A class teacher noted the behaviour of four students, as shown in the table. On Eysenck's dimensions of personality, which student is most likely to score high on psychoticism?
| Student | Behaviour noted by the class teacher |
|---|---|
| Arjun | Talks to everyone, joins every trek and loves taking quick risks |
| Bela | Gets anxious and moody before tests and quickly loses control |
| Charu | Stays quiet, acts with caution and keeps to herself |
| Dev | Often picks fights, thinks only of himself and breaks rules that protect others |
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Dev
Option (1) Arjun — Incorrect. Arjun is outgoing, active and thrill-seeking. These are signs of the <strong>extraversion</strong> end of extraversion vs. introversion.
Option (2) Bela — Incorrect. Bela is anxious, moody and quickly loses control. This fits the <strong>neurotic</strong> end of neuroticism vs. emotional stability, which is about control over feelings.
Option (3) Charu — Incorrect. Charu is quiet, cautious and reserved. She shows the <strong>introversion</strong> end of extraversion vs. introversion.
Option (4) Dev — Correct. Dev picks fights (hostile), thinks only of himself (egocentric) and breaks rules that protect others (antisocial). <strong>A high scorer on psychoticism is hostile, egocentric and antisocial</strong>, which is Eysenck's later third dimension.
NCERT (2026-27): “Eysenck’s Theory … “… A person who scores high on psychoticism dimension tends to be hostile, egocentric, and antisocial. …” |