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Drugs and Personality

II. The Effect of Stimulant and Depressant Drugs on Continuous Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

H. J. Eysenck
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry (Maudsley Hospital), University of London
S. Casey
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry (Maudsley Hospital), University of London
D. S. Trouton
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry (Maudsley Hospital), University of London

Extract

In a previous paper one of us (4) has elaborated a theory relating drug action to personality. According to this theory, depressant drugs increase cortical inhibition (Pavlov) or reactive inhibition (Hull), thus producing an extraverting effect on personality, while stimulant drugs decrease inhibition and produce an introverting effect in behaviour. It was also suggested in this paper that a direct proof of the hypothesis might be obtained by making predictions regard ing the effects of stimulant and depressant drugs on a variety of experimental laboratory situations connected with the general theory of inhibition and excitation.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1957 

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References

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