--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The upsides of the high-reactive…" description: "\"“The upsides of the high-reactive temperament have been documented in exciting research that scientists are only now beginning to pull together. One of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/susan-cain-647_nature-of-man_the-upsides-of-the-high-reactive-tempera_751113.jpg" --- # The upsides of the high-reactive temperament have been… ![“The upsides of the high-reactive temperament have been documented in exciting research that scientists are only now beginning to pull together. One of the most interesting findings, also reported in Dobbs’s Atlantic article, comes from the world of rhesus monkeys, a species that shares about 95…” quote by Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/susan-cain-647_nature-of-man_the-upsides-of-the-high-reactive-tempera_751113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/susan-cain-647_nature-of-man_the-upsides-of-the-high-reactive-tempera_751113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/susan-cain-647_nature-of-man_the-upsides-of-the-high-reactive-tempera_751113.jpg) > ““The upsides of the high-reactive temperament have been documented in exciting research that scientists are only now beginning to pull together. One of the most interesting findings, also reported in Dobbs’s Atlantic article, comes from the world of rhesus monkeys, a species that shares about 95 percent of its DNA with humans and has elaborate social structures that resemble our own.”” [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Research shows high‑reactive temperaments have strengths, as seen in rhesus monkeys, highlighting evolutionary links to human behavior. **In simple terms:** High‑reactive traits can be advantageous. Key Takeaway Value the strengths of reactive personalities. Themes biology evolution temperament Mood curious analytical Type scientific insightful When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - education - team leadership - mental health - research design Key Concepts neuroscience comparative psychology social behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can we harness reactive traits positively? - What ethical concerns arise from animal comparisons? A Different Perspective These findings may not apply to all contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) ## Related quotes > [“According to Jay Belsky, a leading proponent of this view and a psychology professor and child care expert at the University of London, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/according-to-jay-belsky-a-leading-proponent-of-this-view-and-a/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“High-reactive children pay what one psychologist calls “alert attention” to people and things. They literally use more eye movements than others to compare choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/high-reactive-children-pay-what-one-psychologist-calls-alert/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“High-reactive kids also tend to think and feel deeply about what they’ve noticed, and to bring an extra degree of nuance to everyday experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/high-reactive-kids-also-tend-to-think-and-feel-deeply-about-what-they/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“high-reactive child’s ideal parent: someone who “can read your cues and respect your individuality; is warm and firm in placing demands on you without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/high-reactive-child-s-ideal-parent-someone-who-can-read-your-cues-and/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“What scientists haven’t realized until recently is that these risk factors have an upside. In other words, the sensitivities and the strengths are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/what-scientists-haven-t-realized-until-recently-is-that-these-risk/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“If a high-reactive toddler breaks another child's toy by mistake, studies show, she often experiences a more intense mix of guilt and sorrow than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/if-a-high-reactive-toddler-breaks-another-child-s-toy-by-mistake/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [We need to do teacher training to educate them about what temperament means. Shyness is painful and you want to help a child with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/we-need-to-do-teacher-training-to-educate-them-about-what-temperament/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Opposites attract, and I think temperament is so fundamental that you end up craving someone of the opposite temperament to complete you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/opposites-attract-and-i-think-temperament-is-so-fundamental-that-you/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [I had always imagined Rosa Parks as a stately woman with a bold temperament, someone who could easily stand up to a busload of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/i-had-always-imagined-rosa-parks-as-a-stately-woman-with-a-bold/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Introverts living under the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a man’s world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/introverts-living-under-the-extrovert-ideal-are-like-women-in-a-man-s/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Heart and head are the constituent parts of character; temperament has almost nothing to do with it, and, therefore, character is dependent upon education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/heart-and-head-are-the-constituent-parts-of-character-temperament-has/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-most-important-quality-for-an-investor-is-temperament-not/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [ A nominee \[to Supreme Court\] must possess the competence, character and temperament to serve on the bench. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/a-nominee-to-supreme-court-must-possess-the-competence-character-and/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [There are many people of cosmopolitan temperament who are not from the elites of their societies or the world; and while, for a variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/there-are-many-people-of-cosmopolitan-temperament-who-are-not-from/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) ## More by Susan Cain > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Our place on this continuum influences our choice of friends and mates, and how we make conversation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/where-we-fall-on-the-introvert-extrovert-spectrum-our-place-on-this/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/i-worry-that-there-are-people-who-are-put-in-positions-of-authority/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“He believes, as most of us do, that venting anger lets off steam. The “catharsis hypothesis”—that aggression builds up inside us until it’s healthily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/he-believes-as-most-of-us-do-that-venting-anger-lets-off-steam-the/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Soft power is not limited to moral exemplars like Mahatma Gandhi. 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The most recent version of the Diagnostic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/social-anxiety-disorder-which-essentially-means-pathological-shyness/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Potential clients would walk out of Charlie’s office scared”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/potential-clients-would-walk-out-of-charlie-s-office-scared/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“So when introverts assume the observer role, as when they write novels, or contemplate unified field theory- or fall quiet at dinner parties- they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/so-when-introverts-assume-the-observer-role-as-when-they-write-novels/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Osborn’s theory had great impact, and company leaders took up brainstorming with enthusiasm. To this day, it’s common for anyone who spends time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/osborn-s-theory-had-great-impact-and-company-leaders-took-up/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/extroversion-is-an-enormously-appealing-personality-style-but-we-ve/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“But as the word satyagraha implies, Gandhi’s passivity was not weakness at all. It meant focusing on an ultimate goal and refusing to divert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/but-as-the-word-satyagraha-implies-gandhi-s-passivity-was-not/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies, though this research has never been grouped under a single name. Talkative people, for example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/the-extrovert-ideal-has-been-documented-in-many-studies-though-this/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“introverts prefer to work independently, and solitude can be a catalyst to innovation. As the influential psychologist Hans Eysenck once observed, introversion “concentrates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/introverts-prefer-to-work-independently-and-solitude-can-be-a/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [ “People who tend to \[suppress their negative emotions\] regularly,” concludes Grob, “might start to see the world in a more negative light.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/people-who-tend-to-suppress-their-negative-emotions-regularly/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) [Explore all 428 Susan Cain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) ## More Nature of man quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Browse all 12,662 Nature of man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The upsides of the high-reactive temperament have been documented in exciting research that scientists are only now beginning to pull together. 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