Why are we all different? Why does personality exist?

Open guest lecture by Professor Daniel Nettle, Newcastle University, England.

Professor Daniel Nettle. Photo: Private

About the lecture

All humans are born with ten fingers, ten toes, one nose, one mouth, and two ears (unless affected by a congenital disorder). Those physical traits are fixed; they are hard-wired in the genetic makeup of humans. This is a result of selective evolution. The fixation of these physical traits has increased our “fitness”, i.e. our reproductive success.

This is different with personality. We all have unique personalities. We are all different from each other. Each one of us represent a unique mix of different personality traits. No other person has the same mix of big five personality traits (and their facets) as you have. What kinds of evolutionary processes maintains this variation in personality? Why are we not all born with the same personality?

These – and others related - are questions professor Nettle will address in his lecture. Daniel Nettle is a professor of behavioral science at Newcastle University, where he is a member of an interdisciplinary center for behavior and evolution. He studies a variety of topics related to behavior, aging and health, both in humans and in non-human animals. He is particularly interested in how social adversity can affect individuals throughout their lifetime. He approaches these questions both as a biologist and as a social scientist. He has published extensively within many different areas such as evolution, adaptive plasticity, personality, and telomere length.

About the lecturer

Daniel Nettle is a world-renowned scholar within his fields. He is a Professor of Behavioural Science and Co-Director of the Centre for Behaviour & Evolution at Newcastle University. He is among the few who integrates perspectives from psychology and social science with evolutionary biology.

Round-table discussion: 15.00-16.00

Directly following the lecture there will be a round-table discussion on professor Nettle’s lecture.

Moderator: Vibeke Ottesen

Participants:

Bjørn Grinde, chief scientist, National Institute of Public Health

Lotte Thomsen, professor, University of Oslo

Espen Røysamb, professor, University of Oslo

Thomas Kleppestø, PhD student, University of Oslo

Published Oct. 29, 2018 11:41 AM - Last modified Nov. 1, 2018 11:35 AM