Hans Eysenck

Brief Biography

Hans Jürgen Eysenck was born in 1916 in Berlin, Germany. His father was a nightclub entertainer and actor, while his mother was a film star. His mother’s mother, who was Jewish, perished in the Holocaust.

After graduating from high school in 1934, Eysenck traveled to England to attend University College, London, from which he obtained his doctorate in psychology in 1940. The well-known British psychologist Cyril Burt was his dissertation advisor.

By the time Eysenck completed his education, Adolf Hitler’s armies had occupied Poland, France and the Low Countries were on the verge of capitulation, and the Battle of Britain would soon be underway.

The young Eysenck found himself in a difficult position. On the one hand, he was unalterably opposed to the Nazis; on the other, German nationals living in the UK were being rounded up.

The future psychologist made up his mind to remain in England—the last bastion of defiance of Hitler—but he narrowly avoided being sent to an internment camp.

After 15 years of hardship, Eysenck finally found full-time employment in 1955 teaching psychology at King’s College, London. He spent the remainder of his career there, retiring in 1983.

Eysenck authored or co-authored around 1600 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as penning some 80 books. He remained intellectually active until shortly before his death at age 81.

Eysenck died in London in 1997 at the age of 81.

The psychologist is best known for advancing an analytical theory of personality based on a two-factor model. He called the factors “extraversion/introversion” and “neuroticism” (or “stability”).

Represented as a Cartesian coordinate system, the two axes generate four quadrants, which indicate four basic personality types: choleric (unstable extravert), sanguine (stable extravert), phlegmatic (stable introvert), and melancholic (unstable introvert). Eysenck notes that these labels, which we still use today, derive from a similar “four-humor” system proposed by the Greek physician and author Galen in the second century AD.

Eysenck was also involved in advancing his theory as the foundation for the development of an early form of personality test: the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI).

Eysenck was also famous, if not infamous, for his interpretation of personality, as well as intelligence, as being largely genetically determined.

Although Eysenck was always careful to acknowledge both cultural and genetic influences on human behavior, his name became publicly associated with the highly controversial, genetic-determinist view—to such an extent that he received many threats against himself and his family, and once was even punched in the face during a public lecture.

Eysenck was combative by nature and while he lived, he stoutly defended his work form his many detractors. However, after his death, Eysenck’s work came under bitter and sustained attack, including claims that he played fast and loose with the evidence.

In 2020, his former employer, King’s College, London, issued an official retraction of 14 papers co-authored by Eysenck. Many other papers were publicly questioned by critics.

Finally, Eysenck was well-known for his opposition to the theories of Sigmund Freud and the entire field of psychoanalysis.

Notable Quotes

Note: The original sources of the following quotations attributed here to Hans Eysenck are provided where known. If no specific source is mentioned, then the attributed quotation may be assumed to derive from or (perhaps via paraphrase) be inspired by Eysenck’s many academic and popular writings.

Biological Basis of Personality

The function of the cortex is essentially an inhibitory one.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Of course, the conditions under which you take the EEG are vitally important.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

The effect of a drug is related to the personality of the person to whom you give it. It is not a universal effect by any means.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Transmarginal inhibition is a very real thing indeed.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Very few stimuli have such an arousing effect as another person.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Discrimination

The American Government is in fact enforcing a system of employment on the universities under which they are required, under pain of bankruptcy, to employ members of minority groups in spite of the fact that a better qualified member of a non-minority group is applying for the job. . . . Quotas were considered undesirable when they were used against minority groups; they do not become desirable when they are used against majority groups. Positive discrimination, so called, is still discrimination against somebody; one man`s positive discrimination is another man`s negative discrimination. Furthermore, who shall define a minority? . . . Why are some minorities more minor than others?

The Inequality of Man (1973).

Education

Modern education does no favour to the children it is supposed to teach when it de-emphasizes facts; although facts are not the only important things in life, in science, and in the arts, they nevertheless constitute the absolutely essential substructure without which nothing worthwhile can be built.

The Inequality of Man (1973).

Nothing succeeds like success; children who opt out of school have had a continued record of failure, and it would be difficult to blame the children themselves for voting with their feet and playing truant as much as possible. This failure is not necessary; it is imposed on the children by inappropriate methods of teaching which do not take into account the innate patterns of abilities of these children. A return to sanity is long overdue; we must pay close attention to the genetic basis of our children`s abilities.

The Inequality of Man (1973).

Emotions

Emotions are an important aspect of human psychology and should not be overlooked.

Facts

If the reader does not like some of the facts that emerge, I hope against hope that he will not blame me for their existence.

The IQ Argument: Race, Intelligence, and Education (1971).

Freedom of Speech

If you admit that to silence your opponent by force is to win an intellectual argument, then you admit the right to silence people by force.

Freud

. . . what is new in his theories is not true, and what is true in his theories is not new.

Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire (1985).

