Eysenck's theory of personality and child-adult emotional attachments

The present study was mainly designed to examine the link between child-adult emotional bonds and personality characteristics. A sample of Pakistani adolescents aged between 13 and 14 completed the Emotional Attachment Scale and the Eysenck Junior Personality Questionnaire. Adult subjects to whom the adolescent subjects were predominantly emotionally attached were also asked to complete the Eysenck Adult Personality Questionnaire. The results indicated that children tend to develop emotional attachments to those parents whose personality scores correlate significantly positively with theirs; however, if they attach to nonparent adults, no significant association between their personality scores and those for adults exists.     

Personality and belief in Capital Punishment: a replication and extension

Male and female Canadian undergraduates identified as high or low on Extraversion and Psychoticism on the basis of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire completed the Questionnaire on Capital Punishment. In a replication of a previous study, males and extraverts reported more favourable attitudes towards Capital Punishment than females and introverts. In contrast, there were no significant differences in attitude between subjects classified as high and low on Psychoticism, a result which may be due to the difficulty of finding normal subjects with absolutely high scores on this trait.     

An EEG correlate of the Archimedes spiral after-effect and its relationship with personality

Previous work has demonstrated a relationship between the Archimedes spiral after-effect (SAE) and dysthymia-hysteria. The aim of the present study was to discover whether there was any EEG correlate of this relationship. As subjects 20 dysthymics, 17 hysterico-psychopaths, and 9 normals were used, comparisons being made between the SAE and various EEG parameters. These included the alpha index and latency of alpha return on eye-closure, following fixation of a rotating spiral. Using various criteria of the latter measure a consistently significant positive correlation was found between the SAE and the extent to which the return of alpha was delayed by visual stimulation. Significant correlations were also found between alpha index and SAE, and alpha index and alpha latency. In addition, previous group differences in sedation threshold and SAE were confirmed, although there were low correlations between the EEG measures and sedation threshold.

It was concluded that subjects having more activated EEG records tend to report longer subjective SAE's and to show a greater delay in the return of alpha alter visual stimulation. In terms of personality type obsessionals and psychopaths seem to show the greatest differences in this respect. These results are thought to throw some light on the physiological basis of Eysenck's excitation-inhibition theory of personality.     

Personality and modulation of the startle reflex by emotionally-toned filmclips

Several researchers have found that pleasant foreground stimuli attenuate the eyeblink component of the startle reflex while unpleasant foreground stimuli potentiate it. The effects of personality factors on such modulation of the eyeblink response, as measured by electromyographic (EMG) activity in reaction to loud acoustic startle probes, were examined in subjects viewing emotionally-toned (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral) filmclips. During the main part of the experiment, introverts had higher baseline EMG activity and lower response probability than extraverts; no differences were observed at the beginning of the experiment, during an acclimatization session. Reflex modulation, as measured by response latency, was influenced by the Psychoticism (P) factor of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: subjects high on P showed longer latencies to eyeblink onset when probed during viewing of pleasant filmclips than subjects low on this dimension; no significant differences were observed between subjects low and high on P for neutral and unpleasant filmclips. No influence of personality factors was found on affective modulation as measured by response amplitude/magnitude. The results are discussed in relation to Gray's and Eysenck's theories of personality.     

Electrodermal response to sexual materials.

Four groups of college students selected on the basis of high or low Eysenck Personality Inventory scores were asked to talk or simply think about a series of slides differing in overt sexual content. Data showed that for both conditions those high on Neuroticism (n = 8) showed more electrodermal activity than did those scoring low (n = 8), and over all subjects there was a significant correlation between Neuroticism scores and the physiological measure. High and low scorers on Extraversion scale (ns = 10) showed no analogous differences in electrodermal activity.     

Conduct disorder and personality

A sample of children with a diagnosis of conduct disorder and a sample of children from a London comprehensive school were investigated. Three questionnaires were administered to assess personality, impulsiveness and anxiety. Of the personality measures contained within the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire only Psychoticism was found to significantly differentiate the conduct disorder and normal control samples. The Impulsiveness scale of the I₆ also differentiated the two samples. There were no significant differences between the two samples in their scores on the anxiety scale of the “What I Think and Feel”. The findings are discussed in relation to theories of personality proposed by Eysenck and Eysenck (1969), Gray (1987) and Quay (1988).     

