Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists’ personality traits: a comparison

  • Original Article - Neurosurgery Training
  • Published:
Acta Neurochirurgica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Clinicians in neuroscientific disciplines may present distinct personality profiles. Despite of potential relevance to clinical practice, this has not yet been studied. We therefore aimed to compare personality profiles of physicians working in the three main disciplines of clinical neuroscience, i.e., neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists, between each other, across levels of training and to other specialties.

Methods

An online survey using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), an internationally validated measure of the five-factor model of personality dimensions, was distributed to board-certified physicians, residents, and medical students in several European countries and Canada. Differences in personality profiles were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance and canonical linear discriminant analysis on age- and sex-standardized z-scores of personality traits. Single personality traits were analyzed using robust t tests.

Results

Of the 5148 respondents who completed the survey, 723 indicated the specialties neurology, neurosurgery, or psychiatry. Compared to all other specialties, personality profiles of training and trained physicians in these three main clinical neuroscience disciplines (“NN&P”) significantly differed, with significantly higher scores in openness to experience. Within NN&P, there were significant differences in personality profiles, driven by lower neuroticism in neurosurgeons, higher conscientiousness in neurosurgeons and neurologists, and higher agreeableness in psychiatrists. Across levels of training, NN&P personality profiles did not differ significantly.

Conclusion

The distinct clinical neuroscience personality profile is characterized by higher levels of openness to experience compared to non-neuroscience specialties. Despite high variability within each discipline, moderate, but solid differences in the personality profiles of neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists exist.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability statement

Data will be shared by request from any qualified investigator.

References

  1. Bexelius TS, Olsson C, Järnbert-Pettersson H, Parmskog M, Ponzer S, Dahlin M (2016) Association between personality traits and future choice of specialisation among Swedish doctors: a cross-sectional study. Postgrad Med J 92(1090):441–446

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Buddeberg-Fischer B, Klaghofer R, Abel T, Buddeberg C (2006) Swiss residents’ speciality choices--impact of gender, personality traits, career motivation and life goals. BMC Health Serv Res 6(1):137

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Caspi A, Roberts BW, Shiner RL (2005) Personality development: stability and change. Annu Rev Psychol 56(1):453–484

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Digman JM (1990) Personality structure: emergence of the five-factor model. Annu Rev Psychol 41(1):417–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Doherty EM, Nugent E (2011) Personality factors and medical training: a review of the literature. Med Educ 45(2):132–140

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Ferguson E, James D, Madeley L (2002) Factors associated with success in medical school: systematic review of the literature. BMJ 324(7343):952–957

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Foulkrod KH, Field C, Brown CVR (2010) Trauma surgeon personality and job satisfaction: results from a national survey. Am Surg 76(4):422–427

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Gilligan JH, Treasure T, Watts C (1996) Incorporating psychometric measures in selecting and developing surgeons. J Manag Med 10(6):5–16 2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Gilligan JH, Welsh FK, Watts C, Treasure T (1999) Square pegs in round holes: has psychometric testing a place in choosing a surgical career? A preliminary report of work in progress. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 81(2):73–79

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Gosling SD, Rentfrow PJ, Swann WB (2003) A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. J Res Pers 37(6):504–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Gosling SD, Rentfrow PJ, Potter J (2014) Norms for the ten item personality inventory. Personal communication

  12. Greenburg AG, McClure DK, Penn NE (1982) Personality traits of surgical house officers: faculty and resident views. Surgery 92(2):368–372

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Griffin JW (2006) Training matters in neurology. Nat Clin Pract Neurol 2:345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hirsh JB, Inzlicht M (2008) The devil you know: neuroticism predicts neural response to uncertainty. Psychol Sci 19(10):962–967

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Hojat M, Nasca TJ, Magee M, Feeney K, Pascual R, Urbano F, Gonnella JS (1999) A comparison of the personality profiles of internal medicine residents, physician role models, and the general population. Acad Med 74(12):1327–1333

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Hojat M, Erdmann JB, Gonnella JS (2013) Personality assessments and outcomes in medical education and the practice of medicine: AMEE Guide No. 79. Med Teach 35(7):e1267–e1301

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Holland JL (1997) Making vocational choices. A theory of vocational personalities and work environments. Psychological Assessment Resources, Odessa

    Google Scholar 

  18. Judge TA, Ilies R (2002) Relationship of personality to performance motivation: a meta-analytic review. J Appl Psychol 87(4):797–807

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Judge TA, Erez A, Bono JE, Thoresen CJ (2002) Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? J Pers Soc Psychol 83(3):693–710

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. King SH, McArthur CG, Norman JC (1975) The surgical personality: a comparison of medical and surgical residents with the Rorschach. Cardiovasc Dis 2(2):117–128

