NCJ Number
95840
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1984) Pages: 296-300
Date Published
1984
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The concept of Hedonism, constructed by Burgess as the arithmetic product of the Extraversion and Neuroticism scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, has been misnamed and probably relates more to the mediation of impulses and the display of affects than to issues of pleasure or happiness as the highest good.
Abstract
The validity of the Hedonism construct was tested using 100 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. The subjects completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, and the Personality Research Form. Intercorrelations among five measures were considered: hedonism, surgency, sentience, play, and anhedonia. The validity of Burgess's Hedonism construct appeared to be dismally low, suggesting that it does not measure what its proponents claim. The naming of constructs and their measures requires semantic care which acknowledges both the existing tradition and the potential users of the measure. One table and 16 references are listed.