Development of sleep during monotonous stimulation as related to individual differences

This study was designed to examine whether the sleep-promoting effect of monotonous stimulation depends on individual differences in strength of the nervous system, as was suggested by Pavlov. Sixty male subjects were divided into three groups, depending on their score on the “strength of excitation” scale of the Strelau Temperament Inventory. Within each group, subjects were randomly assigned to be exposed to either a) a sequence of tones or b) “no tones” (i.e., a quiet room). Dependent variables were latencies to Sleep Stage 1 (SOL 1) and Sleep Stage 2 (SOL 2). The main effects of stimulation and strength of the nervous system were not statistically significant. However, there was a significant interaction between stimulation and strength for both dependent variables. “Weak” subjects tended to fall asleep more rapidly during monotonous stimulation, whereas the reverse was true of “strong” subjects. The results suggest that individual differences might play an important role in the development of sleep during monotonous stimulation.     

The relationship of extraversion,neuroticism, and sensation-seeking to questionnaire-derived measures of nervous system properties

Five obliquely rotated factor analyses were performed on items from Eysenck and Eysenck’s (1975) EPQ, Zuckerman’s (1975) Sensation-Seeking Scale, and Strelau’s (1972) temperament inventory (STI), administered to 277 subjects (Ss). The analyses were used to examine the relationships between the personality dimensions E, N, L, P and Sensation-Seeking, which pertain mainly to social situations, attitudes and feelings, and questionnaire-derived measures of nervous system properties, which, while validated on experimental indices of nervous system properties derived from Nebylitsyn’s (1972) model, are expressed as characteristic features of social behavior, work style and activity. Four factors were identified—extraversion/strength of excitation/mobility; self-control of affect/stability/caution; strength of inhibition/verbal control/motor expressiveness/ nonmanipulativeness; and sensation-seeking/nervousness. The results offer support for Eysenck’s claim of some identity between excitatory strength and E, for the reported relationship between E and mobility, and for Eysenck’s conditioning postulate. They also suggest that similar temperamental variables underlie individual differences in both social and occupational/motor activity. Since Strelau’s STI items are validated on experimental indices of nervous system properties, it follows that typological characteristics may be inferred from questionnaire data derived from both behavioral categories.     

Effects of subliminal stimulation on masculinity-femininity ratings of a male model

The effects of subliminal stimulation on masculinity-femininity ratings of a male model were tested for 100 male undergraduates, randomly divided into four groups and individually shown a slide of a male model. One group received no further stimulation. A second group received a subliminal flash of white light across the image of the model; a third group was presented with the subliminal message "masculine," while a fourth group was presented with the subliminal message "feminine." Subjects were asked to rate the model on a six-point scale of masculinity-femininity. The differences in ratings among groups were not significant, indicating that subliminal stimulation did not influence masculinity-femininity value-norm-anchor judgments. There were no significant differences in the reported perception of additional stimuli or the tendency to be relaxed among the four groups. However, subjects who received the "masculine" message and reported that they were more relaxed did tend to rate the model higher in masculinity.     

Sex and personality traits influence the difference between time taken to tell the truth or lie

A necessary component of lying is the withholding of a truthful response. Hence, lying may be conceptualised as involving the inhibition of an initial, automatic response (the truth) while an alternative response (the lie) is generated. We investigated response times to visually and auditorially presented questions probing recent episodic memory, when subjects answered questions truthfully or with lies. We also investigated whether the absolute response times or difference between time taken to tell the truth or lie was affected by participants' sex or correlated with personality scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Short Scale. 61 subjects answered the same 36 questions five times. The first time involved answering all questions truthfully, which allowed post hoc analysis of whether subjects had been consistent in their lying and truth-telling on the following four occasions. These latter four occasions involved answering all questions (one each with 'truth' or 'lie') for both types of presentation. Regardless of type of presentation or subjects' sex, subjects took approximately 200 msec. longer to lie than to tell the truth in response to each question (p<.001). There were significant correlations between truthful response times to auditorially presented questions and Eysenck 'Neuroticism' scores. There was also a significant correlation for women between mean individual lie-minus-truth time to auditorially presented questions and Eysenck 'Lie' scores. These preliminary data suggest that response time is systematically longer when telling a lie and that personality variables may play a part in this process.     

