Michael William Eysenck (born 1944) is a British academic psychologist, and is currently an emeritus professor in psychology at Royal Holloway, Univ of London and also holds an appointment at Roehampton University. His research focuses on cognitive factors affecting anxiety. Eysenck has written and co-written many publications, including several textbooks. In the late 1990s, he developed the theory of the 'hedonic treadmill',[1] stating that humans are predisposed by genetics to plateau at a certain level of happiness, and that the occurrence of novel happy events merely elevates this level temporarily.
He is the son of the noted psychologist Hans Jürgen Eysenck.
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Eysenck's research focuses mainly on cognitive factors associated with anxiety in normal and clinical populations. He has recently developed two new theories. First, there is attentional control theory (with Nazanin Derakshan, Rita Santos, and Manuel Calvo), which provides a cognitive account of the effects of anxiety on performance. Second, there is vigilance-avoidance theory (with Nazanin Derakshan and Lynn Myers), which provides a detailed theory of repressive coping. His current research with collaborators is designed to test these two theories in detail.
Specific interests: Cognitive factors in anxiety, including clinical anxiety and implications for therapy. Memory functioning and attentional mechanisms. Personality and mood. Modular approaches to trait anxiety.
Eysenck was a Lecturer and then Reader in Psychology at Birkbeck College University of London between 1965 and 1987. Between 1987 and 2009 he was Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway College, University of London and Head of Department there between 1987 - 2005, and is now Emeritus Professor at RHUL. He currently has an additional appointment at Roehampton University that started in 2010. His main research area is anxiety and cognition, an area in which he has published approximately 100 journal articles and book chapters plus two research monographs. Overall, he has written 42 books, many of which are in the area of cognitive psychology, and have a grand total of over 200 publications
There is a portrait of Eysenck[2] in the National Portrait Gallery permanent collection, by Anne-Katrin Purkiss.
Fajkowska, Malgorzata, Eysenck, Michael W, Zagorska, Anna, Jaskowski, Piotr. ERP responses to facial affect in low-anxious, high-anxious, repressors and defensive high-anxious individuals. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011;50(7):961-976.
Eysenck, Michael W, Derakshan, Nazanin. New perspectives in attentional control theory. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011;50(7):955-960.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Smyth, Sinead, Eysenck, Michael W. Effects of state anxiety on performance using a task-switching paradigm: An investigation of attentional control theory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 2009;16(6):1112-1117.
Eysenck, Michael W, Matthews, Gerald, Necka, Edward, Chuderski, Adam, Schweizer, Karl, Szymura, Blazej. Individual differences in attention: The commentaries. Gruszka, Aleksandra [Ed], Matthews, Gerald [Ed], Szymura, BLATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE TILDEazej [Ed]. Handbook of individual differences in cognition: Attention, memory, and executive control. New York, NY, US: Springer Science US; 2010:283-292.
Eysenck, Michael W. Attentional control theory of anxiety: Recent developments. Gruszka, Aleksandra [Ed], Matthews, Gerald [Ed], Szymura, BLATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE TILDEazej [Ed]. Handbook of individual differences in cognition: Attention, memory, and executive control. New York, NY, US: Springer Science + Business Media, US; 2010:195-204. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1210-7_12.
Maruszewski, Tomasz [Ed], Fajkowska, Malgorzata [Ed], Eysenck, Michael W [Ed]. Personality from biological, cognitive, and social perspectives. Personality from biological, cognitive, and social perspectives. Clinton Corners, NY, US: Eliot Werner Publications, US; 2010.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Ansari, Tahereh L, Hansard, Miles, Shoker, Leor, Eysenck, Michael W. Anxiety, inhibition, efficiency, and effectiveness: An investigation using the antisaccade task. Experimental Psychology. 2009;56(1):48-55.
Eysenck, Michael W, Keane, Mark T. Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (6th ed.). Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (6th ed.). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2010.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W. Introduction to the special issue: Emotional states, attention, and working memory. Cognition and Emotion. 2010;24(2):189-199.
Baddeley, Alan, Eysenck, Michael W, Anderson, Michael C. Memory. Memory. New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2009.
Eysenck, Michael W. Fundamentals of psychology. Fundamentals of psychology. New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2009.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W. Anxiety, processing efficiency, and cognitive performance: New developments from attentional control theory. European Psychologist. 2009;14(2):168-176.
Fajkowska, Malgorzata, Eysenck, Michael W. Personality and cognitive performance. Polish Psychological Bulletin. 2008;39(4):178-191.
Stoeber, Joachim, Eysenck, Michael W. Perfectionism and efficiency: Accuracy, response bias, and invested time in proof-reading performance. Journal of Research in Personality. 2008;42(6):1673-1678
Calvo, Manuel G, Eysenck, Michael W. Affective significance enhances covert attention: Roles of anxiety and word familiarity. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2008;61(11):1669-1686.
