Relationships between psychoticism and a number of personality measures: a comparison between the original and revised versions of the Psychoticism scale

A correlational study was carried out using a sample of 123 secondary school students in order to assess the differences between the original and the revised version of the Psychoticism scale, regarding their relationships to a number of personality variables. Extraversion, Neuroticism, Social Desirability, Sensation Seeking, Schizotypal Personality, Borderline Personality, Susceptibility to Punishment and Impulsiveness scales were administered along with the items from the two Psychoticism scales. Both scales showed similar patterns of relationships, indicating that the revised Psychoticism scale, which has been found to improve the psychometric properties of the original Psychoticism scale, does not differ greatly from its predecessor in its relationship to other personality variables.     

Personality and performance on a missing-letter measure of perceptual defence

Fifty-two Ss were required to make complete words from 20 neutral and 20 unpleasant ‘target’ words whose alternate letters had been removed. The four personality scales from the EPQ and the Psychoticism scale from the unpublished PEN inventory were employed as independent variables in repeated-measures analyses of variance in which the dependent variable was the number of neutral or bad target words produced in the missing-letter task. A significant two-way interaction was obtained between PEN Psychoticism and performance on the task, such that Ss scoring low on the personality scale hit significantly more neutral targets than Ss scoring high on the scale. These results did not support previous studies on the relationship between personality and perceptual defence and were interpreted within the framework provided by Mednick, whereby schizophrenia is characterized by a flattening of associative hierarchies.     

The influence of psychoticism and extraversion on classical eyelid conditioning using a paraorbital shock UCS

An experiment is described in which the effects of Psychoticism and Extraversion on classical eyelid conditioning were examined using a balanced design involving two levels of paraorbital shock intensity and two levels of response threshold. Questionnaire measures of Anxiety and Impulsivity were also analysed together with subjective ratings of the UCS. Results were broadly consistent with Eysenck's personality theory in that subjects scoring high on Psychoticism demonstrated lower levels of conditioning.     

Audience Personality and the Selection of Media and Media Genres

The impact of personality characteristics (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism) on audiences' use of movies, television, and radio, and on genre preferences within these media was explored. Extraversion was associated positively with in-home movie viewing and with listening to urban, jazz-classical, and pop-rock music. Neuroticism was associated positively with pop-rock music listening. Psychoticism was associated negatively with watching romance and comedy films, but this relation was moderated by an interaction in that the impact of Psychoticism was most powerful among those who were also high in Neuroticism. Follow-up analyses evaluating the impact of personality within groups defined by gender and race were also carried out. The results point to the potential of incorporating audiences' perceptions of the gratifications offered by particular media into further research. These perceptions, which are likely to vary across audience groups, may contribute to how personality factors are expressed in media behavior.     

Psychoticism, creativity and dichotic shadowing

Thirty Ss were presented with pairs of words simultaneously under the instruction to shadow one ear while ignoring the other (the Focused Attention condition) or to shadow one ear while attempting to remember the other (the Divided Attention condition). Ss also completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and two tests of creativity from the Wallach and Kogan battery. It was hypothesized that Ss high on EPQ Psychoticism and on creativity should make more shadowing errors of omission and intrusion. Creative Ss made significantly more errors of intrusion under the divided attention condition, but Ss scoring high on the Similarities subtest showed significantly fewer errors in the Focussed Attention condition. An ‘impulsivity’ interpretation of the data is tentatively advanced, and it is shown how this interpretation may explain a number of the anomalous findings in the psychoticism literature.     

Personality and the effects of stress on recognition memory

The experiment examined the contribution of anxiety, extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism to recognition memory for pictures and words using a signal detection method. Independent groups of subjects performed a recognition memory task under one of four conditions (control, noise, threat, and reward) that was intended to capitalize on dispositions which characterize the personality dimensions. In an ego threat condition involving personal evaluation, introverts displayed a performance decrement relative to noise and reward conditions. Psychoticism was inversely related to performance in the noise and threat conditions and directly related in a reward condition. In general, J. A. Gray's (1981) model of anxiety and impulsiveness accommodates much of the data, but the mechanisms which mediate the influence of personality on memory performance are not clear.     

The Eysenckian personality factors and their correlations with academic performance

Background. The relationship between personality and academic performance has long been explored, and a recent meta‐analysis established that measures of the five‐factor model (FFM) dimension of Conscientiousness have similar validity to intelligence measures. Although currently dominant, the FFM is only one of the currently accepted models of personality, and has limited theoretical support. In contrast, the Eysenckian personality model was developed to assess a specific theoretical model and is still commonly used in educational settings and research. Aims. This meta‐analysis assessed the validity of the Eysenckian personality measures for predicting academic performance. Sample. Statistics were obtained for correlations with Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism (20–23 samples; N from 8,013 to 9,191), with smaller aggregates for the Lie scale (7 samples; N= 3,910). Methods. The Hunter–Schmidt random effects method was used to estimate population correlations between the Eysenckian personality measures and academic performance. Moderating effects were tested using weighted least squares regression. Results. Significant but modest validities were reported for each scale. Neuroticism and Extraversion had relationships with academic performance that were consistent with previous findings, while Psychoticism appears to be linked to academic performance because of its association with FFM Conscientiousness. Age and educational level moderated correlations with Neuroticism and Extraversion, and gender had no moderating effect. Correlations varied significantly based on the measurement instrument used. Conclusions. The Eysenckian scales do not add to the prediction of academic performance beyond that provided by FFM scales. Several measurement problems afflict the Eysenckian scales, including low to poor internal reliability and complex factor structures. In particular, the measurement and validity problems of Psychoticism mean its continued use in academic settings is unjustified.     

Is the relationship between religiosity and personality ‘contaminated’ by social desirability as assessed by the Lie Scale? A methodological reply to Michael W. Eysenck (1998)

Abstract

Eysenck (Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 1, 11–19, 1998) raised a number of important theoretical and methodological issues in his review of the literature related to religion and the Eysenckian model of personality. The present aim is to methodologically address one such issue: Is the relationship between religiosity and personality ‘contaminated’ by social desirability as assessed by the Lie Scale? Data from two studies employing the Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity, alongside measures of Eysenckian Personality and Obsessionality among Northern Irish students are presented. In study one, using a survey design, significant associations were found between high scores on the religiosity scale and high scores on the Obsessional Trait Scale and low scores on the Psychoticism Scale. These findings remained significant even after the Lie Scale scores were statistically partialled out. In study two, using a repeated measures experimental design, respondents completed the questionnaires two weeks apart. However, on the second occasion they were connected to a ‘bogus pipeline’. No significant differences were found between scores on the two administrations. In addition, significant associations were found between high scores on the religiosity scale and high scores on the Obsessional Symptom Scale and low scores on the Psychoticism Scale. It is argued that the present studies provide further support that the association between religiosity and the personality traits of obsessionality and psychoticism are not simply a function of social desirability.     

Personality differences in high risk sports amateurs and instructors

This study investigated the personality differences of 21 amateurs and 20 instructors who participated in the high risk sports of skydiving, hang-gliding, paragliding, scuba diving, microlighting, and rock climbing, versus those who did not. 38 men and 28 women (M age=32.6 yr., SD= 10.0) were assessed using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, the General Health Questionnaire, the Generalised Self-efficacy Scale, and a Type A/B personality measure. Instructors and Amateurs scored significantly higher on Extroversion and lower on Neuroticism than Nonparticipants; however, they differed from each other on the General Health Questionnaire and Type A/B personality scores. Amateurs scored significantly higher on Psychoticism and Self-efficacy than Instructors and Nonparticipants. In conclusion, these test scores suggest that people who are attracted to high risk sports tend to be at the extroverted and emotionally stable end of the scale, with a tendency to exhibit Type A characteristics; however, Instructors' scores on Psychoticism and Self-efficacy are more akin to those of Nonparticipants.     

Attention,autonomic arousal,and personality in behaviorally disordered children

This study assessed the construct validity of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) by measuring attention, autonomie arousal, and personality in 40 behaviorally disordered children aged 7 to 15 years. Conduct Disorder and Socialized Aggression subscales were characterized by high Psychoticism, Impulsivity, and Lie personality scores, by lower heart rate levels, and by more errors on a continuous performance reaction-time task. Conversely, Attention Problems, Anxiety Withdrawal, and Motor Excess were characterized by greater variability in reaction times. Conduct Disorder alone was related to an external locus of control, while only Attention Problems was characterized by low scores on the WISC Freedom from Distraction factor. These differential relationships suggest (a) support for the construct validity of the RBPC, (b) that antisocial behavior and hyperactivity/attention deficits are dissociated disorders, and (c) that hyperactivity/attention deficits may be characterized by fluctuations in the allocation of attentional resources rather than a core structural deficit in attention.     

Personality and the neural efficiency theory

The neural efficiency theory was formulated in the field of intelligence research and it posits that better performers require less brain activity to successfully perform a task of a given difficulty level. Here we suggest that in the field of personality research, the neural efficiency concept could be reformulated so that habitual behavior requires less brain activity. To test this hypothesis, 46 participants were presented with a social interactions task, in which they had to choose one out of three ways of interaction with a virtual ‘person’: ‘attack’, ‘avoid’, or ‘make friends’, while EEG was recorded simultaneously. Personality was assessed using the Eysenck Personality Profiler. Extraverts made more friendly choices and these choices were accompanied by smaller event-related theta synchronization in the left prefrontal cortex. Neuroticism did not show significant behavioral effects, but in high neuroticism scorers, the choice of avoidance was accompanied by smaller theta synchronization in the right prefrontal cortex. Psychoticism was positively associated with the number of aggressive choices and in high psychoticism scorers, these choices were accompanied by smaller theta synchronization in the left precentral cortex. These results are consistent with the extension of the neural efficiency concept for personality.     

A factor analytic study of teachers' ratings of the personality of school children

Teachers' rating on 70 adjectives that described the personality of school children were factor analysed. Four main factors emerged, and the adjectives loading most highly on each were selected to form four subscales of a New Teachers Rating Scale (NTRS). The subscales were named Good Pupil, Extraversion, Psychoticism and Neuroticism. Normative data for the scale were reported. Correlations with self-rated personality inventories such as the JEPQ, JEPI and CPQ indicated that: the Extraversion subscale correlated with JEPI-E and CPQ-Exvia, the Psychoticism subscale correlated with EPQ-P, CPQ-Exvia and CPQ-Anxiety, while the Good Pupil subscale correlated positively with JEPI-E, and negatively with JEPQ-P and CPQ-Anxiety. The Neuroticism subscale did not correspond to Eysenck's measures of Neuroticism but correlated with CPQ-Anxiety. Test-retest reliability of the subscales ranged between 0.75 and 0.92. The usefulness of the NTRS in complementing self-rated personality measures and the need to explore the nature of self-rated and teacher-rated neuroticism were discussed.     

Prediction of coherence in adolescence: Gender differences in social skills, personality, and family climate

The gender differences for personality structure, family climate, and social skills among adolescents were investigated in relation to their sense of coherence. The sample consisted of 742 adolescents (371 males and 371 females). The instruments included the Sense of Coherence scale, and the Hebrew adaptations for the Social Skills Checklist, the Family Environment Scale, and the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Significant differences were found between the two groups' perceptions of family climate: The male adolescents viewed their families as more encouraging of every aspect of personal growth within a more controlled family system. The female adolescents were found as having higher levels of social competence. Regarding personality structure, the males reported higher Psychoticism scores, and the girls higher Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Lie scores. No significant differences were found between genders on the sense of coherence scores, yet multiple regression analysis revealed that gender, Neuroticism, social skills, and two aspects of family climate (Relationship and Personal Growth) added significantly to the explanation of the variance, in addition to the interactions of gender with Relationship and Personal Growth, and of Neuroticism with Relationship, Extraversion, and Psychoticism. These results were discussed within the construct of sex-role differences.     

The relationship of personality to antisocial and neurotic behaviours as observed by teachers

Eight hundred and eight children in normal schools between the ages of 7 and 16 yr were rated on Rutter's Teachers' Rating Scale, and completed the EPQ giving Psychoticism (P), Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N) and Lie (L). The children also reported on their own misbehaviour and social attitudes. Children exhibiting Antisocial behaviours were markedly high on P; also scoring low on L, and reporting non-conforming behaviour and attitudes. Children showing Neurotic behaviours did not have particularly distinctive personality scores, but were rather extraverted and conforming (high L). There was no relationship between Neuroticism as a disorder and Neuroticism as a personality trait. It is suggested that the P scale might usefully assist in the detection of antisocially disturbed children or in the selection of ‘high risk’ groups.     

A comparison between three and five factor models of Pakistani personality data

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R), the Eysenck Personality Profiler Short Version (EPP-S), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI-V4a) were administered to 135 postgraduate students of business in Pakistan. Whilst Extraversion and Neuroticism scales from the three questionnaires were highly correlated, it was found that Agreeableness was most highly correlated with Psychoticism in the EPQ-R and Conscientiousness was most highly correlated with Psychoticism in the EPP-S. Principal component analyses with varimax rotation were carried out. The analyses generally suggested that the five factor model rather than the three-factor model was more robust and better for interpretation of all the higher order scales of the EPQ-R, EPP-S, and BFI-V4a in the Pakistani data. Results show that the superiority of the five factor solution results from the inclusion of a broader variety of personality scales in the input data, whereas Eysenck's three factor solution seems to be best when a less complete but possibly more important set of variables are input.     

个人自立、反馈对长时距估计的影响

为了探索人格与反馈对时间估计的影响,本研究采用非时间任务和预期式时距估计的方法对个人自立高分组与低分组共40名被试进行了研究。结果发现：（1）虽然差异不显著,但是在两次时距估计中个人自立高分组的时距估计绝对错误量均小于低分组;（2）个人自立高分组的时距估计绝对错误量变化幅度显著小于低分组;（3）个人自立高分组在两次时距估计绝对错误量上的相关明显大于低分组;（4）有反馈组的时距估计绝对错误量显著小于无反馈组。据此可以认为：（1）由个人自立导致的时间估计的个体差异表现在时间估计的误差变异度和准确性两个方面。高个人自立者的时间估计误差的变异度更小,同时可能倾向于更准确地进行时距估计。（2）反馈有助于提高时间估计的准确性。（3）“绝对错误量变化幅度”和“时距估计绝对错误量的相关”是两个值得在今后的研究中应用的指标。     

Suicide rate and national scores on the Big Five personality factors

Across 46 nations around the world, suicide rates were negatively correlated with national scores on the Big Five personality factors of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (two facets indicating low Psychoticism), thus not replicating previous findings of Lester (1993, 2005).     

Early and late SEPs—The later the potential the greater the relevance to personality

Short (N₂₁−P₂₇) and long (N₁₃₀−P₂₀₀) latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and personality [Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and a short-form Sensation Seeking scale (SS)] were investigated in 26 young healthy adults. Various modes of analysis were carried out on the SEPs, including peak-to-peak, root mean square, absolute area and perimeter measures, over various time windows. The amount of SEP variance accounted for by personality correlations depended on the mode of analysis. High Psychoticism and high Sensation Seeking (and to some extent high Extraversion) correlated negatively with measures of SEP amplitude, the relationship being stronger for later SEP components.     

Interacting personality traits? Smoking as a test case

We question whether it is profitable to look at smoking (both smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked a day): (1) in terms of the personality traits of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism; (2) in terms of their pairwise interactions; (3) with respect, rather, to impulsivity or sensation seeking; or (4) taking into consideration both these levels of analysis. Our sample comprised 121 smokers and 111 non‐smokers (mostly students). No interactions were predictive of smoking. Both Psychoticism and impulsivity were found to be central traits—thereby providing support for the notion that it is a better strategy to look at smoking in terms of both these levels of analysis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A six orthogonal factor model of adolescent personality derived from the HSPQ

Attention is drawn to recent major critiques of Cattell's ‘16 PF’ model of personality. Various six/seven-factor models of personality (assuming intelligence is included) derived from the 16 PF or its precursors are described. The equation of Eysenck's E and N factors with Cattell's second-order factors of ‘exvia’ and ‘anxiety’ is mentioned. An examination is made of the problems of factored scale construction and the ‘number of factors’ issue, especially when item responses are analysed.Three previous second-order factor solutions to the HSPQ are presented. These show a remarkable degree of concordance among themselves and with an item analysis of the HSPQ conducted by the writers. This item analysis also reveals serious doubts about the primary trait structure proposed by Cattell and Cattell (1969). It is suggested that, for adolescents, the four studies, with some support from the 16 PF analyses, point to a six-factor structure for personality consisting of anxiety ( = Eysenck's N); tender-tough-mindedness ( = Eysenck's Psychoticism); carefulness-casualness and two aspects of extraversion-introversion: (a) preference for working with people rather than with things. (b) Classical extraversion (the last or both (a) and (b) being analogous to Eysenck's E) and finally intelligence, if this can be classified as an aspect of personality.