A computerized maze learning task was investigated under control, reward and punishment, provided by differing financial reinforcement contingencies. The relationships between speed crossing the maze and anxiety and impulsivity personality traits were explored. Anxiety is hypothesized to reflect a behavioural inhibition system active in punishing environments; and impulsivity, to reflect an activation system active in rewarding environments. Of the measures of impulsivity taken, only one-venturesomeness from the I7-was associated significantly with increased maze crossing speed; this was found particularly in the reward condition and in males. Several anxiety variables were associated with (near-)significant decreases in maze crossing speed in the punishment condition, and in the reward condition during continued testing after maze learning. The coexistence of anxiety and impulsivity correlations, particularly in reward, confirmed predictions that nominal 'punishment' and 'reward' conditions may activate both systems simultaneously. In punishment, prior to successful maze learning, significant anxiety correlations were limited to males, but after maze learning they were confined to females. Neuroticism and extraversion correlated with performance equally well in males; in females the correlation with extraversion was weak. These sex effects are ascribed to differing sources of motivation and to differing properties of EPQ-extraversion for males and females.

This study unvestigates personality dimensions in male and female deliquent and non-delinquent samples in the city of Valencia. The dependent variables were four scales from the Extraversion, Neuroticism and Rigidity Questionnaire (ENR); Criminal Propensity Scale from the EPQ-J, and Intelligence from Raven's Progressive Matrices. Results show significant differences in dogmatism, neuroticism, criminal propensity and intelligence, with higher scores for delinquents compared to non-delinquents, except for intelligence where the reverse was found. Neuroticism is found to be the best predictor for discriminating female delinquents from non-delinquents, while intelligence and criminal propensity are good predictors at discriminating both male and female delinquents from non-delinquents. The findings are discussed in the context of Eysenck's theory on crime and personality.

In a sample of 171 healthy volunteers, the present study examined the relationships between questionnaire measures of trait anxiety, punishment sensitivity, and impulsivity with the measures from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). This was undertaken in order to explore the relative location of the personality dimensions central to the ideas of Gray and Eysenck. Results confirmed that the behavioural inhibition personality dimension (anxiety) lies at a non-negligible angle relative to neuroticism (N) especially when measured via special purpose questionnaires. This dimension also appeared largely independent of psychoticism (P) which suggests limits on the importance of a hypoactive behavioural inhibition system in psychopathy. The behavioural activation personality dimension (impulsivity) may not be orthogonal to the inhibition/anxiety dimension as it related to P in addition to N and EPQ-extraversion. The relationship of impulsivity to EPQ measures was a function of sex, however; thus, experiments relating personality questionnaires to the behaviours specific to the behavioural activation and inhibition systems may prove more reliable when sex is routinely included as a factor.