Character studies

Hsu, Ming; Jenkins, Adrianna C

doi:10.1038/nn.4093

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Published: 26 August 2015

Character studies

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 1198–1199 (2015)Cite this article

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How do individuals attribute dispositional properties, or traits, to others? A study suggests that associative learning processes underlie aspects of trait learning at both neural and behavioral levels.

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In O. Henry's “The Gift of the Magi ”, a young wife sells her prized hair to buy her husband a chain for his gold watch, while the husband sells the watch to buy her expensive combs. Thus, unbeknownst to the other, each is left with a gift that neither can use. One possible takeaway is that the gifts failed miserably and that the couple should have consulted each other before their purchases. But most of us focus instead on the husband and wife's generous dispositions.

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**Figure 1: Learning about traits versus rewards.**

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Authors and Affiliations

Ming Hsu and Adrianna C. Jenkins are in the Haas School of Business and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.,
Ming Hsu & Adrianna C Jenkins

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Ming Hsu
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Adrianna C Jenkins
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Correspondence to Ming Hsu.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hsu, M., Jenkins, A. Character studies. Nat Neurosci 18, 1198–1199 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4093

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Published: 26 August 2015
Issue Date: September 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4093