Synonyms
Definition
Psychoticism was the third personality trait in the Eysenck personality model. Psychometrically, the personality factor emerged orthogonal to the neuroticism (Bech 2017a) and extraversion-introversion (Bech 2017b) factors in the Eysenck factor analysis. Whereas the neuroticism dimension when associated with introversion identified dysthymia (or depression), the association between neuroticism and extraversion identified cyclothymia (or bipolarity).
The psychoticism dimension was finally incorporated in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (H. J. Eysenck and Eysenck 1975) with most justification in this regard provided in their “Psychoticism as dimension of personality” (H. J. Eysenck and Eysenck 1976). However, Eysenck et al. (1985) later on revised the EPQ, especially due to problems with the 25-item psychoticism subscale in the 1975 version. This resulted in a 32-item version of the psychoticism subscale in the EPQ-R. Table 1shows...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Bech, P. (2016). Measurement-based care in mental disorders. New York: Springer.
Bech, P. (2017a). Neuroticism (the Eysenck neuroticism scale). In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences Springer.
Bech, P. (2017b). Extraversion-introversion (Eysenck’s theory). In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences Springer.
Bech, P., Christensen, E. M., Vinberg, M., BechAndersen, G., & Kessing, L. V. (2011). From items to syndromes in the Hypomania checklist (HCL-32): Psychometric validation and clinical validity analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132(1–2), 48–54. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.01.017
Eysenck, H. J. (1995). Genius. The natural history of creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1969). Personality structure and measurement. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck personality questionnaire. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1976). Psychoticism as a dimension of personality. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Eysenck, H. J., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. New York: Plenum Press.
Eysenck, S. B. G., Eysenck, H. J., & Barrett, P. (1985). A revised version of the psychoticism scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 6(1), 21–29.
Kendler, K. S., Heath, A., & Martin, N. G. (1987). A genetic epidemiologic study of self-report suspiciousness. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 28(3), 187–196. doi:0010-440X(87)90026-5 [pii]
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bech, P. (2016). Psychoticism (Eysenck’s Theory). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1103-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1103-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences