Energy and Personality: A Bridge between Physics and Psychology

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to present a mathematical formalism that states a bridge between physics and psychology, concretely between analytical dynamics and personality theory, in order to open new insights in this theory. In this formalism, energy plays a central role. First, the short-term personality dynamics can be measured by the General Factor of Personality (GFP) response to an arbitrary stimulus. This GFP dynamical response is modeled by a stimulus–response model: an integro-differential equation. The bridge between physics and psychology appears when the stimulus–response model can be formulated as a linear second order differential equation and, subsequently, reformulated as a Newtonian equation. This bridge is strengthened when the Newtonian equation is derived from a minimum action principle, obtaining the current Lagrangian and Hamiltonian functions. However, the Hamiltonian function is non-conserved energy. Then, some changes lead to a conserved Hamiltonian function: Ermakov–Lewis energy. This energy is presented, as well as the GFP dynamical response that can be derived from it. An application case is also presented: an experimental design in which 28 individuals consumed 26.51 g of alcohol. This experiment provides an ordinal scale for the Ermakov–Lewis energy that predicts the effect of a single dose of alcohol.

Keywords

• personality dynamics
• general factor of personality
• stimulus–response model
• minimum action principle
• Hamiltonian
• Ermakov–Lewis energy