Chronic Effects of Ionizing Radiations and the Hypothesis that Irradiation Produces Aging-Like Changes in Behavior

On the basis of theories and research on cognitive and perceptual processes, several hypotheses concerning psychophysiological differences between high and low creative subjects were made. Thirty male undergraduates were divided into high and low creative groups on the basis of the Remote Associates Test and a version of the Uses Test. Basal alpha index, alpha blocking in response to stimulus onset, and performance on alpha enhancement and suppression in a feedback situation were measured. High creative subjects exhibited a lower alpha index and a greater decrement in alpha due to stimulus onset. High creatives showed immediate acquisition of control in alpha enhancement trials but no improvement across trials, while low creative subjects showed continual improvements and quickly reached the level of control of high creative subjects. High creatives were much better at alpha suppression than at alpha enhancement.     

Relationships among Eysenck's extraversion, Rorschach's Erlebnistypus, and tolerance of experimental tonic pain (Cold Water Pressor Test)

In a group of 42 healthy volunteers the correlations between the concept of Extraversion-Introversion as defined by Eysenck and Erlebnistypus as defined by Rorschach were analysed to relate these with the tolerance of an experimentally induced tonic pain. We conducted an experimental procedure comprising a test and retest. At test the subjects were administered the Rorschach, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Cold Water Pressor Test, a nongraduated Visual Analogue Scale, and the Italian version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. At retest the experimental induction of pain was measured again. At test subjects who scored higher on the EPI Extraversion scale tolerated pain longer and did not modify their performance at retest. Also, the concepts of Extroversion defined by the Rorschach test and by the Extraversion scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory shared some psychophysiological features of higher tolerance to pain. These personality features did not influence how subjects qualitatively describe the immediate painful experience.     

Platelet MAO activity associated with impulsivity and aggressivity

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and scales purporting to measure sensation seeking, impulsivity and introversion-schizoidia, and scales related to aggressivity from two personality inventories, the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and the Eysenck Impulsiveness- Venturesomeness-Empathy (IVE) inventory were given to 58 male subjects. Monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was measured in platelets. The two sensation seeking scales were not associated with platelet MAO activity in the present subjects. The two impulsivity scales (IVE Impulsiveness and KSP Impulsiveness) and the KSP Irritability scale (an aggressivity-related scale) were negatively correlated with platelet MAO activity. Subgroups classified on the basis of platelet MAO activity differed in IVE Impulsiveness, KSP Detachment (introversion-schizoidia) and in KSP Irritability, low MAO subjects scoring higher in Impulsiveness and Irritability and high MAO subjects higher in Detachment. There were striking differences between the low MAO subgroup and the other subgroups in the percentage agreement responses in items of the IVE Impulsiveness scale, as well as in self-rated anger-proneness.     

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.     

Controlling pain reports through operant conditioning: a laboratory demonstration

Operant conditioning of pain reports was studied in two laboratory experiments. In the first one 5 subjects were given the same pain stimulus on 15 trials and their recorded pain ratings gave no systemic trends across subjects. 8 other subjects received the same pain tests but on some of the trials increases or decreases in pain ratings were verbally reinforced while the noxious stimulus was held constant across trials. Clear and significant differences between reinforced increases and decreases in pain reports were observed. In Exp. 2, 5 subjects were given neutral feedback and systematically decreasing levels of noxious stimulation, resulting in a good correlation between pain ratings and stimulation level. 5 subjects were provided reinforcement for increasing pain reports while the pain stimulus was systematically reduced. Increases in pain reports were observed simultaneously with large decreases in the level of the noxious stimulus. Results of these experiments support the operant conception of pain.     

Stereotypes and Personalities of Musicians

Folk fiddle players and Salvation Army brass band members completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI; H. J. Eysenck & S. B. G. Eysenck; 1964) and a questionnaire concerning their opinions about the personality characteristics of orchestral violinists, orchestral brass players, folk fiddlers, and Salvation Army brass band members. The EPI scores of the 2 groups showed a greater neuroticism among string players but not the greater extraversion of brass players found in previous studies on the personalities of musicians. Although participants' views about the personality characteristics of orchestral brass players and orchestral violinists echoed those found in previous research, their views on the Salvation Army (as brass players) and on folk fiddlers (as string players) did not. Results of this study showed that personality differences or stereotypes among musicians are probably determined more by the history and traditions of the group in which they are perceived to be involved than by the instruments they play.     

