The item structure of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire across method and culture

Since its publication, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) has endured much criticism of its psychometric properties. As the most stringent of these attacks has derived from hierarchical factor analytic studies it is reasonable to ask whether the inadequacies reported accrue to the questionnaire itself or to the problematic features of factor analysis as a method. A further feature of empirical studies that are critical of the EPQ is that they are, by-and-large, based upon non-British samples. As the EPQ was constructed in Britain it is quite conceivable that cultural artifacts are responsible for the inconsistent findings of Canadian and American researchers. This paper offers a brief review of some of the critical research and reports a study in which the item structure of the EPQ is explored by non-metric multidimensional scaling techniques upon a sample of Irish adolescents. The MDS configuration was then compared with the higher order factor analytic results of American researchers to examine invariance across method. A clear item structure emerges supporting the Eysencks' theoretical model although items of the P scale are less homogenous than would be ideal for a psychometric tool.     

The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: An American sample

A sample of 1838 students enrolled in public schools in Merced, CA, responded to the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ). The students ranged in age from 7 to 15 yr and included 938 boys and 900 girls. Means and SDs for each age and sex were computed and compared to the corresponding values for the British sample presented in the manual. Differences between the two samples were small. In addition, a factor analysis of the item responses was conducted for the American sample. This analysis produced four factors closely corresponding to the scales on the JEPQ. This study along with previous literature indicate that the JEPQ is appropriate for use in the United States.     

The factor structure of the Eysenck Personality Profiler in Russia

One hundred and seventy seven males and 399 females completed a translated short version of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP-S). Two hundred and ninety four Ss also completed the EPQ. By means of item analysis, further shortening of the EPP was achieved, while retaining adequate psychometric characteristics and convergent validity with EPQ scales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the Eysenck hierarchical model of personality with three basic dimensions and showed stability of the EPP factor structure across genders and sub-samples of different origin. However, CFA showed that only E and P were independent, while N was correlated with E and P.     

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire scales and paper-and-pencil tests related to creativity

Pearson correlations for scores on scales of the 1975 version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire with measures of schizotypy, hypomania, and creative traits are reported for 625 undergraduates. The Psychoticism scores are correlated .30 with Hypomanic traits, .25 with Perceptual Aberration, and .20 with the How Do You Think, a test of attitudes and activities related to creativity. Extraversion is also related to creativity-relevant scores. Results support a broad and nonspecific role for the Psychoticism scale in relation to both creativity and subclinical symptomatology.     

A psychometric investigation of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was administered to 139 females and 123 males. Scale statistics were obtained and hierachial factor analyses were performed. The P scale was found to have low internal consistency reliabilities and to covary with the L scale in the female subsample. Factor analyses showed recovery of E scale items in a secondary factor, Social Extraversion, without an impulsivity primary factor. No P and N dimensions recovered; rather components of each scale interrelated in two meaningful dimensions at the tertiary level.     

Stability of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for a cross-sectional sample

Factor comparability of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised was tested by contrasting three groups of people: young, adult, and elderly persons. Personality trait factors were significantly invariant among age groups. There was a significant age x sex interaction for Neuroticism scores.     

The Relationship Between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Among Adult Churchgoers

A sample of 377 adult churchgoers completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Form G) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrate that the measures of introversion-extraversion proposed by the two instruments are highly correlated, that there is a moderate correlation between the EPQ psychoticism scale and the MBTI measures of judging and perceiving, and that the MBTI scales map in quite a complex way onto the three-dimensional model of personality proposed by the EPQ.     

在艾森克人格问卷L量表上说谎的语音频谱特征

本研究探索艾森克人格问卷说谎量表上说谎与不说谎的语音频谱差别。我们录下被试在做艾森克人格问卷时回答“是”或“不是”的声音。使用Praat语音分析软件对/bu/,/sh/、/i/的前三个共振峰频率和波段（F1、F2、F3、B1、B2、B3）进行分析。结果发现：说“是”时说谎和说真话在/sh/的F1、F3、B1上存在差异,说“不是”时在/sh/的F1、F2、F3上存在差异。本研究表明说谎和说真话在语音频谱上存在差异,同时说谎在不同音素上的效应可能不一样。     

Structural and functional equivalence of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire within and between countries

The question was examined as to whether scores at the individual level and scores at the country level on the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) have the same psychological meaning. Using data of 24 countries, it was found that the EPQ has different factorial structures at both levels. Both the Lie scale and the Psychoticism scale were shown to jeopardize cross-level equivalence. For further exploration of the meaning of the EPQ scales within countries and between countries country-level correlations were calculated with a variety of country characteristics such as Gross National Product, political indices, religiosity, Hofstede's measures, and subjective well-being. Significant findings for 38 countries included correlations of the EPQ scales with Hofstede's Masculinity, Diener's Subjective Well-Being, religiosity, the number of deaths in a country due to political violence, and bribery. The most striking finding was a substantial negative correlation of the Lie scale with Gross National Product and other wealth-related indices.     

Cross-cultural cross-validation of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire among Zimbabwean school children

For 568 boys and 698 girls (ages 8 to 17 years), Neuroticism scores were reliable and factorially valid for both sexes but reliability and validity for Extraversion were modest and, while reliable, 45% of Lie scale items did not load on their factor of origin. Also, Psychoticism scores were unreliable and factorially invalid. Careful item analyses must be undertaken and the construct of psychoticism verified.     

Item format and the structure of the Eysenck Personality Inventory: a replication

A seven-choice response format for personality inventories allows finer distinctions by subjects than the traditional two-choice format. The Eysenck Personality Inventory was employed in the present study to test the hypothesis that use of the expanded format would result in a clearer indication of test structure. A principal components analysis with a varimax rotation retained two components for the two-choice format, clearly identifiable as Eysenck's "Neuroticism" and "Extraversion" which accounted for 16% of the variance. The expanded format retained four components accounting for 28% of the variance.     

The Spanish version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire: factor structure and internal consistency reliability

We examined the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the Spanish version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire which was applied to a sample of 850 secondary school students. Factor structure investigated by principal components analysis, followed by varimax orthogonal rotation, indicated that a single factor explained 37% of the variance. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was good (Cronbach alpha=.88). We conclude that the Spanish version of the questionnaire, like the English version, has a single factor and high internal consistency reliability.     

Comparison of special education and regular students in Puerto Rico on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for Children have been standardized for Puerto Rico. In this study the latter test was administered to 24 14-yr.-old boys in special education. No significant differences in scores on Neuroticism or Psychoticism were observed for these boys and 405 12-yr.-old regular students. Results are discussed in terms of the effectiveness of the special education program in Puerto Rico.     

中国大学生艾森克人格问卷测试因素结构之探讨

本文旨在检验艾森克人格理论对中国人的适合性,探明艾森克人格问卷(成人)的结构。经对2311名大学生艾森克人格问卷的作答数据做验证性因素分析,艾森克人格理论未能得到证明。使用全息项目因素分析方法对EPQ进行因素分析,得出神经质、外向性、友善因素、诚实因素、任性因素和严谨因素六个因素。该方法较好地克服了经典线性因素分析高估维度数。低估因素负荷等缺陷。     

EPQ信度概化的跨文化比较及其启示

对中国7种主要的心理学杂志,于1998-2008年间发表的与EPQ有关的研究报告或论文做信度概化分析,并与Caruso等人对其他国家的EPQ信度概化分析结果作比较。分析结果表明：中外心理量表使用者都存在严重的“信度引入”的状况;分量表的分数的标准差是信度系数最重要的预测变量;但其他预测变量有所不同。提供的启示是：使用心理量表时一定要报告当前样本的信度系数;不符合心理量表特性要求而增加项目,不一定能提高测验结果的信度。     

The Eysenck Personality Inventory Lie Scale--Some Further Australian Data

The lie scale of the EPI has been the subject of sparse and equivocal results. No age-related effects on the L scale have been reported. The scale is widely used in Australia as a screening instrument for entry into nursing schools. This study found significant differences in L scale performance between young and mature female nurses. This difference was demonstrated both in the higher frequency with which the mature group scored above the cut-off point for acceptance, and in the higher L scoring of this group even within the category of acceptable returns.