eysenck's personality theory

• eysenck's personality theory

  he proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment.

  during the 1940s, eysenck was working at a psychiatric hospital in london, his job was to make an initial assessment of each patient before their mental disorder was diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

  through this position, he compiled questions about behaviour, which he later applied to 700 soldiers who were being treated for neurotic disorders.
• the personalities he developed

  eysenck found that the soldiers behaviours could be represented by two dimensions: introversion / extroversion ; neuroticism / stability. Eysenck called these second-order personality traits. each aspect of personality (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) can be traced back to a different biological cause. personality is dependent on the balance between the excitation and inhibition process of the autonomic nervous system.
• extraversion

  are sociable and crave excitement and change, and thus can become bored easily. they tend to be carefree, optimistic and impulsive. they are highly likely to take risks and be thrill seekers. eysenck argues that this is because they inherit an under aroused nervous system and so they seek stimulation to restore the level of optimum stimulation. they have a preference for more stimulating environments.
• introversion

  introverts lie at the other end of this scale, being quiet and reserved. they are already over-aroused and shun sensation and stimulation. introverts are reserved, plan their actions and control their emotions. they tend to be reliable, and pessimistic. they have a preference for less stimulating enviornments.
• neuroticism

  a person's level of neuroticism is determined by the reactivity of their sympathetic nervous system. a stable person's nervous system will generally be less reactive to stressful situations, remaining calm and level headed. someone high neuroticism will be more unstable, and prone to overreacting to stimulation and may be quick to react with anger. they are overly emotional and find it difficult to calm down once upset.
• psychoticism

  eysenck later added this trait characterized by lacking of empathy, aggression and troublesome.

  this has been related to high levels of testosterone. the higher the testosterone, the higher the level of psychoticism, with low levels related to more normal balanced behaviour.

  according to eysenck, the two dimensions of neuroticism (stable vs. unstable) and introversion-extroversion combine to form a variety of personality characteristics.
• 1 strength


  he was one of the first to make his approach more quantifiable, which was perceived to be more 'legitimate' as a common criticism of psychological theories is that they are not empirically verifiable.
• 1 strength


  he used epq to access the personality traits of an individual that would increase the likelihood of someone becoming an offender.
• 1 weakness


  the assumption that traits are fixed and stable in all circumstances has shown not to be the case, as people are thought to change their behaviour dependent upon the circumstances in which they find themselves.
• 1 weakness


  eysenck's theory has also been criticised for lacking explanatory power. e.g., howitt points out that while eysenck highlights traits which are related to different types of criminal, they do not explain why they commit the crimes they do.