Personality tests are sets of psychological concepts, tests, and analysis models that analyze people’s personality construct. Although scientifically viable, most of the personality tests are introspective, which means they are subjective and self-reporting tests. Over the years, scholars have come up with different personality tests that outline the models for proper personality analysis to ensure valid observations. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) is one of such models designed to evaluate individual personalities. In its application, the model requires the interviewer to come up with questionnaires that measure, in a hierarchy, the orientation to three dimensions namely Neuroticism/Stability, Extraversion/Introversion, and Psychoticism/Socialization (Rocklin & Revelle, 1981). EPQ further divides these dimensions to various measurable elements that guide the self-reporting questionnaires given to the test participant. Psychologists use the data received from the questionnaires to determine the personality inclination alongside the three dimensions. This article is a report of EPQ tests and findings for a middle-class woman aged thirty-four years. For the case of the study and analysis, and to protect the participant’s privacy, the participant will be known by the pseudo-Mrs. Johnson. As I use the results to meet my course requirements, the patients will have full disclosure of the results to use them for personal awareness and discovery.
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) Design
The test allows the participant to answer questions depending on how they view themselves. Eysenck and Zuckerman (1978) believed that the model’s use of closely related terms and marginally positive or negative would not give participants an incentive to answer favorably. The two scholars further observed that EPQ does not assign a social value to the answers given by the respondent. However, in novel situations, personality tests can determine the respondents’ ability to cope. Therefore, the EPQ is applicable in determining situation specific projections. When initiating the test, it is better not to let the respondent know the purpose of the test or the favorable outcome.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
When developing the mode, Eysenck strongly believed that temperament, which determines our personality, was rooted in our genetic make-up (Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1978). As such, he was more predisposed to biological and genetic aspects rather than the behavioral patterns. Later after the model of EPQ, Eysenck modified it to include behavioral analysis, which is often learned through socialization rather than subscribed through genetics. The model analyzes personality along three dimensions. The primary objective of the EPQ is to help individuals understand themselves and other people. The nature of the questions and the thin line between the dimensions also help people understand their peers.
Dimensions of EPQ
Initially, Eysenck considered personality on two biologically-based dimensions, which were E and N. Later, following corresponding research on the impact of acquired behavioral patterns to an individual personality, he included P, which is the third dimension (Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1978).
Extraversion/Introversion
The test basically measured an individual's tendency to be an extravert or an introvert. Extravert personality is associated with a social arousal feeling that makes people feel good about them within a social setting. People who are more inclined to extraversion are more likely to be outgoing, excitable, and sociable. Eysenck based the dimension on his arousal theory of extraversion, which suggests that once an individual is aroused beyond a certain optimal level, physiology performances might become more or less aroused in operations. This can be characterized by brain waves, sweating, and skin conductance among others (Bassler, Ezzatabadipour, & Zia, 2017). It is for this reason that the EPQ model insists on professional observation as respondents handle specific topics. The nature of their responses can help determine their true position on the issue. However, such data is invalid during personality analysis but can greatly help psychologists in designing subsequent studies. On the other hand, introverts are naturally aroused and require peace and silence to come to an operational level. Sixteen percent of the world population falls into this bracket.
Neuroticism/Stability
Neuroticism is the measure of a person’s probability of activating negative effects such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Eysenck bases the theory from the sympathetic nervous system (Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1978). This part of the brain is mostly responsible for conscious and unconscious responses such as blood temperature, warmth, muscles, and heart rate. When faced with an unknown situation in daily interactions, the neurotic people experience a negative effect. Neurotic people have a lower activation threshold, which renders them unable to control their emotions. For instance, they might activate the fight or flight effect on minor stresses. Their unpredictability makes them radical in the eyes of their peers and often feared (Maruta, Kutikov, Semikina, & Kalenska, 2015). On the other hand, stability people have higher activation threshold, which makes them handle stress and maintain composure. They can handle huge stressors without activating the fight or flight effect.
Psychoticism/Socialization
The two theories form four quadrants namely, stable extraverts, unstable extraverts, stable introverts, and unstable introverts. On the extremes, people from unstable quadrants might become psychoticism. Eysenck agrees that the possibility of moving from one dimension to another is as a result of socialization and concomitant mental instability (Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1978). The model maintains that genetics are the predominant controller of personality. However, as individuals learn from different environments, they increase the risk of negative socialization that might lead to mental instability and shifting of individual’s personality (Fabio & Saklofske, 2018). Psychoticism dimension examines personality based on the possibility of a psychotic episode. Eysenck associated this dimension to a high level of testosterone and m ental aggravations.
When integrated, and for the sake of analysis, the three dimensions of EPQ theory classify individuals and their associated traits as shown in Table (1). The questionnaires given to Mrs. Johnson for this study sought to classify her traits by intentionally making her reveal about her traits. After analyzing these traits across the three dimensions, it will be possible to define Mrs. Johnson’s personality with a credible level of validity.
