A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF PERSONALITY: EGYPTIAN AND ENGLISH CHILDREN*

679 Egyptian boys and 696 girls completed the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, translated into Arabic. Factor comparisons were moderately high for extraversion and social desirability but weak for neuroticism and psychoticism. Suitable item substitution produced a scoring key resulting in adequate reliabilities with the exception of a somewhat low reliability for the boys on extraversion and low reliabilities on psychoticism for both sexes. Sex differences on means of the dimensions were as usual, boys scoring higher than girls on extraversion and psychoticism, but lower on neuroticism and social desirability. Moreover, on comparing Egyptian with English means, using scales of items in common only, the English boys and girls scored higher than their Egyptian counterparts on extraversion but significantly lower on social desirability. British boys scored higher on psychoticism than did Egyptian boys but British girls scored lower than Egyptian girls.     

Social dissimulation,perceived competence and personality

The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ) (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1975) was completed by 129 boys (mean age 10 yr 10 months: SD = 4 months) and 119 girls (mean age 10 yr 11 months; SD = 3 months) from Belfast. Belfast boys' and girls' scores were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the English standardisation data on psychoticism and extraversion, but their mean scores for neuroticism and the lie scale were remarkably similar. Belfast boys display significantly different intercorrelations in comparison with (i) the standardisation data—neuroticism/psychoticism (P < 0.01) and lie scale/neuroticism (P < 0.05)—and (ii) Belfast girls—neuroticism/psychoticism (P < 0.05). Psychoticism appears to play a highly salient role in Belfast boys' self-construals. Most of these pupils (n = 189) also completed the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCSC) (Harter, 1982). The PCSC minimises social dissimulation: the highest positive correlation with the lie scale being (r = 0.1). Correlations with the domains of the PCSC display the saliency of extraversion for girls' self-perceived physical competence and general competence, and for boys' self-perceived social competence, and the saliency of neuroticism for girls' self-perceived social competence.     

Extraversion,neuroticism, and psychoticism in Iranian students1

A Persian translation of Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism inventory (PEN) was given to 209 university and 101 high school students in Iran. Comparisons of the mean scores on extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism between the two age groups do not show any significant differences, although the high school students appear to score higher than university students on all three personality dimensions. Comparisons of reliability estimates determined separately for the two age groups suggest that the PEN is equally reliable for high school and university students. The results are discussed in their cross-cultural context.     

Extraversion,Neuroticism, and Psychoticism as Measured by Eysenck's Inventories in Iran

Summary

This paper presents results obtained with a slightly modified version of the Persian form of the EPI (PEPI) which also included Eysencks' recently published psychoticism scale. Subjects were 1009 Iranian secondary school graduates (768 boys and 241 girls) aged between 18 and 20 years taking the Pahlavi University entrance examination. Retesting of a small group of subjects under ordinary conditions showed little distortion of the mean scores that might be attributed to the highly competitive test situation. The test retest reliability of the scales over a five-month period, however, was undesirably low, except for the N-scale. The P-scale was found to correlate positively with neuroticism. Iranian female subjects had scored higher than their male counterparts on neuroticism but lower on both extraversion and psychoticism. In comparison with British norms, Iranian subjects had scored higher on both N and P scales, the difference on the latter being particularly striking. These findings are discussed in the light of earlier findings with the PEPI and some tentative explanations for the observed national differences are suggested.     

A quantitative review of the relations between the “Big 3” higher order personality dimensions and antisocial behavior

In this meta-analytic review, Hans J. Eysenck’s theory of criminality (Eysenck, 1964, Eysenck, 1977) serves as a theoretical framework for examining the relations between higher order personality dimensions and antisocial behavior (ASB). The three higher order dimensions examined are referred to as extraversion/sociability, neuroticism/emotionality, and impulsivity/disinhibition (see Sher & Trull, 1994), and they are likened to Eysenck’s dimensions of extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P), respectively (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975) and Tellegen’s dimensions of positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM), and constraint (reversed) (CON), respectively (Tellegen, 1982). Ninety-seven samples, from 52 published and unpublished studies, were reviewed. The results indicated that among the “Big 3” personality dimensions, impulsivity/disinhibition is most strongly related to ASB and extraversion/sociability is least strongly related to ASB. Additional variables, including age and methodological differences, were found to moderate the associations between the personality dimensions and ASB.     

