Sex differences in perceived accuracy of falsified personality inventory feedback.

80 college freshmen who scored near the mean on the Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory were given falsified score reports stating that the Ss were either high E or low E and either high N or low N. Ss receiving low-E ("introverted") reports tended to rate the efficiency of the instrument and the accuracy of the report less favorably than did those receiving high-E reports. Females receiving low-E reports tended to make ratings signficantly lower than did males receiving low-E reports. Ss receiving high-N ("neurotic") reports rated the inventory less favorably than did those receiving low-N ("stable") reports. The lowest average ratings were made by females receiving low-E and high-N reports. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive effects of extraversion, neuroticism, and social relationships on subjective well-being.

Previous research has indicated that there is a relation between extraversion and subjective well-being (SWB), and that the sociability component of extraversion primarily accounts for this relation. Interactive effects of extraversion and social relationship variables on SWB were hypothesized and found in Study 1 using the Extraversion scale from the 16 PF, the Well-Being subscale of the Differential Personality Questionnaire, and several social relationship scales administered to 291 college students. Several multiple regression analyses indicated that strength of social relationships was a strong predictor of SWB only for introverted individuals. Study 2 replicated these findings with the Eysenck Personality Inventory and revealed important interactive relations between extraversion, neuroticism, and social relationships in predicting SWB. A strong relationship between extraversion and SWB occurred only among individuals who were highly neurotic or who had poor social relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Primary traits of Eysenck's P-E-N system: three- and five-factor solutions

The Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP), a set of 21 scales measuring primary traits hypothesized to be definers of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Psychoticism factors, was administered to 229 adults together with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire--Revised (H. J. Eysenck & S. B. G. Eysenck, 1991) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992b). Correlations of EPP scales with NEO-PI-R facet scales provided preliminary evidence supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of the EPP scales. However, varimax and targeted validimax factor analyses suggested that some EPP scales were misclassified and that EPP scales could better be understood in terms of the 5-factor model than the intended 3-factor model.     

Relationship of a measure of self-actualization to neuroticism and extraversion.

To examine the relationships between personality constructs of "neuroticism" and "self-actualization," the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a measure of self-actualization, and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), a measure of neuroticism-stability and extraversion-introversion were each administered to a sample of 136 undergraduate college students. Ss were selected on the basis of scores on the neuroticism dimension to form a "high" neurotic group and a "low" neurotic group, and mean scores were obtained for each group on each of the POI scales. All mean differences were significant at or beyond the .05 level. Thus, even though developed from somewhat differing theoretical considerations, the present instruments appear to be tapping a common core of mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective evaluation of open prefrontal leucotomy

Forty-three patients received an open prefrontal leucotomy for severe and intractable psychiatric illnesses. As a result of the operation three patients died, three developed personality changes and one had repeated grand-mal seizures. Of the 40 patients followed up for six months, 57-5% showed marked improvement in their clinical state and 30-0% mild to moderate degrees of improvement whilst no patient's condition was considered to be worse. Significant improvement was obtained after operation in the mean scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale, the Beck Depression Scale and the Neuroticism Scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Extroversion, as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory, was significantly increased after operation. It is recommended that open prefrontal leucotomy procedures be replaced by the safer stereotactic or electrode implantation techniques and that all psychosurgery be confined to specialist units.     

Characteristics of the frequent nightmare sufferer.

Previous research had found that persons who experience frequent nightmares score highly on scales that measure psychotic symptomatology. Neurotic symptoms have also been implicated as correlates of nightmare frequency. In this study, 30 adult lifelong nightmare sufferers were compared with 30 control Ss, matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Ss were asked to record all dreams for 1 mo and to complete the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Nightmare Ss scored significantly higher on the EPQ Neuroticism scale and on 8 MMPI clinical scales than did the control group. These scales also best discriminated between the groups in a direct discrimination analysis. The results are interpreted as a reflection of global maladjustment rather than of specific psychotic symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of anxiety arousal on the consumption of alcohol by alcoholics and social drinkers.

Tested the hypothesis that the arousal of anxiety would lead to an increase in the alcoholic's consumption of alcohol. 20 male nonabstinent alcoholics and 20 male social drinkers were engaged in an alcohol taste rating task. High and low levels of state anxiety were induced by threatening Ss with either a painful or a nonpainful electric shock. Levels of trait anxiety were also assessed using the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Alcoholics consumed significantly more alcohol than social drinkers in the tasting task, but the amounts consumed by both groups were unrelated either to the anxiety manipulation factor or trait anxiety scores. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for anxiety-reduction models of alcoholism. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of responses of Canadian and English children on the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was administered to 1,058 7–15 yr old Canadians. Factor patterns of the test items were compared with those reported for British children. Results of factor analyses confirmed a strong similarity between the Canadian and British samples in the loadings of most items on Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Social Desirability. Factor comparisons were high and reliabilities satisfactory. Comparison of mean scores for the Canadian and British samples revealed, for the former, higher scores on Psychoticism and Neuroticism and lower scores on Social Desirability. (French abstract) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism among policemen: An examination of police personality.

