Eysenckian personality dimensions and alexithymia: Examining the overlap in terms of perceived autonomic arousal

The inter-relationships of alexithymia, Eysenckian personality dimensions, and perceived autonomic arousal were examined (N = 200). Alexithymia correlated positively with neuroticism and perceived autonomic arousal. Extraversion correlated negatively with alexithymia, and only sociability contributed to this negative relationship. Tendency to focus on autonomic arousal (i.e. perceived arousal) was found to be a potential variable for explaining the overlap between alexithymia and Eysenckian personality dimensions. The possibility that alexithymia is a personality construct associated with autonomic arousal has been discussed.