Unlike the E and N dimensions, which have received huge support from other disciplines, the P dimension is still underdeveloped and surrounded by different opinions. Psychologists argue that in modern interactions, the possibility of a psychotic episode might defy all the known signs. This might lead to the erroneous classification of an individual’s personality. It is for this reason that *** recommends a subjective approach to further understand the mental state of a person. The approach includes testing situational elements such as irritability, predisposition to justified violence, response to betrayal, and general behavioral patterns. These elements might become official variables of EPQ in the future.
| Psychoticism | Extraversion | Neuroticism |
| Aggressive | Sociable | Anxious |
| Assertive | Irresponsible | Depressed |
| Egocentric | Dominant | Guilt Feelings |
| Unsympathetic | Lack of reflection | Low self-esteem |
| Manipulative | Sensation-seeking | Tense |
| Achievement-oriented | Impulsive | Moody |
| Dogmatic | Risk-taking | Hypochondriac |
| Masculine | Expressive | Lack of autonomy |
| Tough-minded | Active | Obsessive |
Interviews
The questionnaires for the test had three stages. The first stage sought to eliminate psychoticism dimensions by asking specific questions about Mrs. Johnson’s mental health. The questions included past history of psychotic episodes, events of hot temper, level of aggression, and sobriety level. The study which was progressive was set to pursue further investigations based on the findings of stage one. If the study ruled out the possibility of Mrs. Johnson belonging to psychoticism dimension, the subsequent questions would focus on the four quadrants of the two remaining dimensions.
The second stage of the questionnaire asked specific questions to determine whether Mrs. Johnson was an extravert or an introvert. The questions measured aspects such as outgoing, timid, anxiety, sociability, and the arousal index. The third and final set of questions would help to determine whether Mrs. Johnson was neurotic or stable. The questions focused on her ability to control her temper, flexibility, ability to subdue emotions, and objectivity in random situations.
Findings
The first stage of the questionnaire confirmed that Mrs. Johnson did not belong to psychoticism dimension. The respondent had never had a psychotic episode in her life. She has never acted under anger or malice and has no record of known mental illnesses . Mrs. Johnson also showed high alert levels and conscious of her emotions.
The measure of extraversion and introversion indicated that Mrs. Johnson was easily excitable. She was in constant need for external arousal to bring her to operational levels. She reported being a member of five welfare groups with interest in team building, visits, and even road trips together. She described her social circle as big and very interactive. This indicates that Mrs. Johnson is an extravert who requires external stimulation for optimal operations. Other areas explored were the respondent’s ability to make new friends, to attend social events, to change their mind when in a group, the possibility of learning new cultures, and general interaction with the public.
The third level of questionnaires indicated that Mrs. Johnson is very stable in personality. When asked about extreme stressors, Mrs. Johnson expressed her past traumas in rationality and calmness. She reported never having had a full-blown argument with anyone in her life. Once faced with extreme stressors that touch on emotions and require quick response, Mrs. Johnson mostly responds by changing her physical environment. She had never had an urge to acquire immediate justice despite the situation. She believes in interpersonal communication, social support, friendliness, and tolerance.
Mrs. Johnson’s Personality Type
The data collected and reviewed above presented Mrs. Johnson as a stable-extravert. Stable extraverts possess an inherent ability to engage in group communication and handle group conflicts. The basic characteristics of stable extraverts in a social setting include but are not limited to being talkative, responsive, outgoing, lively, natural born leadership skills, easygoing, carefree, caring, and friendly. Understanding Mrs. Johnson personality could help her make social and career decisions that support her. That would increase her chances of living a fulfilling life. For instance, by being an extravert, Mrs. Johnson needs external stimulant in the form of friends. If she makes career decisions that alienate her from her friends, she is likely to become non-productive and face more stressors by working in constraining environments.
The applicability of Mrs. Johnson personality results can also help other people understand her. Although unadvisable, sharing personality tests among peers, family members, and trusted colleagues increases group cohesion following the increased understanding and empathy. When interacting as a group, an individual avoids conflict triggers by understanding the personality position of the other members. The comprehensive understanding can help design systems such as communication, feedback, group collaboration, and even conflict resolution.
Conclusion
EPQ is one of the oldest personality test tools. The tool helps individuals understand their personality thus projecting their possible reactions in some situations. The projections help people and organizations to prepare better through training, effective duties allocation, and teamwork. Mrs. Johnson’s case shows that she is a stable extravert. The conclusion was reached after eliminating the possibility of psychoticism and later confirming the two quadrants through a series of subjective questions. The findings of the study could help the respondent in future decision making to ensure a stable social and corporate career.
References
Bassler, K. E., Ezzatabadipour, M., & Zia, R. K. P. (2017). Spectra of Adjacency Matrices in
Networks of Extreme Introverts and Extroverts. In APS March Meeting Abstracts .
Eysenck, S., & Zuckerman, M. (1978). The relationship between sensation ‐ seeking and
Eysenck's dimensions of personality. British Journal of Psychology , 69 (4), 483-487.
Di Fabio, A., & Saklofske, D. H. (2018). The contributions of personality and emotional
intelligence to resiliency. Personality and Individual Differences , 123 , 140-144.
Maruta, N., Kutikov, O., Semikina, O., & Kalenska, G. (2015). Psychophysiological and
Ethnogenetic Peculiarities of Patients with Neurotic Disorders. European Psychiatry , 30 , 1107.
Rocklin, T., & Revelle, W. (1981). The measurement of extroversion: A comparison of the
Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. British Journal of Social Psychology , 20 (4), 279-284.
Sun, J., Wu, P., Shen, Y., Yang, Z., Li, H., Liu, Y., ... & Chen, M. (2018, December).
Relationship between personality and gait: predicting personality with gait features. In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM) (pp. 1227-1231). IEEE.
