Psychoticism
Personality trait
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Psychoticism is one of the three traits used by the psychologist Hans Eysenck in his outdated[1][2] P–E–N (psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism) model of personality. Psychoticism includes the traits of "aggression, coldness, egocentrism, impulsivity, lack of empathy, tough-mindedness, and being antisocial."[3]
Nature
Psychoticism is conceptually similar to the constraint factor in Tellegen's three-factor model of personality.[4] Psychoticism may be divided into narrower traits such as impulsivity and sensation-seeking. These may in turn be further subdivided into even more specific traits. For example, impulsivity may be divided into narrow impulsivity (unthinking responsivity), risk taking, non-planning, and liveliness.[4] Sensation seeking has also been analysed into a number of separate facets.
Eysenck argued that there might be a correlation between psychoticism and creativity.[5]
Critics
Critics of the trait have suggested that the trait is too heterogeneous to be taken as a single trait. Costa and McCrae believe that agreeableness and conscientiousness (both of which represent low levels of psychoticism) need to be distinguished in personality models.[6] It has also been suggested that "psychoticism" may be a misnomer and that "psychopathy" or "Impulsive Unsocialized Sensation Seeking" would be better labels.[4]
Biological bases
Psychoticism is believed to be associated with levels of dopamine.[7] Other biological correlates of psychoticism include low conditionability and low levels of monoamine oxidase; beta-hydroxylase, cortisol, norepinephrine in cerebrospinal fluid also appear relevant to psychoticism level.
Eysenck's theoretical basis for the model was the theory of Einheitspsychosen (unitary psychosis) of the nineteenth-century German psychiatrist Heinrich Neumann.