HANS EYSENCK

The Biological Approach

Andres, Nicole
Suarez, Charlemagne
Hans Eysenck
Born in Germany, 1916
Father: Eduard Eysenck (actor and
singer)
Mother: Helga Molander (silent film
star)
Parents divorced while Eysenck was
young
Pursued a career in physics and
astronomy in France and completed
his PhD in England at the University
of London
After the WWII he returned to the
University of London where his long
career produced 79 books and more
than 1000 journal articles (Farley,
2000)
Hans Eysenck
Criticized the effectiveness of pyschotherapy, believing
that individual differences in intelligence are largely
inherited.

Because of this, he was widely associated with people

who proposed inherent racial differenced in intelligence.

In 1980, Eysenck published a book contradicting the

thought that tobaccos effect on the health were not as
strong people claimed. This earned the ire of critics
when they discovered that some of this work has been
sponsored by American tobacco companies. (Burger,
2011)
Hans Eysenck
From the days of opposition to Nazism in my
early youth, through my stand against
Freudianism and projective techniques, to my
advocacy of behavior therapy and genetic
studies, to more recent issues, I have usually
been against the establishment and in favor
of the rebels. But I prefer to think that on
these issues the majority were wrong, and I
was right. (1982, p. 298)
Biological Approach
Hans Eysenck theorized that:
A large part of our personality is determined
by our biological makeup.
All traits can be summed up within three
basic personality dimensions: extraversion-
introversion, neuroticism, and
psychoticism.
Evolutionary psychology tries to explain
universal human characteristics.
Temperaments as a natural disposition to
behavior.
The Structure of Personality
The Structure of Personality
Supertraits (three basic personality
dimensions):

Extraversion - Introversion
Psychoticism
Neuroticism
The Structure of Personality
The Structure of Personality
Specific Response Level consists of
specific behavior/response to a stimuli
Habitual Response consistent response
to a stimuli
Trait Level -
Supertrait Level Extraversion-
Introversion, Neuroticism)
The Structure of Personality
The Structure of Personality
Extraverts are prototypically:

Outgoing
Impulsive
Uninhibited
Having many social contacts
Frequently taking part in group activities
Sociable
Likes parties
Has many friends
Needs to have people to talk to
Does not like reading/studying by himself
The Structure of Personality
Introverts are ideally:

Quiet, retiring sort of person

Introspective
Fond of books rather than people
Reserved and distant except to intimate
friends
 Introverts are more sensitive to
simulation than extraverts. (Bullock and
Gilliland,1993; Stelmack, 1990, Swickert
and Gilliland, 1998)
Introverts are more responsive than
extraverts when exposed to chemical
stimulant, such as coffeine or nicotine.
The Structure of Personality
High scorers on
Neuroticism :

Have a tendency to respond emotionally

Have strong emotional reactions to minor
frustrations and take longer to recover
from these
More easily excited, angered, depressed
than most
The Structure of Personality
High-scorers in Psychoticism:

Egocentric
Aggressive
Impersonal
Cold
Lacking in empathy
Impulsive
Lacking in care for others
Unconcerned about the rights and welfare of
others (Eysenck, 1982, p. 11)
Temperament and Personality
 Temperament and Personality
Three Temperament Temparament
Dimensions: Easy Difficult Slow-to-
Emotionality intensity warm-up
- Readily - Very - Tend to be
of emotional reactions adapts emotional withdrawn
Activity a persons (cries a
lot)
general level of energy
- Very - Low activity
Sociability a general participative level
tendency to affiliate and
interact with others
Temperament and Personality
Gender Differences in Temperament:

Girls are more likely than boys to exhibit an

effortful control temperament, which includes the
ability to focus attention and exercise
control.
Boys are more likely than girls to be identified
with surgency temperament which includes high
levels of activity and sociability.
Temperaments and Personality
Three temperament types in toddlerhood:
Well-adjusted exhibit self-control and
self-confidence; capable of approaching
Undercontrolled
Inhibited
Application: Childrens
Temperaments at School
Temperament is not related to intelligence
(Keogh, 1986).

Ex.
Children with short attention span or are
easily distracted may have difficulty
completing tasks presented to them.

So, opportunities for learning and achievement

may be shaped by the childs temperament,
but it is not a measure of his/her intellect.
The Goodness of Fit Model

What kind of environment and procedures

are most conducive to learning for this
student, given his or her temperament?
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology

Proponents of this theory use the process

of natural selection, borrowed from the
theory of evolution, to explain human
characteristics such as anxiety.

Natural Selection the process of selecting

quality characteristics that enable the
species to survive challenges and
reproduce new members of the species.
Strengths and Criticisms of the
Biological Approach
Strengths and Criticisms
Strengths:
Provides a bridge between the study of personality and
the discipline of biology
Identified a few realistic parameters for psychologists
interested in behavioral change
Advocates and researchers of this approach tested their
ideas through research.
Weaknesses:
There is a lack of agreed-upon model of
temperament.
Offers few suggestions for personality
change because it relies largely on the
biological aspect of psychology.
Assessment/Theory-in-Action
Measuring brain activity through
electroencephalograph (EEG).
- measures alpha waves

Cerebral Asymmetry
- difference between activities in right
hemisphere and left hemisphere
References
Personality by Jerry M. Burger
http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/eysenck.html
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/14066934/reload=0;jsess
ionid=9w0aO8yREmUdRGdQmXLP.8
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-
professor-hans-eysenck-1238119.html
http://www.temperament.com/students.html