University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Eye Accommodation, Personality, and Autonomic Balance

Gawron, Valerie Jane

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Description

Title
Eye Accommodation, Personality, and Autonomic Balance
Author(s)
Gawron, Valerie Jane
Issue Date
1980
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Experimental
Language
eng
Abstract
  • The autonomic nervous system is made up of two subsystems: the parasympathetic (PNS) and the sympathetic (SNS). The balance between these systems regulates bodily functioning during routine (PNS-dominant) and crisis (SNS-dominant) situations. It also controls visual accommodation for near (PNS-dominant) and far (SNS-dominant) focus. The balance between these physiological systems has been linked to individual differences in personality characteristics, especially introversion (PNS-dominant) and extraversion (SNS-dominant). Since the balance mediates accommodation, the similar personality differences between near- and far-sighted individuals may be related to the more general parasympathetic-sympathetic balance rather than being related solely to the visual capability difference.
  • The relationships among autonomic balance (as measured by a battery of four physiological tests modified from Wenger and Ellington, 1943, and by a technique introduced by Porges, 1976), refractive error (measured by dark focus, near and far points using a polarized vernier optometer), and introversion - extraversion (Eysenck Personality Inventory introversion - extraversion scale score) were investigated. It was expected that Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and subsequent factor analyses among these measures would constitute a critical test of the validity of the above theoretical and empirical conclusions. Continuity between the various levels of functioning and systems was found. The relationships, however, were not as predicted by theory and previous research.
Graduation Semester
1980
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/66572

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