Wilson Personality Questionnaire Research Articles

Comparison of Behavioral Cerebral Systems in Tattooed and Non-tattooed Substance-Dependent Individuals

Background: Tattoos or stencils on the body have a special charm for the people of different cultures. The fact that such stencils are considered attractive and essential to some people from a specific culture has led to the conclusion that there might be factors which make tattooing attractive to someone. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine and compare behavioral activation system (BAS), behavioral inhibition system (BIS), and fight-or-flight system between tattooed and non-tattooed substance-dependent individuals. Methods: Using convenience sampling method, this study included 146 substance-dependent individuals (73 tattooed and 73 non-tattooed) referring to Baharan rehabilitation center in Zahedan, Iran. Data collection was done by the short form of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ), and data were analyzed by independent t-test. Results: According to the results of GWPQ, in BIS, in tattooed individuals, extinction and total scores of avoidance was significantly higher than non-tattooed. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference between BAS and fight-or-flight system. Conclusions: While BAS is associated with positive emotions, BIS is associated with negative emotions. The tattoo seems to be a sign of special personality characteristics and can be used as a way to extinction the emotions and avoiding to deal with pejorative emotions.

Compared the Fight-or-Flight System Dependent People, Glass, Opium and Ordinary on the Basis of Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

This study aimed to compared the Fight – or - flight system dependent people, glass, opium and ordinary on the basis of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory. The present study method, of terms of purpose, function and of terms of manner of implementation, causal-comparative, of type then event. The study population included all drug addicts referred to the Medical Center Hospital of Sanandaj qods who first referred to the center (New Case) and have not received any medical treatment. Among the population of through available sampling a total of 90 people were selected and questionnaire Gary- Wilson personality questionnaire (GWPQ( 1993, was carried out on them. To analyze the data variance and Tukey test was used. The results showed that between the Fight – or - flight system dependent people, glass, opium and ordinary there is a significant difference. The results of analysis of variance showed that the level of significance (0.011) is less than %5, as a result of the confidence level %95, there difference, Between Fight – or - flight system level members dependents the opium, glass and ordinary people on the basis of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory.

P01-128 - A Comparative study on brain-behavioral systems action in patients with obsessive-compulsive and phobia disorders

ObjectiveThis study aims at scrutinizing the action of Behavior-Brain systems in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and patients with Phobia by comparing them. The study is based on Jeffry Gary personality Theory.Method20 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 20 patients with Phobia that matched together by age, education level and gender were selected from patients referred to consulting clinics in Ardebil in 2008. Gary & Wilson personality questionnaire administered for assessing the Behavior-Brain systems action. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and independent T-test to test the hypothesis generated in the study.ResultsAnalyzing the collected data shows that there is no significant difference between Phobic and obsessive patients in behavior activating systems and behavior inhabitation systems; but there is significant difference between two groups in fight -flight system.ConclusionThe results of this study are in agreement with basic hypothesis of Gary's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and neuro-psychological status of patients with disorders. The reason of no significant difference between two behavior activating systems and behavior inhabitation systems in phobic and obsessive patients might be due to the similarity of behavior roots in these two disorders.

The associations among the Big Five, Behavioural Inhibition and Behavioural Approach systems and child and adolescent adjustment in Russia

The associations among the Big Five, Behavioural Inhibition (BIS), Behavioural Approach (BAS) systems and adjustment measured by academic achievement and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were examined with parent-reports of 944 Russian 3–18 year old children and self-reports of 1013 adolescents. Personality was measured by the Inventory of Child Individual Differences (ICID), which assessed dimensions of the Five Factor Model; in addition, adolescents completed a short form of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire which assessed dimensions of BIS and BAS. BAS was negatively related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and BIS was positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively related to Extraversion. Both BIS and BAS were associated with Negative Emotionality. Overall, all personality measures accounted for 11–25% of the variance in self reported adjustment measures, explaining more than 20% of emotional and behavioural problems. The predictive power of child’s personality for parent reported adjustment measures was higher, explaining 28% of academic achievement and 32% of total psychological problems. The results are discussed in light of the possible role of BIS and BAS in shaping child personality and adjustment.

