Hans Eysenck

Hans Jürgen Eysenck (March 4, 1916 - September 4, 1997) was an eminent psychologist, most remembered for his work on intelligence and personality, though he worked in a wide range of areas. At the time of his death, Eysenck was the living psychologist most frequently cited in science journals (Haggbloom et al., 2002).

Life

Hans Eysenck was born in Germany, March 4, 1916 to Eduard Anton Eysenck (actor, d. 1972) and Ruth Eysenck (née Werner, stage name Helga Molander, d. 1986). The marriage soon collapsed; Hans was entrusted to Ruth's mother (Frau Werner, once an opera singer); and Ruth married Max Glass (film producer and writer). As the Nazi influence grew, Ruth and Max (who were Jewish) were forced to leave Germany for France as a young man in the 1930s because of his opposition to the Nazi party. Frau Werner, who had been badly crippled, would eventually die in a concentration camp. After the fall of France, Max's fortune was exhausted bribing the Nazis to release Ruth from internment; but she eventually joined him in South America, a new fortune was built, and the couple returned to Paris.

Eysenck was the founding editor of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, and authored over 50 books and over 900 academic articles. He aroused intense debate with his controversial dealing with variation in IQ among racial groups (see race and intelligence).

Work

Eysenck was professor of psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) from 1955 to 1983. He was a major contributor to the modern scientific theory of personality and a brilliant teacher who also played a crucial role in the establishment of behavioral treatments for mental disorders. He was a prolific writer, and his thoughts went so fast that ordinary writing speed was not able to match. He used a portable Dictaphone to write his books and passed it to his secretary to transcribe the tape into words afterwards. A colleague, Professor Arthur R. Jensen praised his ability to give an outstanding extempore lecture on the history of personality research to a group of graduate students and post-docs. As he frequently did, the lecture was taped and appeared several months later in the British Journal of Psychology. Professor Jensen remarked that it was just as he had remembered it from the lecture.

However, Eysenck's work was often controversial. Publications in which Eysenck's views have roused controversy include (chronologically):

• A paper in the 1950s [1] concluding that available data "fail to support the hypothesis that psychotherapy facilitates recovery from neurotic disorder".
• A chapter in Uses and Abuses of Psychology (1953) entitled "What is wrong with psychoanalysis".
• Race, Intelligence and Education (1971)(The IQ Argument in the U.S.)
• Sex, Violence and the Media (1978).
• Astrology - Science or Superstition? (1982)
• Smoking, Personality and Stress (1991)

Eysenck also earned criticism for accepting funding from the Pioneer Fund, a eugenics organization that has been controversial.

By far the most acrimonious of the debates has been that over the role of genetics in IQ differences (See Genetics vs. environment), which led to Eysenck famously being punched on the nose during a talk at the London School of Economics.

Eysenck's attitude is summarised in his autobiography Rebel with a Cause (Transaction Publishers (1997), ISBN 1-56000-938-1): "I always felt that a scientist owes the world only one thing, and that is the truth as he sees it. If the truth contradicts deeply held beliefs, that is too bad. Tact and diplomacy are fine in international relations, in politics, perhaps even in business; in science only one thing matters, and that is the facts."

Eysenck's model of personality (P-E-N)

Eysenck was one of the first psychologists to study personality with the method of factor analysis, a statistical technique introduced by Charles Spearman. Eysenck's results suggested two main personality factors. The first factor was the tendency to experience negative emotions, and Eysenck referred to it as Neuroticism. The Neuroticism (N) trait is measured on a bipolar scale anchored at the high end by emotional instability and spontaneity and by reflection and deliberateness at the low end. Individuals high on the N trait are susceptible to anxiety-based problems. The second factor was the tendency to enjoy positive events, especially social events, and Eysenck named it Extraversion. The Extroversion (E) trait is measured on a bipolar scale that is anchored at the high end by sociability and stimulation-seeking and at the low end by social reticence and stimulation avoidance. The two personality dimensions were described in his 1947 book Dimensions of Personality. It is common practice in personality psychology to refer to the dimensions by the first letters, E and N.

E and N provided a 2-dimensional space to describe individual differences in behavior. An analogy can be made to how latitude and longitude describe a point on the face of the earth. Also, Eysenck noted how these two dimensions were similar to the four personality types first proposed by the Greek physician Galen.