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Lievens F, Coetsier P, De Fruyt F, De Maeseneer J (2002) Medical students’ personality characteristics and academic performance: a five-factor model perspective. Med Educ 36(11):1050–1056

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Linn BS, Zeppa R (1984) Does surgery attract students who are more resistant to stress? Ann Surg 200(5):638–643

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Macneily AE, Alden L, Webber E, Afshar K (2011) The surgical personality: comparisons between urologists, non-urologists and non-surgeons. Can Urol Assoc J 5(3):182–185

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. McCrae RR, John OP (1992) An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. J Pers 60(2):175–215

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. McCulloch P, Kaul A, Wagstaff GF, Wheatcroft J (2005) Tolerance of uncertainty, extroversion, neuroticism and attitudes to randomized controlled trials among surgeons and physicians. Br J Surg 92(10):1293–1297

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. McGreevy J, Wiebe D (2002) A preliminary measurement of the surgical personality. Am J Surg 184(2):121–125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Muck PM, Hell B, Gosling SD (2007) Construct validation of a short five-factor model instrument. Eur J Psychol Assess 23(3):166–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ozer DJ, Benet-Martínez V (2006) Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annu Rev Psychol 57(1):401–421

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Roccas S, Sagiv L, Schwartz SH, Knafo A (2002) The big five personality factors and personal values. Personal Soc Psychol Bull 28(6):789–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Schaefer PS, Williams CC, Goodie AS, Campbell WK (2004) Overconfidence and the big five. J Res Pers 38(5):473–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Schwartz RW, Barclay JR, Harrell PL, Murphy AE, Jarecky RK, Donnelly MB (1994) Defining the surgical personality: a preliminary study. Surgery 115(1):62–68

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Soldz S, Vaillant GE (1999) The Big Five personality traits and the life course: a 45-year longitudinal study. J Res Pers 33(2):208–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Stienen MN, Scholtes F, Samuel R, Weil A, Weyerbrock A, Surbeck W (2018) Different but similar: personality traits of surgeons and internists—results of a cross-sectional observational study. BMJ Open 8(7):e021310

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Stilwell NA, Wallick MM, Thal SE, Burleson JA (2000) Myers-Briggs type and medical specialty choice: a new look at an old question. Teach Learn Med 12(1):14–20

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Subramanian P, Kantharuban S, Subramanian V, Willis-Owen SAG, Willis-Owen CA (2011) Orthopaedic surgeons: as strong as an ox and almost twice as clever? Multicentre prospective comparative study. BMJ 343(dec15 1):d7506

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Tupes EC, Christal RE (1992) Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings. J Pers 60(2):225–251

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Turska D, Skrzypek M, Tychmanowicz A, Baran T (2016) Concept of distinct surgical personality revisited. Personality traits and personal values as surgical specialty choice predictors. Eur J Med Technol 1(10):54–59

    Google Scholar 

  38. Warschkow R, Steffen T, Spillmann M, Kolb W, Lange J, Tarantino I (2010) A comparative cross-sectional study of personality traits in internists and surgeons. Surgery 148(5):901–907

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Woods SA, Patterson FC, Koczwara A, Sofat JA (2016) The value of being a conscientious learner. J Work Learn 28(7):424–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Alexander Weil for his support as regards the distribution of the questionnaire among physicians and medical students in Canada.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Werner Surbeck & Erich Seifritz

  2. Research Unit INSIDE, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

    Robin Samuel

  3. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Albert-Ludwig University, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

    Derek Spieler

  4. Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Mental Health Research Unit, Neuherberg, Germany

    Derek Spieler

  5. Neuroscience Center Zurich, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Erich Seifritz

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Gabrielle Scantamburlo

  7. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Martin N. Stienen

  8. Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Martin N. Stienen

  9. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Felix Scholtes

  10. Department of Neuroanatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Felix Scholtes

Authors
  1. Werner Surbeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robin Samuel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Derek Spieler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Erich Seifritz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Gabrielle Scantamburlo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Martin N. Stienen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Felix Scholtes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Werner Surbeck.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study was submitted to the institutional review board of the Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland (EKSG 16/020) and the “Comité d’Ethique Hospitalo-Facultaire Universitaire de Liège” (2016/74). Both estimated that it did not fall under the legislation for research involving human beings and that the collected anonymous data did not require any consent beyond the deliberate participation.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neurosurgery Training

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 16 kb)

ESM 2

(DOCX 19 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Surbeck, W., Samuel, R., Spieler, D. et al. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists’ personality traits: a comparison. Acta Neurochir 162, 461–468 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-020-04233-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-020-04233-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation