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.     

Do tough-minded people hold tough-minded attitudes?

Eysenck originally postulated that extraverts would adopt tough-minded social attitudes, although psychoticism is now considered to be of greater importance than extraversion. Previous research has attempted to relate psychoticism to realism-idealism, a principal factor of the Wilson-Patterson Conservatism Scale, and a measure of tough-mindedness acceptable to Eysenck. Results have proved discrepant; authors have used psychoticism scales of uncertain item content and length. The present study examines the relationship between psychoticism, extraversion and realism-idealism, using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Wilson-Patterson Attitude Inventory. The results provide only weak support for Eysenck’s theory. A more significant relationship was obtained between psychoticism and conservatism, and extraversion and conservatism, although a theoretical rationale for these relationships is lacking.     

The relationship between the EPI extraversion score and impulsiveness on a perceptual-motor task

This paper describes an investigation of the relationship between extraversion and impulsiveness. These two traits were measured respectively by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and the IES Arrow-Dot test. The subjects were 50 males and 50 females matched for age. Arrow-Dot impulsiveness was found to correlate significantly with extraversion in both samples. In the female sample Arrow-Dot impulsiveness correlated only significantly with the ‘impulsiveness’ component of extraversion. In the male sample both the ‘impulsiveness’ and ‘sociability’ components of the extraversion factor contributed about equally to its variance.     

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.     

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.     

Factor analytic examination of Kline's scales for psychoanalytic concepts

Seventeen personality scales were administered to 133 subjects to investigate the relation of three new psychoanalytically-derived scales to the personality scales of Howarth and Eysenck, respectively. A previous study (Howarth, 1980a) suggested that Kline's oral optimism scale related to Eysenck's extraversion scale, oral pessimism to neuroticism, and Kline's anal syndrome scale to Eysenck's psychoticism scale. In order to investigate this further Eysenck's scales were included as well as ten scales of Howarth's and Kline's three scales. The factors found among the 17 variables were: I. Anxiety; II. Psychoticism; III. Sociability; IV. Anality; V. Lie scale; VI. Conscience.The present study found that the anal scale was relatively independent of all of Eysenck's ‘superfactor’ scales and did not verify the possibility that this anal scale might relate to psychoticism (as measured by Eysenck). However, the present study verified the previously found relation between oral optimism and extraversion and, of the three Kline scales, oral pessimism related more to psychoticism than the anal syndrome scale.     

Orientation to authority and its relation to impulsiveness

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between orientation to authority and impulsiveness among 169 adolescents. The results confirmed earlier findings of no association between extraversion (E) and orientation to authority, but also found various submeasures of impulsiveness to correlate significantly with orientation to authority among males and females. Subsequent factor analysis showed risk-taking (impulsiveness) and psychoticism to load significantly on the orientation to authority component. These findings are discussed in relation to the nature of extraversion (E); some suggestions for future research are also made.     

Personality trait scores among occupationally active bullied persons and witnesses to bullying

There is little research on the personalities and emotional stability of persons who report being bullied or witnessing bullying at work. Men and women (N = 247) from 19 to 64 years of age and in manual labour completed a questionnaire concerning the psychosocial work climate, bullying and personality. Three groups were defined: bullied (N = 14), witnesses (N = 31) and non-bullied respondents (N = 202). The Swedish universities Scale of Personality was used to assess personality traits related to the three major dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, and aggressiveness. Bullied persons had higher scores on all six scales within the neuroticism dimension as well as higher irritability (aggressiveness dimension) and impulsiveness scores (extraversion dimension), when compared with their non-bullied work colleagues. To conclude, bullied persons display a self-image that is dominated by mistrust and embitterment as well as irritability and impulsiveness. Accordingly, when dealing with bullying at work, the need for ego-supportive actions should be considered in conjunction with more organisational, collective oriented action.     

The conceptual commonality between impulsiveness as a personality trait and as an ego development stage

This research was an attempt to demonstrate the conceptual commonality between impulsiveness as a trait and as an ego development stage through correlations on measures of both. An Eysenckian measure of broad trait impulsiveness (Imp_B) consisting of four impulsiveness subscales, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) of ego development were administered to 62 male students and 101 female students distributed across three different educational levels (Junior High, Senior High and College). Significant correlations between Imp_B and the WUSCT (-0.23 for the males and -0.31 for the females) supported the hypothesized commonality. Correlations between the WUSCT and the four impulsiveness subscales indicated that Narrow Impulsiveness and Risk-taking were more indicative of ego development than Non-planning or Liveliness. Age trends in the patterns of correlations demonstrated that the commonality between trait impulsiveness and ego development was limited to the early stages of ego development. Sex differences on a number of trait measures and on the WUSCT indicated that males lag behind females in ego development during adolescence. It was hypothesized that the aspect of impulsiveness most indicative of ego development was an unsocialized aspect which might be captured by Eysenck's dimension of psychoticism (P). Correlations between P and WUSCT supported this hypothesis (-0.49 for the males and -0.29 for the females). P apparently has more concept commonality with ego development than has trait impulsiveness. Age trends and sex differences in impulsiveness, psychoticism, and aggressiveness were discussed. It was argued that these personality characteristics would be better understood if explored within a developmental framework such as ego development.     

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.     

