Michael Eysenck

Michael Eysenck

Michael William Eysenck (born 8 February 1944) is a British academic psychologist, and is currently an emeritus professor in psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. He also holds an appointment as Professorial Fellow at Roehampton University. His research focuses on cognitive factors affecting anxiety. Eysenck has written and co-written many publications, including several textbooks. In the late 1990s, he developed the theory of the 'hedonic treadmill', stating that humans are predisposed by genetics to plateau at a certain level of happiness, and that the occurrence of novel happy events merely elevates this level temporarily.

He is the son of the noted psychologist Hans Jürgen Eysenck.