Do extraversion and neuroticism moderate the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms? A three-wave longitudinal study

The current study examined the moderating roles of neuroticism and extraversion in victims of bullying. According to a stress-diathesis model, we hypothesized that adolescents with high levels of neuroticism and low levels of extraversion would react to victimization with increased symptoms of depression and social anxiety. A sample of 1440 adolescents (648 girls and 792 boys; ages between 13- and 17-years-old) completed measures of extraversion and neuroticism at time 1, as well as measures of bullying victimization, depressive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms at time 1, time 2, and time 3 (in intervals of six months). The results of multilevel analyses for longitudinal data indicated that there was a weak association between bullying victimization and social anxiety symptoms for the adolescents who scored high on extraversion. In addition, the adolescents with high levels of extraversion presented a greater reduction in depressive symptoms over time than adolescents with low levels. Although neuroticism predicted both depression and social anxiety, no significant interactions were evident between neuroticism and bullying victimization. Regarding gender differences, the association between bullying victimization and social anxiety was stronger for boys than for girls, whereas the association between neuroticism and depression was stronger for girls.     

Personality and the psychology of religion

Abstract

Three major personality dimensions were identified: extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. According to the theorizing, extraversion and psychoticism were predicted to be negatively related to religiosity, whereas neuroticism was positively related. The evidence has generally failed to support the predictions with respect to extraversion and neuroticism. However, low psychoticism is consistently related to religiosity, and this relationship is stronger with respect to the personal rather than public orientation to religion. Most of the available evidence is correlational in nature, so it is very difficult to explain this relationship. Future research should be broadened to include longitudinal studies and mood manipulations in order to clarify the processes underlying the potentially important links between psychoticism and religiosity.     

Personality and accident liability: are extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism related to traffic and occupational fatalities?

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism, and road traffic fatalities in a data set of 34 nations. In addition to traffic fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, work-related fatalities were included in the study. Results showed that extraversion had a positive relation to the number of traffic fatalities whereas neuroticism correlated negatively with road fatalities. Occupational fatalities were strongly related to deaths on the roads but not to personality dimensions. Countries with high extraversion scores had more traffic fatalities than countries with moderate or low extraversion scores. The need for well-designed studies investigating the link between personality factors and traffic accident liability via driver behaviour was expressed.     

A new approach to Eysenck's theory of criminality

Studies examining Eysenck's theory of criminality by contrasting delinquent and non-delinquent groups have produced equivocal results. Some studies have shown criminals to score higher, as the theory predicts, on psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion, whilst other studies have not. The current study examines the theory from a new approach by using cluster analysis to demonstrate the heterogeneity of personality types in delinquent sample (N =100) and in a comparison group (N = 100).Four personality types were found in each group. Two personality types which were present in the delinquent sample were not found in the comparison group. The first type consisted of individuals scoring high on neuroticism and extraversion whilst the second type consisted of individuals scoring high on psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion. These types appeared to be consistent with Eysenck's theory of criminality.     

