Hans Eysenck
<p>Oct 26, 2010 06:37 PM
 
born 1916.  German Jewish.
Univ College London.
 
Personality models.
 
The major strength of Eysenck's model was to provide detailed theory of the causes of personality.<sup class="Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from September 2008" >[<i><a title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> For example, Eysenck proposed that extraversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal:<b> "introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity than extraverts and so are chronically more cortically aroused than extraverts"</b>.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[18]</a></sup> While it seems counterintuitive to suppose that introverts are <i>more</i> aroused than extraverts, the putative effect this has on behaviour is such that <b>the introvert seeks lower levels of stimulation. Conversely, the extravert seeks to heighten his or her arousal to a more favorable level (as predicted by the </b><a class="mw-redirect" title="Yerkes-Dodson Law" href="/wiki/Yerkes-Dodson_Law"><b>Yerkes-Dodson Law</b></a><b>) by increased activity, social engagement </b>and other stimulation-seeking behaviors.</p>