Psychology - Criminal

• What is the best predictor of delinquency and is it as strong as heaven predicted?

  Psychoticism and it is not as strong as they thought
• What does heaven's study support?

  Previous research linking psychoticism and anti-social behaviour and crime
• Was there a positive or negative correlation between psychoticism and delinquency at time 1 and 2 in heaven's study?

  Positive
• How many people returned in heaven's study?

  80%
• What was heaven's procedure?

  Anonymously, participants completed the questionnaires one at a time and after two years they returned to do it again
• What are the materials of heaven's study?

  1) a questionnaire assessing extraversion and psychoticism

  2) a 10 question scale to measure self-esteem

  3) a questionnaire asking about delinquency
• What is heaven's sample?

  282 adolescents between 13-15 (when the study started) from 2 catholic independent schools in New South Wales, Australia
• What did researchers argue that youths would associate with?

  Delinquent youths in order to restore their self-esteem as people approve of their behavior's
• What is self-esteem seen as a link to and why?

  Neuroticism as people with low self-esteem tend to be neurotic
• What is delinquency?

  Minor crime, especially committed by young people
• What is a longitudinal study?

  A study carried out over a period of time looking at the sample
• What was Heaven's design?

  A longitudinal study to investigate if personality and self-esteem are able to predict delinquency after 2 years
• What are the weaknesses of Eysenck's theory?

  - determinism (outside of the person's control, reduces validity)

  - individual differences (different people have different reasons, reduces credibility)

  - same personality (unlikely that all criminals have the same personality, reduces validity)

  - not enough emphasis on nurture (reduces credibility)
• What are people who are less socialised more likely to do?

  Find jobs that match their personalities such as politics or business because they involve taking risks and making big decisions
• What does it mean if a person is less socialised?

  They do not learn the association between committing crime and punishments
• People with what personality are less likely to be socialised?

  PEN (psychotic, extrovert, neurotic)
• What is socialisation?

  Learning to accept norms and values of society which are usually law abiding
• What do psychotics have less of and what does this mean?

  Inhabitation of impulses when messages are being transported around the brain so they are more likely to engage in risky behavior's
• What do psychotics have an excess of and what does this mean?

  Dopaminergic neurons meaning that they are constantly looking for rewards
• What is dopamine and what is it a part of?

  A neurotransmitter that is an important part of the rewards system
• What are dopaminergic neurons?

  Cells that produce dopamine
• What did Eysenck claim about the autonomic nervous system in neurotics and what may that lead to?

  It is over aroused meaning they react more emotionally possibly leading to higher levels of violence
• What does the autonomic nervous system regulate and what does that control?

  Our limbic system which controls our emotions
• When is the autonomic nervous system activated?

  When there are high emotions
• What does the autonomic nervous system control?

  Our internal organs and unconscious functions
• What is neuroticism linked to?

  The autonomic nervous system
• What is the ANS?

  Autonomic nervous system
• What does having a high dopamine rewards system mean for extroverts?

  They are more likely to respond positively to sex and money and are likely to get them illegally
• What do extroverts have a high rewards system of?

  Dopamine
• What does the reticular activation system do in extroverts and what happens because of it?

  It restricts information to the brain and therefore they are more likely to get bored and then commit crime
• What does the reticular activation system do?

  Controls how much stimuli is passed in the brain
• Where is the reticular activation system found?

  In the brain stem and it links the brain to the spinal cord
• What is the RAS?

  Reticular activation system
• How does the brain use the spinal cord?

  To send messages around the body
• What is the central nervous system made up of?

  The brain and the spinal cord
• What is the CNS?

  Central nervous system
• What did Eysenck believe?

  That personality was genetic and biological / inherited and can be found in the brain
• Why are criminals often psychotic?

  Their characteristics are directly linked to crime
• Why are criminals often neurotic?

  They get stuck in behaviours that relieve their anxiety levels. This anxiety gets in the way of punishing behaviour as they don't often learn from their mistakes
• Why are criminals often extroverted?

  People with this trait often need a lot of stimulation from the environment and are often thrill seekers. They find this excitement through crime