Hans J Eysenck (Theories of Personality by Feist) Summary PDF

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all contents was taken from the book Theories of Personality (Feist) and thus all acknowledgements should be made to the authors...

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Hans J. Eysenck Overview of Biologically Based Trait Theory 1. every theory of personality discussed so far has downplayed, ignored, or even argued against the biological basis of human personality -only McCrae and costa placed even mild emphasis on genetic and biological influences on personality 2. Eysenck developed a factor theory much like McCrae and costa, but because he fundamentally based his taxonomy in both factor analysis and biology, he derived only three, rather than five, dimensions of personality: 2a. extraversion/intraversion 2b. neuroticism/stability 2c. psychoticism/superego 3. the key for eysenck was that the individual differences in people’s personalities were biological, and not merely psychological, aspects of personality 4. genetic differences -lead to structural differences in the CNS, including brain structures, hormones, and neurotransmitters, and these differences in biology lead to differences along the three factors of personality 5. evidences for the biological basis of personality comes from many different sources including: 5a. temperament 5b. behavioural genetics 5c. brain measure research 6. temperament 6a. is the biologically based tendency to behave in particular ways from early in life 6b. example: Janet DiPieteo and her colleagues showed that fetal activity and fetal heart rate predict temperament differences over the first years of life 7. Behavioural genetics 7a. scientific study of the role of heredity in behaviour

7b. hereditability -the extent to which a characteristic is influenced by genetics 7c. gene by environment interaction research -a second technique in the study of hereditability -allows researchers to assess how genetic differences interact with environment to produce certain behaviour in some people but not in others

to

-studies directly measure genetic variation in parts of the genome itself and examine how such variation interacts with different kinds of environment produce different behaviours

8. brain imaging technique 8a. two (2) most common forms: -electroencephalography (EEG) -functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 8b. EEG -researchers use this to record the electrical activity of the brain -the procedure involves placing electrodes on a person’s scalp -the electrodes, metal disk attached to wires, are usually mounted in a fabric cap that fits snugly over the head -the persons conducting certain tasks while electrical activity is recorded -EEG is superior to other brain imaging techniques in showing when brain activity occurs -it is not very accurate at indicating precisely where activity occurs 8c. Fmri -tell us about brain activity -images from fMRI tells us where activity in the brain is occurring during particular tasks by tracking blood oxygen use in brain tissue

-researchers can see which areas of the brain are using the most oxygen (and presumably are most active during certain tasks)

Biography 1. was born in Berlin on March 4, 1916 2. the only child of a theatrical family 3. his mother was Ruth Werner 3a. a starlet at the time of eysenck’s birth 3b. later became a german silent film star under the stage name of Helga Molander 4. his father, Anton Eduard Eysenck was a comedian, singer, and actor was a comedian, singer, and actor 5. eysenck recalled “i saw very little of my parents who discovered when i was 4, and who had little feeling for me, and emotion I reciprocated” 6. after his parents divorced, eysenck went to live with his maternal grandmother who had also been in the theater but whose promising career in opera was cut short by a crippling fall 6a. eysenck described his grandmother as: “unselfish, caring, altruistic, and altogether too good for this world” 6b. although his grandmother was a devout catholic, neither parent was religious and eysenck grew up without any formal religious commitment 7. he grew up with little parental discipline and few strict controls over his behaviour 7a. neither parent seemed interested in curtailing his actions 7b. his grandmother had a quite permissive attitude toward him 7c. this benign neglect is exemplified by two incidents: -first -his father had brought hans a bicycle and had promised to teach him to ride; “my father took me to the top of the hill, told me that i had to

sit on then by

the saddle and pump the pedals and make the wheels go round. He went to release some balloons, leaving me to learn how to ride all myself”

-second

simply

-an adolescent hans told his grandmother that he was going to buy some cigarettes, expecting her to forbid it. However, his grandmother said: “if you like it, do it by all means” 7d. according to eysenck, environmental experiences such as these two have little to do with personality development -genetic factors have a greater impact on subsequent behaviour than do childhood experiences -his permissive upbringing neither helped nor hindered him in becoming a famous maverick scientist

