Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre for Intelligent Signal & Imaging Research (CISIR), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
  • 2 Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETaL), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Fundamental & Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
  • 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine Perak, Perak, Malaysia
PLoS One, 2019;14(7):e0219839.
PMID: 31344061 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219839

Abstract

The extraversion personality trait has a positive correlation with social interaction. In neuroimaging studies, investigations on extraversion in face-to-face verbal interactions are still scarce. This study presents an electroencephalography (EEG)-based investigation of the extraversion personality trait in relation to eye contact during face-to-face interactions, as this is a vital signal in social interactions. A sample of healthy male participants were selected (consisting of sixteen more extraverted and sixteen less extraverted individuals) and evaluated with the Eysenck's Personality Inventory (EPI) and Big Five Inventory (BFI) tools. EEG alpha oscillations in the occipital region were measured to investigate extraversion personality trait correlates of eye contact during a face-to-face interaction task and an eyes-open condition. The results revealed that the extraversion personality trait has a significant positive correlation with EEG alpha coherence in the occipital region, presumably due to its relationship with eye contact during the interaction task. Furthermore, the decrease in EEG alpha power during the interaction task compared to the eyes-open condition was found to be greater in the less extraverted participants; however, no significant difference was observed between the less and more extraverted participants. Overall, these findings encourage further research towards the understanding of neural mechanism correlates of the extraversion personality trait-particularly in social interaction.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.