Theories of Personality 9th Edition

Chapter 14 Eysenck’s Biologically Based Factor Theory 415

Dimensions of Personality

We have seen that Eysenck and Cattell arrived at a different number of personal-
ity dimensions because they worked at different levels of factoring. Cattell’s 35
traits are all at the third level of the hierarchical structure, whereas Eysenck’s
superfactors are at the fourth level (see p. 384, Chapter 13).
How many general superfactors exist? Many current factor theorists insist
that ample evidence exists that five—and no more and no fewer—general factors
will emerge from nearly all factor analyses of personality traits. Eysenck, however,
extracted only three general superfactors. His three personality dimensions are
extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P), although he did not rule
out “the possibility that further dimensions may be added later” (Eysenck, 1994b,
p. 151). Figure 14.2 shows the hierarchical structure of Eysenck’s P, E, and N.
Neuroticism and psychoticism are not limited to pathological individuals,
although disturbed people tend to score higher than normal people on scales mea-
suring these two factors. Eysenck regarded all three factors as part of normal
personality structure. All three are bipolar, with extraversion being at one end of
Factor E and introversion occupying the opposite pole. Similarly, Factor N
includes neuroticism at one pole and stability at the other, and Factor P has psy-
choticism at one pole and the superego function at the other.
The bipolarity of Eysenck’s factors does not imply that most people are at
one end or the other of the three main poles. Each factor is unimodally, rather than

Type:

Habits:

Specific Behaviors:

Introversion

Persistence shynessSocial

Keeps at

school

work

Persists

with

hobbies

Finishes

a job

Studies

alone

Turns

down

invitations

Works on

hobbies

alone

Traits:

FIGURE 14.1 The organization of behavior into specific actions, habitual responses, traits, and types.
Besides persistence and social shyness, other traits such as inferiority, low activity, and serious-mindedness
contribute to introversion.