'''Neuroticism''' is a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology. It can be defined as an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and clinical depression.<ref>{{Cite book 
 | author = G. Matthews and I. J. Deary
 | year = 1998
 | title = Personality traits
 | location = Cambridge, UK
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
}}</ref> They respond more poorly to environmental stress, and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. They are often interpersonal skills.<ref>{{Cite book
 | author = Daniel Goleman
 | year = 1997
 | title = Emotional Intelligence
 | location = New York
 | publisher = Bantam
}}</ref> It is also considered to be a predisposition for traditional ''neuroses'', such as phobias and other anxiety disorders.

==Emotional stability==
On the opposite end of the spectrum, individuals who score low in neuroticism are more emotionally stable and less reactive to stress. They tend to be calm, even tempered, and less likely to feel tense or rattled. Although they are low in negative emotion, they are not necessarily high on positive emotion. That is an element of the independent trait of extraversion. Neurotic extraverts, for example, would experience high levels of both positive and negative emotional states, a kind of "emotional roller coaster." Individuals who score low on neuroticism (particularly those who are also high on extraversion) generally report more happiness and satisfaction with their lives.

==Measurement==
Neuroticism is typically viewed as a continuous trait, rather than a distinct type of person. People vary in their level of neuroticism, with a small minority of individuals scoring extremely high or extremely low on the dimension. Because most people cluster around the average, neuroticism test scores approximate a EPQ, the NEO PI-R, and other personality inventories.

==Physiology==
Neuroticism appears to be related to physiological differences in the brain. Hans Eysenck theorized that neuroticism is a function of activity in the limbic system, and research suggests that people who score highly on measures of neuroticism have a more reactive sympathetic nervous system, and are more sensitive to environmental stimulation.<ref>{{Cite book
 | author = Hans Jürgen Eysenck and Michael W. Eysenck 
 | year = 1985
 | title = Personality and individual differences: A natural science approach
 | publisher = Plenum Press (Springer)
 | series = Perspectives on individual differences
 | isbn = 0306418444
}}</ref> 
Behavioral genetics researchers have found that a substantial portion of the variability on measures of neuroticism can be attributed to genetic factors.<ref>
{{Cite journal
 | author = Viken RJ, Rose RJ, Kaprio J, Koskenvuo M.
 | title = A developmental genetic analysis of adult personality: extraversion and neuroticism from 18 to 59 years of age.
 | journal =  Journal of personality and social psychology
 | year = 1994
 | month = April
 | pmid = 8189349
 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8189349&dopt=Citation
 | doi = 10.1037/0022-3514.66.4.722
 | volume = 66
 | pages = 722
}}
</ref>

A study with 5-HT<sub>2A</sub> there.<ref>{{Cite journal
 | author = Vibe G. Frøkjær, Erik L. Mortensen, Finn Årup Nielsen, Steven Haugbøl, Lars H. Pinborg, Karen H. Adams, Claus Svarer, Steen G. Hasselbalch, Søren Holm, Olaf B. Paulson and Gitte Moos Knudsen
 | title = Frontolimbic Serotonin 2A Receptor Binding in Healthy Subjects Is Associated with Personality Risk Factors for Affective Disorder
 | journal = Biological Psychiatry
 | year = 2007
 | doi = 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.07.009
 | volume = 66
 | pages = 722
}}</ref>
Another study has found that healthy subjects with a high  neuroticism score tend to have higher ligand that binds to the serotonin transporter protein.<ref>{{Cite journal 
 | author = Akihiro Takano, Ryosuke Arakawaa, Mika Hayashia, Hidehiko Takahashia, Hiroshi Itoa & Tetsuya Suhara
 | title = Relationship between neuroticism personality trait and serotonin transporter binding
 | journal = Biological Psychiatry
 | volume = 62
 | issue = 6
 | month = September
 | year = 2007
 | pages = 588&ndash;592 
 | doi = 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.11.007
 | pmid = 17336939
}}</ref>

'''Neurotizismus''' (abgeleitet von faktorenanalytisch ermitteltes Persönlichkeits- und Differenziellen Psychologie. Dieses bildet zusammen mit der Offenheit und der  Big Five.<ref>Costa, P. T., Jr., McCrae, R. R. (1985). ''The NEO Personality Inventory manual''. Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources.</ref>

Adjektive wie gespannt, ängstlich, nervös, launisch, empfindlich, reizbar und furchtsam "laden" positiv auf diesem Faktor.

Der Neurotizismuswert kann durch objektive Testverfahren – in den meisten Fällen Fragebögen – erfasst werden. Solche Tests sind z.B. der 566 Fragen umfassende MMPI-Persönlichkeitsfragebogen (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) oder der NEO-FFI.

Nach der Definition des Persönlichkeitspsychologen Introversion vs. Extraversion und Psychotizismus eine der drei grundlegenden Persönlichkeitsdimensionen. Nach Eysenck findet man bei Menschen mit einem hohen Neurotizismuswert folgende Eigenschaften:

* emotional labil
* neigen zu Nervosität (die sich in "nervösen Störungen", wie Neurosen manifestieren kann)
* beklagen sich oft über körperliche Schmerzen (Kopfschmerzen, Magenbeschwerden, Schwindelanfälle etc.)
* beklagen sich oft über Ärger und Ängste
* reagieren schnell auf Stress, Stressreaktionen klingen langsamer ab