Personality, temperament and adolescent adjustment in modern Russia

This study examined the predictive power of three temperament/personality measures—the EPQ which assessed dimensions of Eysenck’s personality model, the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ) which assessed dimensions of Gray’s model, and the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS-R)—on adjustment measured by academic achievement and mental health with a sample of 255 Russian adolescents. Academic achievement in boys was predicted by parent’s education level and intact family; in girls, parent education, DOTS-R Flexibility and General Rhythmicity together accounted for 31% of variance. Conduct Problems in boys were predicted by GWPQ Behavioural Activation and DOTS-R General Rhythmicity; in girls, the only significant predictor was Flexibility. Emotional Problems were influenced by living conditions and GWPQ Behavioural Inhibition. Total Difficulties were predicted by living conditions, Flexibility and Psychoticism. These adolescent temperament-mental health and -academic achievement findings were discussed within the context of adolescent development in modern Russia.

The role of personality in the co-occurrence of emotional and conduct problems in adolescents: a confirmation of Corr's “joint subsystems” hypothesis

Adjustment problems were investigated in a sample of 768 Russian adolescents aged 11–17 years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by teachers, parents and children. Participants also completed a short form of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ-S) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). Neuroticism (N) and behavioural inhibition (BIS) were the best predictors of emotional symptoms (ES), while psychoticism (P) and behavioural activation (BAS) predicted conduct disorder (CD). Co-occurrence of ES and CD was associated with high scores on both N and P. A combination of N and P mediated the relationship between self-reported ES and CD. Consistent with Corr, 2002a, Corr, 2002b hypothesis, BAS (or P) moderated the relationship between BIS (or N) and ES, while BIS (or N) moderated the relationship between BAS (or P) and CD. These interaction effects were most pronounced in males and were significant only for self-reported adjustment problems.

Behavioural activation as predictor of substance use: mediating and moderating role of attitudes and social relationships

Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use were investigated in 4501 Russian youths aged 14–25 years. The participants also filled out the short forms of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire along with questions about attitudes and social relationships. Behavioural Activation (BAS) was the best personality predictor of substance use. Its influence was mediated by disobedience to adults, affiliation with peers (Outings) and tolerant attitude toward illegal activity. BAS was negatively associated with subjective well-being and educational aspiration (Learn). Extraversion was the second strongest predictor of substance use with its influence being mostly mediated by Outings. Besides, Extraversion was positively associated with some protective factors such as subjective well-being, Learn and good relationship with parents. Effects of Neuroticism and Behavioural Inhibition (BIS) on substance use were weak and gender-specific. In females BIS provided a degree of protection while in males it increased the risk of substance use. The personality factors interacted so that BAS and Extraversion tended to mutually increase the impact of each other, while BIS diminished the effect of BAS. Among attitude variables, Outings acted as the most potent predictor of substance use. Relationship with parents was a protective factor, which acted most strongly in adolescents with higher Psychoticism and Extraversion.

Behavioural activation as predictor of substance use: mediating and moderating role of attitudes and social relationships

Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use were investigated in 4501 Russian youths aged 14–25 years. The participants also filled out the short forms of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire along with questions about attitudes and social relationships. Behavioural Activation (BAS) was the best personality predictor of substance use. Its influence was mediated by disobedience to adults, affiliation with peers (Outings) and tolerant attitude toward illegal activity. BAS was negatively associated with subjective well-being and educational aspiration (Learn). Extraversion was the second strongest predictor of substance use with its influence being mostly mediated by Outings. Besides, Extraversion was positively associated with some protective factors such as subjective well-being, Learn and good relationship with parents. Effects of Neuroticism and Behavioural Inhibition (BIS) on substance use were weak and gender-specific. In females BIS provided a degree of protection while in males it increased the risk of substance use. The personality factors interacted so that BAS and Extraversion tended to mutually increase the impact of each other, while BIS diminished the effect of BAS. Among attitude variables, Outings acted as the most potent predictor of substance use. Relationship with parents was a protective factor, which acted most strongly in adolescents with higher Psychoticism and Extraversion.