Compared the neuroticism scores of college-educated policemen, non-college-educated policemen, and college- and non-college-educated civilians (N = 548), using the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale. On the whole, policemen scored lower on neuroticism when compared with nonpolice citizens. Noncollege police were significantly less neurotic than college and noncollege civilians on the Eysenck but not on the Rokeach scale. It is concluded that neuroticism was not a major characteristic of this group of policemen. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Personal Orientation Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Inventory as outcome measures in a private outpatient clinic.

Administered the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) to 221 psychotherapy patients participating in a programmatic, ongoing therapeutic modality and to 134 undergraduates serving as a comparison group. Results indicate a shift toward the self-actualizing POI profile with increasing time in therapy, replicating the findings of previous research. EPI results indicated increasing Extraversion and decreasing Neuroticism scores with increasing time in therapy. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive functioning of older people in relation to social and personality variables.

Examined age differences in performance on memory measures and in subjective ratings of memory adequacy in the context of 12 social, personality, adjustment, and lifestyle measures. Ss were 285 men and women (aged 65–93 yrs) of middle- and working-class backgrounds. Cognitive measures included digit span, word recall, and memory and elaborative processing of a prose passage. Multivariate and univariate analyses revealed that a large proportion of the age differences and virtually all of the social-class differences on memory measures could be accounted for by contextual variables. Education; Intellectual activity; and Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory all accounted for more of the variance in memory performance than did age. Self-rated memory adequacy was not correlated with performance, and although the expected finding of lower ratings by older Ss was obtained with the working-class group, the opposite was true for the middle-class group. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shared genes, shared experiences, and similarity of personality: Data from 14,288 adult Finnish co-twins.

Similarities for Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) scale scores from the Eysenck Personality Inventory were evaluated in 7,144 adult twin pairs, drawn from the population-based Finnish Twin Cohort, as a function of the co-twins' genetic resemblance, gender, age, and the frequency of their social interaction with each other. To separate effects of shared genes from those of shared experience, we performed hierarchical multiple regressions of double-entry data matrices. Results establish the predictive significance of both genetic and experiential influences: Genetic effects remained significant when tested after the effects of social contact were first removed; conversely, for N scores, the effects of social contact remained significant when assessed after genetic influences were first removed. These findings establish genetic variance in major dimensions of adult personality but assign a significant role to common experience as well. The first finding constructively replicates reports by others; the second challenges the widespread assumption that shared experiences have a negligible impact on sibling similarity in adult personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support and suicidal ideation in French-Canadians.

70 French-Canadian men and 80 French-Canadian women completed French versions of measures including the Life Experiences Survey, Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, Eysenck Personality Inventory, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Depression scale as well as scales assessing social support and suicidal ideation. Results of a backstep multiple regression analysis identified level of self-esteem, life stress, and relative religiousness as significant predictors of suicidal ideation. The contribution of social support was only significant at the 10% level. The pattern of variables associated with suicidal ideation resembled that of a neurotic lifestyle. Results suggest that interventions limited to social support may not be adequate to reduce suicidal ideation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of NEO-PI performance to coping styles, patterns of use, and triggers for use among substance abusers

We investigated the construct validity of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) with a clinical population of 2,676 substance abusers. Scores on the NEO-PI were correlated with self-reported measures of psychopathology as well as patterns of substance abuse, reported coping styles, relapse triggers, and relapse confidence. Substance abusers were more Neurotic and less Agreeable and Conscientious than were the NEO-PI nonclinical normative sample. Within subgroups of substance users, cocaine-only users were more Extroverted and Open than were alcohol-only users. Polysubstance users were the least Agreeable and Conscientious group. Alcohol-only users and polysubstance users scored higher on Neuroticism than did other groups. Personality dimensions related to reported coping styles in meaningful ways. For example, Neuroticism was highly related to escape avoidant coping (r = .53), Agreeableness was negatively related to confrontive coping (r = -.28), and Conscientiousness was related to problem solving (r = -.27) and negatively related to escape avoidance (r = -.29). Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extroversion were associated with reported triggers of use including negative emotional states, social rejection, and tension. Higher levels of Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extroversion were associated with greater confidence in ability to refrain from use, whereas Neuroticism was associated with a corresponding lack of confidence in self-restraint.     