8. even as a schoolboy, eysenck was not afraid to take an unpopular stand, often challenging his teachers, especially those with militaristic leanings

them

-he was skeptical of much of what they taught and was no always reluctant to embarrass with his superior knowledge and intellect

9. eysenck suffered the deprivation of many post-world war 1 germans who were faced with astronomical inflation, mass unemployment, and near starvation -eysenck’s future appeared no brighter after Hitler came to power -as a condition of studying physics at the University of Berlin, he was told that he would have to join the Nazi secret police -an idea he found so repugnant that he decided to leave germany 10. this encounter with the fascist right and later battlers with the radical left suggested to him that the traits of tough-mindedness or authoritarianism was equally prevalent in both extremes of the political spectrum 10a. he later found some scientific support for this hypothesis in a study that demonstrated that although communists were radical and fascist were conservative on one dimension of personality, on the tough-mindedness vs tender-mindedness dimension, both groups were authoritarian, rigid, and intolerant of ambiguity

11. as a consequence of nazi tyranny, eysenck, at age 18, left germany and eventually settled in england where he tried to enroll in the University of London 11a. he went to psychology by accident 11b. at that time, the psychology department at the University of London was basically pro-freudian, but it also had strong emphasis on psychometrics 11c. eysenck received a bachelor’s degree in 1938 -about the same time that he married Margaret Davies, a canadian with a degree in mathematics 12. in 1940, he was awarded a PhD from the University of London but by this time england and most european nations were at war 13. as a german national 13a. he was considered an enemy alien 13b. he was not allowed to enter the royal air force (his first choice) or any other branch of the military 13c. with no training as a psychiatrist or as a clinical psychologist, he went to work at the Mill Hill Emergency Hospital -treating patients who were suffering from a variety of psychological symptoms including: -anxiety -depression -hysteria -eysenck however, was not comfortable with most of the traditional clinical diagnostic categories

the

-using factor analysis, he found that two major personality factors: Neuroticism/ emotional stability and extraversion/introversion could account for all traditional diagnostic groups -these early ideas lead to the publication of his first book: -dimensions of personality (1947)

14. after the war, he became director of the psychology department at maudsley hospital and later became a reader in psychology at the University of London 15. in 1949, he traveled to North America to examine the clinical psychology programs in the United States and canada with the idea of setting up a clinical profession in Great Britain 15a. he obtained a visiting professorship at the University of Pennsylvania for the year 1949-1950 but; 5b. he spent much of that year travelling throughout the US and canada looking over clinical Psychology programs which he found to be totally inadequate and unscientific 16. eysenck and his wife had been growing steadily apart, and his marriage was not improved when his travelling companion in Philadelphia was Sybil Rostal 16a. a beautiful quantitative psychologist 16b. on returning to england, eysenck obtained a divorce for his wife and married sybil 16c. hans and sybil co-authored several publications and their marriage produce three (3) sons and a daughter 16d. eysenck’s son from his first marriage, Michael, is a widely published author of psychology articles and books 17. after returning from north america, eysenck established a clinical psychology department at the University of Longo 18. in 1955, he became professor of psychology in which he argued for the efficacy of factor analysis as the best method of representing the known facts of human personality 19. eysenck was perhaps the most prolific writer in the history of psychology, having published some 800 journal articles or book chapters and more than 75 books 19a. several have titles with popular appeal such as: -uses and abuses of psychology (1953) -the psychology of politics (1954, 1999) -sense and nonsense in psychology (1956) -know your own IQ (1962) -fact and fiction in psychology (1965)

-psychology is about people (1972) -you and neurosis (1977) -sex, violence, and the media (with D.K.B. Nias, 1978) -smoking, personality, and stress (1991) -genius: the natural history of creativity (1995) -intelligence: a new look (1998)

