Personality Questionnaire

Abstract

The Personality Questionnaire (PQ), developed by Eysenck in 1963, is a 64-item self-report inventory designed to measure fundamental personality dimensions. Specifically, it assesses traits including Neuroticism, Extraversion, Sociability, and Impulsiveness. This instrument was initially utilized within a study investigating the complex relationship between smoking habits, personality structure, and the prevalence of psychosomatic disorders across various groups, including light, medium, and heavy smokers, ex-smokers, and non-smokers. Responses are captured using a simple Yes/No format, and scoring relies on pre-defined answer keys aligned with the target traits. Initial Factor Analysis identified five factors, though Rhathymia was excluded from the final measure due to insufficient definition.

Keywords

Neuroticism Factor, Personality Questionnaire, Sociability Factor, Extraversion Factor, Impulsiveness Factor, Factor Analysis, Test Development, Smoking Behavior, Psychosomatic Disorders.

Authors

Eysenck, H. J.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Personality Questionnaire (PQ) is to systematically screen and quantify individual differences across several key personality dimensions. These dimensions include Neuroticism, Extraversion, Sociability, and Impulsiveness.

The instrument was developed specifically within the context of etiological research conducted in 1963, exploring how these measurable personality traits correlate with behaviors such as smoking intensity (heavy, medium, light) and the likelihood of developing specific psychosomatic disorders. It provides a foundational tool for early psychological correlation studies linking behavior and inherent temperament.

Construct

The central psychological construct measured by the PQ is Personality, conceptualized in terms of stable, measurable traits. The measure operationalizes four primary sub-constructs aligned with Eysenck’s earlier theoretical work:

• Neuroticism (N): Reflecting emotional stability and anxiety levels.
• Extraversion (E): Reflecting sociability, liveliness, and activity level.
• Sociability (S): Reflecting the inclination toward social contact and making friends.
• Impulsiveness (IMP): Reflecting a tendency toward immediate action over planning, and a lack of careful consideration.

Validity

Validity evidence for the Personality Questionnaire primarily relies on the findings derived from the initial Factor Analysis conducted during its development. This analysis aimed to confirm the underlying structure of the personality dimensions being assessed.

The factor analysis successfully identified five distinct factors: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Sociability, Impulsiveness, and Rhathymia. However, the factor associated with Rhathymia was ultimately excluded from the final scoring structure due to insufficient conceptual or statistical definition, leaving the primary four factors as the empirically validated measures within the instrument.

Reliability

Detailed psychometric data regarding the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest stability (reliability) of the Personality Questionnaire was not explicitly reported in the source material derived from Eysenck’s 1963 publication.

Factor Analysis

The development of the PQ utilized factor analysis to isolate and define the core dimensions underlying the 64 items. This statistical procedure confirmed the presence of the hypothesized factors related to Neuroticism, Extraversion, Sociability, and Impulsiveness.

Although a fifth factor, Rhathymia, emerged during the analysis, it was deemed insufficiently defined or robust by the author and was subsequently omitted from the standard scoring procedure, focusing the measure on the robust four-factor structure consistent with Eysenck’s developing model of personality.

Instrument

Test Type: Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Respondents answer 64 items using a Yes/No format. Scoring involves calculating specific trait scores based on agreement with key answers.

Language Available: English (Implied by source publication).

Population Group: Human; Male.

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Middle Age (40–64 yrs).

Population Details: Age Range: 45–64 years; Sample included Light, Medium, and Heavy Smokers; Non-Smokers; and Ex-Smokers, focusing the initial validation on middle-aged men with varying smoking habits.

Test Methodology: Self-report inventory using dichotomous responses (Yes/No). The subsequent scoring methodology assigns points based on agreement with keys for Neuroticism, Extraversion, Sociability, and Impulsiveness.

Keywords

Extraversion, Impulsiveness, Neuroticism, Personality Measures, Sociability, Test Construction, Eysenck, Smoking Behavior, Psychometrics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original publication year of the Personality Questionnaire is 1963. Information regarding current commercial permissions or associated usage fees is not detailed in the original academic reference, as the instrument appeared within a research article rather than a standardized test manual.

Reference’s

Eysenck, H. J. (1963). Smoking, personality and psychosomatic disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 7(2), 107–130. DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(63)90023-0.

