personality development and observed symptoms of slight neuroses among them, such as depression and anxiety. The intense emotional responses that these individuals have to their environments can lead to increased rumination and worry–both of which are associated with higher cognitive ability. Rumination, a deep or considered thought about something, predicts the chronicity of depressive disorders and anxiety symptoms. A highly ruminative cognitive form demonstrates itself to be associated with increased vulnerability to major depression and contributes to symptom severity. On the other hand, worry is the proposed cognitive process that underlies general anxiety disorders and, as is the case with rumination, those who worry with more chronicity and severity score higher on intelligence tests. In particular, verbal intelligence happens to be a positive predictor of worry and rumination (in addition to being predictive of the severity of both processes).
In “The Association Between Major Mental Disorders and Geniuses”, Dr. Nicholas Pediaditakis recognizes temperament as a significant role when considering the relationship between intelligence and mental health. According to Pediaditakis, temperament is defined as “the particular inborn behavior propensities for each individual” which “represents the final brain structural reality” (Pediaditakis). It behaves as not only an unfinished platform upon which personality is shaped, but also guides the significance of environmental influences that are eventually embedded in that particular platform. Along with learned attitudes and ethos, both constitute the final personality of an individual. The components of temperament seemingly originate from two areas of humans’ evolutionary past and are presented in two distinct groups: the first originates from the evolutionary pressures on the individual (i.e. selfishness, inner directness, aloofness, and self-serving calculations) and the second originates from that on the social aspects of human experiences (i.e. sociability, connectedness, empathy, altruism, mutuality, cooperation, and loyalty). Together, these amalgamated clusters constitute human nature.