Entrevista con H. J. Eysenck

RESUMEN

La obra de H.J. Eysenck ya forma parte, de hecho, de la historia de la psicología. Su labor de síntesis en el análisis científico de la personalidad (síntesis entre los procedimientos factoriales, los resultados de la psicología experimental, los datos clínicos y los análisis psicofisiológicos) ha marcado toda una época de estudio en este campo. Pero los intereses y aportaciones de Eysenck han ido más allá y abarcan desde los desarrollos primeros de la terapia de conducta al estudio de la determinación genética y ambiental de la inteligencia, de la exploración de las actitudes al análisis de las diferencias entre sexos. En esta entrevista el profesor Eysenck reflexiona sobre algunos puntos de sus teorías que han provocado fuertes controversias; la confusión entre posturas intelectuales e ideológicas, sus estudios sobre la eficacia de las terapias psicodinámicas, sus relaciones con la astrología, etc.     

Field-dependence,extraversion, Eysenck and autarky

The research literature was examined with regard to relationships between Field-dependence and Extraversion. Eysenck's contention that the two variables are significantly related to an extent justifying the use of causal hypotheses based on extraversion theory to account for field-dependent behavior was not supported.     

The Eysenck personality scales: stability and change after therapy.

Eysenck has linked personality theory with the aetiology and treatment of abnormal behaviour (Eysenck, 1970). At least four levels of explanation link hypothetical neurophysiological mechanisms to self-report measures of personality, laboratory task performance and observed social habits and attitudes (Eysenck, 1960). The phenomena of neurotic breakdown and recovery provide one natural test of predictions from personality theory with respect to neuroticism (N) and extraversion (E). Taking phobias as an example, it is predicted that persons with a high score on N (a low threshold for emotional activation) develop phobic reactions more readily, and the more introverted the person, the more quickly and strongly are the phobic reactions acquired and lastingly maintained (Eysenck and Rachman, 1965, p. 36).In a prospective study of university students. Kelvin et al. (1965) were unable to find a relationship between initial N score and psychological distress up to 2.5 years later. Rather, the N scale appeared to reflect current mental status, increasing when distress was reported. E scores also dropped in a group of students who happened to be referred to a psychiatrist. Similarly, in a 3-year follow-up of patients who had attended a psychiatrist. Ingham (1966) found that change in clinical status was reflected in a change of N, with the score of the improved group returning to the population mean. Initial personality did not predict change in clinical status. It was also found in a number of analyses that improvement was related to an increase in extraversion.The present study was designed to replicate Ingham's experiment on a more homogeneous group of neurotic patients—all phobic—who had received fantasy or in vivo exposure treatment (Marks, 1974). This treatment can be compared to an extinction procedure, i.e. the non-reinforced presentation of the CS, and should therefore provide a good testing ground of personality theory. Eysenck's theory predicts that the speed and success of treatment will be related to initial E and N scores. In particular, the speed of extinction of the neurotic fear should be related to extraversion; the more extraverted the patient the more rapidly should the fear extinguish.     

Anxiety: The cognitive perspective,by Michael W. Eysenck Hove,UK: Lawrence erlbaum; 1992; 195 pp.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was twofold: To investigate the structure of the test anxiety construct. and to compare the psychometric properties of rating scales versus questionnaire scales of test anxiety.

The intercorrelations among fourteen test anxiety measures, representing the one-, two-and four-dimensional models were examined as well as the correlations between those scales and eight measures of test-related perceptions.

The sample consisted of 172 undergraduate and graduate students of education. The results indicated that the underlying structure of the test anxiety construct consists of four primary factors. It was noted that the pattern of the relationships among the test anxiety measures remained intact when the broader context, which included also test-related perceptions, was studied. Based on the intra- and intercorrelations among the test anxiety and the test-related perceptions, a speculative causal model for explaining the effect of test anxiety on performance was suggested.

The findings regarding the format issue seemed to support the contention that rating scales are at least as valid measures of a simple single trait as questionnaire scales. However, it was stressed that further research is needed in order to find out whether or not rating scales are robust enough to be considered valid measures in situations that elicit social desirability distortion.     

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.