• High N and High E = Choleric type
• High N and Low E = Melancholic type
• Low N and High E = Sanguine type
• Low N and Low E = Phlegmatic type

The third dimension, psychoticism was added to the model in the late 1970s, based upon collaborations between Eysenck and his wife, Sybil B. G. Eysenck (e.g., Eysenck & Eysenck, 1969; 1976), who is the current editor of Personality and Individual Differences. The Psychoticism (P) trait is a bipolar scale anchored at the high end by aggressiveness and divergent thinking and at the low end by empathy and caution. One common misconception about the P scale is that it is diagnostic for psychosis. The EPQ is not a diagnostic instrument. While appropriateness of the label “Psychoticism” for the trait has been debated, it has nevertheless been retained.

Eysenck examined antisocial behavior (ASB) in children which predicted that individuals at risk for developing ASB have above average P scale scores. In addition, individuals who are also high on the E and N scales and below average on the L scale are at the greatest risk. Eysenck's measurement instruments also contain a Lie (L) scale that has been shown to function as an index of socialization or social conformity. The L scale is a measure of the degree to which one is disposed to give socially expected responses to certain types of questions. Eysenck proponents suggest implementing preventive programs targeting children at-risk for developing ASB because of temperamental predispositions.

The major strength of Eysenck's model was to provide detailed theory of the causes of personality. For example, Eysenck proposed that extraversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal; "introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity than extraverts and so are chronically more cortically aroused than extraverts" (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985). While it seems counterintuitive to suppose that introverts are more aroused than extraverts, the putative effect this has on behavior is such that the introvert seeks lower levels of stimulation. Conversely, the extravert seeks to heighten their arousal to a more optimal level (as predicted by the Yerkes-Dodson Law) by increased activity, social engagement and other stimulation-seeking behaviors.

Comparison with other theories

The major alternative to Eysenck's three factor model of personality is a model that makes use of five broad traits, often called the Big Five model (see the big five factors in Personality). The traits in the Big Five are as follows:

1. Extraversion
2. Neuroticism
3. Conscientiousness
4. Agreeableness
5. Openness to experience

Extraversion and Neuroticism in the Big Five are similar to Eysenck's traits of the same name. However, what Eysenck calles the trait of Psychoticism corresponds to two traits in the Big Five model: Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. Eysenck's personality system did not address Openness to experience. He argued that his approach was a better description of personality (Eysenck, 1992a; 1992b).

Eysenck has always insisted that his use of the term "extraversion" does not correspond to the usage adopted by Carl Jung, and has also challenged the popular belief that Jung coined the term.

Psychometric scales relevant to Eysenck's theory

Eysenck's theory of personality is closely linked with the scales that he and his co-workers developed. These include the Maudsley Medical Questionnaire, Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Sensation Seeking Scale (developed in conjunction with Marvin Zuckerman). The Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) breaks down different facets of each trait considered in the model. There has been some debate about whether these facets should include impulsivity as a facet of extraversion as Eysenck declared in his early work; or psychoticism. Eysenck declared for the latter, in later work.

Eysenck's later work

In 1994 he was one of 52 signatories on "Mainstream Science on Intelligence," an editorial written by Linda Gottfredson and published in the Wall Street Journal, which defended the findings on race and intelligence in The Bell Curve.

Eysenck made early contributions to fields such as personality by express and explicit commitment to a very rigorous adherence to scientific methodology, as Eysenck believed that scientific methodology was required for progress in personality psychology. He used, for example, factor analysis, a rigorous statistical method, to support his personality model. His early work showed Eysenck to be an especially strong critic of psychoanalysis as a form of therapy, preferring behavior therapy. Despite this strongly scientific interest, Eysenck was not shy, in later work, of giving attention to parapsychology and astrology. Indeed, he believed that empirical evidence supported the existence of paranormal abilities.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Center, David B. and Kemp, Dawn E. Antisocial Behaviour in Children and Eysenck's Theory of Personality: an evaluation. in International Journal of Disability, Development & Education; Dec2002, Vol. 49 Issue 4, p353-366.
• Eysenck, H.J. (1992a). A reply to Costa and McCrae. P or A and C - the role of theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 867-868. ISBN 0306418444.
• Eysenck, H.J. (1992b). Four ways five factors are not basic. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 667-673. Springer Publisher. ISBN 0306418444.
• Eysenck, H.J. & Eysenck, S.B.G. (1968). Personality Structure and Measurement. E D I T S Publishers. ISBN 0912736089.
• Eysenck, H.J. & Eysenck, S.B.G. (1976). Psychoticism as a Dimension of Personality. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0340209194.
• Haggbloom, S.J. (2002). The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Review of General Psychology, 6, 139-152.