Agreeableness,conscientiousness, and psychoticism: Distinctive influences of three personality dimensions in adolescence

Researchers have suggested that the psychoticism (P) personality dimension of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire may be largely redundant with the agreeableness (A) and conscientiousness (C) constructs of the five‐factor model. Little research has examined the distinctiveness of these constructs. We utilized a multi‐wave, multi‐method design to examine the ability of C, A, and P to uniquely predict a number of important outcomes amongst high school students. A total of 778 students (391 males, 387 females; mean age 15.41 years.) completed personality measures in Grade 10. Self‐reported self‐esteem, social support, health‐related behaviours, religious values as well as teachers' assessments of students, were collected 1 and 2 years later. A, C, and P were distinctive in their ability to predict these outcomes, after controlling for gender and socio‐economic status as well as Grade 10 extraversion, openness, and neuroticism. The individual P items explained unique variance over and above that explained by A and C. It was concluded that P is not merely the opposite of A and C. Implications for interventions are raised.     

Mobility,extraversion, and neuroticism

Mobility, a property of Pavlovian higher nervous activity, was measured using an induction task. Negative induction, following presentation of an excitatory stimulus, is an index of mobility of excitation and positive induction, following presentation of an inhibitory stimulus is an index of mobility of inhibition. Mobility scores from 27 male and 37 female first-year psychology students, age 17 to 42 years were related to extraversion and neuroticism derived from Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (Form A). Mobility of excitation and mobility of inhibition were found to be unrelated. Individual differences in the magnitude and latency of induction indicate that individuals can be typed according to low, medium, or high mobility of either nervous process. No relationship was found between neuroticism and mobility, and no relationship was found between extraversion and mobility of excitation. However, a significant negative relationship was found between extraversion and mobility of inhibition, providing a link between Pavlovian properties of the nervous system and Eysenck’s personality dimension of extraversion.     

Psychoticism and perceptual processing speed: A test of Robinson's theory

Robinson has argued that bias in the process of knowledge acquisition can give rise to either a differentiated or an integrated learning style. Individuals high on the personality dimension of psychoticism are said to have a differentiated learning style that manifests in superior performance on cognitive tasks that require differentiation of the elements or parts of immediate perceptual experience. To test this theory, 106 undergraduate students aged between 18 and 31 completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire—Revised, along with two computer‐based measures of visual processing speed: reaction time (RT) and inspection time (IT). In accord with Robinson's theory, psychoticism scores were found to be inversely related to both mean RT and IT. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that the relationship between psychoticism scores and the two processing speed measures was independent of any age or gender effects. It is recommended that future research examine the relationship between psychoticism, and both poles of Robinson's differentiation versus integration dimension.     

Extraversion,neuroticism, psychoticism and self-reported delinquency: Evidence from eight separate samples

Eight separate samples of high school and university students (Total N = 410) in Britain and Canada were used to test predictions from Eysenck's theory that delinquents should be high scorers on scales of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Self-report paper- and pencil-questionnaire measures of both personality and delinquency were administered under conditions that ensured anonymity. The evidence showed clear support for a relationship between high delinquency scores and high scores on both extraversion and psychoticism. These relationships held up across diverse samples and different ways of analyzing the data. No support was found for a relationship between delinquency scores and the dimension of neuroticism.     

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.     

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.     

Fluid insight moderates the relationship between psychoticism and crystallized intelligence

To elucidate potential relationships between personality and intelligence it is necessary to move beyond the ad hoc reporting of correlation coefficients and focus instead on testing deductions from well-established theories. To this end the present paper references Eysenck’s (1995) theoretical work linking the dimension of psychoticism to both psychosis and creative genius. Drawing on this theory it was argued that the relationship between psychoticism and crystallized ability will be conditional on the level of fluid intelligence. Participants (N = 100) completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT). Moderated multiple regression revealed a significant interaction effect. Crystallized ability (K-BIT vocabulary) was negatively related to psychoticism at low levels of fluid ability (K-BIT matrices) and positively related to psychoticism at high levels of fluid ability. These findings highlight the potential importance of psychoticism within GfGc investment theory.     

How the personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism relate to self-actualization

This study examines the relationship between the personality dimensions of ‘neuroticism’, ‘extraversion’, ‘psychoticism’, from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and ‘self-actualization’, measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) for 212 undergraduate students. The two major scales of the POI, (Time Competence and Inner Directed), both separately and as a combined measure of self-actualization were correlated with the scores obtained on the EPQ. The results showed the hypothesized significant negative relationship between neuroticism and self-actualization, and for females only, the hypothesized significant positive relationship between extraversion and self-actualization. Contrary to hypothesis, no relationship between psychoticism and self-actualization was found.     

Clergy Personality and Collaborative Ministry: The Way Ahead for Stable Extraverts?

A sample of 991 male clergy affiliated to the Evangelical Alliance in the United Kingdom completed the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, together with a scale regarding collaborative ministry. The data demonstrated that effective collaborative ministry was significantly related to the clergy's personality. Effective collaborative ministry was correlated positively with extraversion, correlated negatively with neuroticism, and unrelated to psychoticism. While the model of collaborative ministry may provide an exciting way ahead for clergy who display stable extraversion, this may be a less welcome route for clergy who display neurotic introversion.