Eysenck's Theories of Anxiety and Hysteria—a Methodological Critique

An examination is made of the evidence for and the validity of Eysenck's dimension of introversion‐extroversion. The dimension is found to be deficient on both counts, and therefore considered unsuitable as a starting‐point for further hypotheses. Eysenck's postulate and hypotheses linking introversion‐extraversion and anxiety and hysteria with cortical and reactive inhibition and with conditionability, satiation phenomena, reminiscence effects, etc., are discussed in relation to their predictive value and to the sufficiency of the evidence which has led Eysenck to conclude that his hypotheses have been confirmed. On the basis of a detailed review of Eysenck's findings, it is here concluded that the relationship between the continua of anxiety‐hysteria and of introversion‐extraversion has not been sufficiently demonstrated, and that the relationship between either of these continua and reactive inhibition and cortical inhibition represented by conditionability and satiation effects has not been established. It is further contended that there is insufficient empirical evidence for the identity of the inhibitory concepts used in the theoretical framework

Anxiety · Big Five personality traits · Catharsis · Developmental psychology · Extraversion and introversion · Hysteria · Neuroticism · Personality · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology

• Extraversion, Reminiscence and Satiation Effects

  Open Access•R Lynn•British Journal of Psychology•1960

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