7 - Eysenck's PEN Theory

Question 1

Why are personality psychology and everyday human observation similar?

Answer 1

both seek to characterize people using similar kinds of terms

Question 2

What are some considerations for the trait approach?

Answer 2

• almost all research within the trait approach relies on correlational designs
• it focuses exclusively on individual differences (trait measurements are made on ordinal rather than ratio scales)
• it is meaningful and useful to assess broad categories of individual differences
• personality traits affect life outcomes that matter to people

Question 3

Why is there a certain inconsistency in relation to traits?

Answer 3

• personality traits are not the only factors that control an individual’s behaviour
• situations vary according to the people who are present and the implicit rules that apply
• people differ from each other in the degree to which they have developed a consistent personality
• this difference might be related to psychological adjustment as well as age

Question 4

What are the three parts of the situationist argument?

Answer 4

• predictability = there is an upper limit to how well one can predict what a person will do based on any measurement of that person’s personality; this upper limit is a low upper limit
• the power of the situation = situations are more important than personality traits in determining behaviour
• erroneous perceptions = everyday intuitions about people are fundamentally flawed; people commit the fundamental attribution error

Question 5

What is the situationist argument for predictability?

Answer 5

there is no trait that you can use to predict someone’s behaviour with enough accuracy to be useful

Question 6

What is the personality response to the situationist argument for predictability?

Answer 6

• unfair literature review
• we can do better = the .40 upper limit is a result of poor or less than optimal research methodology
• a correlation of .40 is not small

Question 7

Why is the 0.40 upper limit a result of poor research methodology?

Answer 7

• personality is more likely to be relevant in real situations
• some people are more consistent than others
• some behaviours might be more consistent than others
• should be a focus on general behavioural trends instead of single actions

Question 8

What is an absolute standard?

Answer 8

how many correct and incorrect predictions of behaviour a trait measurement would yield in a hypothetical context

Question 9

What is a relative standard?

Answer 9

compare the degree of predictability with the accuracy of other methods used to predict behaviour

Question 10

What is the situationist argument for the power of the situation?

Answer 10

• data is collected from studies in experimental social psychology
• the concept of personality trait involves individual differences that are maintained across situations, not how much a behaviour is performed
• as the effect of the situation gets stronger, the effect of the person tends to get weaker

Question 11

What is the situationist argument for erroneous perceptions?

Answer 11

the approximate - 18,000 trait terms in the English language came about because ideas about personality traits are important
- people are psychologically different, and it is important and interesting to note how

Question 12

When are personality variables important, and when are situational variables important?

Answer 12

• situational variables are relevant to how people will act under specific circumstances
• personality traits are better for describing how people will act in general

Question 13

What is interactionism?

Answer 13

• aspects of personality and of situations work together to determine behaviour; neither has an effect by itself, nor is one more important than the other

Question 14

How do values relate to the person-situation debate?

Answer 14

• a situationist view implies that people are free to do whatever they want
• this implies that nothing we do is ever really our fault
• a personality view implies that an individual might be able to develop a consistent identity and personal style that allows them to transcend the moment

Question 15

What are the methods to connect traits with behaviour?

Answer 15

• single-trait approach
• many-trait approach
• essential-trait approach
• typological approach

Question 16

What are high self monitors?

Answer 16

• those who vary in their inner and outer selves and in how they perform in different settings
• carefully survey every situation looking for cues, and then adjust their behaviour accordingly

Question 17

What are low self monitors?

Answer 17

• largely the same outside as they are inside, and do not vary much from one setting to another
• behaviour is guided by their inner personality

Question 18

What is narcissism?

Answer 18

• excessive self-love
• seek to defend an unrealistically inflated self-concept
• in its normal range, it may have its pros and cons
• extremes can be considered a personality disorder

Question 19

What is the California Q-set?

Answer 19

• list of 100 personality traits
• Q-set is a set of items
• Q-sort is the resulting arrangement

Question 20

What does the many-trait approach say about word use?

Answer 20

• the use of words as implications for personality
• people who used a relatively large number of certainty words were described as intelligent, verbally fluent, ambitious, and generous

Question 21

What does the many-trait approach say about depression?

Answer 21

• women may be at risk for depression when they are overcontrolled
• for young men, the risk factor is being undercontrolled

Question 22

What does the many-trait approach say about political orientation?

Answer 22

• authoritarians = uncooperative, inflexible, obey authority, fewer positive emotions, stem from an attempt to lessen fears
• liberals = motivated by a desire for a wide range of gratifications soon
• could also be a result of parental outlook and genetics

Question 23

What is the block theory?

Answer 23

• two essential characteristics of personality = ego resilience (psychological adjustment) and ego control (impulse control)
• high in ego-control = overcontrolled, inhibit their impulses
• low in ego-control = undercontrolled, more prone to immediately act on their impulses
• high in ego resilience = adjust their level of control from high to low and back again as circumstances warrant

Question 24

What is Tellegan’s theory?

