Mapping primary emotional systems, personality traits, and individual differences: a scoping review of affective neuroscience personality scales research

This scoping review aimed to map the current literature examining the relationships between primary emotional systems assessed by the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), personality traits, and individual differences. Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, TR Dizin, and PubMed were searched for quantitative studies published between 2018 and 2025, and 12 studies meeting the eligibility criteria were included. Eligible studies focused on personality traits and broader individual differences in predominantly adult samples, and the findings were synthesized descriptively across the principal domains examined. The findings showed that primary emotional systems were associated not only with higher-order personality models such as the Big Five and HEXACO, but also with attachment, structural deficits related to personality organization, early maladaptive schemas, anxiety-related coping styles, need satisfaction, vengefulness, dietary preferences, occupational affective profiles, and attitudes toward artificial intelligence. Overall, these studies suggested that primary emotional systems were substantially related to higher-order personality traits but might not be fully reducible to them, while patterns across emotional systems may also be relevant to understanding individual differences. However, the available evidence remained limited and heterogeneous. Larger longitudinal, cross-cultural, and neurobiological studies are needed to clarify the direction, generalizability, and biological basis of these relationships.