Items of the Personality Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Do you sometimes feel happy, sometimes depressed without any apparent reason? (Key: N, Smoking: +)
2. Do you usually take the initiative in making new friends? (Key: S, Smoking: +)
3. Are you inclined to be quick and sure in your actions? (Key: E, Smoking: +)
4. Would you rate yourself a lively individual? (Key: E, Smoking: +)
5. Are you happiest when you get involved in some project that calls for rapid action? (Key: E, Smoking: +)
6. Does your mind often wander while you are trying to concentrate? (Key: N)
7. Would you be very unhappy if you were prevented from making numerous social contacts? (Key: S)
8. Do you prefer action to planning for action? (Key: IMP, Smoking: +)
9. Are you frequently “lost in thought”, even when supposed to be taking part in a conversation? (Key: N)
10. Are you inclined to keep in the background on social occasions? (Key: S)
11. Is it difficult to “lose yourself”, even at a lively party? (Key: S, Smoking: –)
12. Do you sometimes slam doors when you are angry? (Key: Not specified, Smoking: +)
13. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? (Key: N)
14. Do you often crave excitement? (Key: E, Smoking: +)
15. Do you like to keep moving round and doing things most of the time? (Key: IMP)
16. Do you usually expect the worst to happen? (Key: Not specified)
17. Are you inclined to be moody? (Key: N)
18. Would you rather spend an evening by yourself than go to a dull party? (Key: S)
19. Do you have frequent ups and downs in mood, either with or without apparent cause? (Key: N)
20. Does your natural reserve generally stand in your way when you want to start a conversation with an attractive stranger of the opposite sex? (Key: S)
21. Do you usually avoid “sticking your neck out”? (Key: IMP)
22. Are your daydreams frequently about things that can never come true? (Key: N)
23. Would you feel uncomfortable in anything other than fairly usual dress? (Key: Not specified)
24. Are you inclined to ponder over your past? (Key: N)
25. Do you like to try your wits in solving puzzles? (Key: Not specified)
26. Are you inclined to limit your acquaintances to a select few? (Key: S)
27. Do you ever feel “just miserable” for no good reason at all? (Key: N)
28. Are you inclined to be shy in the presence of the opposite sex? (Key: S)
29. Do you often find that you have made up your mind too late? (Key: N)
30. Have you often lost sleep over your worries? (Key: N)
31. Is your motto to take matters of everyday life with proper seriousness rather than “to laugh and be merry”? (Key: IMP)
32. Do you enjoy practical jokes? (Key: E)
33. Are you often trouble with feelings of guilt? (Key: N)
34. Do you hate being with a crowd who play jokes on one another? (Key: E)
35. On the whole, do you prefer the company of books to people? (Key: E)
36. Are your feelings rather easily hurt? (Key: N)
37. Do you sometimes say the first thing that comes into your head? (Key: IMP)
38. Would you rate yourself as a tense or “highly-strung” individual? (Key: N)
39. Are you given to acting on impulses of the moment which later land you into difficulties? (Key: IMP)
40. Are you inclined to stop and think things over before acting? (Key: IMP, Smoking: –)
41. Do you often experience periods of loneliness? (Key: Not specified)
42. Do you usually expect the best to happen? (Key: Not specified)
43. Do you like working alone? (Key: E)
44. Do you like to indulge in reverie (daydreaming)? (Key: N, Smoking: –)
45. Do you like a situation with plenty of excitement and bustle? (Key: E)
46. Do you spend much time in thinking over good times you have had in the past? (Key: N)
47. Do you ever take your work as if it were a matter of life or death? (Key: E)
48. Would you describe yourself as an easy-going person not concerned to be precise? (Key: IMP, Smoking: +)
49. Have you often felt listless and tired for no good reason? (Key: N, Smoking: +)
50. Are you reserved and distant except to intimate friends? (Key: S)
51. After a critical moment is over, do you usually think of something you should have done, but failed to do? (Key: N)
52. If you want to learn about something, would you rather do it by reading a book on the subject than by discussion? (Key: E)
53. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? (Key: N)
54. Do you like work that requires considerable attention? (Key: Not specified)
55. Have you ever been bothered by having a useless thought come into your head repeatedly? (Key: N)
56. Can you put your thoughts into words quickly? (Key: N)
57. Are you touchy on various subjects? (Key: N)
58. Do you often feel disgruntled? (Key: N)
59. Do you have periods of such great restlessness that you cannot sit long in a chair? (Key: N)
60. Do you like to try unusual dishes? (Key: E)
61. Do you mind selling things, or trying to get funds for a cause in which you are interested? (Key: E, Smoking: –)
62. Can you readily get some life into a rather dull party? (Key: S)
63. Are you a person who is not much given to cracking jokes and telling stories to your friends? (Key: S)
64. Do you very much enjoy good food? (Key: E)