Eysenck

• Eysenck believed that crime is a result of personality which is made of determinant characteristics, therefore high levels of certain characteristics can lead to criminal behaviour. The level of how much you have of the personality dimensions determine personality and subsequently how prone you are to criminal behaviour.
• Eysenck proposed 3 personality dimensions:

  • neuroticism - stability
  • extroversion - introversion
  • psychotism - normality
• Neuroticism - Stability: How emotionally stable you are
• Introversion - Extroversion: How much stimulation you need
• Psychoticism - Normality: How empathetic you are
• Eyesenck outlined a personality inventory:

  • Sanguine: social, active, optimistic
  • Choleric: irritable, fast, short-tempered
  • Phlegmatic: relaxed and peaceful
  • Melancholic: analytical, wise, quiet
• Eysenck's theory of personality is based partially on biology. He suggests that personality traits have a biological basis as the neurological system (brain/nervous system) has been genetically inherited. Therefore, certain people are born with a higher chance of becoming a criminal.
• Biological Basis of Psychotism

  • Levels of testosterone inherited
  • Psychotics tend to be cold, inventive and prone to emotion, high levels.
  • Those with high socialisation tend to be more caring, sensitive and emotional
• Biological Basis of Extroversion

  • Reticular activating system, which determines level of cortical arousal.
  • Extroversion: Low cortical levels, seek a stimulating environment to increase cortisol levels - more prone to criminal behaviour
  • Introversion: High cortical levels, avoid stimulation to reduce levels of arousal
• Biological Basis of Neuroticism

  • The type of sympathetic nervous system inherited, which determines fight or flight response
  • Neurotics have a high reactive sympathetic nervous system, responding quickly to situations with greater intensity; more upset and unpredictable
  • A stable personality has a less reactive nervous system
• Role of Socialisation

  • A key factor of whether criminality is inherited is the interaction between innate personality traits and environmental factors, such as socialisation.
  • Those with high levels of N and E are more difficult to condition as they have an overactive nervous system, making it difficult for them to be conditioned and conform to social values. They find it difficult to react to threatening situations in a less proactive manner.
  • The role of socialisation occurs as we grow, as we learn through operant conditioning
• Eysenck's Theory of Personality: Evaluation Points

  • Supporting evidence: Eysenck
  • Methodological problems with EPQ
  • Oversimplified and outdated
• Eysenck's Theory of Personality: Supporting Evidence

  In 1977, Eysenck compared 2070 male prisoners score on his personality questionnaire (EPQ) with 2422 male controls. He found that on measures of psychotism, extroversion and neuroticism, prisoners recorded higher scores.
• Eysenck's Theory of Personality: Methodological Problems

  Eysenck's questionnaire was based on self-reporting measures of personality. This leads the results to be subject to response bias and social desirability, or untruthful observation. This limits the reliability.
• Eysenck's Theory of Personality: Oversimplified

  To say that all offenders are the same type (P,E,N), is too simple. In 1993, Moffitt suggested at least 4 types of offenders based on age:

  • adolescent-limited: only offend during adolescence
  • late-onset: 21-50
  • life course-persistent: commit crime all throughout their life