2 Taxonomy is always a contentious issue because the world does not come to us in neat little packages (S. Personality has been conceptualized from a variety of theoretical perspectives, and at various levels of Each of these levels has made unique contributions to our understanding of individual differences in behavior and experience. However, the number of personality traits, and scales designed to measure them, escalated without an end in sight (Goldberg, 1971). Researchers, as well as practitioners in the field of personality assessment, were faced with a bewildering array of personality scales from which to choose, with little guidance and no overall rationale at hand. What made matters worse was that scales with the same name often measure concepts that are not the same, and scales with different names often measure concepts that are quite similar. Although diversity and scientific pluralism are useful, the systematic accumulation of findings and the communication among researchers became difficult amidst the Babel of concepts and scales. Many personality researchers had hoped that they might devise the structure that would transform the Babel into a community speaking a common language. However, such an integration was not to be achieved by any one researcher or by any one theoretical perspective. As Allport once put it, " each assessor has his own pet units and uses a pet battery of diagnostic devices " (1958, p. 258). What personality psychology needed was a descriptive model, or taxonomy, of its subject matter. One of the central goals of scientific taxonomies is the definition of overarching domains within which large numbers of specific instances can be understood in a simplified way. Thus, in personality psychology, a taxonomy would permit researchers to study specified domains of personality characteristics, rather than examining separately the thousands of particular attributes that make human beings individual and unique. Moreover, a generally accepted taxonomy would greatly facilitate the accumulation and communication of empirical findings by offering a standard vocabulary, or nomenclature. After decades of research, the field is approaching consensus on a general taxonomy of personality traits, the " Big Five " personality dimensions. These dimensions do not represent a particular theoretical perspective but were derived from analyses of the natural-language terms people use to describe themselves 3 and others. Rather than replacing all previous systems, the Big Five taxonomy serves an integrative function because it can represent the various and diverse systems of personality …

The Big Five Trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives.

This paper presents a theoretical model of situation awareness based on its role in dynamic human decision making in a variety of domains. Situation awareness is presented as a predominant concern in system operation, based on a descriptive view of decision making. The relationship between situation awareness and numerous individual and environmental factors is explored. Among these factors, attention and working memory are presented as critical factors limiting operators from acquiring and interpreting information from the environment to form situation awareness, and mental models and goal-directed behavior are hypothesized as important mechanisms for overcoming these limits. The impact of design features, workload, stress, system complexity, and automation on operator situation awareness is addressed, and a taxonomy of errors in situation awareness is introduced, based on the model presented. The model is used to generate design implications for enhancing operator situation awareness and future directio...

Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems

The purpose of the present study was to revise the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 10 (BIS-10), identify the factor structure of the items among normals, and compare their scores on the revised form (BIS-11) with psychiatric inpatients and prison inmates. The scale was administered to 412 college undergraduates, 248 psychiatric inpatients, and 73 male prison inmates. Exploratory principal components analysis of the items identified six primary factors and three second-order factors. The three second-order factors were labeled Attentional Impulsiveness, Motor Impulsiveness, and Nonplanning Impulsiveness. Two of the three second-order factors identified in the BIS-11 were consistent with those proposed by Barratt (1985), but no cognitive impulsiveness component was identified per se. The results of the present study suggest that the total score of the BIS-11 is an internally consistent measure of impulsiveness and has potential clinical utility for measuring impulsiveness among selected patient and inmate populations.

Factor structure of the Barratt impulsiveness scale.

J. A. Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low in BIS sensitivity. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low in BAS sensitivity. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications.

Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales

Much previous research has established that perceived ease of use is an important factor influencing user acceptance and usage behavior of information technologies. However, very little research has been conducted to understand how that perception forms and changes over time. The current work presents and tests an anchoring and adjustment-based theoretical model of the determinants of system-specific perceived ease of use. The model proposes control (internal and external--conceptualized as computer self-efficacy and facilitating conditions, respectively), intrinsic motivation (conceptualized as computer playfulness), and emotion (conceptualized as computer anxiety) as anchors that determine early perceptions about the ease of use of a new system. With increasing experience, it is expected that system-specific perceived ease of use, while still anchored to the general beliefs regarding computers and computer use, will adjust to reflect objective usability, perceptions of external control specific to the new system environment, and system-specific perceived enjoyment. The proposed model was tested in three different organizations among 246 employees using three measurements taken over a three-month period. The proposed model was strongly supported at all points of measurement, and explained up to 60% of the variance in system-specific perceived ease of use, which is twice as much as our current understanding. Important theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model

Attentional control theory is an approach to anxiety and cognition representing a major development of Eysenck and Calvo's (1992) processing efficiency theory. It is assumed that anxiety impairs efficient functioning of the goal-directed attentional system and increases the extent to which processing is influenced by the stimulus-driven attentional system. In addition to decreasing attentional control, anxiety increases attention to threat-related stimuli. Adverse effects of anxiety on processing efficiency depend on two central executive functions involving attentional control: inhibition and shifting. However, anxiety may not impair performance effectiveness (quality of performance) when it leads to the use of compensatory strategies (e.g., enhanced effort; increased use of processing resources). Directions for future research are discussed.

Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory.

One: Descriptive.- One The Scientific Description of Personality.- Personality and Taxonomy: The Problem of Classification.- Type and Trait Theories: The Modern View.- Type-Trait Theories and Factor Analysis.- Situationism versus Type-Trait Theories.- Two The Development of a Paradigm.- Origins of Personality Theory.- The Beginnings of Modern Research.- Psychoticism as a Dimension of Personality.- Impulsiveness and Sensation Seeking: A Special Case.- The Question of Validity.- Three The Universality of P, E, and N.- Genetic Factors.- Personality in Animals.- Cross-cultural Studies.- Longitudinal Studies of Personality.- Four Alternative Systems of Personality Description.- R.B. Cattell and 16PF.- The Guilford-Zimmerman Factors.- The NEO Model of Personality.- The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventor.- The California Psychological Inventory.- The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule and the Jackson Personality Research Form.- Other Systems.- Summary.- Five The Cognitive Dimension: Intelligence as a Component of Personality.- Galton versus Binet: IQ and Reaction Time.- The Psychophysiology of Intelligence.- The Theory of Intelligence.- Six Summary and Conclusions.- Two: Causal.- Seven Theories of Personality and Performance.- H. J. Eysenck (1957).- H. J. Eysenck (1967a).- Gray's Theory.- Brebner's Theory.- Eight The Psychophysiology of Personality.- Theoretical Background.- Extraversion.- Neuroticism.- Theoretical Implications.- Nine Extraversion, Arousal, and Performance.- Conditioning.- Sensitivity to Stimulation.- Vigilance.- Verbal Learning and Verbal Memory.- Psychomotor Performance.- Perceptual Phenomena.- Conclusions.- Ten Neuroticism, Anxiety, and Performance.- The State-Trait Approach.- Theories of Anxiety and Performance.- Worry and Performance.- Efficiency and Effectiveness.- Anxiety ? Task Interactions.- Attentional Mechanisms.- Learning and Memory.- Conclusions.- Eleven Social Behavior.- Social Interaction.- Sexual Behavior.- Educational Achievement.- Occupational Performance.- Antisocial Behavior and Crime.- Psychiatric Disorders.- Conclusions.- Three: Epilogue.- Twelve Is There a Paradigm in Personality Research?.- References and Bibliography.- Author Index.

Personality and Individual Differences: A Natural Science Approach

Anxiety often impairs performance of “difficult” tasks (especially under test conditions), but there are numerous exceptions. Theories of anxiety and performance need to address at least two major issues: (1) the complexity and apparent inconsistency of the findings; and (2) the conceptual definition of task difficulty. Some theorists (e.g. Humphreys & Revelle, 1984; Sarason, 1988) argue that anxiety causes worry, and worry always impairs performance on tasks with high attentional or short-term memory demands. According to the processing efficiency theory, worry has two main effects: (1) a reduction in the storage and processing capacity of the working memory system available for a concurrent task; and (2) an increment in on-task effort and activities designed to improve performance. There is a crucial distinction within the theory between performance effectiveness (= quality of performance) and processing efficiency (= performance effectiveness divided by effort). Anxiety characteristically impa...

Anxiety and Performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory

Preface. 1. Approaches to Human Cognition. Part 1. Visual Perception and Attention. 2. Basic Processes in Visual Cognition. 3. Object and Face Recognition. 4. Perception, Motion and Action. 5. Attention and Performance. Part 2. Memory. 6. Learning, Memory and Forgetting. 7. Long-Term Memory Systems. 8. Everyday Memory. Part 3. Language. 9. Reading and Speech Perception. 10. Language Comprehension. 11. Language Production. Part 4.: Thinking and Reasoning. 12. Problem Solving and Expertise. 13. Judgement and Decision Making. 14. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning. Part 5. Broadening Horizons. 15. Cognition and Emotion. 16. Consciousness. Glossary. References.

Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook

Theorists are increasingly arguing that it is fruitful to approach anxiety from the cognitive perspective, and the empirical evidence supports that contention. The cognitive perspective is also adopted in this book, but the approach represents a development and extension of earlier ones. For example, most previous theories and research have been based on anxiety either in clinical or in normal groups. In contrast, one of the central themes of this book is that there are great advantages to be gained from a joint consideration of clinical and normal anxiety.Another theme of this book is that it is of major importance to establish whether or not there is a cognitive vulnerability factor which is associated with at least some forms of clinical anxiety. It is argued (with supporting evidence) that there is a latent cognitive vulnerability factor for generalized anxiety disorder which manifests itself under stressful conditions. This vulnerability factor is characterized by hypervigilance, and is found predominantly in normals high in the personality dimension of trait anxiety.The scope of the book extends to the effects of anxiety on performance and to the phenomenon of worry, which is regarded as the cognitive component of anxiety. In both cases, a new theoretical framework is presented.

Michael W. Eysenck

Papers

Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory.

Personality and Individual Differences: A Natural Science Approach

Anxiety and Performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory

Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook

Anxiety: The Cognitive Perspective