Myers, Lynn B, Burns, John W, Derakshan, Naz, Elfant, Erin, Eysenck, Michael W, Phipps, Sean. Current issues in repressive coping and health. Vingerhoets, Ad [Ed], Nyklicek, Ivan [Ed], Denollet, Johan [Ed]. Emotion regulation: Conceptual and clinical issues. New York, NY, US: Springer Science + Business Media, US; 2008:69-86.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W, Myers, Lynn B. Emotional information processing in repressors: The vigilance-avoidance theory. Cognition and Emotion. 2007;21(8):1585-1614. doi:10.1080/02699930701499857.
Eysenck, Michael W, Derakshan, Nazanin, Santos, Rita, Calvo, Manuel G. Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion. 2007;7(2):336-353. doi:10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336.
Eysenck, Michael W. Fundamentals of cognition. Fundamentals of cognition. Hove, England: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis (UK), England; 2006.
Eysenck, Michael W, Payne, Susanna, Santos, Rita. Anxiety and depression: Past, present, and future events. Cognition and Emotion. 2006;20(2):274-294.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W. When the bogus pipeline interferes with self-deceptive strategies: Effects on state anxiety in repressors. Cognition and Emotion. 2005;19(1):83-100.
Kirkcaldy, Bruce D, Eysenck, Michael W, Brown, Jennifer, Siefen, Georg R. Determinants of suicidal ideation and gender differences among a normative sample of adolescents. Merrick, Joav [Ed], Zalsman, Gil [Ed]. Suicidal behavior in adolescence: An international perspective. London, England: Freund Publishing House, England; 2005:51-63.
Eysenck, Michael W, Payne, Susanna, Derakshan, Nazanin. Trait anxiety, visuospatial processing, and working memory. Cognition and Emotion. 2005;19(8):1214-1228. doi:10.1080/02699930500260245.
Eysenck, Michael W, Keane, Mark T. Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (5th ed.). Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (5th ed.). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2005.
Eysenck, Michael W. Trait anxiety, repressors and cognitive biases. Yiend, Jenny [Ed]. Cognition, emotion and psychopathology: Theoretical, empirical and clinical directions. New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press, US; 2004:49-67.
Eysenck, Michael W. Review of A social history of psychology. European Psychologist. 2004;9(3):189-190.
Kirkcaldy, Bruce D, Eysenck, Michael W, Siefen, Georg R. Psychological and Social Predictors of Suicidal Ideation Among Young Adolescents. School Psychology International. 2004;25(3):301-316. doi:10.1177/0143034304046903.
Eysenck, Michael W. Applied cognitive psychology: Implications of cognitive psychology for clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2004;60(4):393-404.
Eysenck, Michael W. Applied cognitive psychology: Implications of cognitive psychology for clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Ansiedad y Estres. 2003;9(2-3):255-270.
Eysenck, Michael W. Why Do Stressors Impair Performance? PsycCRITIQUES. 2002;47(6):667-669.
Eysenck, Michael W, Keane, Mark T. Attention and performance limitations. Levitin, Daniel J [Ed]. Foundations of cognitive psychology: Core readings. Cambridge, MA, US: MIT Press, US; 2002:363-398
Graydon, Jan, Eysenck, Michael W. Distraction and cognitive performance. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 1989;1(2):161-179.
Tallis, Frank, Eysenck, Michael W. Worry: Mechanisms and modulating influences. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. 1994;22(1):37-56.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W. Manipulation of focus of attention and its effects on anxiety in high-anxious individuals and repressors. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal. 2001;14(2):173-191.
Derakshan, Nazanin, Eysenck, Michael W. Effects of focus of attention on physiological, behavioural, and reported state anxiety in repressors, low-anxious, high-anxious, and defensive high-anxious individuals. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal. 2001;14(3):285-299.
Eysenck, Michael W. Principles of cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Principles of cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2001.
Eysenck, Michael W. Tele-interview with Michael W. Eysenck. European Psychologist. 2000;5(2):108-110. doi:10.1027//1016-9040.5.2.108.
Eysenck, Michael W. Anxiety, cognitive biases, and beliefs. Frijda, Nico H [Ed], Manstead, Antony S. R [Ed], Bem, Sacha [Ed]. Emotions and belief: How feelings influence thoughts. New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press, US; 2000:171-184.
Calvo, Manuel G, Eysenck, Michael W. Early vigilance and late avoidance of threat processing: Repressive coping versus low/high anxiety. Cognition and Emotion. 2000;14(6):763-787. doi:10.1080/02699930050156627.
Eysenck, Michael W. A cognitive approach to trait anxiety. European Journal of Personality. 2000;14(5,SpecIssue):463-476
Loewenthal, Kate Miriam, Eysenck, Michael, Harris, Duncan, Lubitsh, Guy, Gorton, Tessa, Bicknell, Helen. Stress, distress and air traffic incidents: Job dysfunction and distress in airline pilots in relation to contextually-assessed stress. Stress Medicine. 2000;16(3):179-183.
Eysenck, Michael W, Keane, Mark T. Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (4th ed.). Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (4th ed.). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, US; 2000
Eysenck, Michael W. Psychology: A student's handbook. Psychology: A student's handbook. Hove, England: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis (UK), England; 2000.