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Neuroticism
Definition
Neuroticism refers to a broad personality trait dimension representing the degree
to which a person experiences the world as distressing, threatening, and unsafe. Each
individual can be positioned somewhere on this personality dimension between extreme
poles: perfect emotional stability vs. complete emotional chaos. Highly neurotic
individuals tend to be labile, anxious, tense, and withdrawn. Individuals who are low in
neuroticism tend to be content, confident, and stable. The latter report fewer physical and
psychological problems and less stress than do highly neurotic individuals.
Neuroticism is associated with distress and dissatisfaction. Neurotic individuals
(i.e., those who are high on the neuroticism dimension) tend to feel dissatisfied with
themselves and their lives. They are more likely to report minor health problems and to
feel general discomfort in a wide range of situations. Neurotic individuals are more prone
to negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, guilt). Empirical studies suggest
that extremely high levels of neuroticism are associated with prolonged and pervasive
misery in both the neurotic individuals and those close to them.
History
The concept of neuroticism can be traced back to ancient Greece and the
Hippocratic model of four basic temperaments (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and
melancholic, the latter most closely approximating neuroticism). In modern psychometric
studies of personality and psychopathology, neuroticism tends to be identified as a first
general factor (i.e., the variable with the broadest power in explaining individual
differences). For example, up to 50% of the variability in “internalizing” forms of
psychopathology such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsion, phobia, and hysteria
can be explained by a general dimension of neuroticism. For this reason, neuroticism
almost always appears in modern trait models of personality, though sometimes with
slightly different theoretical formulations or names (e.g., trait anxiety, repression-
sensitization, ego-resiliency, negative emotionality). Hans Eysenck popularized the term
neuroticism in the 1950s by including it as a key scale in his popular personality
inventory. Neuroticism figures prominently in the influential “Big Five” model of
personality disposition and in tests designed to measure the “Big Five,” such as the NEO
Personality Inventory. Neuroticism is even reflected in inventories designed for clinical
psychological use, such as the recently developed “Demoralization” scale on the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2.
Growing but still limited evidence suggests that most major personality traits
(including neuroticism) identified by western psychology manifest universally. Evidence
of the importance of neuroticism in individuals from diverse cultures (and who use
different languages) can be found in large-scale cross-cultural studies of personality.
Biological Basis
Accruing research data show persuasively that individual differences in
neuroticism are substantially heritable. Heritability estimates based on twin studies
generally fall in the 40-60% range. The remaining individual differences in neuroticism
are attributed primarily to unique (non-familial) environmental differences; the shared
familial environment appears to exert virtually no reliable influence on individual
differences in neuroticism. Researchers speculate that over-reactivity of the limbic
system in the brain is associated with high levels of neuroticism, but specific
neurochemical mechanisms or neuroanatomical loci have not yet been identified.
Costs of Extreme Levels of Neuroticism
Highly neurotic individuals are defensive pessimists. They experience the world
as unsafe and use fundamentally different strategies in dealing with distress. They are
vigilant against potential harm in their environment and constantly scan the environment
for evidence of potential harm. They may withdraw from reality and engage in protective
behaviors when they detect danger.
Highly neurotic individuals tend to be poor problem solvers. Because of their
tendency to withdraw, they tend to possess an impoverished repertoire of behavioral
alternatives for addressing the demands of reality. Consequently, they tend to engage in
mental role-play (rumination and fantasy) instead of constructive problem solving
behaviors. In contrast to their impoverished behavioral repertoires, however, they may
possess a rich inner world. Introspective and apt to analyze their thoughts and feelings,
they are highly invested in seeking the true nature of their intrapsychic experiences.
Successful artists (e.g., Woody Allen) are sometimes neurotic individuals who have
developed creative channels through which to tap their rich, over-populated intrapsychic
worlds.
Although high neuroticism is related to a deflated sense of well being, high levels
of neuroticism are not always associated with unfavorable characteristics. Neurotic
behaviors may be essential for survival by facilitating safety through the inhibition of
risky behaviors. Neurotic individuals tend to possess high anticipatory apprehension
which may orient them to pay closer attention to contingencies previously associated with
punishments. Also, the subjective discomfort (i.e., anxiety) over violations of social
convention is greater in a neurotic individual than in others; thus, it is less likely that a
neurotic individual will become involved in antisocial activity. For instance, adolescents
with extremely low neuroticism have been shown to possess a higher risk of adult
criminality, and to experience low levels of uncomfortable physiological arousal over
violations of social conventions.
Keenly attuned to their inner experiences, those high in neuroticism are also
attentive to their physical discomforts. Their health maintenance behaviors (e.g.,
consultations with a physician) are more frequent than those of individuals with less
neuroticism. Although their complaints regarding health are more frequent, their
objectively assessed health is not poorer than those low in neuroticism. To the contrary,
their general health is often found to be better, for example, with less frequent diagnosis
of cancer. Researchers hypothesize that this finding is attributable to early detection of
potentially harmful symptoms associated with frequent health maintenance behaviors.
Sangil Kwon
Nathan C. Weed
See also: Big five personality traits, Genetic influences on social behavior, Individual
Differences, Traits, and Twin studies
Further Reading
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1980). Influence of extroversion and neuroticism on
subjective well-being: Happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 38, 668-678.
Goldberg, L. R. (1993a). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American
Psychologist, 48, 26-34.
Watson, D., Casillas, A. (2003). Neuroticism: Adaptive and maladaptive features. In E.
Chang & L. Sanna (Eds.), Virtue, Vice, and Personality: the Complexity of
Behavior (pp. 145-161). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Wiggins, J. S. (1986) (Ed.). The five-factor model of personality: Theoretical
perspectives. New York: Guilford.
