Reactive Inhibition in Relation to Age and Personality

Abstract

This experiment examined the influence of reactive inhibition, I_e, defined as involuntary rest pauses, on the performance of a tapping task by aged extraverts and introverts. It was hypothesized that involuntary rests during mass practice would be more numerous for the aged extraverts. The Eysenck Personality Inventory was administered to 48 male Ss between the ages of 65 and 91 yr.; Ss' scores between 15 and 24 were called extraverted and those between 0 and 9 introverted. Performance on the tapping task was then recorded. The hypothesis was not supported. There was no significant difference in the number of involuntary rests taken by the two groups, which suggests that the differences between aged extraverts and introverts may not be explained using this measure of reactive inhibition.