensitivity of the B.I.S. and how this sensitivity expresses itself in our daily life.

Leçon 8: Time To Meet Jack & Jim

Although our personality usually tends towards either B.I.S. or B.A.S., it is important to remember that our emotional personality is a unique combination of both systems. Both systems are valuable. We need both not only to survive but also for the quality of our life.

Since both emotional motivation systems are such a significant part of our personality, insight into who we are can be a great help to understand our own (emotional) reactions and behavioral patterns. Self-knowledge is the beginning of all wisdom! To gain more insight into the strengths and weaknesses of both the B.A.S. and the B.I.S., you will be acquaintd with Jim and Jack.

Leçon 9: The Harmonious Life Of Jim & Jack

Jack and Jim are both intelligent people who are well capable of understanding each other. However, at times, they are living on emotional islands very far apart. This is the moment where they can lose connection and get caught up in misunderstandings. What do we do? We need to build bridges between those emotional islands! How to build bridges between emotional islands is at the focus of this session. This session will end with a first insight into what we can do for ourselves when our emotions try to drive us away from our life goals, so we can become the truest expression of who we are.

Leçon 10: A New Beginning: Walking Your Unique Life Path

The end of a course – a new beginning. The final session of this course will bring the most important insights together in one story. In addition, the final piece of the puzzle will be delivered for you to walk your unique life path. And do not forget: You are never alone. You always have your inner wise guide as an excellent company.

Reviews

Thank you . I am gonne practise the self regulation 🙏

This is not like other courses I've taken on I.T., but it appeased my analytical mind, and I've learned a few new things! Thank you!

Very insightful, I felt like your were reading a page out of my journal when you described Jim's day. I loved hearing your thoughts on bridging the island so we can better understand others emotions. Thank you so much!

Very informative and helpful! Thank you for helping me wrangle my brain 💕

I did not want this course to end so luckily I can return to it repeatedly. The information shared and manner of presenting it has made such a profound impact on me - both in understanding the past and looking forward to the future. Thank you 🙏

Really interesting to understand how these various systems interact and compete to drive our thoughts and actions and how mindfulness can break the impulsive responses and allow more thoughtful and confident consideration.

This course was very helpful in my understanding of how the brain functions and how that affects my personality.

Wonderful explanations of how the mind/brain operates in decision making. Thank you.

Dear Karolien, your courses have helped me so much in understanding my anxiety. Knowing how my physiology is working has helped me take a more productive and less reactive approach to dealing with it. The explanation of the BIS and BAS has also given me tools to understand my self-sabotage and steps I can take to overcome it. And finally…your lovely voice and warmth are extremely comforting and welcoming. Thank you so much for the work you do. 🙏🏼

I love learning from you. Each time builds upon the last and I’m growing in relation. Thank you 🙏🏻

Great course. Very helpful and extremely well presented my Karolein.

Wow! Great teachings and great teacher! It helped me remember that change is possible and that I chose what to cultivate more of. Thank you so much!

This is an excellent course, explaining complicated processes in an easy-to-understand language. Very useful for our self knowledge. Thank you very much, Karolien! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🧡

You are so clear and lovely. Thanks for sharing all this knowledge in such a warm way.
❤️🙏🏽🙂

I love this instructor. She’s great at making sense of complex information. She’s takes the neuroscience and makes it practical and user friendly. In this course we were able to benefit from learning more how our brains work. We also gained new levels of awareness of how we and others operate in the world.
Also- in addition to bring a great scholar, I feel like the course content and her commrntd in the classroom show she truly cares about human beings. 😊

Thank you for sharing your gifts with all of us. Your teaching stories are wonderful.

Very interesting, thoroughly enjoyed the course! 👍🏻

Another helpful light, shining on the path back to my kind, wise, calm inner self. Thank you Karolien again.

An eye-opening journey through the areas of the brain that steer us through out lives 🙏🏼

Very interesting, clear, and well organized! A sequence of well articulated and accessible connections between neuroscience and personality types. Thank you!