Three superfactors in the 16PF and their relation to Eysenck's P,E and N

The initial data consisted of responses to the 16PF and E.P.Q., obtained at the same testing, from 239 Independent Study Students. The responses to the 16PF were subjected to a principal components analysis. A Scree Test applied to the original solution indicated that between 8 and 10 factors should be retained for rotation. As this was at variance with Cattell's postulated factor structure supplementary analyses involving the retention and rotation of from 16 to 22 factors and item-factor analyses of groups of scales were carried out. All of these analyses failed to reproduce anything like a clear 16-scale structure. In order to accommodate the hypothesis that a 3-factor solution, in line with Eysenck's postulated dimensions of P, E and N, underpinned the Cattell scales and to test the validity of the intermediate solutions, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 factors were retained and subjected to varimax and promax rotations. These solutions were compared with solutions obtained from analyses of the responses to the 16PF of 200 students at the Independent Assessment and Research Centre. Only the 3-factor solutions showed a degree of replicability across samples. The samples were combined to form a total sample of 439 cases and this was tested for factor replicability using factor comparability coefficients based on factor scores. This revealed a clear 3-factor structure, of anxiety, superego and exvia, which was replicable across sexes. An analysis of the responses to the combined questionnaires indicated that the neuroticism and anxiety factors and the extraversion and exvia factors were co-incident, but that psychoticism and superego were separate factors. However, the P-scale loaded -0.40 on the superego factor, which lends some support to Eysenck's contention that psychoticism is the obverse of superego. A 3-step analysis, in which pairs and triads of scales were tested for factor replicability, confirmed the equivalence of the neuroticism and anxiety factors and the extraversion and exvia factors. As far as psychoticism and superego were concerned only the latter appeared as a real, replicable factor. This factor contained virtually all the 16PF superego or S-items and 11 of the 25 E.P.Q. P-items. The 14 P-items which did not load significantly on the superego factor were those involving the cruelty or sadism element of the concept of psychoticism. It is contended that superego, rather than psychoticism, may best lay claim to join neuroticism and extraversion in what may be termed the great triumverate of the personality sphere.     

Compliance and personality: the vulnerability of the unstable introvert

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of compliance with Eysenck's three personality dimensions: psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. Three groups of participants (prison inmates, college students, and university students) completed the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). As predicted, compliance correlated positively with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion in all groups, whereas for psychoticism the correlation was positive among the prison inmates, negative for college students, and non‐significant for university students. A quadrant analysis according to Eysenck's original two‐dimensional framework (neuroticism–stability and introversion–extraversion) showed that compliance was highest among unstable introverts and lowest among stable extraverts. The findings are discussed in relation to recent work on person‐type approaches. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychoticism scores in graphic design students

Of a group of graphic design students, males were found to have higher psychoticism and neuroticism scores than normal on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Extraversion and lie scores were not significantly different from normal. Females did not differ significantly from the normative data on psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism or lie scores. A further group of new 1st year students showed raised psychoticism scores for females but not for males. The meaning of psychoticism in relation to the personality of artists is questioned by way of two paradoxes.     

On the relationship between personality and time estimation

The influence of basic dimensions of personality, such as extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism, on estimation of time still appears to be unclear. Therefore, in the present study the relationship between Eysenck's basic dimensions of personality and time estimation was investigated in 34 male Ss. After filling in the short version of a German adaptation of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, Ss were required to reproduce target durations ranging from 5 to 40 sec. As a measure of performance, reproduction ratio scores, representing directional errors, and absolute error scores were computed. Correlational analyses revealed no indication of a linear relationship between neuroticism and time estimation. However, there was a tendency for extraverts to overestimate time and to make less accurate time judgments relative to introverts. Furthermore, Ss with higher psychoticism scores were less prone to overestimation of time intervals and showed better accuracy of temporal reproductions than Ss with lower psychoticism scores.     

Probing Canadian Prejudices: A Preliminary Objective Survey

Personality correlates of S s indicating suicidal intent have been found to be different from those of normals in a direction indicative of possible psychopathology. To test the cross-cultural relevance of this hypothesis, three samples of male and female students were administered Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism inventory: 209 Iranian and 128 Turkish university students and 101 Iranian high school students. S s were classified into “suicidal” and “normal” groups in each sample by means of a self-rating scale of suicideintent. Comparison of scores showed that irrespective of nationality and age, suicidals scored higher on neuroticism and psychoticism but lower on extraversion than their normal counterparts. Results suggest that personality correlates of suicidal tendency are rather similar despite differences in age and cultural background.     

