Relationship of Sensory - Pain Thresholds with Personality Dimension of Introversion and Extraversion

Eysenck in 1990 pointed at differences in cortical arousability as being the biological basis of introversion and extroversion. Various studies have assessed sensory processing thresholds in terms of auditory, visual, olfactory, pain and electrocutaneous responses and have found the thresholds to be reduced in introverts as compared to extraverts.

The present study aimed to test the correlation between sensory, pain thresholds and pain tolerance ( using Pressure Algometer and Direct current) and scores on factors included in the the Global dimension of Introversion v/s Extraversion assessed using 16PF Self Report Questionnaire. 40 young adults females without history of any psychological or physical illness ( neurological, musculoskeletal) were included in the study.

Results: There was no significant correlation found between the degree of Introversion as determined by any of the 5 Factors on the scale of 1 to 10 and the measures of Sensory Threshholds, Pain Threshhold and Pain Tolerence with the Spearman's Rho being < 0.5 in each finding.

This suggests that the levels of these factors that constitute the global trait of Introversion v/s Extraversion are not related to physical sensitivity alone; impulsivity and anxiety may need to be studied. As this scale focused on individuals with values close to the population norms ( 4 to 6), the relationship was not found to be significant.