P.E.N The Personality Theory Of Hans Eysenck

Hans Eysenck was born in Berlin on 4th March 1916. An active Jewish sympathiser, Eysenck fled to England when the Nazi party came to power. He continued his studies at the University of London where he completed a PhD in Psychology. During World War II he served as a Psychologist at an emergency hospital which led to his life long desire to improve main stream Clinical Psychology.

Eysenck ignored theories based on nurture to focus on nature, developing a theory of personality based on three distinct categories of temperament which he referred to as PEN.

Psychoticism: for Eysenck this component was not just about psychotic episodes (a break from reality), but also aggression. He associated high levels of psychoticism with increased levels of testosterone. Characteristics include egocentric, unsympathetic, manipulative, tough minded and aggressive behaviour.

Extroversion: We often think of extroverts as outgoing and confident, but Eysenck believed that the difference between introverts and extroverts is down to cortical stimulation. If you have low levels then you will seek external stimuli to bring your mind to an optimum level of stimulation. Introverts on the other hand are naturally over stimulated and therefore require peace and quiet to get their levels of cortical stimulation under control. He measured this through skin conductance, brain waves and sweating. Characteristics of extroversion include sociable, impulsive, irresponsible, active and risk taking behaviour.

Neuroticism: according to Eysenck’s theory neuroticism is based on activation thresholds in the sympathetic nervous system. He believed that people with a strong neurotic temperament (an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states) are unable to control their emotional responses due to elevated ‘fight or flight’ tendencies. They become easily upset and emotional, even under mild levels of stress. Emotionally stable people tend to have higher activation levels and therefore remain calm until faced with high levels of stress. Eysenck measured activation levels in heart rate, blood pressure, cold hands, sweating and muscular tension. Characteristics include anxious, depressed, obsessive, tense and moody behaviour.

Which of these characteristics is your dominant personality component?