Michael William Eysenck (/ˈaɪzɛŋk/; born 8 February 1944)[1] is a British academic psychologist, and is an emeritus professor in psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. He also holds an appointment as Professorial Fellow at Roehampton University.[1] 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',[2] 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.
