Rebel with a cause

Trait Theory

Hans Eysenck

Objectives

At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

Know and expound on Hans Eysenck life.

• Understand & explain the meaning of personality ‘type’, ‘trait’ &

‘dimension’

• Describe & explain ‘extroversion’, ‘introversion’, ‘neuroticism’ &

‘normality’

• Understand the relation of dimensions to personality temperaments

• Describe & explain Eysenck’s biological explanation for personality

About Hans Eysenck Hans Eysenck was born in Berlin, Germany on March 4, 1916.

He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of

London in 1940.

He has written 75 books and some 700 articles. Eysenck retired

in 1983 and continued to write until his death on September 4,

1997.

Before his death in 1997, he was the most cited living

psychologist, and he is the third most cited psychologist of all

time, after Freud and Piaget.

What did Eysenck contribute to psychology?

He developed the concept of neuroticism, arguing that it was a

biological form of emotional instability. He frequently argued

that much of personality is genetically determined and

published several papers on this topic.

Personality Terms

Personality: a person’s internally based characteristic way of

acting and thinking.

Character: Personal characteristics that have been judged or

evaluated

Temperament: Hereditary aspects of personality, including

sensitivity, moods, irritability, and distractibility

Personality Trait: Stable qualities that a person shows in most

situations

Personality Type: People who have several traits in common

Hans J. Eysenck: Definition of Personality Personality is “the sum-total of the actual or potential behavior-patterns of

the organism, as determined by heredity and environment it originates anddevelops through the functional interaction of the four main sectors intowhich these behavior-patterns are organized. For Eysenck, personalityconsists of acts and dispositions organized in a hierarchical fashion in termsof their level of generality. The cognitive sector (intelligence), the conativesector (character), the affective sector (temperament), and the somaticsector (constitution).”

Three Dimensions of Personality

1.Extraversion 2. Neuroticism 3. Psychoticism

Introversion versus Extroversion

• Emotionally Stable versus Unstable (neurotic)

• Impulse Control versus Psychotic

Extraversion - Introversion:

Extraversion: toughmindedness; impulsiveness; tendency to

be outgoing; desire for novelty; performance enhanced by

excitement; preference for vocations involving contact with

other people; tolerance for pain.

Introversion: tendermindedness; introspectiveness;

seriousness; performance interfered with by excitement;

easily aroused but restrained, inhibited; preference for

solitary vocations; sensitivity to pain.

Neuroticism- Psychoticism

Neuroticism: Below-average emotional control, will-power,

and capacity to exert self; slowness in thought and action;

suggestibility; lack of persistence; tendency to repress

unpleasant facts; lack of sociability; below-average sensory

acuity but high level of activation.

Psychoticism: Poor concentration, poor memory;

insensitivity; lack of caring for others; cruelty; disregard for

danger and convention; occasionally originality and/or

creativity; liking for unusual things; considered peculiar by

others.

4 Basic Temperaments

The first two factors create 4 combinations, related to the four

basic temperaments recognized by ancient Greeks:

• Melancholic (introverted + unstable): sad, gloomy

• Choleric (extroverted + unstable): hot-tempered, irritable

• Phlegmatic (introverted + stable): sluggish, calm

• Sanguine (extroverted + stable): cheerful, hopeful

Superfactor

s

Eysenck Hierarchy

Specific Behaviors

Habits

Traits

Super-

Factors

Hierarchy of Behaviour Organization

Persist

with

hobbies

Finish

es a

job

Keeps

school

work

Studi

es

alone

Works

on

hobbies

alone

Turns

down

invitatio

ns

Introversio

n

Persistence Social Shyness

Type

Trait

Habits

Specific behaviours

Activity

http://youtu.be/hY5uL0sVxnM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Qs7cpixd0

Men vs. Women: Who is Higher on P???

Psychoticism vs. Tender mindedness

High Psychoticism:

Egocentric, Impulsive, Non-conforming.

Suspicious, Sometimes antisocial.

Low Psychoticism (Tender Minded)

Warm, (Fuzzy?), Caring, Cooperative.

Conforming to social norms.

Right! Males tend to show higher psychoticism than females:

Biological Basis of Personality

“Biological causes act in such a way as to predispose an

individual in certain ways to stimulation; this stimulation may or

may not occur, depending on circumstances which are entirely

under environmental control” – Eysenck 1997.

Biological Basis of Personality

Personality types result from differences in central nervoussystem (CNS) functioning

Implications:

• Genetic basis of personality

• Relatively stable & unchanging

• However the environment interacts with biologicalpredispositions

http://youtu.be/QCnfAzAIhVw

Biological Basis of Extroversion/Introversion

ARAS system:

• Ascending Reticular Activation System

• Cortical excitation & inhibition

High ARAS arousal:

• Predisposes to introversion

Low ARAS arousal:

• Predisposes to extroversion

Evidence: Introverts have higher sedation threshold than extroverts(cf. ADHD)

Some empirical findings

• Introverts less tolerant of painful electric shocks (Bartol & Costello, 1976)

• Corr et al (1995): After high dose of caffeine: Introverts poorer performance (over-stimulated?); Extroverts better performance (stimulated?)

• Frontal lobes of introverts more active than extroverts (PET scan) (Johnson et al, 1999)

Biological Basis of Neuroticism/Normality

Visceral Brain (VB) system

• Hypothalamus & limbic system

• Mediates emotional activation

High VB activation:

• Predisposed to neuroticism (emotionally reactive)

Low VB activation:

• Predisposed to normality (non-emotionally reactive)

Extroverts:Normal & NeuroticSanguine

Normal Extrovert

• Low ARAS arousal

• Low visceral brain activity

Choleric

Neurotic Extrovert

• Low ARAS arousal

• High visceral brain activity

Introverts: Normal & NeuroticPhlegmatic

Normal Introvert

• High ARAS arousal

• Low visceral brain activity

Melancholic

Neurotic Introvert

• High ARAS arousal

• High visceral brain activity

Evaluation

• Twin studies: E & N: 50% genetic

• Adoption studies: Correlations b/w adoptive parents & adopted children for E & N are around 0%

• E, N & P: highest validity of all traits (Kline, 1993)

Activity

http://similarminds.com/eysenck.html

References Boeree, C. (2006, January 1). Hans Eysenck. Retrieved November

11, 2014, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/eysenck.html

Feist, J., & Fiest, G. (2008). Dispositional Theories. In Theories ofPersonality (Seventh ed., p. 627). McGraw-Hill Primis.

Hergenhahn, B.R.&Olson, M.H. (2010). An Introduction to Theoriesof Personality (8th ed.). UpperSaddleRiver, N.J: Pearson Education,Inc.

Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. (2009). The Social-Learning Approach.In Theories of Personality(Ninth ed., p. 539). Belmont: WadsworthCengage Learning.

Zuckerman, M., Eysenck, S. B. J., & Eysenck, H. J. (1978).Sensation seeking in England and America: Cross-cultural, age,and sex comparisons. Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 46(1), 139-149.