Comparison of the construct validity of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire and the BIS/BAS scales

345 subjects completed a translated, shortened version of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ), along with Russian versions of Carver and White’s BIS/BAS scales, the Eysenck Personality Profiler, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis of GWPQ items pointed to a three-factor solution and three new scales were created which demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics. Confirmatory factor analysis of the BIS/BAS scales showed that a four-factor model best fitted the data but the three BAS subscales should be treated as sub-factors of a second-order factor. Structural equation modelling showed that GWPQ scales generally explained Eysenck’s dimensions better than BIS/BAS scales. The distinction between GWPQ and Carver and White’s scales mainly concerned BAS measures. GWPQ BAS captured more of Psychoticism, whereas Carver and White’s BAS captured more of Extraversion.

Personality and substance use in Russian youths: The predictive and moderating role of behavioural activation and gender

Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use were investigated in a representative sample of 4501 Russian youths aged 14–25 years. In addition to questions on substance use (SU), the participants filled in the short forms of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ-S, Slobodskaya, Knyazev, Safronova, & Wilson, 2003) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R) along with questions about environmental risk factors––family and peer SU. Behavioural activation (BAS) was the best personality predictor of SU. Personality variables moderated relations between SU and environmental risk factors. Social conformity enhanced the effect of family drinking on alcohol use, while N moderated the relationship between family smoking and self-smoking. Youths with more active BAS and lower social conformity were more vulnerable to the influence of deviant peers. E also increased peer influence, but this effect was most evident for males. BIS also predisposed to peer influence in males only.

Personality trait of behavioral inhibition is associated with oscillatory systems reciprocal relationships

The main aim of this paper is to offer a speculative evolutionary based interpretation of brain oscillations. We suppose that delta, theta and alpha oscillations are informational channels of three hierarchical philogenetic systems. Delta oscillations are linked with the most ancient system, which was dominant in reptilian brain. Theta oscillations dominate in lower mammals. Alpha oscillations are manifestation of activity of the newest system, which dominate in adult humans. The three hierarchical phylogenetic systems fulfill parallel processing and their contribution to resulting behavior could differ in different individuals. Relative contribution of each system is regulated by means of descending inhibition (DI), higher systems inhibiting the lower. One of this theory's implications is that the personality trait of behavioral inhibition (behavioral inhibition system, BIS) should be associated with a stronger DI but particular mechanism could be different in children and adults. In order to test this hypothesis in 95 children (11–16 years) and 45 adults (18–37 years) resting EEG recordings were obtained along with BIS scores assessed by the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire. Within subject strength of DI was measured by negative correlations between delta, theta and alpha powers estimated in individually adjusted EEG bands. In adults, BIS was associated with enhanced negative feedback from the alpha to the delta system, indicating a predominantly cortical origin of the adult humans’ anxiety. In children, BIS was associated with enhanced negative relation between theta and delta systems, which is similar to the mechanism known in animals where limbic system plays the crucial role in mediating anxiety and fear. Although the presented empirical data partly supported the theory, it remains to be speculative and needs further empirical validation.

Development of a short form of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire: its use in measuring personality and adjustment among Russian adolescents

Abstract The development of a short form of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ-S) is described. On the basis of earlier, cross-cultural factor analyses of the original 120 items and 6 subscales it was decided to reduce the test to two major scales, the behavioural activation system (BAS) and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS). Although these bear similarity to the familiar factors of impulsiveness and anxiety, they differ in being derived from a pool of items specifically designed to tap human equivalents of the animal learning paradigms central to Gray's personality theory (approach, active avoidance, passive avoidance, extinction, fight and flight). Item reduction was based on factor loadings from a new sample of 454 Russian adolescents and correlations with previously validated criteria—teacher, parent and self-ratings of conduct and emotional problems. Despite the additional constraint of balanced direction of scoring (an advantage over previous BAS/BIS Scales), satisfactory internal consistency was achieved with a 28 item test (alphas of 0.67 and 0.64).