Publications

• Dimensions of Personality (1947)
• The Scientific Study of Personality (1952)
• The Structure of Human Personality (1952) and later editions
• Uses and Abuses of Psychology (1953)
• The Psychology of Politics (1954)
• Psychology and the Foundations of Psychiatry (1955)
• Sense and Nonsense in Psychology (1956)
• The Dynamics of Anxiety and Hysteria (1957)
• Perceptual Processes and Mental Illnesses (1957) with G. Granger and J. C. Brengelmann
• Manual of the Maudsley Personality Inventory (1959)
• Handbook of Abnormal Psychology (1960) editor, later editions
• Experiments in Personality (1960) two volumes, editor
• Behaviour Therapy and Neuroses (1960) editor
• Know Your Own I.Q. (1962)
• Experiments with Drugs (1963) editor
• Experiments in Motivation (1964) editor
• Crime and Personality (1964) and later editions
• Manual of the Eysenck Personality Inventory (1964) with S. B. G. Eysenck
• The Causes and Cures of Neuroses (1965) with S. Rachman
• Fact and Fiction in Psychology (1965)
• Smoking, Health and Personality (1965)
• Check Your Own I.Q. (1966)
• The Effects of Psychotherapy (1966)
• The Biological Basis of Personality (1967)
• Personality Structure and Measurement (1969) with S. B. G. Eysenck
• Readings in Extraversion/Introversion (1971) three volumes
• Race, Intelligence and Education (1971) in US as The IQ Argument
• Psychology is about People (1972)
• Lexicon de Psychologie (1972) three volumes, with W. Arnold and R. Meili
• The Inequality of Man (1973)
• Eysenck on Extraversion (1973) editor
• The Measurement of Intelligence (1973) editor
• The Experimental Study of Freudian theories (1973) with G. D. Wilson
• Case Histories in Behaviour Therapy (1974) editor
• Know Your Own Personality (1975) with G. D. Wilson
• Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (1975) with S. B. G. Eysenck
• A Textbook of Human Psychology (1976) with G. D. Wilson
• Sex and Personality (1976)
• The Measurement of Personality (1976) editor
• Psychoticism as a Dimension of Personality (1976) with S. B. G. Eysenck
• Reminiscence, Motivation and Personality (1977) with C. D. Frith
• You and Neurosis (1977)
• Die Zukunft der Psychologie (1977)
• The Psychological Basis of Ideology (1978) editor, with G. D. Wilson
• Sex Violence and the Media (1978) with D. Nias
• The Structure and Measurement of Intelligence (1979)
• The Psychology of Sex (1979) with G. D. Wilson
• The Causes and Effects of Smoking (1980)
• A Model for Personality (1981) editor
• Mindwatching (1981) with M. W. Eysenck, and later editions
• The Battle for the Mind (1981) with L. J. Kamin, in US as The Intelligence Controversy
• Personality, Genetics and Behaviour (1982)
• Explaining the Unexplained (1982) with Carl Sargent
• Astrology – Science or Superstition? (1982) with D. Nias
• A Model for Intelligence (1982) editor
• Know Your Own Psi-Q (1983) with Carl Sargent
• …'I Do'. Your Happy Guide to Marriage (1983) with B. N. Kelly
• Personality and Individual Differences: A Natural Science Approach (1985) with M. W. Eysenck
• Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire (1985)
• Rauchen und Gesundheit (1987)
• Personality Dimensions and Arousal (1987) editor, with J. Strelau
• Theoretical Foundations of Behaviour Therapy (1988) editor, with I. Martin
• The Causes and Cures of Criminality (1989) with G. H. Gudjonsson
• Genes, Culture and Personality: An Empirical Approach (1989) with L. Eaves and N. Martin
• Suggestion and Suggestibility (1989) editor, with V. A. Gheorghiu, P. Netter, and R. Rosenthal

External links

• The H.J. Eysenck Official Web Site
• Obit by Chris Brand

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