Comparison of the effects of introverson-extraversion and anxiety on conditioning.

This study investigates the effects of Eysenck's introversion-extraversion theory and Spence-Taylor's concept of anxiety on the eyeblink conditioned response by varying these factors independently. 56 patients were subjected to conditions of high and low anxiety. Group I (anxious group) were about to undergo major surgery; Group II (nonanxious group) were patients who had successfully recovered. These patients were divided into high introverts and high extraverts, yielding 4 groups (anxious introverts, anxious extraverts, nonanxious introverts, nonanxious extraverts). The anxious groups showed greater conditioning than the nonanxious groups and no significant differences were found between the high and low introvert groups, supporting the hypothesis that total drive is, in part, a function of internal anxiety.