The Structure of Human Personality was published by Methuen in 1953, and it represents the fullest early statement of Eysenck’s personality theory — a comprehensive review of factor-analytic studies from multiple countries and research groups, all of which (Eysenck argued) converged on the same fundamental dimensions.
The book develops a hierarchical model of personality: at the lowest level are specific responses (individual behaviors); these cluster into habitual responses (consistent behavioral tendencies); habitual responses cluster into traits (sociability, impulsivity, activity level); and traits cluster into types (extraversion-introversion, neuroticism-stability). The two super-factors — extraversion and neuroticism — are conceived as continuous dimensions, not discrete categories: everyone falls somewhere on each dimension, and the full range of human personality variation can be mapped in the two-dimensional space they define.
Eysenck’s insistence on a biological basis for personality dimensions was central to his argument. He proposed that extraversion-introversion reflects differences in cortical arousal (introverts are chronically over-aroused, extraverts under-aroused, and each seeks environments that optimize their arousal level) and that neuroticism reflects the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system. These biological hypotheses were testable — and many subsequent studies confirmed them, at least in broad outline.
Collecting The Structure of Human Personality
First edition (Methuen, London, 1953): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $40–$100
- Without jacket: $15–$35
- Third revised edition (1970): $10–$25