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.     

Personality and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: An enquiry into Eysenck's and Gray's theories

Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses derived from Eysenck's and Gray's theories of personality regarding antisocial behavior. For this purpose the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Junior) (EPQ-Junior) and a card task aimed at measuring sensitivity to reward were used in each of the studies. The first study compared a group of juvenile delinquents with a group of nondelinquents and the second study compared a group of severely conduct-disordered children with a group of normal children. The results did not support Eysenck's claim that delinquents score higher than their normal counterparts on extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Some support was found for the hypothesis derived from Gray's theory: Children and adolescents with severe antisocial behavior were more sensitive to rewards than their normal counterparts.     

The relationship between temperament and personality: An exploratory study

Although the terms temperament and personality are often used interchangeably in the literature and clearly are conceptually related, there is little empirical data to illuminate their relationship. In this exploratory study we measured temperament (using the Dimensions of Temperament Survey), and personality (using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire), in young adolescents and in adults. Some age and sex differences in relationships between the measures and their correlations were found. The temperament dimension of adaptability was clearly related to Eysenck's Extraversion factor and reactivity to Neuroticism in females. More substantial relationships emerged in the adult sample than in the adolescent group, Our data, combined with that of a 1984 Australian study using different techniques, provides substantial support for measurable overlap between some dimensions of temperament derived largely from the developmental literature, and Eysenck's personality theory.     

Alcohol consumption, alcohol abuse, personality and female perpetrated spouse abuse

As part of the Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey, this study examined the problem of female perpetrated spouse abuse and its relationship to alcohol consumption and personality. Subjects were drawn from a random sample of Winnipeg residents (N = 1257) between the ages of 18 and 65 years. For this study, data from the subsample of female subjects who were married or cohabiting (N = 452) were analyzed. Results show that more than 39% of female subjects participated in some form of spouse abuse with their male partners. Being young and having high scores on Eysenck's psychoticism scale, the Neuroticism Index and the MacAndrew Scale were found to be significant risk factors in the occurence of partner abuse among females. Also, the interaction between alcohol consumption and Eysenck's psychoticism scale was found to be a weak but significant predictor for this form of violence.     

Personality, reinforcement and learning.

Conflict in predictions resulting from Eysenck's (1957) and Gray's (1970) theoretical formulations on personality and conditioning were tested at the behavioral level. Given conditions which do not produce over-arousal, it would be predicted from Eysenck's position that Introverts would condition better than Extraverts. From Gray's formulation it would follow that Introverts condition better if negative reinforcement is used and Extraverts condition better if positive reinforcement is used. The two opposing predictions were tested in pursuit rotor learning by either positively or negatively reinforcing the hit/miss dimension of performance by 166 males aged 14 to 15 yr. The results gave support to Gray's position but if over-arousal is assumed Eysenck's position is tenable.     

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.     

Extraversion and neuroticism in team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants

Scores on Extraversion and on Neuroticism as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory were compared for 90 undergraduate team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants (43 men, 47 women, M age = 20.3 yr.). From past research and Eysenck's biological theory of personality, it was hypothesized that sport participants would score higher on Extraversion and lower on Neuroticism than nonparticipants, and that team participants would score higher on Extraversion and perhaps higher on Neuroticism than individual sport participants. By comparing scores for students in first year and final year, it was also investigated whether pre-existing personality differences drew people to sport (the gravitational hypothesis) or whether personality changed as a function of sport participation (the developmental hypothesis). The main findings were that team participants scored higher on Extraversion than both individual sport participants and nonparticipants, and that test scores did not change over time, supporting the gravitational hypothesis for Extraversion.     

Sociability/impulsivity and caffeine-induced arousal: Critical flicker/fusion frequency and procedural learning

The influence of sociability/impulsivity in caffeine-induced arousal effects was investigated in two separate experiments: Experiment 1 examined critical flicker/fusion frequency change scores (ΔCFFT) in 60 subjects; and Experiment 2 investigated procedural learning in 30 subjects. In the two experiments, subjects received either caffeine citrate (500 mg) or placebo. The pattern of results was consistent across both studies:(1) a strong interactive effect of sociability (as measured by the EPQ extraversion scale) by caffeine/placebo which showed that (a) subjects low in sociability showed the greatest increase in ACFFT and learned most under placebo, while the reverse was true under caffeine; (b) subjects high in sociability, showed no increase in ΔCFFT and learned least under placebo, while the reverse was true under caffeine; and (2) in neither experiment did impulsivity (as measured by the EPS impulsiveness scale) significantly interact with caffeine/placebo. The results are consistent with Eysenck's (The Biological Basis of Personality, 1967) theory of personality in suggesting that subjects low in sociability are highly arousable under low-arousal (placebo) but over-aroused under high-arousal (caffeine), with the reverse pattern of effects holding for subjects high in sociability. The implications of these data for the respective roles of sociability and impulsivity components of extraversion in arousal-mediated performance are discussed.     