20. eysenck’s range of interest was exceedingly broad, and his willingness to step into almost and controversy was legendary 20a. he was gadfly to the conscience of psychology since he first entered its ranks 20b. he upset many psychoanalysts and other therapist in the early 1950s with his contention that no evidence existed to suggest that psychotherapy was more effective than spontaneous remission

expertly

-those people who receive no therapy were just as likely to get better as were those who underwent expensive, painful, prolonged psychotherapy with trained psychoanalysts and psychologists

20c. maintained that belied for the remainder of his life 20d. in 1996, he told an interviewer that psychotherapies are no more effective than placebo treatments 21. eysenck was not afraid to take an unpopular stand, as witnessed by his defence of Arthur Jensen whose contention was that IQ scores cannot be significantly increased by wellintentioned social programs because they are largely genetically determined 22. eysenck’s book, the IQ argument (1971) was so controversial that elements in the US “threatened booksellers with arson if they dares to stock the books” 22a. well known “liberal” newspapers refused to review it -the outcome was that it was largely impossible in the land of free speech to discover the existence of the book or to buy it 23. In 1983, eysenck retired as professor of psychology at the institute of psychiatry, university of london, and as senior psychiatrist at the maudsley and bethlehem royal hospitals

24. he then served as professor emeritus at the university of london until his death from cancer on September 4, 1997 24a. eysenck, who frequently argued that cigarette smoking was not a major risk factor for cancer, had been a heavy smoker until middle age when he gave up cigarettes because he believed that they affected his tennis game 25. during his later years, his research continued to reflect a variety of topics, including creativity, behavioural interventions in cancer and heart disease 26. eysenck won many awards including: 26a. 1991 distinguished contributions award of the international society for the study of individual difference s 26b. distinguished scientist award (1988) presented by APA 26c. presidential citation for scientific contribution (1993) 26d. william james fellow award (1994) 26e. centennial award for distinguished contributions to clinical psychology (1996) Eysenck’s Factor Theory 1. the personality theory ofeysenck has strong psychometric and biological components 2. eysenck contended that psychometric sophistication along is not sufficient to measure the structure of human personality and that personality dimensions arrived at through factor analytic methods are sterile and meaningless unless they have been shown to possess a biological existence 3. four (4) criteria for identifying factors 3a. first -psychometric evidence for the factor’s existence must be established -a corollary to this criterion is that the factor must be reliable and replicable -other investigators, from separate laboratories, must also be able to find the factor, and these investigators consistently identify eysenck’s extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism 3b. second

-the factor must also possess heritability and must fit an established genetic model -this criterion eliminates learned characteristics such as: -the ability to mimic the voices of well-known people or religious, or political belief 3c. third -the factor must make sense from a theoretical view -eysenck employed the deductive method of investigation -beginning with a theory and then gathering data that are logically consistent with that theory 3d. fourth -it must possess social relevance

variables

-it must be demonstrated that mathematically derived factors have a relationship (not necessarily causal) with such socially relevant as: -drug addiction -proneness to unintentional injuries -outstanding performance in sports -psychotic behaviour -criminality

4. Hierarchy of behaviour organization 4a. eysenck recognized a four (4) level hierarchy of behavioural organization: -lowest level -specific acts or cognitions -individual behaviours or thoughts that may or may not be characteristics of a person -example of a specific response: a student finishing a reading assignment

-second level -habitual acts or conditions -responses that recur under similar conditions -example: if a student frequently keeps at an assignment until it is finished, this behaviour becomes a habitual response -as opposed to specific responses, habitual responses must be reasonably reliable or consistent -several habitual responses form a trait

-third level -trait or superfactors -the third level of behaviour -eysenck defined traits as “important semi-permanent personality dispositions

other

-example: students would have the trait of persistence if they habitually complete class assignments and keep working at endeavours until they are finished

factor

-although traits can be identified intuitively, trait and factor theorists rely on a more systematic approach, namely, analysis -defined in terms of significant intercorrelations between different habitual behaviours

extracted

-third level behaviours are extracted through factor analysis of habitlevel responses just as habitual responses are mathematically though factor analysis of specific responses -most of cattell’s 35 normal and abnormal primary source traits are at this third level of organization -accounts for the fact that he identified far more personality dimensions than either eysenck or advocates of the big 5