Personality and differential susceptibility to hypnosis: further replication and sex differences.

Following the study of Gibson & Curran (1974), a further sample of 45 subjects were tested on the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and a slightly modified form of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) in precisely the same way. The results in this second sample were broadly the same as those obtained in the earlier study. Combining the two samples, it was found that the sex variable provided some interesting contrasts. The power of the lie scale of the EPI to predict hypnotic susceptibility observed earlier was found to be a significant effect only for males. While there was no significant difference between the sexes in terms of the means and S.D.S. of the extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N) scales, when the interaction of these scales was studied males and females differed significantly. The population from the two studies (n = 88) was analysed by means of polar coordinates in the manner suggested by Eysenck (1966) with regard to the E nad N scales. Esyenck's prediction as to hypnotic susceptibility was strikingly confirmed. These data are briefly discussed in terms of alternative approaches to hypnosis from the 'state' and the 'non-state' viewpoints.     

A Meta-Analysis of Task and Training Characteristics that Contribute to or Attenuate the Effectiveness of the After-Action Review (or Debrief)

This study expands on Keiser and Arthur’s (2021) meta-analysis of the after-action review (AAR), or debrief, by examining six additional task and training characteristics that contribute to or attenuate its effectiveness. The findings based on a bare-bones meta-analysis of results from 83 studies (134 ds [955 teams; 4,684 individuals]) indicate that the effectiveness of the AAR (overall d = 0.92) does indeed vary across the pertinent characteristics. The primary impact of this study pertains to the practical implementation of AARs; notably, the findings indicate that the AAR is particularly effective in task environments that are characterized by a combination of high complexity and ambiguity in terms of offering no intrinsic feedback. The types of tasks—often project and decision-making—that more commonly entail these characteristics are frequently used in industries that do not traditionally use the AAR. The results also suggest that more recent variants of the AAR (i.e., a reaction phase, a canned performance review) do not meaningfully add to its effectiveness. These findings are combined with those from prior meta-analyses to derive 11 empirically-based practical guidelines for the use of AARs. In sum, this study highlights the complexity of the AAR that results from the independent and interdependent influence among various components and characteristics, the examination of the effects of novel and ostensibly distinct variants or approaches to AARs, and the extension of AARs to tasks and contexts in which they are less commonly used.

     

Sex differences in brain activity, personality and intelligence: a test of arousability theory

This report describes empirical tests of the theory that females have higher levels of behavioural and cerebral arousal than males and that these differences cause higher neuroticism scores in females, as well as lower female psychoticism scores and lower scores for females on the Gsar factor of intelligence. Data were obtained from 76 subjects, with equal numbers of males and females and with all adult ages represented. EEG responses to auditory stimulation were quantified in terms of the ‘amplitude, ‘rate of change of amplitude and ‘sweep variability factors obtained from a principal components analysis (PCA). Gf, Gc and Gsar intelligence scores were obtained from a PCA of sub-tests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale plus Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices test. Personality differences were evaluated using the Neuroticism and Psychoticism scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Bivariate hypotheses relating sex to the arousal, intelligence and personality variables were confirmed. A PCA demonstrated that sex, neuroticism, Gsar, wakefulness and high frequency EEG activity all have high loadings on a common factor. These results are consistent with expectations generated by the cerebral arousability theory of personality and intelligence.     

Personality characteristics of the users of corporal punishment in the schools

The Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were correlated with educator-reported use of corporal punishment. Respondents were from a medium-size school system in Tennessee. Results indicated that closed-mindedness, as measured by the Rokeach scale, and Neuroticism, as measured by the Eysenck Scale, were highly correlated with reported use of corporal punishment. Of the remaining two dimensions of personality measured by the Eysenck questionnaire, Extraversion was found to be moderately correlated with reported use of corporal punishment while Psychoticism showed no significant relationship. A significant negative correlation was found between years of experience in teaching and use of corporal punishment. Frequency of physical punishment used on an educator when he/she was in grades K-12 was positively correlated with reported use of corporal punishment. Heavy users of corporal punishment tended to be relatively inexperienced, close-minded, neurotic, and impulsive as compared to their peers who did not use corporal punishment.