The Dimensions of Personality: The Relationship Between the Models of Eysenck and Cloninger

Abstract

In the clinical context and in research, there is a need to extend diagnostic personality disorder classification with dimensional models. Eysenck and Cloninger both proposed 3-dimensional models of personality with specific reference to psychopathology. In this study, we analyse the psychometric properties of the Danish version of Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and its correlations with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The tests were administered to 191 male prisoners in a longitudinal medico-psychological study and the results compared with non-psychiatric control samples. There were significant, though small, group differences. Psychometric analyses of the 12 TPQ subscales indicate that TPQ Novelty Seeking and Reward Dependence and EPQ Psychoticism may not constitute coherent scales and constructs. The correlations between the TPQ and EPQ are discussed in relation to the suggestions by Gray concerning the location of anxiety and impulsivity in the Eysenckian personality plane, and in relation to the 5-factor model of personality. It is concluded that dimensional personality models and tests developed by Eysenck and Cloninger are not simply alternatives, and that each of the tests may have affinity to different levels of description. In psychiatric and psychological research, the tests may be used in concert.