The influence of Marx has been rather similar to that of Freud, not only because he too based his whole case on “interpretations,” and discounted direct evidence, but also because very few of the people who now claim to hold his views have ever bothered to read his original contributions or look at the criticism, however cogent, of these views. Indeed, present-day Marxists often hold views exactly opposite to those of Marx and Lenin, as in the question of the inheritance of intelligence. Both Marx and Lenin were quite explicit about their belief that “equality,” as an idea essentially to socialism, meant social equality, not biological equality, and they emphasized their belief that the latter was absolutely impossible to attain. It is quite clear from their writings that they supported the view that intelligence and other abilities had a clear genetic foundation, but some of their followers nowadays claim exactly the opposite! Much the same is true of Freud, his followers, too, have created a “climate of opinion,” which deviates markedly from what he himself would have approved. Nevertheless, there is a traceable ancestry, and Freud himself cannot be completely absolved of guilt.

Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire (1985).

Government Funding

They bought research as they bought vegetables —a wonderful insight into official thinking about science.

Genius: The Natural History of Creativity (1995).

Intelligence

The concept of intelligence is multi-faceted and should not be reduced to a single measure.

It would be very peculiar if a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complexities, learn quickly, and benefit from experience, did not have very important implications.

Intelligence: A New Look (1998).

Heredity plays a significant role in determining individual differences in intelligence.

Intelligence should be understood as a continuum, rather than a fixed entity.

The concept of intelligence includes both cognitive abilities and other important factors, such as creativity.

Introversion

Introversion concentrates the mind on the tasks in hand and prevents dissipation of energy on social and sexual matters unrelated to work.

The Effects of Psychotherapy (1966).

Journalism

What you read in the newspapers, hear on the radio and see on television, is hardly even the truth as seen by experts; it is the wishful thinking of journalists, seen through filters of prejudice and ignorance.

Intelligence: A New Look (1998).

Mathematics

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.

Nature/Nurture

Intelligence is inherited, but it is also influenced by environmental factors.

Our behavior is influenced by both nature and nurture.

There is a strong genetic influence on personality traits, such as neuroticism and extraversion.

Personality is a combination of inherited traits and environmental influences.

Psychological disorders are the result of both genetic and environmental factors.

Individuals differ in their susceptibility to mental illness, based on genetic and environmental factors.

Mental disorders are not a sign of weakness, but rather a complex interplay of biological and environmental factors.

Personality

The trait of extraversion-introversion is one of the key dimensions of personality.

Personality can change over time, influenced by both genetics and life experiences.

Personality traits influence how individuals perceive and interact with the world.

The concept of personality encompasses both stable traits and situational influences.

So, you have a large number of facts that are being tied together by the theory of personality that I’ve outlined to you.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

I simply mentioned these points to indicate to you not only that personality is important in itself, but also that it has many social consequences which can be very important.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Psychology

Psychology should strive to be a science, based on empirical evidence.

Psychology should focus on studying observable, measurable behavior.

Research should aim to identify the underlying mechanisms behind psychological phenomena.

Our understanding of psychology should be based on empirical evidence, rather than subjective opinions.

Psychology should embrace a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from various fields.

The study of psychology should aim to improve the well-being and quality of life for individuals and society as a whole.

Psychopathology

Psychopathology can be understood through a biopsychosocial model.

Psychopathology can be understood as dysfunctions in the cognitive and emotional processing of information.

An understanding of why personality is linked to these social consequences may be extremely useful in devising ways and means of dealing with the undesirable consequences, like neurosis, criminality, psychopathic behavior, and so on.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Once we understand why people behave in ways that to us are strange, odd, unfamiliar, we can begin to work out ways and means of dealing with these difficulties, of curing them of their neurosis, of preventing them from indulging in their criminal and antisocial conduct, and so on.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

That is why I believe the answer to the question that Theophrastus raised 2000 years ago is such an important one for psychology, because it is intimately linked with all the important and relevant social questions that are asked of us. We can’t begin to understand these until we understand why different people react in so different ways to these different stimulations.

“The Biological Basis of Personality,” Sankt-Göran Lecture, Sankt-Göran Hospital, Stockholm, 1980.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is the prostitution of friendship.

The inappropriate use of psychoanalysis has taken a heavy toll on psychology.

There thus appears to be an inverse correlation between recovery and psychotherapy; the more psychotherapy, the smaller the recovery rate.

Psychotherapy is effective for some individuals, but not for everyone.

Psychotherapy should be tailored to the individual, taking into account their specific needs and characteristics.

[Studies] show that roughly two-thirds of a group of neurotic patients will recover or improve to a marked extent within about two years of the onset of their illness, whether they are treated by means of psychotherapy or not.

Science

It is generally agreed by philosophers of science that important contributions which have a revolutionary impact on science are often methodologically inadequate, reveal many anomalies, and may indeed be factually erroneous.

Scientists, especially when they leave the particular field in which they are specialized, are just as ordinary, pig-headed, and unreasonable as everybody else, and their unusually high intelligence only makes their prejudices all the more dangerous.

I always felt that a scientist owes the world only one thing, and that is the truth as he sees it. If the truth contradicts deeply held beliefs, that is too bad. Tact and diplomacy are fine in international relations, in politics, perhaps even in business; in science only one thing matters, and that is the facts.

Social Problems

The social problems that arise, arise from the facts, not our investigation of these facts.

Intelligence: A New Look (1998).