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Temperament

Are our personalities shaped by what we are born with or shaped by our experiences? Psychologist Brian R. Little, musician Elizabeth Kenny and Rasmus Ankersen discuss.

Introvert, extrovert, agreeable, difficult, angry, calm - these are all words used to describe temperament. But what determines temperament? Is it fixed or can it change with experience? What part does it play in sport and sporting achievement? The discovery of 'equal temperament', the tuning system by which notes are organised in western music, has had a profound impact on composition. Bridget Kendall explores 'temperament' with psychologist Brian R. Little, lute player Elizabeth Kenny and sports and business performance expert Rasmus Ankersen.

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Tue 2 Dec 2014 09:05GMT

Chapters

  • Brian R Little

    The Big Five traits of temperament

    Duration: 08:28

  • Rasmus Ankersen

    Do different sports attract particular temperaments?

    Duration: 11:49

  • 60 Second Idea

    An Escope – to help development Empathy

    Duration: 04:48

  • Elizabeth Kenny

    Equal Temperament in music

    Duration: 12:31

Brian R Little

Brian R Little
Professor Brian Little is a Psychologist with a particular interest  in the field of personality and motivational psychology.  One of the re-occurring themes of his research is how everyday personal projects and free traits influence the course of our lives and how they can explain and enhance human flourishing. He currently lectures in the department of psychology and the Judge School of Business at Cambridge University and is a fellow of Cambridge’s Well-Being Institute. He has taught at McGill, Oxford, and Harvard universities, and is a winner of Canada’s highest award for university teaching, and one of Harvard’s favourite professors. Dividing his time between Canada and the UK, Brian is also a distinguished research professor emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa and lectures world-wide on personality, motivation, and well-being.  His current book is Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being.

Rasmus Ankersen

Rasmus Ankersen
Rasmus Ankersen is a former professional footballer, Chairman of the Danish Football club Midtjylland, business guru and author of several books on performance development.  His book The Gold Mine Effect: Crack The Secrets Of High Performance   was written about his experience of living and training with some of the best athletes on the planet.

Elizabeth Kenny

Elizabeth Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny is a Lute player.  She is  principal player and initiator of seventeenth century projects with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment;  Head of Early Music at the University of Southampton in the UK and  Professor of Lute at the Royal Academy of Music in the  UK .

60 Second Idea to Change the World

60 Second Idea to Change the World
Brian Little proposes an Empathoscope – a device to  help people to develop empathy.  He says that we act without being aware of the needs of others, their feelings and the things that give meaning to their lives. The E-Scope, would be built on a merging of mirror neuron principles and affective computing and would allow the user, for ten seconds, to experience the sense of what the other person is experiencing.  E-scopes could be aggregated by Big Data technology to let whole nations truly experience what others feel about them, and it would also help Brian to understand his cat!

Broadcasts

  • Mon 1 Dec 2014 03:05GMT
  • Tue 2 Dec 2014 09:05GMT

Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?

Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?

We’d love to hear your views on charm and charisma for a future Forum.

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