EYSENCK’S THEORY OF PERSONALITY AO1

• Eysenck's theory of personality

  Individual differences explanation of addictive behaviour
• Extrovert personality type


  • Optimistic
  • Lively
  • Sociable
• Psychotic personality type


  • Aggressive
  • Impulsive
  • Creative
  • Impatient
• Neurotic personality type


  • Moody
  • Irritable
  • Anxious
• Psychoticism


  Linked with addiction
• Impulsivity


  Characteristic of high levels of psychoticism
• High impulsivity


  May lead to engaging in addictive behaviours or taking substances with negative consequences
• Impulsiveness was both a cause and effect of drug abuse (de Wit, 2009)
• Impulsive rats increased cocaine intake more than low impulsivity rats (Dalley et al, 2007)
• Neuroticism


  Linked with addiction
• People high in neuroticism


  Tend to be anxious, tense, moody and prone to depression
• People high in neuroticism


  More prone to addiction as a way of coping with the effects of their neuroticism
• Neuroticism (alongside other traits such as sensation-seeking, anxiety, and aggression) were significantly associated with online gaming addiction (Mehroof and Griffiths, 2010)
• Online gaming


  Used in a similar way to substances such as alcohol or drugs to escape from their problems