Personality characteristics associated with lateral eye-movement patterns.

Abstract

Personality determinants of characteristic trends in inferred hemispheric utilization were investigated using conjugate lateral eye movement as an index of hemispheric involvement. The Adjective Checklist provided a number of personality and cognitive-style variables. Two independent samples were assessed, a group of 54 undergraduate psychology students and a group of 39 mechanical engineering students. Subjects were classified as predominantly right-, left-, or bidirectional movers. Discriminant analyses significantly separated these groups in terms of checklist scales. Accuracy of classification was 51.9% in the psychology sample and 89.7% in the engineering sample. A bidirectional pattern in eye movement was associated with a more adaptive and well-adjusted personality style than unidirectional consistency.