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory: a psychometric critique

This study identifies valid orthogonal scales of Gray's animal learning paradigms, upon which his Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) is based, by determining a revised structure to the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ) ( Wilson, Gray, & Barrett, 1990). It is also determined how well Gray's RST scales predict the surface scales of personality, which were measured in terms of Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) scales, the EPQ-R and the learning styles questionnaire (LSQ) scales. First, results suggest that independent pathways of RST scales may exist in humans. Second, Fight seems related to Anxiety and not the Fight/Flight system as proposed by RST. Third, a remarkably consistent story emerges in that Extraversion scales are predicted by Fight, Psychoticism scales are predicted by Active-avoidance, Fight and/or Flight, and Neuroticism scales tend not to be predicted at all (except for Anxiety). Fourth, Gray's revised scales are unrelated to gender and age effects and show a predictable overlap with the LSQ and original GWPQ scales. It is concluded that Gray's model of personality might provide a stable biological basis of many surface scales of personality, but that there must also be other influences on personality. These results question the finer structure of Gray's RST whilst also showing that RST has greater range of applicability than a strict interpretation of theory implies.

Mapping Gray's model of personality onto the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP)

The aim of this study was to determine how well Gray's model of personality [Gray, J.A. (1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system. Oxfords: Oxford University Press, Gray, J.A. (1987). The psychology of fear and stress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press], as measured by the Gray Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ), can provide a full description of personality as measured by the primary scales of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) and the type scales of the short version or the EPQ-R. Factor analysis of the GWPQ the Anxiety and linpulsivity scales of the EPP and the Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) showed that the GWPQ seemed to measure general activation and inhibition factors, but not the finer features of Gray's theory. When the GWPQ scales were regressed against each scale of the EPP., it was round that they generally provide only a reasonable explanation of the EPP primary scales. It is concluded that the GWPQ measures general propel-ties of Gray's model, that the linpulsivity and Anxiety scales of the EPP also scent related to the GWPQ scales, and that Gray's model of personality provides only a partial explanation of personality in general. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychophysiological correlates of behavioural inhibition and activation

Psychophysiological arousal measures were investigated in relation to scores on behavioural inhibition and activation scales derived from the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ). Ss were 63 psychology students, aged 18–37, whose skin conductance (SC) and heart rate (HR) were recorded before and during a 2-min mental arithmetic task. EEG was recorded in a resting state. The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were also administered. Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) scores [along with Neuroticism (N) and Trait Anxiety (TA)] were related to high beta and gamma EEG activity in frontal areas and low delta and theta activity in temporal, parietal and left frontal areas. Behavioural Activation System (BAS) scores were related to high delta and theta activity in parietal areas and were negatively related to respiratory sinus arrhythmia and HR acceleration during mental arithmetic. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that behavioural activation is associated with autonomic and cortical underarousal while behavioural inhibition is associated with high cortical arousal, especially in the right hemisphere.

Reactions of Russian adolescents to reward and punishment: a cross-cultural study of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire

A translated, shortened version of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire was administered, along with an abbreviated adult Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, to 251 Russian schoolchildren aged 14–16 years. Girls were significantly higher than boys on passive avoidance , flight, and N, suggesting higher levels of anxiety/emotionality. In accord with British and Japanese results, principal component analysis of individual items largely failed to identify the six theoretical animal learning paradigms on which the GWPQ was constructed. Nor did intercorrelations among scale scores support the a priori three-dimensional structure of the test; instead there was evidence for two major systems underlying reactions to reward and punishment: Inhibition , with strong loadings on passive avoidance, extinction and flight, and Activation , with positive loadings on fight and approach and a negative loading on active avoidance. Correlations with Rutter Teacher scores, the Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self-Report are also presented and discussed. As predicted, anxiety and emotional problems were associated with Inhibition, while conduct disorder and attention deficits were associated with Activation. Multiple regression analysis showed that GWPQ scores were superior to scores on this version of the EPQ as predictors of teacher ratings and added significant predictive power to parent and self-report measures of adolescent adjustment.