Interpersonal problems and personality: using three factor solutions

Attempting to bridge the gap between psychotherapy research on interpersonal discord and personality research on factors of normal and abnormal personality, the present study uses personality factors to predict interpersonal problems. Eysenck's P-E-N (Psychoticism-Extraversion-Neuroticism) model of personality and its correspondent index, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised is used as a schema from which to conceptualize and measure personality. Horowitz's Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, which includes six problems commonly reported by psychotherapy patients at intake (hard to be assertive, hard to be submissive, hard to be intimate, hard to be sociable, too controlling, and too responsible), was used as an index of interpersonal distress. Hierarchical multiple regression, in which the most significant predictor was entered into the equation first, indicate significant prediction of various problems by the personality factors considered here. Results are discussed in the context of interpersonal theory.     

Resistance to extinction of conditioned electrodermal responses: a study of the incubation fear hypothesis

In the present study we examined Eysenck's incubation hypothesis of fear. Probability of skin conductance response (SCR) was analyzed for a sample of 79 undergraduate women, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. Different groups of participants were conditioned to two levels of unconditioned stimuli (UCS) intensity and presented to three levels of unreinforced conditioned stimuli (CS) exposures (extinction phase) in a delay differential conditioning paradigm. The CSs were fear-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the UCSs were aversive tones. Analysis did not show a clear incubation effect; instead an increased resistance to extinction of SCR probability in association to the high-UCS and the short unreinforced CS presentation was evident. Findings support partially Eysenck's incubation theory of fear/anxiety.     

Cloninger的人格生物社会模型及其生理机制的证据

该文首先介绍了Cloninger的人格生物社会模型的7个维度,综述了该模型在神经递质、基因遗传学、脑血流以及脑电方面等的经验性证据。还探讨了该模型与其他人格生理模型之间的关系,特别是较详细比较了Cloninger的人格生物模型与Eysenck模型的差异。最后,对Cloninger的理论模型进行了评述,并提出研究生理机制、环境和个体行为的交互影响作用,是今后人格研究的一个发展方向     

The interactive effect of personality, time of day, and caffeine: a test of the arousal model

The personality dimension of introversion/extraversion is one of the few personality dimensions that can be reliably identified from study to study and investigator to investigator. The importance of this demension within personality theory is due both to the stability of the trait and the influential theory of H. J. Eysenck. The basic assumption in Eysenck's theory of introversion/extraversion is that the personality differences between introverts and extraverts reflect some basic difference in the resting level of cortical arousal or activation. Assuming that there is a curvilinear relationship (an inverted U) between levels of stress and performance leads to a test of this arousal theory. That is, moderate increases in stress should hinder the performance of introverts who are presumably already highly aroused. However, the same moderate increase in stress might help the performance of the presumably underaroused extraverts. Revelle, Amaral, and Turriff reported that the administration of moderate doses of caffeine hindered the performance of introverts and helped the performance of extraverts on a cognitive task similar to the verbal test of the Graduate Record Examination. Assuming that caffeine increases arousal, this interaction between introversion/extraversion and drug condition supports Eysenck's theory. This interaction was explored in a series of experiments designed to replicate, extend, and test the generality of the original finding. The interaction between personality and drug condition was replicated and extended to additional cognitive performance tasks. However, these interactions were affected by time of day and stage of practice, and the subscales of introversion/extraversion, impulsivity, and sociability, were differentially affected. In the morning of the first day, low impulsives were hindered and high impulsives helped by caffeine. This pattern reversed in the evening of the first day, and it reversed again in the evening of Day 2. We concluded that the results from the first day of testing require a revision of Eysenck's theory. Instead of a stable difference in arousal between low and high impulsives, it appeared that these groups differed in the phase of their diurnal arousal rhythms. The result is that low impulsives are more aroused in the morning and less aroused in the evening than are the high impulsives. A variety of peripheral or strategic explanations (differences in caffeine consumption, guessing strategies, distraction, etc.) for the observed performance increments and decrements were proposed and tentatively rejected. It seems probable that some fundamental change in the efficiency with which information is processes is responsible for these performance changes.     

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 traits modulate skin conductance response to emotional pictures: An investigation with Cloninger’s model of personality

Several studies found strong relationships between main personality dimensions and emotions, and more particularly between neuroticism and negative emotions, as well as between extraversion and positive ones. In these studies, personality was mainly assessed with respect to the big five model, and emotions were evaluated with subjective rating scales. To extend the exploration of the associations between personality and emotion, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between Cloninger’s dimensions of personality and emotional reactivity assessed by skin conductance response (SCR). In 55 normal subjects, SCR was recorded while they were presented pictures selected as positive, negative and neutral from the International Affective Picture System. The results showed no influence of personality on response magnitude, but subjects with higher harm avoidance scores showed longer half-recovery times for negative relative to neutral pictures. This result is consistent with the dispositional bias of harm avoidance to respond intensely to signals of aversive stimuli.     

