PEN Theory Flashcards
Eysenck describes personality in a hierarchy of constructs from _____ to ______
Acts to Factors
Acts are organized into _____, which are organized into _____, then organized into (or conditioned by) ______
habits, traits, Factors
As we move from Acts to Factors, we are also moving from ….
the most experiential /nurture to the most genetically determined aspects of personality/nature.
Define acts
At the smallest atomic level we have acts (behaviours or cognitions - beliefs/thoughts)
define habits
inter co-related groups of individual acts or thoughts
define traits
Habits are also inter co-related
define factors
inter correlated traits - if we are high in one trait you tend to be high in certain other traits, called these relations factors
At the bottom we see aspects of personality that are determined by ________ and at the top of the hierarchy are aspects of behaviour primarily determined by _________
experiences, genetics
Eysenck’s theory focuses on what?
the most general (and most genetically-determined) aspects of personality: The factors.
He argues for three independent factors, described as __________
demensions
what were the 3 demensions
- Extroversion-Introversion
- Neuroticism-Stability
- Psychoticism-Ego Control
extraversion and interversion are associated with what behaviours
extraversion: Sociability, activity, assertiveness, Sensation-seeking, Dominance, Venturesomeness, Carefree-ness
introversion: opposite
Neuroticism and stability are associated with what traits?
- Neuroticism: Anxiousness, Depression, Low Self-Esteem, Shyness, Moodiness, Tenseness, Irrationality, Emotionality
- High neuroticism is much higher risk than high stability
- Stability: No emotional responses to anything. No highs no lows.
ex. Good for pilots and surgeons but bad in personal interactions
when was psychoticsm-egocontrol added
Most recent -1970sby looking at criminal populations
* both orthoginal demensions
traits associated with psychoticism
Aggressiveness, Coldness, Egocentricity, Impulsivity, Antisociality, Unempathic, Tough-mindedness, Creativity
* most people fully ego control
Explain Eysenck personality inventory (EPI)
assess only the first two types (extraversion/ neuroticism)
- contained 57 simple statements and individuals had to indicate how much they agreed with each
- In order to determine you’re level of the four factors
explain Eysenck Personality Questionaire (EPQ)
he added psychoticism and ego control a new test was developed with 90 statements
→ Both are widely used today
How do the four combinations created at the extremes of both dimensions in Eysneck’s model map easily onto the four basic personality types hypothesized by the Hippocrates-Galen type model ?
• Stable Extravert = Sanguine personality type - easy going, difficult to upset •Neurotic Extravert = Choleric - easily aroused, aggressive •Stable introvert = Phlegmatic - Calm, quiet, easy going •Neurotic Introvert = Melancholic - prone to depression, sadness, negative
How does performance correlate with brain arousal
- Inverse U shaped relationship between the amount of arousal and performance
- Optimal performance (cognitive efficiency) is when you have medium brain arousal
An _______ is actually under aroused and the ______is over aroused
extrovert, introvert
what is the - Reticular activation system
in the base of the brain that is strongly connected to states of arousal, RAS sends nerve impulses to the cortex
What does it mean to say Extreme extroverts have an underactive RAS
– meaning cortical arousal is bellow optimal arousal. To deal with this extroverts perform behaviours that raise the level of activity in his/her cortex such as risks and parties
What does it mean to say RAS is over active in introverts
therefor the brain/ cortex is over aroused
→ Because the brain is too aroused performance is bellow average
→ To compensate for over arousal they keep to themselves avoid social engagements, in an attempt to lower the activity in the environment
difference between the time line of extrovert and introvert arousal
extroverts
→ Excitation develops slowly and is weak after stimulation
→ Reactive inhibition develops quickly and is strong
Introverts
→ Excitation to a stimulus develops quickly and is strong, then reactive inhibition develops slowly and is weak
