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Chapter 14    Eysenck’s Biologically Based Factor Theory441
ofpsychology since hefirstentered itsranks. Heupset many psychoanalysts and
other therapists intheearly 1950s withhiscontention thatnoevidence existed 
tosuggest thatpsychotherapy wasmore effective thanspontaneous remission. In
other words, those people whoreceive notherapy were justaslikely togetbetter 
aswere those whounderwent expensive, painful, prolonged psychotherapy with
expertly trained psychoanalysts andpsychologists (Eysenck, 1952a). Eysenck 
maintained thatbelief fortheremainder ofhislife.In1996, hetoldaninterviewer 
that“psychotherapies arenomore effective than...placebo treatments” (Feltham, 
1996, p.424). 
Eysenck wasnotafraid totakeanunpopular stand, aswitnessed byhis
defense ofArthur Jensen, whose contention wasthatIQscores cannot besignifi -
cantly increased bywell-intentioned social programs because theyarelargely genet -
ically determined. Eysenck’s book The IQ Argument (1971) wassocontroversial 
thatelements intheUnited States “threatened booksellers witharson iftheydared 
tostock thebook; well-known ‘liberal’ newspapers refused toreview it;andthe
outcome wasthatitwaslargely impossible inthelandoffreespeech todiscover 
theexistence ofthebook ortobuyit”(Eysenck, 1980, p.175). Infact,afterthe
family home wasvandalized byprotesters inEngland, theEysencks went sofaras
tochange their children’s lastnames forafewyears inorder toinsure their safety 
(Eysenck, 2016). 
In1983, Eysenck retired asprofessor ofpsychology attheInstitute ofPsychia -
try,University ofLondon, andassenior psychiatrist attheMaudsley andBethlehem 
Royal hospitals. Hethenserved asprofessor emeritus attheUniversity ofLondon 
untilhisdeath from cancer onSeptember 4,1997. Eysenck, whofrequently argued 
thatcigarette smoking wasnotamajor riskfactor forcancer, hadbeen aheavy 
smoker untilmiddle agewhen hegaveupcigarettes because hebelieved thatthey
affected histennis game. 
During hislateryears, hisresearch continued toreflect various topics, includ -
ingcreativity (Eysenck, 1993, 1995; Frois &Eysenck, 1995), behavioral interventions 
incancer andheart disease (Eysenck, 1991d, 1996; Eysenck &Grossarth-Maticek, 
1991), andintelligence (Eysenck, 1998a).
Eysenck wonmany awards, including the1991 Distinguished Contributions 
Award oftheInternational Society fortheStudy ofIndividual Differences. TheAmer -
icanPsychological Association presented himwithitsDistinguished Scientist Award 
(1988), thePresidential Citation forScientific Contribution (1993), the William 
James Fellow Award (1994), andtheCentennial Award forDistinguished Contribu -
tions toClinical Psychology (1996).
Eysenck’s Factor Theory
Thepersonality theory ofHans Eysenck hasstrong psychometric andbiological com-
ponents. However, Eysenck (1977a, 1997a) contended thatpsychometric sophistica -
tionalone isnotsufficient tomeasure thestructure ofhuman personality andthat
personality dimensions arrived atthrough factor analytic methods aresterile and
meaningless unless theyhavebeenshown topossess abiological existence.Final PDF to printer