-fourth level -types -is made up of several interrelated traits -example: persistence may be related to inferiority, poor emotional adjustment, social shyness, and several other with the entire cluster forming the introverted type

traits,

Dimensions of Personality 1. includes: 1a. Neuroticism (N) 1b. Extraversion (E) 1c. Psychoticism (P) -he did not rule out however, the possibility that further dimensions may be added later 2. Neuroticism and Psychoticism are not limited to pathological individuals 2a. although, disturbed people tend to score higher than normal people on scales measuring these two factors 2b. eysenck regarded all three (3) factors as part of normal personality structure -all three are bipolar, with extraversion being at one end of factor E, and introversion occupying the opposite pole -similarly, factor N includes neuroticism at one pole and stability at the other -factor P has psychoticism at one pole and superego function at the other 2c. the bipolarity of eysenck’s factors does not imply that most people are at one end or the other of the three main poles 2d. each factor is unimodally, rather than bimodally, distributed -extraversion, for example, is fairly normally distributed in much the same fashion as intelligence or height -most people are near the center of a ball-shaped distribution of extraversion

-eysenck contended that each of these factors meets his four criteria for identifying personality dimensions 2e. First -strong psychometric evidence exists for each, especially factors E and N -the p factor emerged later in eysenck’s work but was not taken seriously by other researchers until the mid-1990s -extraversion and neuroticism (anxiety) are basic factors in nearly all factor analytic studies of human personality, including the big 5 2f. second -eysenck argued that a strong biological base exists for each of his three superfactors -at the same time, he claimed that traits such as agreeableness and conscientiousness, which are a part of the 5 factor taxonomy do not have underlying biological foundation

an

2g. third -eysenck’s three personality dimensions make sense theoretically; -carl jung and others have recognized the powerful effect on behaviour of extraversion and introversion (factor E) -sigmund freud emphasized the importance of anxiety (factor N) on shaping behaviour

score) to

-psychoticism (factor P) agrees with theorists such as abraham maslow who proposes that psychological health ranges from self-actualization (low p schizophrenia and psychosis (high p score)

2h. fourth -eysenck repeatedly demonstrated that his three factors relate to each social issues as: -drug use -sexual behaviours

-criminality -preventing cancer and heart disease -creativity 7. extraversion 7a. Jung -conceptualized two broad personality types called -introversion -extraversion’ -extraverted people -have an objective or nonpersonalized view of the world -introverted people -have essentially a subjective or individualized way of looking at things 7b. eysenck -extraverts -characterized primarily by -sociability -impulsiveness -jocularity -liveliness -quick-wittedness -optimism -other traits indicative of people who are rewarded for their association with others -introverts -characterized by traits opposite those of extroverts

-can be described as: -quiet -passive -unsociable -careful -reserved -thoughtful -pessimistic -peaceful -sober -controlled -according to eysenck: - the principal differences between extraversion and introversion are not behavioural, but rather biological and genetic in nature -believed that the primary cause of differences between extraverts and introverts is one of cortical arousal level -a pathological condition that is largely inherited rather than learned -because extraverts have a lower level of cortical arousal than do introverts, they have higher sensory thresholds and thus lesser reactions to sensory stimulus -introverts, conversely, are characterized by a higher level of arousal, and as a result of a lower sensory threshold, they experience greater reactions to sensory stimulation -to maintain an optimal level of stimulation, introverts with their congenitally low sensory threshold avoid situations that will cause too much excitement

playing

-introverts shun such activities as wild social events, downhill skiing, skydiving, competitive sports, leading a fraternity or sorority, or practical jokes

of

-conversely, because extraverts have a habitually low level of cortical arousal, they need higher level of sensory stimulatio...