Each of these traits has a varying number of subscales.
The dimensions are determined from a 240-item questionnaire.
The TCI is based on a psychobiological model that attempts to explain the underlying causes of individual differences in personality traits.[5]
^C. Robert Cloninger (1994). The temperament and character inventory (TCI): A guide to its development and use. St. Louis, MO: Center for Psychobiology of Personality, Washington University. ISBN978-0-9642917-1-3.
^De Fruyt, F.; Van De Wiele, L.; Van Heeringen, C. (2000). "Cloninger's Psychobiological Model of Temperament and Character and the Five-Factor Model of Personality". Personality and Individual Differences. 29 (3): 441–452. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00204-4.
^Cloninger, C.R.; Svrakic, DM; Przybeck, TR (December 1993). "A psychobiological model of temperament and character". Archives of General Psychiatry. 50 (12): 975–90. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820240059008. PMID8250684.