The relationship between Eysenck's personality dimensions and Bem's masculinity and femininity scales revisited

A sample of 86 male and 93 female students in Wales completed the short form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The data indicate that high scores on the scale of masculinity are associated with high extraversion and low neuroticism, but unrelated to either psychoticism or the lie scale, while high scores on the scale of femininity are associated with low psychoticism, high neuroticism and high lie scale scores, but unrelated to extraversion.     

Impulsiveness and antisocial behaviour in children

An Impulsiveness inventory was completed by 118 boys and 309 girls from London comprehensive schools. Of these, 101 boys and 306 girls also completed the Eysenck Junior Personality Questionnaire and an Antisocial Behaviour Scale. Intercorrelations of the scores suggest that there is a strong link between antisocial behaviour in children and impulsiveness, as well as psychoticism or toughmindedness, and a weaker link with venturesomeness, extraversion and lack of empathy. Neuroticism was only slightly implicated for girls and hardly at all for boys.     

Personality dimensions and religiosity among Kuwaiti Muslim college students

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between Eysenck’s personality dimensions and religiosity. A sample of 227 Kuwaiti Muslim undergraduates completed the Arabic versions of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Muslim Attitude towards Religiosity Scale. Men obtained significantly higher mean scores on psychoticism than did their female counterparts and the effect size was medium. Religiosity significantly correlated with psychoticism (negative) and lie (positive) among men and women. In addition, religiosity significantly correlated with extraversion (positive) and neuroticism (negative) in women. The only predictor of religiosity was low psychoticism in men and women. The results were discussed in the light of religion of Islam. Most results of the present study reflect previous findings using participants from other religions.     

The 2nd to 4th digit ratio and developmental psychopathology in school-aged children

Sex steroids have important influences upon brain development and this may lead to sex differences in developmental psychopathology. Digit ratio (2D:4D) – a negative correlate of prenatal testosterone (T) – may provide further insight into the possible role of early organizational effects on such developmental psychopathology. We measured 2D:4D ratios in a group of schoolchildren in two countries (UK and Austria) and gave questionnaires assessing behavioural problems to their parents. Although there were few differences in behavioural measures between sexes (only the externalizing behaviour score was higher in Austrian boys), several correlations existed between 2D:4D and different indices of developmental psychopathology. Low 2D:4D (indicating higher prenatal T) was related to measures of total difficulties and poor conduct in both UK and Austrian children. In the UK sample, prosocial behaviour was positively related to 2D:4D in girls and hyperactivity and conduct correlated negatively with 2D:4D in boys. Associations were generally stronger for boys than for girls. We suggest that early androgen mediation effects during prenatal development increase the probability for gender-related behaviour problems.     

Comparison of EPI and psychoticism scales with measures of the five-factor model of personality

The need for a comprehensive model of personality traits acceptable to the entire community of personality researches has often been acknowledged. In this article, two such models are compared. Eysenck scales measuring neuroticism, extraversion, psychoticism and lie are correlated with self-report and peer-rating measures of the five-factor model—neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness—in a sample of adult men and women. Findings suggest that: (1) neuroticism and extraversion factors from the two systems match well; (2) sociability and impulsivity are distinguishable traits, but both fall within the broad domain of extraversion; (3) the EPI L scale measures aspects of several substantive traits rather than a response bias; (4) openness to experience is not well-represented in the Eysenck system; and (5) psychoticism corresponds most closely to the low poles of agreeableness and conscientiousness.     

A longitudinal study into the link between adolescent personality and peer-rated likeability and adjustment: Evidence of gender differences

We explored the possibility that male and female adolescents respond differently to the personality traits of their male and female peers. Students (381 boys; 389 girls) completed personality measures in Grades 7 (Mean age 12.28) through 10, and completed peer-ratings of adjustment and likeability in Grades 9 and 10. Analyses indicated that girls’ adjustment ratings were influenced by boys’ level of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and Eysenckian psychoticism, whereas boys’ ratings were relatively uninfluenced by these characteristics in girls. Girls and boys liked extraversion in the opposite-gender more than they liked it in the same gender. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding peer relationships and gender differences.