Self-deception, other-deception, and self-reported psychopathology.

Administered inventories designed to assess self-reported psychopathology, other-deception (lying), and self-deception to a group of 250 undergraduates. The inventories included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Neuroticism and Lie scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Manifest Symptom Questionnaire, the Other-Deception Questionnaire, and the Self-Deception Questionnaire. Substantial negative correlations were found between self-deception and psychopathology scores, and the relationships between the self-deception and psychopathology scores were stronger than those between the other-deception and psychopathology measures. Findings support the view that self-deception significantly contributes to the invalidity of self-report inventories and more so than does other-deception. The possibility is raised that self-deception is a moderating variable contributing to the lack of agreement between clinical and actuarial forms of assessment. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

End-of-day moods on work and leisure days in relation to extraversion, neuroticism, and amount of change in daily activities.

Tested hypotheses that (a) the relationship between daily activity variation (AV) of Ss and their end-of-day moods (M) is moderated by extraversion-introversion (E-I), the relationship being positive for extraverts and negative for introverts; and (b) the relationships of AV, M, and E-I are stronger on a nonwork (leisure) than a work day (WL). A possible influence of neuroticism-stability (N-S) on the above relationships was also explored. 98 adults were given the Eysenck Personality Inventory and, based on their scores, were placed into 1 of 4 groups (formed by combinations of extraversion or introversion and neuroticism or stability). Ss also completed a time diary for 1 work and 1 nonwork day, indicating their activities, moods, and other information. A 2 * 4 analysis of variance of M scores for the dichotimized classifications of WL, E-I, N-S, and AV supported both hypotheses. Neurotics showed inverted responses from those of stables, such that the positive relationship between AV and M for stable extraverts became negative, and the negative relationship for stable introverts became positive, when Ss were neurotic. A post-hoc formulation to account for results is presented, and there is a discussion of forms of varied experience that leisure days offer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulsive motor behavior: Effects of personality and goal salience.

This experiment used a circle tracing paradigm to extend our recent theoretical development concerning the contributions of extraversion and neuroticism to impulsive performance on continuous motor tasks. Ss (N?=?137) completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 circle conditions: The goal condition provided subjects with a salient behavioral end point for their tracings, whereas the no-goal condition promoted behavioral uncertainty. In both conditions, Ss were asked to trace the circle under neutral and inhibition instructions. Using J. A. Gray's impulsivity and anxiety dimensions to group subjects, impulsive subjects under inhibition instructions displayed significantly faster tracing speed than nonimpulsive subjects in the presence of a salient goal, whereas anxious subjects appeared behaviorally impulsive in a situation promoting uncertainty and response conflict. Conceptualizing impulsivity and anxiety in terms of extraversion and neuroticism, with impulsive Ss as neurotic extraverts and anxious Ss as neurotic-introverts, it is proposed that Ss' level of extraversion determines the type of stimuli to which they are responsive and that level of neuroticism influences the magnitude of this reaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extraversion, neuroticism, and motor learning.

"The Extraversion and Neuroticism scales of the Maudsley Personality Inventory were administered to 72 college students who were dichotomized on the basis of their scale scores. The inverted alphabet printing task was used to provide measures of motor learning performance. Analyses of variance of the motor learning scores showed that the women learned significantly faster than the men, but the main effects of Extraversion and Neuroticism were not significant." 17 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and interior office design: Exploring the accuracy of visitor attributions.

Examined the relationship between office design (desk and seating arrangements) and occupant personality in a field study of 40 university faculty occupying single offices. Measures included Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale, and the Extraversion scale from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Ss using open-desk and seating arrangements exhibited greater locus of control and extraversion, whereas interpersonal LPC orientation was associated with only open-desk placement. Implications of a linkage between office design and personality, including the veridicality of visitor attributions, are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of structured psychodrama and systematic desensitization in reducing test anxiety.

36 students with examination anxiety took part in a study of the effectiveness of structured psychodrama and systematic desensitization in reducing test anxiety. Ss were randomly assigned to psychodrama, desensitization, or no-treatment control groups. All Ss were tested before and after the treatments on the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Results show that Ss in both treatment groups significantly reduced their test-anxiety scores compared with the controls. This was also congruent with gains as tested in vivo. A comparison between the 2 treatments, however, shows no significant differences. Also, there were no statistical differences among the 3 groups in neuroticism either before or after the treatments. It is concluded that the structured psychodrama method is as effective a mode of counseling as systematic desensitization in treating test anxiety. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)