Answer 24

• updated Eysenck’s theory

- superfactors = positive emotionality, negative emotionality, constraint

Question 25

What are the misgivings of trait approaches?

Answer 25

• the structure of personality traits across many individuals is not the same thing as the structure of personality as it resides within a person
• important differences between people are not just quantitative but qualitative

Question 26

What are the Caspi types?

Answer 26

• well-adjusted = adaptable, flexible, resourceful, interpersonally successful
• maladjusted overcontrolling = too uptight for their own good, denying themselves pleasure needlessly, and being difficult to deal with at an interpersonal level
• maladjusted undercontrolling = too impulsive, prone to be involved in activities such as crime and unsafe sex, tend to wreak general havoc on other people and themselves

Question 27

How does Eysenck describe personality?

Answer 27

• hierarchy of constructs
• acts = physical movements, individual cognitions
• habits = patterns of correlated acts
• traits = sets of intercorrelated habits
• factors = set of intercorrelated traits

Question 28

How is Eysenck’s hierarchy organized?

Answer 28

• move from the most experiential to the most genetically determined aspects of personality
• habits and acts = influenced by learning
• traits and factors = influenced by genetics
• genes condition the learning that takes place
• the hierarchy develops top down

Question 29

What are the PEN dimensions?

Answer 29

• extroversion - introversion
• neuroticism - stability
• psychoticism - ego control

Question 30

How does Eysenck describe extroversion?

Answer 30

• characteristics = sociability, activity, assertiveness, sensation-seeking, dominance, venturesomeness, carefreeness

Question 31

How does Eysenck describe neuroticism?

Answer 31

• characteristics = anxiousness, depression, low self-esteem, shyness, moodiness, tenseness, irrationality, emotionality
• orthogonal to the extroversion - introversion scale

Question 32

How does Eysenck describe psychoticism?

Answer 32

• characteristics = aggressiveness, coldness, egocentricity, impulsivity, antisociality, unempathetic, tough-mindedness, creativity

Question 33

How do the PEN dimensions relate to the four humours?

Answer 33

• sanguine = stable extrovert
• phlegmatic = stable introvert
• choleric = neurotic extrovert
• melancholic = neurotic introvert

Question 34

What are Eysenck’s personality tests?

Answer 34

• Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) = measures only extraversion and neuroticism, 57 questions
• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) = measures all factors, 90 items

Question 35

What is Eysenck’s explanation for extroversion-introversion?

Answer 35

• differences in the degree of cortical arousal
• Eysenck believed that this was genetically determined
• for optimal efficiency, we have to be at the right level of arousal
• the reticular activating system (RAS) sends nerve impulses to the cortex to arouse it

Question 36

What is the biological basis for extroverts?

Answer 36

• cortex is chronically underaroused and needs more stimulation
• person seeks additional external stimulation

Characteristics

• excitation develops slowly and is weak
• reactive inhibition develops quickly and is strong
• somatic symptoms = physical ailments
• antisocial behaviours = harmful to others

Question 37

What is the biological basis for introverts?

Answer 37

• cortex is chronically overaroused and needs less stimulation
• person reduces the number or intensity of external stimuli

Characteristics

• excitation develops quickly and is strong
• reactive inhibition develops slowly and is weak
• anxiety, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder

Question 38

What are the research findings for introverts and extroverts?

Answer 38

• introverts = faster pupillary contraction, slower dilation
• extroverts = require lower levels of sedation to reach sedation threshold
• introverts = prefer lower levels of stimulation when learning
• extroverts = higher pain tolerance than introverts
• introverts = learn more quickly, forget more slowly

Question 39

What is Eysenck’s explanation for neuroticism - ego stability

Answer 39

• genetic difference in the arousability of the autonomic
• neurotic = low threshold for activation
• stable = high threshold for activation

Question 40

What are the characteristics of a highly stable individual?

Answer 40

• need an event of considerable magnitude for the ANS to activate
• when they do respond, it is a small emotional response

Question 41

What are the characteristics of a highly neurotic individual?

Answer 41

• a stimulus that sets off a small response in a highly stable individual will set off a large response in a neurotic individual
• experience frequent emotional responses that are stronger
• personality disorders (anxiety, depression) = learn relationship between stimuli and exhibit a high emotional response

Question 42

What is Eysenck’s explanation for psychoticism - ego control?

Answer 42

• psychoticism is associated with high levels of testosterone
• psychoticism is associated with low levels of monoamine oxidase (MAO)
• MAO is found in synapses, and breaks down monoamine neurotransmitters, limiting activity in the nervous system
• MAO levels negatively correlated with impulsivity
• MAO levels negatively correlated with aggressiveness