Eysenck's theory of criminal personality

• What is Eysenck's theory of criminal personality?

  Eysenck's theory suggests that personality is biologically based and that personality traits include dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism which is measured using a questionnaire.

  Those who have a criminal personality will score highly on extraversion and neuroticism.
• What is extraversion?

  • Eysenck states that extraverts have an under-active nervous system which means they are constantly seeking excitement.
• What is neuroticism?

  • A persons level of neuroticism is based on the reactivity of their sympathetic nervous system. Neuroticism is the stability of personality, and a high neuroticism score would represent someone who is more reactive and volatiles. Those who are neurotic tend to be nervous and anxious.
• What feature did Eysenck later add?

  The third personality dimension is psychoticism which he later added relating to the degree to which somebody is anti-social, aggressive and uncaring.
• What did Eysenck say was the typical criminal type?

  The Typical criminal type is the neurotic-extravert. Neuroticism leads to unstable, unpredictable behaviour. Extraversion is due to chronically under-aroused nervous system which leads to sensation seeking
• Evaluation of Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality.

  1.Supporting research.

  • Eysenck 1964 research compared over 2000 male prisoners scores on Eysenck’s personality inventory with 2000 male controls.
  • He found a clear relationship between criminal behaviour and the three personality types. Therefore, the theory is credible as there is supporting that personality influences crime.
• Evaluation of Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality.

  2.Nature vs Nurture debate.

  • Eysenck's theory undermines the nurture influence on criminal behaviour as it overestimates nature biological impacts and personality.
  • Sutherland assumes that criminal behaviour is due to someone’s childhood upbringing.
  • It’s important that explanations take an interactionalist approach as we can’t separate the effects of nature and nurture on criminal behaviour.
• Evaluation of Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality.

  3.Opposing research.

  • Farrington 1982 reviewed several studies and found that offenders tend to score highly on psychoticism but no on extraversion or neuroticism.
  • This suggests that Eysenck may have overestimated the impact of extraversion and neuroticism on criminal behaviour.
• Evaluation of Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality.

  4. Deterministic

  • To assume that all criminal behaviour is due to the nervous system implies that individuals lack the freewill to choose their actions which doesn’t fit with societies treatment of criminals.
  • We expect criminals to accept responsibility for their actions and so the theory removes all the responsibility and replaces it with a pre-disposition causing actions.