Some origins and evolution of the EPQ-R (short form) Neuroticism and Extraversion items

A familiarity with the item content of a range of psychometric devices for the assessment of personality traits, together with some appreciation of the interdependence of the early test constructors, lead to an exploratory attempt to study item history more formally. Given that the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (short form) represents more than a half-century of test development and item refinement, and includes the Big Two dimensions of Neuroticism and Extraversion, it seemed an appropriate British starting point. Inspection of the range of Eysenck measures and some of the other major inventories produced family trees of suitably modified items from the 1920s and 1930s. Of particular interest is the liberal interchange of content between these founding fathers. It is hoped that this pioneer pilot study will encourage further exploration.