Eye Accommodation, Personality, and Autonomic Balance.
Abstract
The automatic nervous system is made up of two subsystems: the parasympathetic (PNS) and the sympathetic (SNS). The balance between these systems regulates bodily functioning during routine (PNS-dominant) and crisis (SNS-dominant) situations. It also controls visual accommodation for near (PNS-dominant) and far (SNS-dominant) focus. The balance between these physiological systems has been linked to individual differences in personality characteristics, especially introversion (PNS-dominant) and extraversion (SNS-dominant). Since the balance mediates accommodation, the similar personality differences between near- and far-sighted individuals may be related to the more general parasympathetic-sympathetic balance rather than being related solely to the visual capability difference. The relationships among autonomic balance (as measured by a battery of four physiological tests modified from Wenger and Ellington, 1943, and by a technique introduced by Porges, 1976), refractive error (measured by dark focus, near and far points using a polarized vernier optometer), and introversion - extraversion (Eysenck Personality Inventory introversion - extraversion scale core) were investigated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA141499
Entities
People
- V. J. Gawron
Organizations
- New Mexico State University