Home > Encyclopedia of Psychology > Hans Juergen Eysenck

1916-1997
German-born British psychologist whose unorthodox views generated controversy.

Hans Eysenck's obituary in the New York Times called him "one of the most distinguished, prolific, and maddeningly perverse psychologists of his generation." This accurately sums up a long career that Eysenck claimed he entered almost by accident. As a personality and behavior theorist, he popularized the terms "introvert" and "extrovert," and he created a personality inventory test based on his many years of research in London. He published more than 80 books and 1,600 journal articles. Yet he also generated enormous controversy during his career. He argued that