The incubation theory of fear/anxiety: experimental investigation in a human laboratory model of Pavlovian conditioning

The aim of this work was to test Eysenck's incubation theory of fear/anxiety in human Pavlovian B conditioning of heart rate (HR) responses. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were phobia-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) were aversive noises. The subjects were presented with two levels of noise intensity during acquisition and three levels of nonreinforced CS presentation (CS-only) in a delay differential (CS+/CS-) conditioning paradigm (2 x 3 x 2). Consistent with the incubation theory, conditioned HR acceleratory responses were sustained (resistance to extinction) for high-noise intensity and short-presentations of CS-only subjects. During the extinction phase, HR acceleratory responses quickly extinguished in low-noise intensity groups after the first presentations of CS-only. These findings were interpreted as support for the incubation theory of phobic fear.     

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.     

Personality, delinquency, and criminal recidivism

This study explores the relationship between PEN profiles, delinquency, and recidivism in young offenders. According to Eysenck, personality is based on three basic Dimensions: Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism (PEN-model). Eysenck states that delinquents score high on all three dimensions. A group of young male offenders in a juvenile detention center in The Netherlands were studied to test Eysenck's hypothesis, which was partially confirmed. From a cluster analysis it appear that only a small group of offenders had high scores on all three PEN dimensions. Finally, it was concluded that the PEN profiles were not able to differentiate between recidivists and nonrecidivists.     

Aversive conditioning,schizotypy, and affective temperament in the framework of the salience hypothesis

During classic conditioning, the processing of conditioned stimuli (CSs+) is enhanced relative to neutral stimuli (CSs−). In patients with psychotic disorders, CSs− become abnormally relevant relative to CSs+, which may lead to the formation of aberrant associations. In this study, we explored how schizotypal and affective personality traits are associated with salience processing in nonclinical individuals. We used aversive conditioning and personality questionnaires in 100 healthy volunteers. The CSs+ were colored circles predicting the unconditioned stimulus (US), which was a loud noise. Circles of another color were the CSs− predicting no US. Conditioning was measured with skin conductance responses (SCRs) and reaction time. Results revealed that higher reality distortion, introvertive anhedonia, and cyclothymic personality negatively correlated with SCRs and positively correlated with reaction time for CSs+, which indicates less efficient conditioning. After taking into account the covariance between these personality traits, only reality distortion and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ SCRs, and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ reaction time. Enhanced responses to CSs− were positively predicted only by reality distortion. These results suggest that salience-processing biases are related to schizotypal personality traits in healthy individuals, exhibiting a similar pattern to that observed in psychotic disorders.     

Determinants of Perceived Stress in Adolescence: The Role of Personality Traits,Emotional Abilities,Trait Emotional Intelligence,Self-Efficacy,and Self-Esteem

The aim of the current study was to examine the explanatory power of personality traits, emotional abilities, trait emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and self-esteem in predicting perceived stress in adolescents. The data were collected from 406 high school students, aged 18-22 years (M_age = 18.47, SD = 0.64). Perceived stress was assessed with the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Personality traits were measured with the Eysenck Personality Short Scale (EPQ-R-S), emotional abilities were assessed with two performance tests, the Emotional Intelligence Scale – Faces (SIE-T), and the Emotion Understanding Test (TRE), and trait emotional intelligence was measured with a selfreport questionnaire (the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, SEIS). The Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were also used. Results indicate that the strongest determinant of perceived stress in adolescents was high neuroticism. Perceived stress was also determined by low self-efficacy and self-esteem, as well as high extraversion and psychoticism. Women reported higher perceived stress than men. There also were differences in the determinants of perceived stress between graduate and nongraduate students. The obtained results suggest that the development of high self-esteem and high self-efficacy may contribute to perceptions of lower stress in adolescents and may be especially valuable for neurotic individuals and for women, who are more exposed to stress.     

个体神经质水平对情绪加工的影响 ——事件相关电位研究

采用事件相关电位方法探讨个体神经质水平对情绪加工的影响,测量并比较了神经质高水平个体和神经质低水平个体观看三类图片（积极、中性和消极）时的事件相关电位。结果发现,P120、N130、P230和N250成分的刺激效价主效应显著,积极、消极情绪刺激与中性刺激诱发的ERP差异最早开始于刺激呈现后的120ms左右。其次,在额叶和额中央部位的晚正电位上,神经质水平与刺激效价交互作用显著,神经质高分组与低分组对消极情绪刺激的反应有明显差异,而两组被试对积极、中性刺激的反应没有表现出差异。结果支持神经质与消极情绪相关,个体的神经质水平主要影响额叶和额中央叶的晚期负性情绪加工