Eysenck’s Personality Theory

Eysenck (1952, 1967, 1982) developed a very influential personality model. Based on the results of the factor analysis in response to personality questionnaires, he identified the three personality dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism.

In the 1940s, Eysenck worked in a psychiatric hospital in Maudsley in London. His job was to make a first assessment of each patient before their psychological illness was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Through this function, he had a series of questions about behavior, which he later applied to 700 soldiers considered for neurotic disorders in the hospital (1947).

He discovered that the answers of the soldiers seemed to connect with one another in a natural way, suggesting that there were many different character traits expressed by the soldiers' responses. He called these personality traits in the first order

He used a technique called factor analysis. This method limits behavior to a number of factors that can be separated into separate headings, so-called dimensions.

Eysenck (1947) thought their behavior could be represented by two dimensions: Introversion / Extroversion (E); Neuroticism / Stability (N). Eysenck called the characters of the second

order.

According to Eysenck, the two dimensions of neuroticism (firm vs. unstable) and introversion-extraversion together constitute different personality traits.

Extraverts are friendly and admire chaos and change and are therefore easy to fill. They have the opportunity to be happy, optimistic and passionate.

Introverted people are available, plan their actions and control their emotions. They have the potential to be serious, reliable and negative.

Neurotics / unstables are often anxious, worried and sad. They are very emotional and they have trouble getting calm when they get hurt.

Stables are emotionally calm, inactive and inconsistent.

Eysenck (1966) added a third attribute - Psychoticism - eg. lack of empathy, cruel, peacemaker, aggressive and distressing.

Eysenck is related to the personality of an individual in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The person depends on the balance between excitation and prevention of the nervous system. Neurotic individuals have ANS who respond quickly to stress.