It likely that the day will come when there will be evidence from the neuro sciences of two broadly different patterns of neuro-physiological activation underpinning the two types. This eventuality is likely because the core and outer-styled are so profoundly different with respect to emotional activation and cognitive control that it is hard to conceive of such differences without there being parallel differences in limbic system and cortical activation. Though the neuro-sciences may eventually lay bare a more complex truth, it is likely that broad differences in neuro-physiology will still be evident. Because a preponderance of core-styled tend to be women and outer-styled tend to be men, it is likely that these findings would bear some similarity to findings concerning the differences between male and female brain functioning.
The question then comes up, what are the psychological differences between the two types that a rich neuro-physiological model would have to account for?
The tendency towards escalating emotional activation among the core-styled versus much more restrained or absent emotional activation among the outer-styled. The tendency towards cognitive activity devoid of strong emotion (“signal emotion” versus “compelling emotion”) among the outer-styled versus much less cognitive activity without emotion among the core-styled. The tendency “to approach conflict/creating more conflict” among the core-styled versus “to avoid conflict/reducing conflict” among the outer-styled. The tendency to feel compelled to activate emotional/personal encounters among the core-styled, versus an absence of compelling need to activate but rather react to such encounters brought to them, among the outer-styled. The tendency to strongly experience the feelings of others among the core-styled versus to weakly experience the feelings of others among the outer-styled.
Two general ways of thinking about the two types is evident here, possibly competing, possibly complementary models. First, that it is a matter of under-controlled personality organization versus over-controlled personality organization. Second, that it is a matter of over-activated versus under-activated personality organization. Or some mix of the two. How would these dimensions pan out neuro-physiologically?
